Big trouble at the Audi dealership

I'd suggest a polite, factual letter to Audi USA which begans with something like "Your advice and assistance would be appreciated". Outline the problems factually, objectively, without displaying anger or frustration. cc at the bottom to whoever protects consumers in your state and send them a copy with a cover letter asking for their assistance and advice. Try to avoid using "I" or "We" as much as possible, particularly at the beginning of any sentence. Close the letters thanking the recipients for their time and attention. Send the letters Special delivery with return receipt. Also send a copy of them to the dealer. He will want to avoid explaining to state officials and/or Audi USA, especially if it is his fault. You need to come across as a reasonable person who is knowledgable and being wronged. Don't lecture, don't tell Audi how great you think their products are, they know that your selection of a new 35 plus grand Audi is your endorsement and a compliment to their product. Finally, be prepared to tell them what you think is a reasonable solution to this problem. Be polite, don't call names, grumble under your breath, make snide or disparaging remarks. Let the dealership be the son of a *****; you be the swell old boy. Get a neutral person to read your letters before you send them. Your letters present you as well as your side of the dispute.
 
There was person on Detail City with a similar situation, dealer swirled 04 Audi A4. If I remember correctly, the dealer re-"detailed" and the swirls reappeared days later. Person tried dealing with Audi USA CS and they would not help. VW/Audi CS is really bad.



Eric
 
tom p., thankfully our car did not look like yours, moderate swirls, a few gouges/scratches and large flat areas where there appeared to be no gloss at all-their body shop manager, who may be one of the only three honest people at this dealership said the areas were very noticeable, but the overall condition was more subtle than your car.

AcMDX, my wife did sign all the paperwork prior to me seeing the car with the understanding of course that the car had to be to our satisfaction and with parking lot/delivery miles only no demo, under 15 miles total. Are we responsible for our situation?, positively. Thank you for mentioning the 'edmunds' site.

Scottwax, HRP and edschwab 1, interesting you should mention Audi customer service. I have to admitt that I was almost speechless with their laissezfaire stance stating that this was a delivery issue and really out of their control. Don't get me wrong the woman was very polite and suitably shocked; but almost came out and said, 'sorry and good luck'. But hey, we have our case number...

With regard to Audi America it appears that you are being far to gracious edschwab 1. My ideal resolution would be to break the lease and move to another brand as I agree that Audi appears to NOT have any customer service-then again I am thinking of the fantastic people at Hoffman Audi in East Hartford, Ct.-this is really a crazy situation. How can Audi still be in business with this attitude and how can they have both such a terrible dealer and seemingly such a stellar one in Hoffman??

This has to be a really bad dream.

Again thank you all for your posts and support. Its off to the Depot for lighting.
 
Is your signature required still? Are there ANY signatures still required? The first thing any lawyer does is subpoena the deal jacket and look for flaws in the paperwork.



So, it's a lease.... interesting. That changes things somewhat, you know. Who is the lessor? Audi Financial Services? Call them up and tell them not to book the lease because you aren't going to pay for it (the phone # is on their website). Tell them that your credit is good enough to take the hit of a single disputed account, and that you ARE going to dispute the account. They, as the true owner of the vehicle, have a stake in the appearance of the vehicle, too, and of course a stake in geetting paid.



The dealership is counting on outlasting you personally, that eventually you will give up or run out of resources.



And finally, file a complaint with the Attorney's General Office. It might just get tossed on top of the big pile of complaints about the dealership, but maybe not, too. In PA, if a complaint is filed against us with the AG, we have 30 days to rebut the claim in writing, and if we don't, it gets investigated. I've written a couple or three of those rebuttals over the years, and believe me, the ducks had better all be in line.



Good lluck,





Tom
 
RJJ, that mustang in the picture belongs to some poor fellow in FL...not to me.





There is a recession period of 3 days in MA. It does NOT apply to new car purchases but it may be applicable in the case of a lease. You'd better found out quik.



