What if the garage cant fix your Audi

imeddyhobbs · 03-11-2009 12:26am #1

My A4 let me down recently and i had it towed to the garage.It was in that garage for 1 week and they could not fix it,they said they didnt know what was wrong with it but that they replaced the vacuum system and all work was going to cost me €230 + €95 to tow it to an audi garage = €325
Audi called me the next day to ask me if someone else was working on the car and i told them the story so they said that it was going to cost a further €195 before they can run the diagnostics as the car was not communicating with their diagnostics,the diagnostics costs €95 so thats €615 before the car is even diagnosed with a problem.
At this stage the car has been off the road for 8 working days,4 of these days its in the audi garage and they still cant tell me whats wrong with it.Finally audi get back to me and tell me that the turbo is gone and that the new part will cost €1200 + labor.The gran total now stands at €1815 excluding labor...add €915 for labor makes €2730!
Thankfully i posted already about the problem here on boards and a poster alerted me to the fact that i could buy the very same VW part at a cost of around €700 so obviously i did that but i needed the part no. so i called the audi garage and they gave it to me and i told them that i was going to have the part sent to them,they gave me the part no. and i ordered it from assured performance.
The next day the audi garage called me to tell me that the turbo was in fact not blown and that it was fixable,they said it was something to do with the wastegate on the turbo,I was relived because i didnt need the turbo.
They called me back later that day to tell me that they fixed the turbo but the car still wasnt right and they were still working on it,then it was the trottle body that was causing problems,then it was an erg valve that needed replacing.

Its fixed.
I dont know much about cars but is it possible for....

1 A vacuum system
2 Turbo wastegate
3 Trottle body problem
4 ERG valve

To give trouble at the same time?
The car had its long life service done just 20000 mls before these problems arose and it was driving perfect up until it let me down
To add insult to injury the assholes didnt even put the engin cover back on after they were finished,i only noticed that when i was checking the oil level(because thats what you have to do on a regular basis with audis)..and yes,it needed a litre of oil after all that

mickdw · 03-11-2009 12:36am

Sounds like wrong diagnosis from the start.
How much did all this cost?

MPB · 03-11-2009 12:39am

That is the biggest joke I've ever heard. The garage sound completely incompetent. I bet I know who they are to and no I'm not suggesting you post it on here. The car is obviously out of manufactures warranty the fact that you had to pay for it but how long is it out of warranty? The service you received was absolutely rubbish. They sound like they didn't have a clue what was going on and making stabs in the dark at "it might be this" failing that "it might be that". Mechanics should be more on the ball than that. If they couldnt fix it they should have sent the car back to Audi Ireland. I worked in the car trade for some time and it only happened the once where we failed to fix a car and in that case the customer was supplied a replacement vehicle while his was getting fixed and his car was sent back the the franchise group. They had it 2 weeks and car was returned back to us. All the time we were in regular contact with the customer and HQ and he was kept informed of what was going on. You seem to have been been let down in every aspect by your dealer.

imeddyhobbs · 03-11-2009 12:53am

mickdw wrote: »

Sounds like wrong diagnosis from the start.
How much did all this cost?

Thats a long story

I had to bring back the turbo today,i ordered it by phone and i had it sent by courier when i paid for it.I was driving around ballymount for an hour today looking for api(assured performance ireland)my phone was dead and the diesel light was on.When i found it they charged me a 10% handling fee plus the shipping so thats another €100.On my way back to work the car ran out of fuel on the hill into lucan village,i rolled the car into a parking space and went to get diesel,when i came back there was a parking ticket on the car for €40.

