Are Audi dealerships the most bland around?

goochy · 05-12-2014 01:37PM #1

i have to say that i am not a fan of audi, i think they are glorified vws, bland and that audi dont bother investing in technology to make their cars handle and ride as well as bmw and merc.

however even so ,as someone with a keen interest in the motor trade i was happy to hear of plans for standalone audi dealerships around the country when it was anounced several years ago..

however while dealers have invested several million in premises , i dont see how anyone could be inclined to buy an audi based on the bland , grey and souless showrooms they operate from.

bmw showrooms are bright and inviting and while there are few standalone mercedes showrooms here, their showrooms tend to be nice enough.audi showrooms however are even more bland than their cars.

many years ago my dad had a 1989 audi 80 automatic, it had lovely velour seats and was built like a bank vault, i loved that car. however i heard that after that model they brought in cost cutting measures and cars were not as well built since .

it seems audi sells mostly on image unlike other premium brands who rely on more than this to sell cars

The12thMan · 05-12-2014 02:42PM

"audi dont bother investing in technology to make their cars handle and ride as well as bmw and merc"

now i know you don't know what you are on about....

coylemj · 05-12-2014 02:45PM

The standalone Audi showrooms were designed centrally because I've seen some of them in the UK and they look the same. Ironically the first dedicated Audi showroom in the country was the Grange Motors place near Deansgrange Cross which is now a Hyundai showroom after Audi decided to remove the franchise from MSL and give the southside (of Dublin) franchise to the place on Pembroke Road in the old Texaco building.

Comhrá · 05-12-2014 03:45PM

however while dealers have invested several million in premises , i dont see how anyone could be inclined to buy an Audi based on the bland , grey and souless showrooms they operate from.

I'd imagine most people who decide to buy an Audi (myself included) won't base their decision on the colour of the showroom or the amount of bling around.

I bought my new Audi from a main VW dealer.

Voodoomelon · 05-12-2014 04:23PM

Plenty of BMW dealerships I've been in are grey, dull and boring. But I don't see why anyone would buy a car based on a showroom, I don't think anyone does.

bazz26 · 05-12-2014 04:25PM

The fancy tea/coffee is more important than the colour of the walls. :pac:

jimgoose · 05-12-2014 04:28PM

bazz26 wrote: »

The fancy tea/coffee is more important than the colour of the walls. :pac:

Drinkable coffee is certainly well up there in the list of essentials, but you'll find what really distinguishes the dealership of note for the discerning gentry from the IKEA-esque oversized shed full of the mewling, shaven-headed lumpenproletariat is those little individually-wrapped coffee biscuits.

porsche959 · 05-12-2014 04:31PM

I'm with the O.P. 100% but the public seem to love Audis. They can't get enough of the bland. Audi could literally bring out a car badged 1.6tDi Blandmobile and it would sell like hotcakes.

Danjamin1 · 05-12-2014 04:39PM

I have to disagree, I bought an Audi after test driving a BMW & Mercedes before it and I thought the Audi had a lot more personality. It was as nice to drive as the other two but felt more responsive. All three brands look great, I particularly like Mercedes recent facelift but the Audi swings it for me. Audi Dealership had more to it as well, followed by BMW with Mercedes bringing up the rear.

renofan · 05-12-2014 04:43PM

I pass Audi Naas (Sheehy Motors) everyday and would not call their place bland. Or most of the cars there.

draiochtanois · 05-12-2014 04:44PM

This post has been deleted.

mfceiling · 05-12-2014 04:49PM

Not really that bland...

Anjobe · 05-12-2014 04:57PM

mfceiling wrote: »

Not really that bland...

An RS4 is not quite a typical Audi though, is it?

draiochtanois · 05-12-2014 05:03PM

This post has been deleted.

Anjobe · 05-12-2014 05:12PM

draiochtanois wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Don't think Fiat and Ferrari share too many components...

Gazzmonkey · 05-12-2014 09:11PM

@ OP

All you managed to do is make yourself sound jealous.

You welcome to your begrudgery but do you really need to take time out of your life to share it with others?

Better to be thought a fool etc etc...

wildefalcon · 05-12-2014 09:18PM

All the same, those Audi A6 estates look fairly awkward at the back, almost like they've a second bumper over the first.

Do the diesels still consume oil between services?

I DO like the look of the A4 estate, though.

MuppetCheck · 05-12-2014 09:18PM

Gazzmonkey wrote: »

@ OP

All you managed to do is make yourself sound jealous.

You welcome to your begrudgery but do you really need to take time out of your life to share it with others?

Better to be thought a fool etc etc...

He's either selling a brand down the pecking order at VAG HQ, or is jealous of one of the brands down the pecking order stealing sales from him. Look at previous posts.

John_Rambo · 05-12-2014 09:21PM

Come on. The latest batch of bank manager saloon audis are pretty unimaginative and bland... Nothing like their eighties cars. The styling was innovative and we had cool things like quatro and the logo matched the car!

