Just found out today that my local Audi dealer is going to be a certified installer of APR and Neuspeed aftermarket products. They have not yet come out with a price schedule, but will soon.

I have not done any mods on my A4 yet, but plan to. I'm not confident enough in my own technical skills to do anything performance related (other than minor installations) on my own. Because of that, I was going to have to find someone to do them for me.

What are your thoughts on having the mods done by a dealer?

As long as the price is somewhat in line, should I choose them over an independent installer?

Should I be concerned about the dealership knowing that aftermarket mods have been done that could void the warranty (even if it's the dealership that did them)?

Would there be any advantages to having them done at a dealer other than not having to deal with the hassle of possibly travelling large distances to have mods done and having to be without a vehicle for a period of time?

Anyone else ever had aftermarket mods done by a dealer?

Just interested in your thoughts.

 

My thoughts are...

The cost of the chip itself cant be more than APR's because APR wouldnt allow that, so thats good... but why pay $95/hour for labor to have it installed at the dealer when any other tuning shop will do it for about $25 less? Even if there isnt a tuning shop nearby, APR offers free shipping. I supose if every Audi dealer was an APR tuner, it would be convenient for those that dont wish to remove their ecu and go a few days without being able to drive their car.

 

I had my dealer install my BOV.

 

Is the ECU upgrade a very difficult thing to do? I am very strong when it comes to computers, so if it's mostly computer work, I believe that I can handle it.

And what about having to go a few days without driving? I was under the assumption that the upgrade was a fairly short process. Am I wrong?

 

for your car, they hook up a cable and flash load your car, you CANNOT do this yourself.

the only time you would have downtime with your car is if you had to mail your ECU out beacuse you did not have an APR dealer near by.

 

OK ... that takes care of the question of who should do the installation. I did a locate on GOAPR.com and the only APR installer within 75 miles is my local Audi dealer.

 

If you dont have a nearby tuner that you can drive to to have the chip done, you have to take your ecu out and ship it to have it done. Then they ship it back to you with the new chip inside.

 

If the price difference is large enough between the dealer in my hometown and the independent installer 75 miles away ... it would be worth the drive and I wouldn't mind. I don't have any other options for a vehicle ... I need mine every day.

 

couldnt he buy an ecu off the classifieds w/ the software? save some money and keep your ecu as a backup?

EDIT: oh wait 2006... probly not.

 

Do people sell ecu's already chipped?

Side note: I thought it was funny that when I asked the service manager about the voiding of the warranty and doing warranty work, he described to me how to reset the ecu with the factory settings. He said, "Then the dealer won't know. Of course, we'll know. --wink, wink--"