All in all about €2400

mickdw · 03-11-2009 12:58am

Oh f*ck.
Thats scandalous

teednab-el · 03-11-2009 1:15am

imeddyhobbs wrote: »

My A4 let me down recently and i had it towed to the garage.It was in that garage for 1 week and they could not fix it,they said they didnt know what was wrong with it but that they replaced the vacuum system and all work was going to cost me €230 + €95 to tow it to an audi garage = €325
Audi called me the next day to ask me if someone else was working on the car and i told them the story so they said that it was going to cost a further €195 before they can run the diagnostics as the car was not communicating with their diagnostics,the diagnostics costs €95 so thats €615 before the car is even diagnosed with a problem.
At this stage the car has been off the road for 8 working days,4 of these days its in the audi garage and they still cant tell me whats wrong with it.Finally audi get back to me and tell me that the turbo is gone and that the new part will cost €1200 + labor.The gran total now stands at €1815 excluding labor...add €915 for labor makes €2730!
Thankfully i posted already about the problem here on boards and a poster alerted me to the fact that i could buy the very same VW part at a cost of around €700 so obviously i did that but i needed the part no. so i called the audi garage and they gave it to me and i told them that i was going to have the part sent to them,they gave me the part no. and i ordered it from assured performance.
The next day the audi garage called me to tell me that the turbo was in fact not blown and that it was fixable,they said it was something to do with the wastegate on the turbo,I was relived because i didnt need the turbo.
They called me back later that day to tell me that they fixed the turbo but the car still wasnt right and they were still working on it,then it was the trottle body that was causing problems,then it was an erg valve that needed replacing.

Its fixed.
I dont know much about cars but is it possible for....

1 A vacuum system
2 Turbo wastegate
3 Trottle body problem
4 ERG valve

To give trouble at the same time?
The car had its long life service done just 20000 mls before these problems arose and it was driving perfect up until it let me down
To add insult to injury the assholes didnt even put the engin cover back on after they were finished,i only noticed that when i was checking the oil level(because thats what you have to do on a regular basis with audis)..and yes it need a litre of oil after all that

That is some joke, Ive never heard the likes of that before. Are these mechanics that operated on your car fully qualified? Sounds to me that they aren't.

imeddyhobbs · 03-11-2009 1:37am

Do i have a legit complaint?who pays when a garage cant fix a car?

I'm not looking for someone to blame for a mechanical problem but surely a machinic with a technologically advanced car like audi should be able to fix a car quicker than mine was.I am not aware of any car having 4 different problems at the same time in this manner.

MPB · 03-11-2009 1:44am

Thing was they fitted the parts to the car and decided they were now used so they charged you for them. Whether they were all faulty parts initially, well, I don't know how you would prove that. Every garage has at least one specialist guy dedicated solely to stuff like this. Sounds like they had Homer Simpson doing their specialist jobs.

I would voice your dissatisfaction with Audi Ireland. Tell them the full story. As for rights to a claim. I'm not sure, again how do you prove all parts were not faulty. I'm sure they're well gone in the bin by now. You could chat with the SIMI and see what they're take on it is.

reverandkenjami · 03-11-2009 2:09am

imeddyhobbs wrote: »

My A4 let me down recently and i had it towed to the garage.It was in that garage for 1 week and they could not fix it,they said they didnt know what was wrong with it but that they replaced the vacuum system and all work was going to cost me €230 + €95 to tow it to an audi garage = €325
Audi called me the next day to ask me if someone else was working on the car and i told them the story so they said that it was going to cost a further €195 before they can run the diagnostics as the car was not communicating with their diagnostics,the diagnostics costs €95 so thats €615 before the car is even diagnosed with a problem.
At this stage the car has been off the road for 8 working days,4 of these days its in the audi garage and they still cant tell me whats wrong with it.Finally audi get back to me and tell me that the turbo is gone and that the new part will cost €1200 + labor.The gran total now stands at €1815 excluding labor...add €915 for labor makes €2730!
Thankfully i posted already about the problem here on boards and a poster alerted me to the fact that i could buy the very same VW part at a cost of around €700 so obviously i did that but i needed the part no. so i called the audi garage and they gave it to me and i told them that i was going to have the part sent to them,they gave me the part no. and i ordered it from assured performance.
The next day the audi garage called me to tell me that the turbo was in fact not blown and that it was fixable,they said it was something to do with the wastegate on the turbo,I was relived because i didnt need the turbo.
They called me back later that day to tell me that they fixed the turbo but the car still wasnt right and they were still working on it,then it was the trottle body that was causing problems,then it was an erg valve that needed replacing.

