Ok, here's the scoop. Last Saturday (10-15-2011), I bought a used 2006 Audi A4 with 65,228 miles in the state of Florida. Before I took purchase of the car, I inspected the car, noticed a few things such as a latch was broken and coolant level was a little below the min line (the fluid in the reservoir was pink). I told the sales rep about these issues and he made a note to have it addressed before I took ownership of the car. During the sales process, I was notified that the latch parts would have to be ordered and that they would call me when they arrived.

After the sale, I drove it around some that night, filled up the gas tank with premium fuel (93 octane I believe), and did not drive it Sunday. On the way to work on Monday, the notification came up on the central display that said "SERVICE!". The center display was as bright as all of the other display panels. I checked the oil change sticker and was about 2000 miles before needing service. I made a note of it and told myself that I would check it on Tuesday during lunch time, since that would be the first time I could get it addressed. On the way to work Tuesday morning, the Check Engine Light came on, but was not blinking. At lunch time, I drove the car over to the place I bought it, and took it to the service center. Before I left, I decided to double-check the coolant level and fuel gauge. I saw that the coolant level was still below the min level and asked them to address it. The fuel gauge showed 3/4s of a tank. The odometer read 65,372 miles.

I checked in on a daily basis to see what the status was. On Wednesday, they told me they took the car over to an Audi dealer to have it checked out. On Thursday I was told that before the car was listed for sale, there was a repair performed that was not done correctly, and now there was something wrong with the cooling fans and that's why the check engine light came on. The person would never say exactly what the issue was. He did, however, say that the car was at the place that serviced it before they put the car up for sale to be correctly repaired.

I get a phone call Friday around 4:30pm saying my car had not yet returned to the dealership, but that it was repaired and should be available to pick up that evening or the next day. Today (Saturday, 10-22-2011), I go and pick up the car, assuming all the work has been done, and take the car off the lot. As I'm driving, I notice the car has been driven 103 miles (odometer reading 65,475), the fuel gauge showed 1/2 tank, the center display (that had the "SERVICE!" message originally) is fading in and out, and with some areas on the center panel darker than others to the point that it's almost unreadable. I immediately head back to the dealership's service center (the total amount I drove the car after this servicing was about 1 mile and I was off the lot for less than 5 minutes). I also decide to check the coolant level and it still had not been addressed.

I bring all of this up to the person I that had been talking to all week. He drives the car into the service bay, grabs a blue bottle of something (all I saw on the bottle was the numbers 10 503 printed in white in the lower left hand corner on a black label), pops the hood, and begins pouring this "something" into the coolant reservoir until it's sitting at the max line. He was blocking my view, so I could not see the color of the liquid he poured into the reservoir. The color of the liquid in the reservoir did not seem to change any. He hands me the keys over to me and dismisses me. I felt really uneasy about the situation as I'm heading home. I call my father (who has been a mechanic for 25 years) during the drive and he says to take the car back to the place I bought it and hand them the keys and tell them to take it back because this is going to cause me a ton of problems. I head back over there (at this point, I've driven the car a total of 8 miles since they handed the keys over to me the first time before I saw the new issues), and talk to the assistant service manager and the assistant sales manager because I do not feel comfortable with this car or the service that has been performed on the car thus far by the service station. I asked them where they had the car serviced, why was it driven over 100 miles, and why wasn't the fuel they used replaced. They could not tell me where they took to have the car serviced, they said that the reason it was driven so much was because they needed to test drive the car after repairs, and they filled my tank up to replace the gas they used. I asked the person taking the car for the refuel to put premium fuel in it (like I had put in the car) and he assured me he would.

I was not charged for any of this, by the way. Should I have been notified that my car was going to be driven this much? Is it normal to drive the car that much? Is my uneasiness justified? What should I do? Should I just drop it and get it serviced somewhere else?

EDIT: No longer considering to return the car.

 

Wilkommmen to the forums


it is normal to "test drive" the car following service. (100 miles seems excessive but what do i know)

G12 coolant is supposed to be pink

SERVICE in the display is probably just a service interval reminder. it can be set with a computer for a specific mileage interval or just turned off.

fading in the display is a fairly regular occurance, it is one of those things that just happens.

did you purchase this car at the Audi dealership? is it CPO? does it seem to you that the dealership is trying to work with you and make you happy or does it seem like they are trying to "pull one over" on you? is there anything else about the car that has you concerned?

be sure to spend some time here on the forums and read up on the kinds of issues you may/will have to look forward to in regards to repair and maintenance. if it is something you are comfortable with, keep the car. if not, maybe it is in your best interest to keep trying to return the car.

good luck

 

Now that I've "cooled down" a bit, I'm not considering returning the car and think that returning the car is a bit extreme. I've looked around these forums and others for a while before deciding on getting the car and I'm okay with the maintenance.

It is not a CPO. The dealership (not an Audi Dealership) consists of three dealerships working together (one used car dealerships, a new-car Suzuki and a new-car Mitsubishi). The used car dealership (who I bought the car from) is not entirely willing to work with me because the car is sold As-Is and Florida does not have a "Cooling Off" period, but the service center is willing to work with me. One of the big things that made me want to take the car back is all of the little things that the dealership and service center missed, even when I brought them up multiple times. There were multiple points during all aspects of the sale that I had to correct them on which has left me uneasy about the situation. The people at the dealership (except the sales rep I worked with) were being pushy and seemed like they just wanted me out of there ASAP.

The display faded almost entirely out this morning, but it came back and is as bright as the other panels now, except the upper left-hand corner is faded. Some of the areas of the display are flickering. It seems like there isn't a steady stream of power.

On the coolant front, the only thing I found that was in a blue bottle similar to what I saw was Peak Long Life antifreeze. Is this safe to mix with the pink coolant already in the car?

I also started hearing irregular clicking when I was turning and I read that it could be a CV joint. How much do these cost to replace?

Thanks for hearing me out. I just want to make sure the car is going to a worthwhile investment.

 

non-Audi dealership explains a lot. bought my car from a Ford dealership. had several issues they were pretty clueless about. took it to my indy guy and he pretty much told me it wasn't worth his time to try to educate himself on it (holy **** an honest mechanic). took it to the service department at the stealership where they were very straight with me about what issues I was/would be dealing with. couldn't afford dealership labor rates to fix even the small stuff.

came to this, and other, forums. started to educate myself. DIYed everything since. hasn't necessarily been easy but I've been able to take care of everything so far. short answer if you can't afford the stealership, either find an indy shop Audi specialist or learn to DIY. there are some good write ups around for diagnosing and repairing the CV joints. it can be done relatively inexpensively depending on the exact repair that is needed (inner, outer, tie rods)

did you mention earlier that your Dad is a mechanic?

 

Yeah, my father is a mechanic, but he lives in another state. I have no problem DIYing things, except that I live in an apartment complex and wouldn't be able to work on the car here.

 

don't underestimate what you can accomplish in the apartment complex parking lot. we have a couple of members here who have similar living situations and seem to manage OK.

good luck getting everything sorted