RANT - Garages

[gninnam]

For the last few years I have always used a local VW/Audi independent garage and while not being 100% satisfied, thought they were OK.

Some of you may have seen the thread about the noise emanating from the engine bay of the the A8 QS.
So several weeks back I had a look myself and believed it was coming from the front of the engine.
Took it to the independent so it could be fixed.
Dropped it off at 08:15 Friday morning and got the usual spiel that they will ring me and let me know what the situation is.
By 15:30 no news so rang them - "Let me check..... Ah, it's just gone in so won't be long.."
Didn't hear anything for the rest of the day, then at 17:15 get's a call - "Cars ready to be picked up. We close in 15 minutes"

Luckily they open on Saturday morning so got the misses to take me down.
Asked what the problem was - tell me it's the engine breather pipe vibrating and they have put a temporary fix in but really need the pipe replacing.............umm

Wife drives it back and when we get home she tells me it's still making the same noise.
So, take the plastic covers off the engine and check the breather pipes - all OK and no noise emanating from them

Thinks, bugger it, so arranges to take it in to Audi Leeds.
Fast forward 2 weeks later and yesterday I dropped the car off (first class service from start to finish)
While I am there a technician comes out to look at the problem with me (and not just take my word for it) and diagnoses the problem straight away.....
Leak in one of the pipes for the power steering and the power steering fluid was low causing the noise to come from the steering pump (lower front right of the engine)
So kicks myself as I should have checked that (normally never moves for months....)

So, looks like the independent didn't do a thing on that day so totally peed off with them and they have now lost a customer

Will be ringing them on Monday to tell them what I think of them..

[limoncello]

i have to agree with you Leeds Audi have totally changed my way of thnking about dealers, last 2 visits resulted in fixes without costing anything, really good service from them

[Norretal]

My recent experiences have been the polar opposite to that to be honest. My local independent has completed all work I've asked for recently and has actually appreciated that I've passed on advice taken from this forum to help make his job easier. I'd have had my A8 back with new brakes etc fitted yesterday if it wasn't for TPS letting him down with delivery of four bolts costing less than a tenner. Their "computers went down" after he'd placed the order on Thursday, hence the delayed delivery and me without my car all weekend

I actually asked him earlier in the week "Are you sick of me constantly hassling you to get work done on this yet?" and his response was "Certainly not, I'd much rather work on this car than some of the newer sh1te I get in here" which I took as a compliment. He doesn't take my eyes out every time it's left with him and I'm sure his labour charges never reflect the time actually spent on it.

Alternatively, I rang Newcastle Audi to get a price on some pads for the Brembo's and when the parts department actually answered after a few minutes of the call bouncing from the switchboard and back to them he asks what I'm after.......

"I'd like a price on some pads for a D2 FL fitted with Brembo's brakes and 345mm discs please?"

"Can I have your chassis number?"

"It's irrelevant, I'm upgrading the brakes on my car with the ones I've just described, is that not enough information to take a look?"

"No, I need your chassis number"

"It doesn't matter, forget it".

This was an older guy judging by the voice, not a trainee, surely he could at least have known the options, or am I being unfairly harsh?

[RanjS8]

For car parts I either go to TPS or ebay really.....Audi are generally quite helpful in my experience....however I would never trust Coventry Audi with my car....I remember a few years back giving them to fix a bent rear wheel on a s6....they came back with a quote of 3000 pound.....when insurance assessor came along ...told them it only needed and rear bearing hub and cost of work was reduced to 650....

I think in this case it was the call bouncing that anoid you....not the chap with his initial questioning.....

[limoncello]

im guessing that the parts guy has an easy way/only way of looking up parts, it tends to depend on who answers the phone and how much work they are willing to put in to help you


could he have looked it up and been more helpful - without a doubt, they have all the tools they need but requires more effort or knowledge.