It seems you're very serious about this. I would be even less concerned if I knew the car was going to be turned in in 36 months but that's me....





Trying to "deal" with Audi/VW on a rational basis is futile. Do it thru an attorney. I'd sort of agree with your strategy of never accepting the car and notify Audi of your intentions. Even if it does show up on your credit report, you always can re-butt any derogartary notes and it will appear that no pmts were ever received.



I would also make IMMEDIATE manuevers to get your $$ returned. Play hardball with them...You'll get nowhere otherwise. File a petition in small claims (if $$ amounts aren't too high)...hit 'em from every corner. Believe me, they'll hear you when a court is involved. The laws in MA are very pro-consumer. You probably have a strong case if you push the right buttons.
 
RJJ said:
... Audi appears to NOT have any customer service-then again I am thinking of the fantastic people at Hoffman Audi in East Hartford, Ct.-this is really a crazy situation. How can Audi still be in business with this attitude and how can they have both such a terrible dealer and seemingly such a stellar one in Hoffman??

This has to be a really bad dream...
Click to expand...



RJJ- Sure hope things work out for you.



It's funny about the variation between Audi dealers. I've done business with quite a few of them, and fortunately I found one (Stoddard Imported Cars, Willoughby OH) where the owner makes sure I'm COMPLETELY satisfied. *I* am, as the customer, always right. I even let them prep them, no marring, no problems, period. Only time there was a problem, I met with the owner and he immediately told them to make me happy, and they did. That place knows how to treat a customer and is probably the primary reason we drive Audis.



I drive over an hour, and past three other Audi dealers, to get to Stoddard (though they usually send someone for the car...no charge). There ARE great Audi dealers out there, but you have to look for them.



I know other Audi owners who patronize other dealerships, and they get treated TERRIBLY. Some of it borders on outright fraud. I can't figure out why they put up with it and/or believe all the BS they get told :nixweiss
 
From real bad to the bizzare. We meet with our lawyer and are now $1,500 USD lighter. It appears here in Massachusetts we have recourse in a law crafted to help those who have been the victims of unfair business practice, total cost about 5k. The suggestion is made to go directly to binding mediation and use the unfair practices thing as the last resort so we are waiting to hear if the dealer will accept mediation BUT.

Our attorney, who is a great guy and whose advice we follow to the letter, tells me that the dealer is demanding that we return Elizabeth's Passat IMMEDIATELY and that we probably should comply. Not excited but we do want to try to speed things along so, at our lawyers direction I call the dealership and arrange a time/day to drop off the car; today between 5-5:30. We meet, and ask to see the gm, owner comes out, after some words about how unreasonable we are I ask where 'our' car is as I would like to remove the plates. We are told that we cannot do that, I say I think we can, he says its at another location , I ask where, he says he'll write it down, then gets REAL CLOSE to the Mrs. and says that the only way we get the plates is to take the car AND that if I don't get off the property he'll call the police. I calmly state that it would be a really good idea if he got out of my wifes face immediately and that I would save him the trouble of calling the cops. I call, state that the owner of ____________ wants someone arrested and the cruiser arrives. Real nice guy asks what the problem is, we are both standing on the sidewalk and a very brief summary is provided. He goes in and comes back saying that everyone agrees that you are the legal owners but cannot understand the problem in getting the info on your vehicle and what would we like.

We say the address and the plates, he says no problem and goes back in.

Nice guy escorts us to the other location and we have our plates.



Happy Easter to all those who celebrate it and will post more when it happens
 
This is pretty heavy. Not a nice way to start the holiday weekend.



I guess you have their attention.
 
Make SURE you get a copy of the police report on this issue of refusal of the dealer to return vehicle plates. All discussion between you & the dealer should be written down and given to your attorney to act upon and follow-up with Audi as well as State Attorney General.



