Audi "Service"

JamBur

I'm having a giggle here at a price I received from Audi Cork.

I want to retrofit a multifunction steering wheel to my 2007 A4. Its obviously cheaper to source parts secondhand, and get the work done by a good indie. However, I thought there's no harm in dropping an email to the dealer to enquire about pricing.

The job requires new steering wheel (about 100\150 on ebay), harness(about 40 on ebay), a trim cover (10 on ebay), controller (120ish on ebay). A grand total of 350 with shipping.

Audis reply has left me dumbfounded:

Hi,

Unfortunately James in order to fit the MFSW you would have to replace the interior wiring loom @ €7174.76 and all the associated parts required.


Regards,
************ (blanked his name)
Parts Manager
Audi Cork

So 7174.76, plus parts, plus labour.................WOW!!!!!!

Toyotafanboi

I'm sure Audi won't be losing sleep. It probably doesn't fir in too much with their business plan.

You said it yourself, second hand for things like this is usually a much better option.

JamBur

I know, but the lack of knowledge, interest, pride from them is disappointing. I knew the price would be high, but I didn't expect them to be factually incorrect. You're right in saying it doesn't fit with their business plan............ its a please fwck off quote

Toyotafanboi

Pretty much yeah. That's just the nature of the beast unfortunately. Makes it much the sweeter though that there plenty of independent specialists out there who can handle it for you.

JamBur

Ok, they replied to my follow up email with an "unreserved apology". He admitted he wasn't familiar with the process, and was referring it on to someone else. Credit where credit is due, he held up his hands........... their prices for parts are still crazy though:)

tossy

What did you honestly expect?

If you ask for a price and the parts manager replied new steering wheel (about 100\150 on ebay), harness(about 40 on ebay), a trim cover (10 on ebay), controller (120ish on ebay you'd be giving out about shoddy Audi dealers.

You won't get a NEW audi steering wheel for 100.
You won't get a GENUINE loom for 40
you won't get a NEW controller for 120ish

I'd be the last to defend main dealers but i think you are being unfair and unrealistic.

JamBur

I wasn't EXPECTING prices to be comparable to secondhand ebay parts, so CALM down. I was surprised that he said it would cost over 7 grand to fit an entire NEW LOOM

finalfurlong

VAG group pretty expesive for steering wheels in general.Bought a 132 golf about month ago.Car as perfect except it had the plastic steering wheel.Cost of replacing it with leather one(not the multifunctional one-god kows what that would have cost)in dealers was 614 inc Vat plus 70 to fit-it was just a swap in and out job.Putmy details up on partfinder and got perfect condition one for 100 eu from a 142 golf which cost me another 30 to fit with mechanic

galwaytt

JamBur wrote: »

I'm having a giggle here at a price I received from Audi Cork.

I want to retrofit a multifunction steering wheel to my 2007 A4. Its obviously cheaper to source parts secondhand, and get the work done by a good indie. However, I thought there's no harm in dropping an email to the dealer to enquire about pricing.

The job requires new steering wheel (about 100\150 on ebay), harness(about 40 on ebay), a trim cover (10 on ebay), controller (120ish on ebay). A grand total of 350 with shipping.

Audis reply has left me dumbfounded:

Hi,

Unfortunately James in order to fit the MFSW you would have to replace the interior wiring loom @ €7174.76 and all the associated parts required.


Regards,
************ (blanked his name)
Parts Manager
Audi Cork

So 7174.76, plus parts, plus labour.................WOW!!!!!!

I think this shows a complete ignorance of the question the OP asked. There is no way a whole new loom is required - at any price.

Anyone who would send that email plainly didn't give a toss - if they had any interest in what they were doing they'd have spotted that there was something wrong with it.

Truckermal

Actually in their defence I wanted a flat bottom steering wheel for a new A4 and the were able to supply and fit cheaper than one on ebay and 100 quid cheaper than a used one from Meegans. .

*Kol*

Obviously Audi don't have a retrofit solution for a MFSW so the only way they could do it is to change the loom. At €7k it's mad money. But as pointed out earlier they are not in the business of doing that type of work and it would take a lot of effort on their part to develop a cheaper solution which is required only by a small amount of people. It gives the aftermarket people something to sell on eBay.

JamBur

*Kol* wrote: »

Obviously Audi don't have a retrofit solution for a MFSW so the only way they could do it is to change the loom. At €7k it's mad money. But as pointed out earlier they are not in the business of doing that type of work and it would take a lot of effort on their part to develop a cheaper solution which is required only by a small amount of people. It gives the aftermarket people something to sell on eBay.

The only thing is that the wiring harness required is an off the shelf component. It just connects into the standard loom. No custom wiring needed at all.

BMJD

Getting an email reply from a main dealer is actually more shocking than the price!

dodzy

There's a guy on Adverts, Zebo, that seems to have very solid feedback and does Audi retrofits. I have him earmarked for a CC install and DIS upgrade on an A6. Maybe worth a try.

http://www.adverts.ie/interiors-parts/audi-a6-s6-a6-c6-4f-2004-2011-genuine-audi-cruise-control-for-sale-price-includes-fitting-and-coding-activation/7643325

TJJP

€7174.76? You'd upgrade to a 2002 5 series for that money.

