Dealership issue after 5 days

[simon-s3]

Hi Again,

I am still calm and have not been rude or agressive, just assertive. I wrote a letter to the Product Manager last night, so will see what happens. I have detailed everything in there including the comments made to me that I found unprofessional and discourteous.

Si

 

[stokeballoon]

I had something similar on a Golf Gti i bought many moons ago. I drove it up to their front doors and locked it, with a big sign pointing to the damage on the door after they had serviced it!

Dealer principal very suddenly became my best friend! door fixed, free service = everyone happy!

The service manager was happy to fix it all along, just one of the brand managers didn't want to.

So job done!

 

[simon-s3]

I am wating for a reply from the Brand Manager now in response to my letter. I will update you all when I hear back.

 

[PNH80]

Welcome to the world of Audi dealers and Audi UK. Thats why I drive a BMW now.

If you havent done it yet give Audi customer service a ring just to lodge that you are having a problem with a used approved car. It probably wont help but it may make the dealer take more notice if they ring them.

In my personal experience i'm going to have to disagree. I really wanted a BMW at one stage but just became tired of the arrogant, patronising attitude towards me at almost every dealer in my area. I'm guessing it was my age, i'm 26 but look a few years younger! They just assume you're kicking tyres.

Anyway i recently dealt with an Audi dealership at the other end of the country (Devon) and they have been superb. Nothing is too much of an effort, ALWAYS call back when they say they will, within 5 minutes. The manager even called me almost daily to update me on the progress of the deal.

Obviously not all Audi dealers are that honourable.... In this case the said dealer sound very poor indeed. Not what you expect.

 

[bacardi]

wait for something to go wrong with it before making comments

 

[Dandle]

Anyway i recently dealt with an Audi dealership at the other end of the country (Devon) and they have been superb. Nothing is too much of an effort, ALWAYS call back when they say they will, within 5 minutes. The manager even called me almost daily to update me on the progress of the deal.

My dealer was fantastic all through the deal and nothing was too much trouble, got stuff through the post all the time and phone calls like yours has done. I was even happy with the service prices and recommended them on these forums. As soon as I had warranty problems they turned to crap and the attitude was totally different. When you have seen that side of the dealer and Audi UK your perception of them soon changes.

 

[simon-s3]

I am still waiting for a reply to my letter.

 

[mister.c.]

I guess you know he received it (and cannot use the, 'i never got it' excuse?)

What are yours / peoples thoughts for the next step - i.e. they do didly squat?

 

[simon-s3]

I think I will call in mid week for his email address and sent it that way too if I haven't heard anything.

 

[simon-s3]

I decided to email my letter in to them on Weds night and on Thursday I had a call form them. They have now agreed to get my wheel sorted FOC and it is being done next week and they are giving me a demo car to use for the day. Now that's much better customer service than I have experienced so far. The only shame was, they made no appologies for the way I was treated up to this point. The main thing is that they are fixing it.

 

[L60N]

Glad you got it sorted. As i said in my previous post. perseverence usually pays off. Its just a shame you have to be dragged through the mire to get the sensible conclusion.

 

[simon-s3]

Got my car back last night and the wheel looks as good as new now. It's just a shame they couldn't offer this service to customers at the start without me having to escalate it to the top.

Anyway the Manager I dealt with was calm, helpful and not condesending in anyway, a nice chap and had a good chat with him too. He even loaned me his 3.2 DSG TT for the day.

 

[a3norwich]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Audi ownership and customer service. Enjoy.

 

[newbiecrg]

In fairness... I do not know what a Used Aproved really means and if the flaking was there before, you just should have noticed it and either include it in the deal (a discount or something...). You cannot expect a used approved to be mint, show room, zero miles condition... it is a used car.

If on the other hand, the problem is due to manufacturer defect that should be covered by warranty.

So not being sure where your case stands, I don't comment if the dealers are doing the right thing or not. Having said that a simple goodwill gesture would have saved their image. The problem is that dealerships are franchised and some if not all arerun locally like a franchise...

Concerning BMW, what has put me off of buying one have been arrogant and silly salesman and saleswoman! Not all like that but first image is the one that counts the most... Don't have a clue about service.

In the end is not the brands but the people that represent them that are responsable but the overal perception one has about them.

Pedro