I'm sure your attorney is reviewing all paperwork including the lease and your rights to refuse delivery if product was "altered" while in the possesion of the dealer. Since THEY took it upon themselves to "detail" it which resulted in a damaged finish, you have every right to go to the mat on this one if this dealer wants to. Obviously, they have deeper pockets and will try all type of intimidation to throw you off and "force" you to accept the vehicle.



Again, as the others stated, get as much news coverage as possible. Get in touch with "Problem Solvers" type newscasts.



Hoffman is one of the better dealers here in CT. If at all possible, see if you can work with them on this issue.



No one should have to spend that kind of money just to get the car you wanted!



Keep us posted and we all wish you well and good luck!



Regards,



Deanski
 
RJJ- Sorry to hear things aren't getting better, but :xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs for the way you're handling it. Hearing how you stood up for yourself and your wife just made my day.
 
Well its 'over'. After hearing of the length of time and the cost involved-three years and approx 7kUSD- we swallowed hard and took the advice of our attorney and picked up the car yesterday evening: less inspection sticker and all financial forms/documents and owners manuals. Seems they can't 'find' them.



A psa for all members in and around our area. Avoid Fathers and Sons Audi, West Springfield, MA at all costs, with the exception of our sales guy, Tom, they are liars and just plain mean-real mean.



The bright spots, Betsy has stopped crying and even had a bit of a smirk on her face this morning leaving for work (this was her dream car) and I get to put all the fantastic advice and information I have gotten here to the ultimate test, and I do like a challange.



Thank you all for the posts, suggestions and advice.
 
Glad everything was settled and your wife is enjoying her dream car. Sorry the dealership tainted that dream.

Still let VW / Audi USA corporate offices know about this sad encounter with Fathers and Sons Audi, West Springfield, MA.

Happy motoring and new detailing challenge. :xyxthumbs
 
Man that sucks, I bet a fellow autopian with a PC or Rotory in you area might try to "fix" the paint defects for you free of charge (or just supplies). I know I would if you lived closer to me.



I would definately call (or have your lawyer write a letter) to the BBB, Audi (again)
 
After about 60 hours of work the car is very presentable with only two areas of damage visible if you know where to look and look very hard under the proper lighting.

Of course I attribute the success to the info available here.



First step was several washings with blue Dawn. Then I used Griot's machine polish #3 over the entire car three times paying particular attention (and higher speeds-porter cable r.o.) to the marred areas. If you haven't tried this product do so; I have had incredible success with this polish. Next I began a lengthy application of Klasse AIO, six times, using micro fiber applicators-with a detail spray- and micro removal towels for all but the last one when I used a micro applicator but a cotton cloth followed by a micro detail cloth. Three apps of SG were applied using the same procedure as above and waiting about 30 minutes between buffing the slight haze off the car. Finally the cyclo came out with micro bonnets and an hour later I pronounced that I had done all that could be done and it really looks light years better than it did.



We learned some hard lessons here foremost was that you have to be very careful when buying an Audi because if you have a problem with your dealer Audi America really does not want to even know your name. I am convinced that regardless of the problem one has the response will be that "it is a delivery issue and really not within our control".



Don't get me wrong we deserved what happened but we had just been spoiled by doing so much business with Patrick Volkswgen in Auburn, MA where buying and having service done is a very pleasant experience-every time; live and learn I guess.



Thanks again to all for the great info on this site.
 
Not to harp further but VW dealerships are notoriously bad. VW of America pretty much ignores any complaints taken and its a real shame because a lot of potential repeat owners of a VW are too discouraged due to the dealers. Glad you were able to put a good spin on a bad serve.
 
RJJ- Glad to hear you've resolved things to your satisfaction. Heh heh, next time, use those GG Machine Polishes with the Cyclo- they work even better with it than with the PC. Things must not have been *too awfully bad* if you were able to fix them with MP3 and a PC- that's really mild stuff for an Audi.



And yeah, it's the dealer that makes all the difference- for good or bad.
 
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