JamieOS

I'm not surprised. There is a **** load of work retrofitting a MFSW. Its not just as simple as plug it in and go. Hell you'd think swapping out a Sat Nav for the newer model would be as easy as popping out the old and plopping in the new, but there are a hundred and one other problems with it. The CAN/H and CAN/L from the 24-pin connector of the old unit need to be stripped from the block connector and bridged with the appropriate wires on the adapter for the new sat nav. The TMC module in the boot (because having a piece of the old sat nav in the boot apparently made sense to Audi) has to be bypassed by bridging the CAN/H and CAN/L pins together on the 12 pin and bridging the aerial. Then the fun starts. Gotta spend 350 quid on software to recode the instrument cluster and sat nav. All that just to get the new sat nav to power off automatically when you pull out the key. Electronics in Audis can be a pain in the ass. I don't even want to know how you'd go about wiring in a MFSW.

I'm sure that the majority of that quote is just for the labour and time it would take to rip your entire car apart to fit all the necessary parts. Then again, a lot of it is probably charged at a massive rate just because its a retrofit.

tossy

TJJP wrote: »

€7174.76? You'd upgrade to a 2002 5 series for that money.

...and then pay 1000e to retrofit indicators

whiterebel

tossy wrote: »

...and then pay 1000e to retrofit indicators

Indicators on a beemer? When did they start with them?

mickdw

JamieOS wrote: »

I'm not surprised. There is a **** load of work retrofitting a MFSW. Its not just as simple as plug it in and go. Hell you'd think swapping out a Sat Nav for the newer model would be as easy as popping out the old and plopping in the new, but there are a hundred and one other problems with it. The CAN/H and CAN/L from the 24-pin connector of the old unit need to be stripped from the block connector and bridged with the appropriate wires on the adapter for the new sat nav. The TMC module in the boot (because having a piece of the old sat nav in the boot apparently made sense to Audi) has to be bypassed by bridging the CAN/H and CAN/L pins together on the 12 pin and bridging the aerial. Then the fun starts. Gotta spend 350 quid on software to recode the instrument cluster and sat nav. All that just to get the new sat nav to power off automatically when you pull out the key. Electronics in Audis can be a pain in the ass. I don't even want to know how you'd go about wiring in a MFSW.

I'm sure that the majority of that quote is just for the labour and time it would take to rip your entire car apart to fit all the necessary parts. Then again, a lot of it is probably charged at a massive rate just because its a retrofit.

I don't think the mfsw is a major job at all on that model
New wheel, new slip ring to take the additional functions. Small loom then vagcom to activate mfsw in various control missiles such as phone, radio etc.

Trained Monkey

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

I'm sure Audi won't be losing sleep. It probably doesn't fir in too much with their business plan.

You said it yourself, second hand for things like this is usually a much better option.

So I bought a 2005 A4 and only have it a few months but got it from a very honest chap. He had the timing belt done before he sold it to me. Car was serviced in Feb and passed the NCT in April. Decided to go to dealer for 1st service just to keep everything tidy. Car was driving absolutely grand. No problems. Only reason I brought it was because service light was on. Called over last week to collect car and the person tells me there's nearly 5 grand worth of work to be done on the car.

Do I not fit into their business plan either. Considering car passed NCT in May and it has got only moderate driving since then I find this hard to believe.

Any opinions?

sunnysoutheast

Trained Monkey wrote: »

So I bought a 2005 A4 and only have it a few months but got it from a very honest chap. He had the timing belt done before he sold it to me. Car was serviced in Feb and passed the NCT in April. Decided to go to dealer for 1st service just to keep everything tidy. Car was driving absolutely grand. No problems. Only reason I brought it was because service light was on. Called over last week to collect car and the person tells me there's nearly 5 grand worth of work to be done on the car.

Do I not fit into their business plan either. Considering car passed NCT in May and it has got only moderate driving since then I find this hard to believe.

Any opinions?

What did they say needed doing? Bit difficult for anyone to comment otherwise.

Ant695

Trained Monkey wrote: »

So I bought a 2005 A4 and only have it a few months but got it from a very honest chap. He had the timing belt done before he sold it to me. Car was serviced in Feb and passed the NCT in April. Decided to go to dealer for 1st service just to keep everything tidy. Car was driving absolutely grand. No problems. Only reason I brought it was because service light was on. Called over last week to collect car and the person tells me there's nearly 5 grand worth of work to be done on the car.

Do I not fit into their business plan either. Considering car passed NCT in May and it has got only moderate driving since then I find this hard to believe.

Any opinions?

What did they say the 5 grand was going to cover?

*Kol*

€5k is out of the question of course. You could go out and buy another 2005 A4 for that!