Its fixed.
I dont know much about cars but is it possible for....

1 A vacuum system
2 Turbo wastegate
3 Trottle body problem
4 ERG valve

To give trouble at the same time?
The car had its long life service done just 20000 mls before these problems arose and it was driving perfect up until it let me down
To add insult to injury the assholes didnt even put the engin cover back on after they were finished,i only noticed that when i was checking the oil level(because thats what you have to do on a regular basis with audis)..and yes it need a litre of oil after all that

So one garage tried to fix the car by replacing all the vacuam system and it still wasn't right? Why did you pay them

The Audi garage then took over and found some problems and fixed it in 4 days? I'm not seeing the big problem here? They could have told you the Turbo had to be replaced and got more money from you but they were honest and said it could be repaired!

It would be possible for the EGR and wastegate to go at the same time! And also possible for the Throttle to go too! The vacuam system probably wasn't gone so......

imeddyhobbs · 03-11-2009 2:26am

reverandkenjami wrote: »

So one garage tried to fix the car by replacing all the vacuam system and it still wasn't right? Why did you pay them

The Audi garage then took over and found some problems and fixed it in 4 days? I'm not seeing the big problem here? They could have told you the Turbo had to be replaced and got more money from you but they were honest and said it could be repaired!

It would be possible for the EGR and wastegate to go at the same time! And also possible for the Throttle to go too! The vacuam system probably wasn't gone so......

You obviously dont have an audi,why does it take almost 2 working weeks to diagnose a problem?and they did tell me that the turbo was gone!as soon as i said i was going to provide them with the part they said that their was no problem with the turbo.Did you miss that part?

imeddyhobbs · 03-11-2009 2:32am

reverandkenjami wrote: »

So one garage tried to fix the car by replacing all the vacuam system and it still wasn't right? Why did you pay them

The Audi garage then took over and found some problems and fixed it in 4 days? I'm not seeing the big problem here? They could have told you the Turbo had to be replaced and got more money from you but they were honest and said it could be repaired!

It would be possible for the EGR and wastegate to go at the same time! And also possible for the Throttle to go too! The vacuam system probably wasn't gone so......

Please explain...

Mr Benevolent · 03-11-2009 3:01am

imeddyhobbs wrote: »

Do i have a legit complaint?who pays when a garage cant fix a car?

I'm not looking for someone to blame for a mechanical problem but surely a machinic with a technologically advanced car like audi should be able to fix a car quicker than mine was.I am not aware of any car having 4 different problems at the same time in this manner.

With respect, there's nothing very technologically advanced about an Audi, no more so then it's cousins Skoda or VW. The same diagnostic procedures are used on a Kia or Nissan. Scandalous price for repair, but the VAG brands are not what they're pimped up to be. They've gotten better in Skoda and SEAT's case, worse in all the rest.

brandon_flowers · 03-11-2009 9:47am

I feel your pain.

Flywheel and clutch €1027 (from main dealer)
Labour to fit €250 (indy)
Turbo €780 from Assured Performance
Balance Shaft Drive module and other parts €450
Labour €600 (indy)

Luckily enough I had breakdown cover and they covered the cost of transport.

Car is now off the road 5 weeks and Ive €3100 spent, getting it back this evening.

The OP knows already but I have the exact same car as him. Check your timing belt and if the engine code on it is BLB you have a ball of **** of a car. Try a few Audi forums or google and you'll see what I mean.

I'll provide an explanation of the balance shaft module just in case this is causing the trouble with your car. The balance shaft at the bottom of the engine is driven by a Stainless Steel chained gear. This gear begins to wear down and the chain slips on it causing low oil pressure. As the turbo is the last part to get oil it is starved and blows. If the chain breaks its bye bye engine, if the chain doesnt break it'll more than likely be too damaged to use again and needs to be replaced. If there was a grating sound coming from your engine before it broke down this could be the cause. There is a serious amount of ripping up involved just to get at it. Sump has to come off, part of the block and all the front bumper and sub frame.

