Need to vent!
Tuesday 6/13/06 driving home and my car starts making a funny noise followed by slipping out of gear.
I get off the freeway and park it at the gas station and discover it's got a bad tranny leak! (Icing on the cake... rt/rr tire going flat)
Get it towed to the local shop that does the maintenance on my wife's Toyota truck that night because they are within the free 7 miles tow radius I get with AAA. If I were to pony up $50 I could have gotten the car towed to Beach House Imports. That's where my Audi certified Tech works on my A4.

Wednesday 6/14/06 go to the shop to check the car in and describe the symptoms "made noise, slipped out of gear, leaking tranny fluid".

Thursday 6/15/06 shop calls me and said the tranny is fine there was a leaking seal on the water pump dripping down on the bell but no tranny fluid and I need a new pump/seals. (FYI I had that done 07/04 by my Audi tech) I also picked up two new tires because I can just have one and had them replace a temperamental thermostat. I inconvenience a friend for a ride to pick it up that day and pay my $1,200. As I'm about to pay the tech runs in and says "the tranny is leaking!" HMMM... I guess the car is not going anywhere.

Friday 6/16/06 I get a call from the shop. It's a tranny seal and they can't just buy one they have to buy a whole $380 kit and $580 labor.
I ask them if they can get it done by tonight and they say if the parts come in fast enough. Needless to say I go the whole weekend without a car.

Monday 6/19/06 Parts are in, tranny is pulled but the torque converter is stuck in there so they just change one seal and throw it back in.
I show up to pick the car up and they tell me about the torque converter and guess what... IT'S LEAKING TRANS FLUID!
HERE'S WHERE IT GETS GOOD... The shop will be closed for a week while the owner is out of town on business. Diagnosis... I need a new Transmission. Owner asked one of the tech's to work on my car while he was gone.

Tuesday 6/20/06 Tech pulls tranny out and orders a used one from the local junkyard.

Wednesday 6/21/06 Tech calls me and says the used tranny arrived but had a crack in it. He is sending it back for another one. I ask them to let me know when it comes in so I can arrange transportation.

Thursday 6/22/06 Get a VM from the shop, the 2nd tranny is in the car but not shifting. They advise me to rent a car for the weekend.

Friday 6/23/06 No progress report.

TODAY Monday 6/26/06 I call the shop and talk to the owner who is back in town. Owner says the last tranny they put in was EFP code.
I am not a mechanic and even I know that my car will only work with a DDT/DRD coded tranny. Why do I know??? Because I took the time to look into it. I'm in the Home Loan business and would be out of business if I operated like that. They tell me another tranny is on it's way to the shop and I will have my car back tonight after I cough up $3,200. This makes me wonder about a few things...
That's a lot of cash that I would gladly pay for a 2 day turn around but not a 2 week turn around.
It will be 2 weeks tomorrow with out a car. (I forgot to mention the wife's Toyota needs both head gaskets)
Did I really need a new water pump? Was there ever a cracked Tranny or a second one that was incompatible or was this just BS to keep the car and wait 'til the owner got back? Will I get my car back tonight or another excuse?

MORAL OF THE STORY:
It's worth $50 in towing to get your Audi in the right hands to get a proper diagnosis done the first time!
Thanks for letting me share...


Black/tan
99.5
a4
1.8t
FWD
tip
D2/race coil overs
19" wheels
35% tint
VIS Carbon hood ($HITY PRODUCT)
Audio/video sys w/2 10's in custom box/PSII
GIAC/Intake/EXH coming soon


[IMG]local://upfiles/14315/2CB2EB7EE28A4177993CE652219FA1E6.jpg[/IMG]

 

Man that suck's.
Hope the car is okay now.
Regard's
Addam

 

That is some story. Sorry to hear about your car troubles. I hope you get it worked out with them. I also hope that the trans from the junkyard was a good idea.