Toyotafanboi

Trained Monkey wrote: »

So I bought a 2005 A4 and only have it a few months but got it from a very honest chap. He had the timing belt done before he sold it to me. Car was serviced in Feb and passed the NCT in April. Decided to go to dealer for 1st service just to keep everything tidy. Car was driving absolutely grand. No problems. Only reason I brought it was because service light was on. Called over last week to collect car and the person tells me there's nearly 5 grand worth of work to be done on the car.

Do I not fit into their business plan either. Considering car passed NCT in May and it has got only moderate driving since then I find this hard to believe.

Any opinions?

not necessarily, no.

sure it's not really in a manufacturers interest for it's customers to maintain older vehicles is it?

it's rule 101 really that once your car is out of warranty, independent service and repair centres are the way forward unless you drive something very specialist or exotic.

with the likes of a premium marque main dealer, they are probably charging in the region of €100 per hour for labour, it's clear that the only time you want to avail of that service is when the car is relatively new and it only needs basic bits and pieces done. When the warranty is up, most larger dealers either want you straight into another new car or out the door

CJhaughey

Let me guess, a set of discs and pads all round?

9935452

Trained Monkey wrote: »

So I bought a 2005 A4 and only have it a few months but got it from a very honest chap. He had the timing belt done before he sold it to me. Car was serviced in Feb and passed the NCT in April. Decided to go to dealer for 1st service just to keep everything tidy. Car was driving absolutely grand. No problems. Only reason I brought it was because service light was on. Called over last week to collect car and the person tells me there's nearly 5 grand worth of work to be done on the car.

Do I not fit into their business plan either. Considering car passed NCT in May and it has got only moderate driving since then I find this hard to believe.

Any opinions?

Is it a 2.0tdi.
Its my guess that most of that quote is for the oil pump tensioner and drive . and /or clutch /flywheel

Trained Monkey

They quoted 230 to fix the glovebox which seems to only be missing a hinge on back left. Alternator free wheel pulley seized 205, rear disk and pads 270, air pollen and fuel filters 200, rear bump stop 170, front bump stop 305, front tie rod 130, rear brake hoses 175 . clutch kit and fly wheel 2,200.
Few other things on it too but they the main ones.
Like I really couldn't fault how the car is driving. Fuel consumption seems good.

I don't know. Could all these things be wrong and it still driving fine?

ohnonotgmail

Trained Monkey wrote: »

They quoted 230 to fix the glovebox which seems to only be missing a hinge on back left. Alternator free wheel pulley seized 205, rear disk and pads 270, air pollen and fuel filters 200, rear bump stop 170, front bump stop 305, front tie rod 130, rear brake hoses 175 . clutch kit and fly wheel 2,200.
Few other things on it too but they the main ones.
Like I really couldn't fault how the car is driving. Fuel consumption seems good.

I don't know. Could all these things be wrong and it still driving fine?

a second opinion from a good indy mechanic is required. If the clutch is on its way out then it needs to be done. I just wouldnt get an audi dealer to do it.

Toyotafanboi

take the car to an independent, you'l get a good job done on all the above for under €2k i'd say.

obviously you know yourself, some of that list is just plain silly like €230 to replace glove box hinge on a 2 grand car. never going to happen. scrap yard, €10 for a glove box door, fitted in ten minutes; €220 saved.

dodzy

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

take the car to an independent, you'l get a good job done on all the above for under €2k i'd say.

obviously you know yourself, some of that list is just plain silly like €230 to replace glove box hinge on a 2 grand car. never going to happen. scrap yard, €10 for a glove box door, fitted in ten minutes; €220 saved.

Pollen & fuel filter - €200. GTFO.

Trained Monkey

Yeah I will take it somewhere else. Suppose I just don't get the attitude of practically turning away business. Like a decent mechanic will prioritise what is vital and what can be worked around taking the age of car etc into consideration.

Toyotafanboi

Trained Monkey wrote: »

Yeah I will take it somewhere else. Suppose I just don't get the attitude of practically turning away business. Like a decent mechanic will prioritise what is vital and what can be worked around taking the age of car etc into consideration.

sounds like most of that was necessary, except for maybe the hinge.

they aren't really turning away business as such, those are the jobs that need doing and those are the prices they need to charge to keep the doors open. they'd love to sell you the job for €5k.

unfortunately, the price doesn't suit you, but there are plenty of places who would be happy to do equally as good a job for half the price.

mickdw

I don't see the problem. Firstly, you must have gone in there and asked them to go through the car in detail and quote for everything.
Now, it's only a quote and if nothing else gives you a list of things to get sorted out yourself as cheap as you can.
The glove box door is a common failure. You might struggle to find one used but obviously you would hope to get one at some stage for a cheap enough price. Still the dealer doesn't offer a used parts service and it must be replaced as a unit so they could only price it as they did. They are not forcing you to buy it.
You should get the safety items done somewhere however I would get a second opinion on the brakes as the dealers tend to change them when alot of wear still remains.
still you got a comprehensive list of the cause of probably every rattle and squeak. How much you get done is up to you.

If they sold you this car 3 months ago, I would say you had something to complain about but apart from that, what are they supposed to do, reduce their prices for you?