£10k gbox bill on 4yr old Audi. Was it ever fit for purpose?

[skyrover]

Alucidnation said:

skyrover said:

Can't be doing their brand image much good. People do actually have memories and will increasingly look elsewhere.

I don't think the emissions scandal has really affected VAG that much.

skyrover said:

Meanwhile Kia/Hyundai offer a 10 year 100,000 mile warranty in the USA

Thats because its the USA.

Clearly some manufacturers have more confidence in their product than others.

[SWoll]

skyrover said:

Alucidnation said:

skyrover said:

Can't be doing their brand image much good. People do actually have memories and will increasingly look elsewhere.

I don't think the emissions scandal has really affected VAG that much.

skyrover said:

Meanwhile Kia/Hyundai offer a 10 year 100,000 mile warranty in the USA

Thats because its the USA.

Clearly some manufacturers have more confidence in their product than others.

Or they offer very long warranties as their cars have no other positive selling points, and the cost is then baked in upfront?

[DuraAce]

SWoll said:

Or they offer very long warranties as their cars have no other positive selling points, and the cost is then baked in upfront?

Perhaps. Not in my case though, several Audis (+other vag groups) over a 250k mile/ten year period all with problems of various natures. DSG failure, swirl flaps/inlet manifold, numerous electrical glitches etc etc.
Changed to a KIA, 50k miles so far with no bills.
Luckily I couldn't care less about image etc!

[confused_buyer]

SWoll said:

Or they offer very long warranties as their cars have no other positive selling points, and the cost is then baked in upfront?

They offered long warranties when they started out to get a foothold in the marketplace but they are now selling on their own merits and building up a very significant market base with a lot of repeat customers. They're even doing better on the image front.

[Alucidnation]

Indeed, however, there really isn't that much of a market share for these makers at the moment to really gauge how reliable/good they are.

[catman]

FN2TypeR said:

If that is the case there would surely be a solid basis for recourse? Selling an "approved" car and then refusing warranty work based on what the previous owner did to the car is outrageous.

I'm repeating what I read from a well-known independent Porsche specialist. I have no first-hand knowledge. They said that they'd used this information to reject a car that they would have otherwise purchased. the engine self-destructed soon after.

Tim

[OldGermanHeaps]

confused_buyer said:

They offered long warranties when they started out to get a foothold in the marketplace but they are now selling on their own merits and building up a very significant market base with a lot of repeat customers. They're even doing better on the image front.

I'd have a new sportage over an x1 or x3 or q3 any day, even if the german was slightly cheaper

[confused_buyer]

Alucidnation said:

Indeed, however, there really isn't that much of a market share for these makers at the moment to really gauge how reliable/good they are.

Kia/Hyundai's UK market share combined is about the same as that of Volkswagen so we'll know soon enough.....

[Willy Nilly]

confused_buyer said:

Alucidnation said:

Indeed, however, there really isn't that much of a market share for these makers at the moment to really gauge how reliable/good they are.

Kia/Hyundai's UK market share combined is about the same as that of Volkswagen so we'll know soon enough.....

Reliability is one thing, dealing with breakdowns and failures is another entirely. If VAG continue to look down their corporate nose at customers when their expensive car breaks down again, at some point the customer will start looking elsewhere.

I'll wager the OP's transmission would have failed whether it was mapped or not.

[Alucidnation]

confused_buyer said:

Alucidnation said:

Indeed, however, there really isn't that much of a market share for these makers at the moment to really gauge how reliable/good they are.

Kia/Hyundai's UK market share combined is about the same as that of Volkswagen so we'll know soon enough.....

Is it?

The only current info (for 2015) I found was Kia was around 6% in the uk and VAG was approx 18%.


Unless i'm reading it wrong.


http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/uk-car-...

Edited by Alucidnation on Saturday 18th March 15:31

[anonymous-user]

catman said:

Gary C said:

You would like to think so.

But how does the new owner prove they didn't over Rev it.

A number in the club did buy cars from an opc then have extended warranties refused too.

Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 17th March 22:13

My understanding is that the timing of the over-revving is recorded, which could prove that it happened before purchase.

Tim

The more I understand about Porsche, the more I wouldn't touch one. They're a total mine field, bores, seals, over rev, FFS, it's hardly a race car? I viewed a Cayman recently and walked away as despite a full opc history the engine was noisy and there was loads of corrosion underneath. A candid chat with the dealer revealed his attitude towards them, his own having had a new short engine after loads of squabbling by Porsche. The arrogance of some of these manufacturers beggars belief. I'll say it again, you can buy a heavily tuned Mustang from a Ford dealer with a warranty. It seems the safety factors outside Germany are just that bit larger? Yes Mr customer we 'hope' it'll be ok! However, they know people will buy whatever they produce as long as they reach the end of the warranty period without costing too much, purely because of the branding.

