Yesterday my dad and I flew from Omaha, NE to Houston, TX and then this morning we picked up my dad’s 2005 A8L with only 22,000 miles on it and started to drive home to Lincoln, NE. Before purchasing the car had been to an Audi Dealer in Houston to be checked over top and bottom. It passed everything beautify. Before getting out of the dealer at purchase, the automatic trunk would not stay latched. This problem was supposed to be fixed before the car was purchased. Once out on the freeway we noticed that the check engine light had came on. We need fuel so we pulled over and got some fuel and made sure the gas cap was on tightly and that the tires were inflated and that the caps under the hood were tight. The light was still on and with 880 miles left to travel, we called Audi roadside assistance. They said that the car needed service and that it was ok to drive it as long as the light stayed solid. This was all with in the first hour of travel time. Skip ahead about 550 miles and several hours of peaceful and uneventful driving the check engine light began to blink. The car lost power and began to run very roughly. As soon as possible, we pulled off the interstate and found a hotel.

Audi Service so far is fantastic. Audi’s 24 hour roadside assistance program is towing the car on flatbed truck to Topeka, KS to the closest Audi dealer tonight at 11pm on a Saturday. The car will not be serviced until Monday. While at service, they will fix the engine and trunk and then they will deliver the car to my doorstep in Lincoln when it’s fixed. They are also paying for a rental car so my dad and I can get back home tomorrow morning. As well as a the hotel for the night.

The tow truck driver was extremely happy to get up out of bed and get payed at least double overtime to drive the A8L to Topeka, KS at 11pm. It was about a 2-3 hour drive. He was glad to help us out.



Therefore, after a long day of driving I can conclude that this car is clearly a piece of classic German engineering. You know this is the case when you’re in a small town in Oklahoma and while your eating supper people look at the car going around back to look what it is or while people are taking a smoke break they trace the cars body lines with their hands. It’s a real head turner. A great looking car works well for the most part. The DVD navigation is fantastic. It guided us through Houston, Dallas, and every other town with 100% accuracy. Now if it only had an engine that worked well.

Sunday

After catching a cab to the airport to pick up the rental car we discovered that the largest available car to rent in Wichita, KS was either a Ford Taurus which my father refused to rent or a Toyota Camry. We chose the Camry. It was fine and got us home. Along the way we had a fantastic Sunday lunch with appetizers, drinks, and dessert all complements of Audi. I will write another post when the cause of the problem is determined.

Here are some other images of the car as of Saturday night.





My question to all of you experienced Audi dealers is Should I expect more of this in the future or have I just had bad luck on my first day of Audi ownership?

 

So how has your experience been since this incident?