McGrath Audi of Glenview, IL
#1
11-23-2009, 02:07 AM
McGrath Audi of Glenview, IL
First off, I should admit that I'm not very experienced with dealerships... I've had an RX-7 as my only car for a long time and anything that I couldn't do myself my buddies would do at their shop for like cut-rate prices. However, the day after I bought my '02 A4 1.8T, the CEL clicked on while my girl was driving the car (figures...). Anyway, the thing had blown a vacuum hose and since that's pretty complicated work for me AND since the engine bay of these cars are sorta intimidating, I brought it into McGrath Audi.
So, first thing I took them up on was the comprehensive analysis of the car... which obviously is the best way to make money off of obsessive and uneducated drivers. It turned out the thing had a few more problems than I'd noticed, but nothing too major. Of course to the staff every problem was the absolute end of the world, like slightly warped rotors (which I later inspected myself, and drove on for a few months), leaking engine mounts (I don't know what he meant by this) and leaking washer fluid piping.
McGrath seems to cater to snobby dumb people who buy Audis strictly for the badge, and the way the service staff tries to sell you on different things makes this obvious. Every tiny mechanical problem is the end of the world, and as the service guys are quick to remind you, if you don't like the price, you shouldn't have bought an Audi, because "they're high end luxury cars", as one guy (Alan?) told me. Now I obviously don't disagree with their supposed status and such, but you have to understand, the price inflation comes from McGrath's hourly rates. There was a discrepancy of several hundred dollars when I phoned both McGrath and a local place with an experienced Audi mechanic about replacing my clutch (previous owner was a woman, live and learn).
Oh, and one last bit - when I brought it in for all of that stuff the first time, I left a pair of turn signal bulbs on the seat for them to install. I was looking in the wrong spot apparently for the wiring (how? I'm used to early-90s Japanese engine bays, gimme a break :P) and couldn't find it. When Alan saw the bulbs I picked up at Autozone, he goes "Okay, we can try, but these aftermarket parts tend to be problematic". What a jackass.
So, in short, the stereotypes of dealerships all pretty much ring true at McGrath. At least with my experience, anyway. Tread carefully.
So, first thing I took them up on was the comprehensive analysis of the car... which obviously is the best way to make money off of obsessive and uneducated drivers. It turned out the thing had a few more problems than I'd noticed, but nothing too major. Of course to the staff every problem was the absolute end of the world, like slightly warped rotors (which I later inspected myself, and drove on for a few months), leaking engine mounts (I don't know what he meant by this) and leaking washer fluid piping.
McGrath seems to cater to snobby dumb people who buy Audis strictly for the badge, and the way the service staff tries to sell you on different things makes this obvious. Every tiny mechanical problem is the end of the world, and as the service guys are quick to remind you, if you don't like the price, you shouldn't have bought an Audi, because "they're high end luxury cars", as one guy (Alan?) told me. Now I obviously don't disagree with their supposed status and such, but you have to understand, the price inflation comes from McGrath's hourly rates. There was a discrepancy of several hundred dollars when I phoned both McGrath and a local place with an experienced Audi mechanic about replacing my clutch (previous owner was a woman, live and learn).
Oh, and one last bit - when I brought it in for all of that stuff the first time, I left a pair of turn signal bulbs on the seat for them to install. I was looking in the wrong spot apparently for the wiring (how? I'm used to early-90s Japanese engine bays, gimme a break :P) and couldn't find it. When Alan saw the bulbs I picked up at Autozone, he goes "Okay, we can try, but these aftermarket parts tend to be problematic". What a jackass.
So, in short, the stereotypes of dealerships all pretty much ring true at McGrath. At least with my experience, anyway. Tread carefully.
Last edited by careet; 11-25-2009 at 02:23 AM.
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