[confused_buyer]

Alucidnation said:

Is it?

The only current info (for 2015) I found was Kia was around 6% in the uk and VAG was approx 18%.


Unless i'm reading it wrong.


http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/uk-car-...

Edited by Alucidnation on Saturday 18th March 15:31

Volkswagen, not VAG. Both at about 7%.

[Alucidnation]

Fair enough, but there is enough brand sharing in the VAG stable to justify its 18% vs 6%, even if you look at VW/Audi alone its 14%.

Let's put it this way, i travel a lot throughout the south, at various times of the day/week and I very rarely see any Kia/Hyundai on the road, compared to a VAG.

So with that in mind, the two makers really cannot be compared in this case.

[Willy Nilly]

yonex said:

The more I understand about Porsche, the more I wouldn't touch one. They're a total mine field, bores, seals, over rev, FFS, it's hardly a race car? I viewed a Cayman recently and walked away as despite a full opc history the engine was noisy and there was loads of corrosion underneath. A candid chat with the dealer revealed his attitude towards them, his own having had a new short engine after loads of squabbling by Porsche. The arrogance of some of these manufacturers beggars belief. I'll say it again, you can buy a heavily tuned Mustang from a Ford dealer with a warranty. It seems the safety factors outside Germany are just that bit larger? Yes Mr customer we 'hope' it'll be ok! However, they know people will buy whatever they produce as long as they reach the end of the warranty period without costing too much, purely because of the branding.

Don't forget having to keep your new £100,000 car(s) on charge if they are not used regularly. But these are special, German, high performance, uber flat batteries we are talking about here

[anonymous-user]

Willy Nilly said:

Don't forget having to keep your new £100,000 car(s) on charge if they are not used regularly. But these are special, German, high performance, uber flat batteries we are talking about here

When my M3 battery died I was told that less than 10 miles one way was outside the parameters.

The next really powerful car I buy willl be American.

[confused_buyer]

Alucidnation said:

So with that in mind, the two makers really cannot be compared in this case.

My point is there are generally enough VWs about and sold for the market and trade to form a general opinion on their engineering and overall long term quality. With Kia/Hyundai selling about the same number it should also be possible to do so with them.

7% is hardly a niche exotic sector of the market no one knows about.

[Alucidnation]

Fair do's.

[405dogvan]

Willy Nilly said:

So, what you're saying is, that modern automatic transmissions have been designed to be less reliable, almost impossible to maintain and prohibitively expensive to repair. Them, when they do fail, the manufacture will look for any excuse to wash their hands of them?

Firstly, modern automatics are different beasts from what we had 20-years-ago - "they change gears for you" is about the only similarity they have to modern DSG/SCT/DCT etc. That means they are VASTLY more complex things and so they cost more to fix/replace and have more issues on the way there.

The "cost more and have more issues" thing applies to the rest of the car as-well. All those toys, all that tech, all that horsepower comes at a price.

Manufacturers have a priority list when they make a car and "what happens once the warranty is out" doesn't feature very highly on it - if at-all.

Spending time in a few indie garages I see plenty of broken cars - most are older (6+ years) but there are younger cars, some just 'just out of warranty' and some "lapsed warranty"(excess miles/lack of services etc.) and they all have the ability to RUIN you if something breaks.

The other thing I've learned is that people THINK their car should last regardless of how they treat it, if they tune it, if they thrash it, if they ignore the servicing schedule etc. etc. The resentment you get from some people because their car broke when it's absolutely obvious that they "rode it hard and put it away wet" is astonishing - the level to which they think the person who sold them it is responsible (I bought this 2 years ago and it's broken already) is also dead funny.

I have a motto - buy a used car and keep it 2 weeks and it's yours, all of it, problems and all - the last owner rode it to death too - so be prepared for that

[KTF]

DuraAce said:

Perhaps. Not in my case though, several Audis (+other vag groups) over a 250k mile/ten year period all with problems of various natures. DSG failure, swirl flaps/inlet manifold, numerous electrical glitches etc etc.
Changed to a KIA, 50k miles so far with no bills.
Luckily I couldn't care less about image etc!

I am on my second Kia and my wife has a Hyundai. None of them have had a single thing go wrong and they only go to the dealer for an annual service. I couldn't care less about impressing the neighbours.

Kia have a DSG box as well now and they are the only brand I would buy with one fitted as it will be covered for 7 years/100k.

[Alucidnation]

KTF said:

Kia have a DSG box as well now and they are the only brand I would buy with one fitted as it will be covered for 7 years/100k.

Is that just in case it does go wrong during your ownership?