Hope its not the case but I fear it could be. What mileage is on the car? A lot of indies cant diagnose that model Audi because the plug is a Super 16 connection and they are used on very few cars. There should be no reason why an Audi garage can't fix it though.

voxpop · 03-11-2009 10:50am

imeddyhobbs wrote: »

I dont know much about cars but is it possible for....

1 A vacuum system
2 Turbo wastegate
3 Trottle body problem
4 ERG valve

Eh do diesels have a throttle body ? It should be direct injection.

The EGR valve just recycles waste exhaust gases back into the combustion chamber to be re-burnt. This is the reduce emissions. If it was broken (somehow - btw its operated by a vacuum) it would just stay shut. You shouldnt have any problems with it staying shut unless the computer in the car complains- then your car would go into limp mode - plus would be easy to spot with diagnostics.

Heroditas · 03-11-2009 10:51am

I'm so glad I offloaded mine in the summer after reading all these issues.
I'd be very reluctant to buy one again after all the problems I had with my own in the space of 4 months.

Seth Brundle · 03-11-2009 10:55am

MPB wrote: »

You could chat with the SIMI and see what they're take on it is.

Hasn't the OP wasted enough money already?

-Chris- · 03-11-2009 11:19am

I'm confused as to what's going on OP...

imeddyhobbs wrote: »

My A4 let me down recently and i had it towed to the garage.

Which garage - Audi or other?

imeddyhobbs wrote: »

It was in that garage for 1 week and they could not fix it,they said they didnt know what was wrong with it but that they replaced the vacuum system and all work was going to cost me €230 + €95 to tow it to an audi garage = €325

So was it with an indy garage and was then towed to the Audi garage?

imeddyhobbs wrote: »

Audi called me the next day to ask me if someone else was working on the car and i told them the story

What was the story? Who was working on the car? Were they reputable (i.e. there are excellent indys and not-so-excellent...)?

imeddyhobbs wrote: »

so they said that it was going to cost a further €195 before they can run the diagnostics as the car was not communicating with their diagnostics,the diagnostics costs €95 so thats €615 before the car is even diagnosed with a problem.

Is is possible that the other garage banjaxed your diagnostics system? Did Audi tell you why they couldn't communicate with the diagnostics?

imeddyhobbs wrote: »

At this stage the car has been off the road for 8 working days,4 of these days its in the audi garage and they still cant tell me whats wrong with it.

As per above - is the delay in Audi diagnosis due to someone else's error or theirs?

imeddyhobbs wrote: »

Finally audi get back to me and tell me that the turbo is gone and that the new part will cost €1200 + labor.The gran total now stands at €1815 excluding labor...add €915 for labor makes €2730!

Fair 'nuff

imeddyhobbs wrote: »

Thankfully i posted already about the problem here on boards and a poster alerted me to the fact that i could buy the very same VW part at a cost of around €700 so obviously i did that but i needed the part no. so i called the audi garage and they gave it to me and i told them that i was going to have the part sent to them,they gave me the part no. and i ordered it from assured performance.

Are you sourcing the turbo elsewhere? Are you intending to get the Audi garage to fit the sourced turbo?

imeddyhobbs wrote: »

The next day the audi garage called me to tell me that the turbo was in fact not blown and that it was fixable,they said it was something to do with the wastegate on the turbo,I was relived because i didnt need the turbo.

Good news - glad a way could be worked around it.

imeddyhobbs wrote: »

They called me back later that day to tell me that they fixed the turbo but the car still wasnt right and they were still working on it,then it was the trottle body that was causing problems,then it was an erg valve that needed replacing.

Did they say whether these things went together or separately? Do you think they mis-diagnosed the turbo?

imeddyhobbs wrote: »

Its fixed.
I dont know much about cars but is it possible for....

1 A vacuum system
2 Turbo wastegate
3 Trottle body problem
4 ERG valve

To give trouble at the same time?

