Big trouble at the Audi dealership

R

RJJ

New member
We were to take delivery of a brand new A4 Aud this past Wednesday but the car was a mess, lots of swirls and marring in the finish, the worst I have ever seen. The dealer sent it to their detail shop and after having heavens knows what done to it for over three hours they pronounce it fit for sale and are insisting that we take delivery of it-it is already registered to us. It is in their showroom and of course with the lighting there the car looks real good.

Dumb question but what type of lighting best reveals paint flaws?
 
NozeBleedSpeed said:
Flourescent is unforgiving....
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yeah bump that, for some reason it could be a bright sunshining day and my paint will look flawless. pull it under a gas station w/ flourescents or HID lighting at nighttime and it's like :shocked hope no one is looking.
 
I'd take the car and get out there ASAP. It all comes down to a matter of perception: Your’s vs. Theirs’!



Get the car home and bring it up to the RJJ standard and have the ultimate satisfaction.



We're all faced with this identical predicament when we take delivery of new cars or take them in for service...
 
What state are you in? The laws vary from state to state, but what if they'd creased a fender? Would you still have to take it?



You should make an agreement that you can take it to the detailer of your choice to have the work performed, and IF it comes out right THEN you will take delivery, or see them in court.



I've worked in new car sales for almost 20 years. No judge is going to make you take a damaged car. The dealers ALWAYS lose cases like this, if they're stupid enough to let them go to trial. It has something to do with the car having been registered and reported sold for March, I'm sure, and some sort of incentive that they hit by reporting your car. Otherwise it wouldn't be a big deal one way or the other.





Tom
 
QUOTE: RJJ standard QUOTE



I've only been on the board for two years, so I have no idea of what that means...



If you can point to the 'swirls', don't accept the car; you do not own it yet,regardless of what they tell you!

Under what lighting did you first see it? In those same conditions, does it look better? Accept it conditionally - make them use ink to write it down.



Dealers really don't have a good rep, for a reason.



Jim
 
NoseBleedSpeed, tnks I was hoping for this as cordless lamps are available.

JCrawford, the night we refused delivery the car was in the service area and the lighting was not flourescents but the real big round canisters and the car looked beyond terrible, must have been HID as you mention. Perhaps our resolution is simply to insist that they move it back to the service area with all present and an understanding that the paint must be reasonably free of defects. Then again, I wonder why the car is in the showroom?, interesting no??

tom p., it just annoys the heck out of us to not have a new car look like a new car, and then to have a dealership tell us that it is going to get damaged anyway so what difference does it make-this was really said to both of us.

Mosca, you are correct with regard to the end of month numbers and I hope you are correct about the rest of your post, we are in Massachusetts.

jimamary, we talk to a lawyer this Tuesday and some written agreement will be proposed, but the fact that we are in this situation is incredible to us. Right now I would gladly pay two large just to get to go to another dealer.



Thank you all.
 
RJJ said:






tom p., it just annoys the heck out of us to not have a new car look like a new car, and then to have a dealership tell us that it is going to get damaged anyway so what difference does it make-this was really said to both of us.
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Can you say what city this dealership is located in? We are getting an Audi in the near future and I'd like to avoid the swirlmeister that's employed at this location :p :mad:









Would you consider having the car sent out to a professional detailer in the area and have that person bring it back to perfect condition and have the dealer cover the cost? There is no shortage of competent people in the area that could help you out.



Good luck, I hope you can find satisfactory resolution.
 
Sorry about your situation. :(

This dealership would frighten me. WOW, if they are this stubborn about delivery standards, what will they do if you have some edgy ( borderline) mechanical problems. Dump this deal and find a dealership that will stand behind their product completely from the start including its appearance. Remember that you must live with this vehicle for many years and probably payments too. Is it worth being disgusted everytime a certain lighting environment reveals the paint's flaws. From other post here it has been mentioned that Audi paint flaws are very difficult to repair. If that's is the case, how much of your new clearcoat must be sacrificed by a rotary to fix the paint. In New England (lived there for 43 years) you need all the clearcoat available to protect against that 6 months of winter and road salt. JMHO



Good luck and I hope they rectify this situation to your complete satisfaction. Keep us up-dated.



Moral and lesson from this problem. Never sign/register a vehicle sight unseen. :(
 
If it looks good in the showroom then you should be safe. Those lights can't hide anything. They shouldn't be so stubborn to force you to take the car with swirls, but then again if they fix it and it looks good in the showroom and the shop you probably don't have anything to worry about.



Also, did you order the car or by it off the lot? If you bought it off the lot then chances are they have a similar A4 in their inventory. Maybe they could switch your car with another one?



Dealers get a bad rap, but an Audi dealer is not gonna sell anywhere near the units that a Ford dealer does, so they should place a higher priority on customer satisfaction. They can't afford to lose a sale.
 
The more diffuse the light, the harder it will be to see defects, because the photons reflect from all different angles. The more direct or single point the light, the easier it will be to spot defects.



Someone needs that unit for the end of last month, and they KNOW that the car looks awful, and their statement that "It's going to get damaged anyway" confirms that they see what you see. Their attitude towards you is that they are going to try to bulldoze the car onto you, and they don't consider you a valued customer.



Dealer reputations in general isn't an issure here; we have a specific instance of a retailer trying to pass off substandard goods as acceptable, when clearly they are not.



