Hey All,

I Have an A4, seems to have some trouble starting in the cold, is this coomon, I just got the car so I am not used to the Audi's yet. This is an 03 1.8t, I am looking for a really good mechanic in the boston area that I can take this to for a tune up, let me know if anyone has some information.
Thanks,
Pat

 

https://www.audiforums.com/m_573386/tm.htm

 

Pat, call me I am an ASE certified Audi/Vw mechanic. I can meet you somenight and we can diagnose your car. I can do your tune up, and have many references, I pick up and deliver too Frank Dota 1-978-761-5582

 

Let me tell you about Frank Dota. Supposedly he's audi certified. Whatever. I had him check out an A4 for me 2 months ago before I purchased it from a NH dealer. He told me the car was good, it needed a few things, suspension was good, brakes were good, etc.
Once he got the car, told me the rear brakes were bad, needed to be replaced. $600 for that. He did the timing belt, changed the oil, air filter, went over the car.

I brought the car in to a garage because of a heavy clunking sound it made while driving over bumps. You'd think an audi mechanic would notice an obviously bad control arm. My new mechanic said the oil was never changed, you could see the rusty old filter still there. I need a serpentine belt, it's cracked and ready to go. Wouldn't you do that while you were doing the timing belt? What mechanic in his right mind would do the timing belt and not the obviously cracked serpentine????? WTF!!!!!!!!!

I have not driven the car more than 60 miles since he worked on it. I asked Frank about these things, and he blamed everyone including the dealership I bought it from. He said the control arm went bad after he worked on it. Nice story. The car was also so far out of alignment that is was dog tracking down the road, and the left rear axle has wear marks from it. You'd think a certified audi mechanic would have noticed and told me this WHEN HE HAD HIS FACE RIGHT THERE REPLACING THE REAR BRAKES!!!!

I also found along with the new mechanic lots of leaks under the car, rear axle seal, OBVIOUS STUFF I COULD EVEN SEE!!!!!
I PAID HIM $1,300.00.
do not use him EVER!!!!!!!
Amy Smedley

 

I want to clear the air with this idiot named amy smedley, she buys a 1999 a4 avant wagon with 130k plus miles on it and expects to be driving a new car. I told this lady that she needed work and she was "on a budget" and was looking to get everything done for free, so audi mechanics watch out for her she is looking for the world and dont want to pay... Oh yea by the way, as she forgot to tell everyone that she bought the car from corey motors in plaistow n.h. And the guy(tom) screwed her from the beginning. I drove the car before corey motors worked on it and when i picked the car up for her (the 2nd time), the abs light was on, and the car had issues that she wanted me to fix. I told her to order the parts and have them do it since they screwed the car up. Also her bill was 1447.00, and she didnt want to pay me for the pre purchase inspection, so again amy tell the whole story the way it is, and audi forum family, the truth has been told. The moral of the story, 1) mechanics look out for amy smedley, 2) dont buy a car from corey motors.

 

Let me see if I understand this –

Amy wanted to purchase an Audi and had Frank do a pre-inspection. Frank looked at it and said that it needed work and Amy thought he meant it needed a few things. So she bought it and had Frank do some work. The work Frank mentioned (ie few things heard by Amy) turned out to be rear brakes, timing belt, oil and filters and the bill came to $1447.00

After driving less than 60 miles, Amy heard clunking in the front end and took it to another mechanic. This guy said that the control arm was worn out, the oil filter had not been changed, and it was so far out of alignment that it was “dog tracking.” Furthermore, the new mechanic found all types of leaks, a bad axel seal and marks on the rear axle.

There seems to be some confusion about the timing of some work Corey motors did on the vehicle. Frank’s post suggests that Corey motors worked on the vehicle twice before he did any actual work. And when he picked it up the second time the ABS light was on.

So we have Amy complaining that the pre-inspection was poorly done and Frank saying that he told her it needed work. But she bought it anyway – probably because Corey Motors said that they would fix some things and Amy thinking that she would have Frank fix the remaining issues. That left Amy with high expectations she would have a “near perfect” vehicle.

Almost all the problems mentioned are typical issues with high mileage poorly maintained Audis. Leaks, worn out suspension parts, cracked belts, and brake replacement are all common issues. The marks on the axel were probably caused by the straps that were used when the vehicle was delivered.

So what we seem to have here is Frank’s failure to communicate the amount of work needed and Amy’s blindness because of her desire to have really sexy vehicle. She thought she was doing the right thing by having an inspection done but was not able to understand what she was being told.

A few trite but fundamental thoughts come to mind ---
1. Buyer beware! Most things are not what they seem.
2. There are no real shortcuts to quality.
3. You generally get what you pay for.
4. Some people just don’t have a clue ( my mom used to say that they don’t know what they don’t know.)

 

Frank has worked on my car multiple times. He recently did my timing belt, valve gaskets and oil change. He even washed my car and cleaned my engine when he was done. He does very good work. Honest, affordable and convenient. I would certainly recommend him.

 

anyways, theres a guy in needham that specializes in audis and vw's. he's really good, the shops called high performence something something something. idk what its called it had high performence in it thats all i know and that he's good at what he does