It's possible but maybe not probable. Maybe one of our technical posters can answer this?

imeddyhobbs wrote: »

The car had its long life service done just 20000 mls before these problems arose and it was driving perfect up until it let me down

Was it serviced by Audi or elsewhere? Do you think the service had anything to do with it?

imeddyhobbs wrote: »

To add insult to injury the assholes didnt even put the engin cover back on after they were finished,i only noticed that when i was checking the oil level(because thats what you have to do on a regular basis with audis)..and yes,it needed a litre of oil after all that

That's shabby workmanship.

MPB · 03-11-2009 1:53pm

kbannon wrote: »

Hasn't the OP wasted enough money already?

Costs nothing only the price of a phone call to ring the SIMI

Seth Brundle · 03-11-2009 1:59pm

MPB wrote: »

Costs nothing only the price of a phone call to ring the SIMI

The SIMI are a lobby group for the industry and are not there for the benefit of the customer! Phoning them about a bad experience in a dealership is a waste of time and money!

The SIMI was formed when the Society of the Irish Motor Traders Ltd and the Irish Motor Traders Association merged together in 1968.
The SIMI (Society of the Irish Motor Industry) is the official voice of the motor industry in Ireland. We are a member's organisation which consists of Dealers, Repairers, Vehicle Distributors, Wholesalers, Retailers, Vehicle Testers and many more important operators within the industry in Ireland. Our role is to represent the views of the motor industry by campaigning to the Government, state bodies, the media and the motoring public.

http://www.simi.ie/utilities/about_us.aspx

JohnThomas09 · 03-11-2009 2:05pm

imeddyhobbs wrote: »

Thats a long story

I had to bring back the turbo today,i ordered it by phone and i had it sent by courier when i paid for it.I was driving around ballymount for an hour today looking for api(assured performance ireland)my phone was dead and the diesel light was on.When i found it they charged me a 10% handling fee plus the shipping so thats another €100.On my way back to work the car ran out of fuel on the hill into lucan village,i rolled the car into a parking space and went to get diesel,when i came back there was a parking ticket on the car for €40.

All in all about €2400

i think you should do the lotto tomorrow night.your luck is bound to change.

MPB · 03-11-2009 2:10pm

kbannon wrote: »

The SIMI are a lobby group for the industry and are not there for the benefit of the customer! Phoning them about a bad experience in a dealership is a waste of time and money!

http://www.simi.ie/utilities/about_us.aspx

Code of Ethics

Recognising the responsibility of every organisation/company to maintain high standards of business ethics and integrity, as members in good standing of The Society of the Irish Motor Industry.

We subscribe to the following principles and pledge to:

Operate our business in accordance with the highest standards of ethical conduct.
Meet our customers' needs in a professional manner.
Advertise our products in a positive, factual and informative manner.
Provide knowledgeable and trained personnel to ensure efficient quality customer service.
Upon request, provide written estimates of and details of service to be performed.
Resolve misunderstandings in a prompt and courteous manner, through, if appropriate, the SIMI Standards Tribunal.
We accept these principles and pledge this organisation to abide by them.

The code of ethics clearly outlines what the SIMI stand for and what everyone should experience in any SIMI approved garage. Failing to abide by these code of ethics means the garage is not conforming to SIMI policies and the SIMI should be made aware of such inconsistencies. Too many people shut up and put up in this country. If you say nothing nothing gets changed.

MPB · 03-11-2009 2:16pm

And heres the SIMI Customer Guidelines on the Operation of the Consumer Complaints Service

http://www.simi.ie/consumer_information/SIMI_standards.aspx

The Society of the Irish Motor Industry

1. Before you lodge your complaint with SIMI you should contact the senior management of the company concerned in this complaint, either in person, by telephone or by post.

2. The Consumer Complaints Service deal with complaints relating to a) the purchase of used vehicles from retail member companies and b) the service or repair of vehicles by retail member companies except those subject to a manufacture’s warranty claim.

3. A complaint must be referred to the Society within 3 months from the date the cause of the complaint first manifested itself.

4. Details of the complaint must be made in writing to the Society and accompanied by relevant supporting documents.

5. A complaint which is in legal hands or which is the subject of legal proceedings falls outside the scope of the Society’s Consumer Complaints Service.