One guy at leeds audi was a little unhelpful - he would look up part numbers and say that ones discontinued but wouldnt actually add any value by looking up what would fit instead, the other guy i spoke to would, and put himself out to find the correct parts.

it seems that though they charge more which is undertandable given the overheads of the buildings and staff etc, they are more likely to write off mistakes they make than an indy dealer if it comes down to it.

the amount of times ive taken cars in and had a job done and then been told another part is also required is unbelievable, its pretty obvious they changed the wrong part on some of those occasions at least - but without proof what can you do

thats my rant over

[notorious]

In my experience all ***best*** machincs/specialist/tradespeople sooner or later go off on their own and start working for themselves. Law of labour market coupled with avoidance of corporate bullsh1t that Audi is full to brim.

I trust Audi when I buy parts from them but I don't trust them doing work on my car. Why? No attention to detail. They are time bound when they do work. Same applies to independent garages. One can only deliver quality without rush. I'll go over-philosophical and say that you can't create/build 'proper stuff' in commercial world paradigm. Because right level of quality is prohibitively expensive if you calculate hours needed to deliver it.

My interest of car owner to get best possible quality are not aligned with interests of Audi dealers who are interested in maximising revenues and margins. Hence I try to do as much as possible by myself. It takes weeks, months, but quality I get is not comparable.

If I ever meet someone who can and willing to deliver quality I need I do everything I can to maintain relationship and keep that person happy to cooperate. These people are very rare and finding them is tough job.


>> For car parts I either go to TPS or ebay really...

Ranj, how can I open account with TPS as private person? I tried several times, but couldn't do that.

[Norretal]

I think in this case it was the call bouncing that anoid you....not the chap with his initial questioning.....


Not really Ranj, it went back to the switchboard twice and she apologised and kept trying, they were obviously busy. It was the total disinterest and lack of professionalism that annoyed me. I've had better experiences in the past with their parts department so it won't stop me trying them in future but a guy like that shouldn't be taking calls from potential customers if he can't manage to muster even a slight amount of interest and enthusiasm......first impressions count.

[RanjS8]

I think it might have been more luck or timing than anything else....they were just opening their branch in Coventry and I just went in and asked to open an account....it is awesome cos they'll deliver stuff to me as well....so if I m working during the day....can get them to drop it off at my shop so it is there when I get back......

I use it more for convenience than anything else since I tend to find things are cheaper on ebay. But it is good for genuine oils and so forth.

[Dave McB]

Originally Posted by limoncello

im guessing that the parts guy has an easy way/only way of looking up parts, it tends to depend on who answers the phone and how much work they are willing to put in to help you


could he have looked it up and been more helpful - without a doubt, they have all the tools they need but requires more effort or knowledge.

One guy at leeds audi was a little unhelpful - he would look up part numbers and say that ones discontinued but wouldnt actually add any value by looking up what would fit instead, the other guy i spoke to would, and put himself out to find the correct parts.

it seems that though they charge more which is undertandable given the overheads of the buildings and staff etc, they are more likely to write off mistakes they make than an indy dealer if it comes down to it.

the amount of times ive taken cars in and had a job done and then been told another part is also required is unbelievable, its pretty obvious they changed the wrong part on some of those occasions at least - but without proof what can you do

thats my rant over

Im a parts advisor & u can look stuff up without a chassis number quite easily.
A helpful customer does help tho if its something slightly more specialist, i.e upgraded/aftermarket brakes.

Im no bad at this stuff & can find you pretty muvh anything, long as iv got the right info & the customers help

TBH, some of the older guys in this trade can get a bit arsey at times, especially the more computer illiterate ones.

Same goes for mechanics & garages - its all about attitude

[gninnam]

Complained to the independent garage this morning.
Was told that he had seen the car go in to the service bay and can only go off what the technician had told him!

Asked me to bring the bill in from Audi Leeds and they will reimburse me for the money they charged for not fixing my car - 1 hour - big deal.

As mentioned before, will not be using them again.....