For the review, do you have a receipt of any kind saying what they were suppose to look over or what they noticed was wrong?
Does it say that what they find will be fixed at no cost to you?
I would look over this first, if it clearly states the above, personally, I'd fight until I got results!
Also don't go easy on them, tell them about the starter and clutch. It just proves they are more at fault!
How long have you had the car for?
Is there anyway to prove that they might of slightly fixed the issues just so you would purchase the car?

Best of luck! Keep us posted!

 

I bought the car in november from a private party under the condition that the automoblie has minimal problems. I agree'd with the selling party that I would take the car to the DEALERSHIP and have the car reviewed as the car had a check engine light.


I called the dealer and mentioned that the check engine light was on, and that I would need the car looked over. If the car checked out I would purchase the car from the private party NOT the dealer mind you.

The dealers ONLY job was to review the car.

They found a bad MAF sensor (I paid for them to replace it), other than that they gave it a clean bill of health.

When I bought the car, the steering was off a little bit, seller stated that the alinement was off...in my book its a $50 fix...not a big deal. (The dealer didn't even mention the alignment was off).

--From what im reading, a steering wheel that does not center correctly is a 100% sign that something is off in the suspention. And should have been 100% noticeable by a mechanic--

With in a 3 week period I brought the car to tires plus to have them put a new back tire on the car because I was seeing tread. At that point I also paid them to algin the car..they basically came out and looked at me like I was in deep ****, they said they couldn't even align it..and that I should take it to the dealer and the dealer only. At that point I called the dealer for an alignment, 6 days later I was able to get it into there body shop. They then at that point told me the rear axle was bent and that its going to be $1600 to fix the damange parts and labor. (Also, the main reason I went to get the tire changed is because my mechanic friend was driving behind me at one point and said the car looks like its driving kinda sideways....said i needed an alignment asap)

That is the main issue.

Now for the rest.

The starter.

When I bought the car I heard a slight sqweel when I started the car....I assumed it was a belt or something...well it has progressively gotten louder over time. I had a mechanic friend simply sit in the car and listen to it...with in 5 seconds he looked straight at me and told me the starter was going out. Mind you it had already been to the dealer. He then explained to me how in this car it uses the fly wheel to engauge and start the car...and how the starter could possibly damnage the flywheel if not replaced.

Again the dealership made NO mention of this.


The clutch.

From the day I got the car....it has had a slight lag in juice..and the rpms have always moved just a little bit funny. I simply assumed it was turbo lag (I've never owned a turbo car before, or ever really had an issue with a slipping clutch) ....This problem has sense engauged to a higher level...becoming more and more noticeable.



I'm willing to take credit for the slipping clutch because honestly I am a harder driver, but nothing that should have blown the clutch....but since I do drive hard...im not going to raz them over it...however I do believe a person who went to school for automotive repair should notice something this simple.



Again these are wear and tear items....but other than the starter are major costs to me, and I would have never boughten the car. At the time I could have bought several other Audi TT's for a difference of $500 - $1500 on ebay with other features (Quattro ...etc)


Im just disappointed that people who went to school for this sorta stuff...didn't notice them...when my friend who simply works on cars for fun....noticed these things just by sitting/watching the car.

 

I think I should mention if the service department in question missed all these obvious problems do you really want them wrenching on your car? General practice would be a mechanic nitpicking every single thing he can find wrong with your ride to up his labor hours and ultimately his paycheck. When my techs get a car and start finding stuff they get nothing but dollar signs in thier eyes. They have no problems writing huge estimates with every single problem they can locate and let the customer decide what work he/she wants and doesnt want. Beleive it or not Audi is a stickler for perfection, they want every car with thier emblem to be in the best possible shape after it leaves thier service care. Thats the reason for the surveys and such.

You can tell the Service manager that whatever tech reviewed your car was grossly neglegent. Play up the bent axle as a severe safety issue. The clutch is a wear and tear part so you arent going to have alot of luck pushing that issue. Tell the service manager you explicitly want a DIFFERENT tech working on your car and preferrably the shop foreman as he will be the most experienced and qualified technician in the shop. If everything goes how it should go, whoever let all those issues slide the first time through will be backflagged for those hours (he will have his money taken away for his supposed work) and the job will be done properly and paid accordingly to the new technician.

Dont jump right on the regional chain of command, then they will know you are just trying to force some free work. Trust me, the service manager is plenty afraid of the GM, if youve already been talking to the GM then therehas probably already been serious discussion as to how to keep you as a happy customer. These guys dont like to lose the limited business they generate.

You really have no grounds for them fixing things for free, but you might be able to pull some healthy discounts from thier mistakes. Make sure you get a rental car or service loaner (should be a brand new A4 or something similar) at no cost to you while the work is being performed. Tell them you are considering purchasing an extended warranty or CPO certification but are seriously doubting the reliability of thier service department. They may try to go above and beyond to keep you as those items generate healthy revenue for the dealership.

Audis arent cheap to fix and all you really have to do is dangle all the potential money that they have to lose, if you take your business somewhere else, in thier face. Regardless, considering the circumstances you would be well served to have whatever work they perform checked out by another shop after the fact, and make sure they know you are doing this and why. Make it apparant they have damaged your trust and will have to work hard to regain it.

Hope some of that helps. Like I said you probably wont get much for free, but you may get some good discounts and you will definitely get the best service they have to give you. What we call the 'complimentary reach-around' for when one of the techs screws up and the service writers and managers have to deal with an irate customer. It would still be in your best interest to prepare for the shock of a good sized repair bill, no matter what the outcome is. Even with discounts (if you get any), it still adds up fast and the services you need are not cheap by any means.

Good luck.

 

Also, you may want to try discussing these problems with the previous owner one more time. If the car was sold to you with the pretense of 'minor problems' and you run into a repair bill of several thousand dollars right off the bat you might scare him with threats of action under misrepresentaion. See if he is willing to work with you and at least make a contribution to getting the car back into good working order. Offer a fair compromise and see if he bites. Or talk to a lawyer and have him make the phone call and see if the guy still sticks to his 'its your problem now' guns.

If all else fails you MAY have grounds for some legal recourse in some direction. It never hurts to consider all options. Worse case you could take him to court for a full refund in exchange for the car and go get another TT (or whatever you prefer) in better condition. Work every angle you can think of.

 

So hows it working out for you?

 

I called them this morning, they said they would call me back by this afternoon.... they have yet to....so if i dont hear from them by noon tomorrow...I think I might head in and make a stink in person.


if they refuse to fix it ....or take blame....i'll see if they'll atleast take it as a trade for what I paid for it....and i'll take the trade and sell it..... and use the money to buy a new tt.

*I cant sell a car in this condition to someone*

 

Good luck, keep us posted on what happens.

 

They refuse to do anything.

 

Probably because it wasn't their job to fix it in the first place... That sucks man!
Did you find out about the trade in?

 

They said when I paid them to look at the car they didn't do an inspection, they simply said we only checked the check engine light and airbags as requested.

I freaking pointed out to them that needed to be looked at, and i wanted the car checked out.