6. The Society’s Consumer Complaints Service mediates in disputes between member companies and their customers and may request the SIMI Retail Motor Industry Standards Tribunal to recommend a settlement to the Company.

7. The SIMI Retail Motor Industry Standards Tribunal is chaired by an independent Arbitrator and includes representatives of the motor industry and a leading Consumer Advicate.

Seth Brundle · 03-11-2009 2:51pm

hmm, maybe then SIMI are customer focused, hence why they are so concerned about issues within the trade such as clocking. :rolleyes:
Believe what you want but if it were me, I would not waste the effort in contacting the SIMI!

MPB · 03-11-2009 2:57pm

But its like I said earlier. If these matters dont get reported to them then the offending dealers continue to wear the SIMI badge and nothing becomes of it. I could name dealers that have had their SIMI membership revoked for different issues but am not going to. Same dealers were prosecuted through the courts and got what they deserved. No room for cowboys in any business.

gofaster_s13 · 03-11-2009 3:19pm

SIMI is run by the garages for the garages ringing them would just be the price of a phone call wasted, the Citroen garages that were convicted of price fixing are still SIMI members:rolleyes:

Number Nine · 03-11-2009 5:09pm

What year and mileage are these A4 2.0TDI giving trouble at ?

brandon_flowers · 03-11-2009 5:22pm

Number Nine wrote: »

What year and mileage are these A4 2.0TDI giving trouble at ?

2005 B7 with a BLB engine code, usually a UK import. Most trouble is from 75000 miles up.

-Chris- · 10-11-2009 3:09pm

What ever happened with this OP?

galwaytt · 10-11-2009 11:15pm

voxpop wrote: »

Eh do diesels have a throttle body ? It should be direct injection.

The EGR valve just recycles waste exhaust gases back into the combustion chamber to be re-burnt. This is the reduce emissions. If it was broken (somehow - btw its operated by a vacuum) it would just stay shut. You shouldnt have any problems with it staying shut unless the computer in the car complains- then your car would go into limp mode - plus would be easy to spot with diagnostics.

Not all diesels are direct injection. As for the EGR, depends on the design of the valve. Renault(Nissan) dCi valves can be poppet type, and the heads have been known to shear off and get sucked into the inlets..........wannaguess what an ingested piece of metal the size of a € does to a running engine..........??

And as for the 'easy to spot with diagnostics'...?....have you ever owned a Bill-Gates-Powered computer ?? ......exactly..........I wouldnt believe a word it says, either.......

imeddyhobbs · 11-11-2009 12:51am

-Chris- wrote: »

What ever happened with this OP?

Well i was quite annoyed about the labour cost and the fact that they told me that i needed a new turbo(which i ordered and cost me €100 to return)and giving me back my car without the engine cover.When i went over to the garage(in my company car) to pick up the cover i had a chat with the service manager about the high cost of the labour but he wasn't budging.My girlfriend drives the car and she lives in Wexford,I put the cover on the engine when i was down there on Thursday last and it was only then that i noticed that there was something else missing,there is a vent on the left hand side of the engine that goes to the radiator,that also had not been replaced.I called them again on Friday and told them to have the part fitted to the car in Wexford as i was not going back to the garage again,they sent someone down from Portarlington to New Ross to fit it.

mickdw · 11-11-2009 1:18am

imeddyhobbs wrote: »

Well i was quite annoyed about the labour cost and the fact that they told me that i needed a new turbo(which i ordered and cost me €100 to return)and giving me back my car without the engine cover.When i went over to the garage(in my company car) to pick up the cover i had a chat with the service manager about the high cost of the labour but he wasn't budging.My girlfriend drives the car and she lives in Wexford,I put the cover on the engine when i was down there on Thursday last and it was only then that i noticed that there was something else missing,there is a vent on the left hand side of the engine that goes to the radiator,that also had not been replaced.I called them again on Friday and told them to have the part fitted to the car in Wexford as i was not going back to the garage again,they sent someone down from Portarlington to New Ross to fit it.

This is all shocking stuff. Sounds like there are still bits of cars thrown around the workshop there. What were they upto?

What if the garage cant fix your Audi

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