If I were you, I would take a lot of pictures, refuse the car, demand any money be returned, and say that otherwise you will see them in court; you don't want to do business there, in any case. Judges buy Audis, too, and usually have high standards, and they also know other people, like lawyers and doctors, who would like to hear stories while standing over a golf ball. Don't think for one second that hizzoner won't know what it feels like to spend 40 or 50 k on a car, and what hizzoner expects that car to be like at delivery.





Tom
 
I too have a garage full of fluorescents (over 50 tubes) and I *absolutely do not* find them the best for seeing marring. High wattage incandescent, sodium lights (at night), bright natural sunlight (for rotary holograms) and halogens are all superior, *to my eyes*.



Having owned a LOT of Audis, I would *NEVER* **NEVER** take one with a marred finish. The clear is a REAL pain to work (look at all the troubles Neoprufrok is having!) and who knows how they "fixed" it (how much clear is left) or if they just hid it with fillers. The fact that they tried to deliver it in that condition tells you all you need to know about them, IMO.



I know it's a pain, but oh man, I would refuse that car!



And there are some Audi dealers out there who are beyond "unethical". Sad but true. If they tried to give you that unit, there's something very wrong at that dealership. Run away.



And yeah, I've refused delivery before; it beats being bummed every time you see the new car that you paid good money for. They shouldn't have registered it to you before you inspected it and gave your OK anyhow. I'd take this to an attorney before I accepted the car. Seriously, a messed up Audi is NOT something you want to deal with.



But if you end up taking it, I sure hope they fixed it right (not optimistic, though).
 
Accumulator said:
I too have a garage full of fluorescents (over 50 tubes) and I *absolutely do not* find them the best for seeing marring. High wattage incandescent, sodium lights (at night), bright natural sunlight (for rotary holograms) and halogens are all superior, *to my eyes*.
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I just got a set of 1000watt halogens, wish I had them years ago, a must for working especially with Audi paint :up
 
After all that hassle, you're still going to deal with them? What kind of response do you think you'll get if you have a problem while the car is under warranty.And what kind of service will you get? Doesn't Audi provide the 1st 50k servicing visits as a part of the price of the car? I'm sure you take the reviews at Consumer Reports with a grain of salt, but the A-4 is predicted to only have a "fair' reliability. The dealership doesn't sound like they're that good. I'd take my business elsewhere.
 
tom p., these bottomfeeders are not near the greater Boston area, man do I want to let the world know but I am not certain what good it would do. I will say that, on the advice of a friend, (who said we have to have been the only two people left who did not know of the reputation of 'our' dealer) I called Hoffman Audi, in East Hartford, Ct. and they seem to be a top notch operation. I called them Thursday and they have been helpful and very sympathetic and are willing to hold the exact same vehicle for us. Chris Walsh, the g.m., has spoken to me a few times, along with Mike Lindsey, and I drove down today to thank them in person. Mike showed me the operation, over 300 new cars in stock, and even two s6's, great guy; Chris looked me straight in the eye and apologized for the entire Audi organization and he was quite sincere, of course even they have heard the stories about our dealership! I sure hope I can do business with them.

I Roll, bought the car off the lot and they are demanding I take delivery of it. I also expected to be treated much better for the reasons you state.

Mosca, I'll get a few halogens also tnks. Now you have me day dreaming about getting a car guy/gal for a judge how sweet would that be. Maybe I could slip in the testimony how I was really looking forward to spending a few days Klassing our new car!!

blkZ28Conv, tnks; I have been obsessing about the same things you mention.

2001civicex, Accumulator, Bill D, HRP tnks for the consensus on the lighting it is helpful. Central to the problem is that the dealer (read their attorney) is demanding we accept the vehicle and have stated no other options are available. This in spite of an offer by the gm to replace the trunk lid and hood which was recinded by the time I got to the dealership. Instead of having the car in the service bay they put it in the showroom after having it sent to the detailer. This in spite of my wife and I telling them at least three times , the night before, that NO ONE was to touch the vehicle, not the body shop, not the prep people not anyone! Like I said its incredible.

Thank you all.
 
Have you *paid* for this car (finance, cash, whatever), or did u just sign a purchase/sales agreement?



If you haven't already signed all the financing papers or handed over the cash, for a specific VIN/vehicle, then tell the dealer to pound sand. You have every right to refuse delivery if the car is damaged or defective (assuming you haven't yet actually handed over the money).



You might check over on Edmunds.com in the "any questions for a car salesman" thread (I think it's in the 'smart shopper' area of the forums). Good group of dealership owners and salespeeps who might be able to offer advice from their end.



You can always go to your local news station's consumer reporter; they always seem to have fun with this sort of thing...and get it resolved.
 
2001civicex said:
I have a garage full of Flourescents but noticed more defect until my Halogens work light.
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Absolutely agree. I am doing the paintwork as we speak.



Under flourescent it's OK....then I turned on my tripod halogens :shocked
 
I'd go up the chain of command with Audi. Unless the contract says 'as is' you have a real good case. Contact local news stations. They love stuff like this and May sweeps are coming up.



In the future, before signing a contract, write in that the vehicle is not to be waxed or otherwise detailed and that you will refuse delivery if there is a single buffer swirl on the car. Make the salesman, his boss and the general manager of the dealership all sign off on it. If they refuse, walk. It is the only way to have written proof.
 
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