They were groundbreaking, clever and different then. They're simply a status symbol now. (Edit FOR SOME PEOPLE)

It's a pity they're not all 4wd, something to set them apart from the gang, like Suburu. But European!

John_Rambo · 05-12-2014 09:37PM

Jaysus, am I an old fart reminiscing about the old days or what?

mags1962 · 05-12-2014 10:04PM

Audi are no different to any other premium brand in that they do market and sell their fair share of Paddy spec cars but that is just catering to the market to move units and the Irish seem to aspire to own a premium brand even if it does have the most basic of spec.
A well spec'd Audi is the equal of and in many cases better than it's peers IMHO.
Anyone fancy one of those boring RS Audi's or how about that dog handling R8?

:)

MuppetCheck · 05-12-2014 10:37PM

Looking at a car there recently for the gf, nice coffee, comfy waiting area, man toys to play with - TV screen configurator...good for a game of how high can you go.

Sobanek · 05-12-2014 10:44PM

renofan wrote: »

I pass Audi Naas (Sheehy Motors) everyday and would not call their place bland. Or most of the cars there.

Conlans is nicer :P

Celly Smunt · 05-12-2014 10:46PM

I just don't get audi's. They drive vanilla,look vanilla,feel vanilla and cost a bomb.

Seems you stick a German flag on anything these days and it will sell.

I just hope the office workers association of Ireland never find what alfa's or volvo's offer.

MuppetCheck · 05-12-2014 11:04PM

What do Alfa offer these days? Old tech, ugly cars. Take the A1 - it's a nice car by any standard but expensive. So too is a Mito but that's based on a close on ten year old punto. And feels it.

Agree with Volvo but Alfa have lost it completely all across Europe.

Veloce · 05-12-2014 11:19PM

mags1962 wrote: »

Anyone fancy one of those boring RS Audi's
:)

You mean those RS4 1.9 TDi yokes?

On a serious note - how many new RS models are in Irish showrooms? Not a lot I'd imagine.

discombobulate · 05-12-2014 11:23PM

MuppetCheck wrote: »

What do Alfa offer these days? Old tech, ugly cars. Take the A1 - it's a nice car by any standard but expensive. So too is a Mito but that's based on a close on ten year old punto. And feels it.

Agree with Volvo but Alfa have lost it completely all across Europe.

Not sure where your getting the ugly cars from re Alfas. Can't disagree on the lineup being a bit of a shambles currently though. Plans in place to apparently launch 8 new models between Q4 2015 and 2018 but i'll believe it when I see it. Such a shame. Have a 159 ti myself and will liekely have to move away from Alfas after it due to a lack of new larger models

mags1962 · 05-12-2014 11:28PM

Not many dealers will take a punt on an expensive car that can be customised to suit an individual in so many ways. I'm sure that the spec would not suit the person to the exact detail that they wanted considering the €'s being spent.
Bland and vanilla are not the adjectives to be used for a decent spec Audi.

MuppetCheck · 05-12-2014 11:37PM

discombobulate wrote: »

Not sure where your getting the ugly cars from re Alfas. Can't disagree on the lineup being a bit of a shambles currently though. Plans in place to apparently launch 8 new models between Q4 2015 and 2018 but i'll believe it when I see it. Such a shame. Have a 159 ti myself and will liekely have to move away from Alfas after it due to a lack of new larger models

There has always been plans. Most never materialised though. The Mito and Guilietta (the offerings of today) aren't good looking cars. They have good points, but the new face is one only a mother could love. Certainly not a patch on the 156 or 159. I'd like to think they will do it this time, don't get me wrong, but I also get the feeling it will be a car the bean counters got to with a few nice details.

It's a pity someone like yourself who has bought one is being caught out when they want a change, they're not retaining customers and losing brand value as a result.

I'm not having a go at the brand at all - I'm just stating the facts and can't understand how they couldn't make a go on it to fill a niche of slightly outside the box options. I'm just disappointed that a company with the backing that they have can't sort themselves out.

lomb · 06-12-2014 10:11AM

Audi dealerships are lurvley with the swooping curves , lighting and hi tech chain trim over the building. The cars not so much these days except a few models. Any Quattro is going to be good. Fwd Audis are a pointless exercise.

Bitten & Hisses · 09-12-2014 11:56PM

The new "improved" Audi dealer network is the reason we switched to BMW after 10 years and 4 repeat purchases. I love the cars, I think the product is spot on (excluding the aberration that is the Q3) but the dealer experience is a major turnoff.
If you live in the south west or north west, Audi clearly don't want your business unless you're willing to drive long distances for the privilege. This approach was confirmed by removing the franchise from some perfectly fit for purpose dealerships and improving the experience so much that you now had to travel an additional 40 miles to worship at the church of Audi. They also appear to think that the pinnacle of service is repeatedly offering coffee and washing your car after it's had work done! It sometimes felt like Mrs Doyle was serving us!

Are Audi dealerships the most bland around?

Comments