What would you do ?
Discussion
Hi everyone. I am new active member even though I have been lurking for quite some time now but I had a bad experience today which leads me to ask for the PH community's opinion.
Rewind back in time to last November. After a few weeks of browsing the net I finally find an 05 S4 (B7) that could potentially tick all the boxes. The dealer is 40 miles away. An appointment is made, a test drive is offered. At the end of the day, I am quite happy with the car and the deal is done with the dealership (Let's call them "Dealership A"). They take care of the MOT, part exchange my previous car and off I go on my merry way to the rumble of the V8.
Early December I notice a few oil stains on the driveway where the Audi has been parked. I checked the engine oil level and everything seemed fine. This being Christmas time, I have a lot on my mind, both work wise and privately, and decide to wait the new year to book the car in at an official Audi dealership close to where I work. Now, the main reason why the car was booked in was because I suspected a coolant leakage (I have to top it up regularly) from one of the aux rads (a common issue with RS4's and S4's). They confirmed the issue and noticed, amongst other things, the oil leak too but said they needed more time to investigate. As I was not entirely satisfied with their services I looked for an independent Audi dealership where my car is currently sitting ("Dealership B").
Dealership B diagnosed that the rocker cover gaskets are on the way and need replacing. Parts, labour and VAT will not leave me much of 500£. As I need the car ASAP I gave them the go ahead to start working on it.
It is worth noting that between the day the car was purchased and the day the problem was finally diagnosed the Audi had done just over 2,000 miles. So, I called Dealership A, the place where I had bought it from, to explain the situation. I was told that as a good gesture they would replace the gaskets FOC if I were to bring the car in.
Nice of them but that's where the problem is. My S4 is being worked on at Dealership B. They have ordered the part(s) and are fixing my car as we speak. Therefore I cannot go back to Dealership A to have the work done. Dealership A will not help me in any other way (i.e. sharing the bill is not an option).
So, my question to you guys is : do I take it on the chin and put it down as lesson learnt for future reference (which I am willing to do)? Or do you think that Dealership A is not being entirely honest with me since, as I believe, they sold me a used car with a defect that was already present when the transaction was done ? If the latter, what kind of leverage do I have to force them to compensate me, only if partially ?
Sorry for the confusing rant and thanks for your help.
Rewind back in time to last November. After a few weeks of browsing the net I finally find an 05 S4 (B7) that could potentially tick all the boxes. The dealer is 40 miles away. An appointment is made, a test drive is offered. At the end of the day, I am quite happy with the car and the deal is done with the dealership (Let's call them "Dealership A"). They take care of the MOT, part exchange my previous car and off I go on my merry way to the rumble of the V8.
Early December I notice a few oil stains on the driveway where the Audi has been parked. I checked the engine oil level and everything seemed fine. This being Christmas time, I have a lot on my mind, both work wise and privately, and decide to wait the new year to book the car in at an official Audi dealership close to where I work. Now, the main reason why the car was booked in was because I suspected a coolant leakage (I have to top it up regularly) from one of the aux rads (a common issue with RS4's and S4's). They confirmed the issue and noticed, amongst other things, the oil leak too but said they needed more time to investigate. As I was not entirely satisfied with their services I looked for an independent Audi dealership where my car is currently sitting ("Dealership B").
Dealership B diagnosed that the rocker cover gaskets are on the way and need replacing. Parts, labour and VAT will not leave me much of 500£. As I need the car ASAP I gave them the go ahead to start working on it.
It is worth noting that between the day the car was purchased and the day the problem was finally diagnosed the Audi had done just over 2,000 miles. So, I called Dealership A, the place where I had bought it from, to explain the situation. I was told that as a good gesture they would replace the gaskets FOC if I were to bring the car in.
Nice of them but that's where the problem is. My S4 is being worked on at Dealership B. They have ordered the part(s) and are fixing my car as we speak. Therefore I cannot go back to Dealership A to have the work done. Dealership A will not help me in any other way (i.e. sharing the bill is not an option).
So, my question to you guys is : do I take it on the chin and put it down as lesson learnt for future reference (which I am willing to do)? Or do you think that Dealership A is not being entirely honest with me since, as I believe, they sold me a used car with a defect that was already present when the transaction was done ? If the latter, what kind of leverage do I have to force them to compensate me, only if partially ?
Sorry for the confusing rant and thanks for your help.
Redgate said:
ne. Dealership A will not help me in any other way (i.e. sharing the bill is not an option).
So, my question to you guys is : do I take it on the chin and put it down as lesson learnt for future reference (which I am willing to do)? Or do you think that Dealership A is not being entirely honest with me since, as I believe, they sold me a used car with a defect that was already present when the transaction was done ? If the latter, what kind of leverage do I have to force them to compensate me, only if partially ?
Sorry for the confusing rant and thanks for your help.
I think you may have to take it on the chin unfortunately as i believe you have to give them a reasonable chance to rectify the problem before you can go down other routes.So, my question to you guys is : do I take it on the chin and put it down as lesson learnt for future reference (which I am willing to do)? Or do you think that Dealership A is not being entirely honest with me since, as I believe, they sold me a used car with a defect that was already present when the transaction was done ? If the latter, what kind of leverage do I have to force them to compensate me, only if partially ?
Sorry for the confusing rant and thanks for your help.
If garage B havent taken the car to bits yet, you may be able to cancel the work (pay for the part/any work that has taken place) and take it to garage A.
jimmy156 said:
I think you may have to take it on the chin unfortunately as i believe you have to give them a reasonable chance to rectify the problem before you can go down other routes.
This. Put it down to experience and let the 2nd garage carry on with the work. I can only imagine what a s
t show it will be if you try to cancel work etc and refer back to the 1st garage.Plus if you kick up to much of a stink at Dealer A, They may try to get out of any future warrenty work by saying the car been taken apart and repaired by someone else.
Main Dealers are good at this, give it a year and you will be able to use the cheaper independents.
Till then it looks like you may have to stay with using Dealer A.
And if anything really major went wrong with your car you wouldn't get a good will claim off Audi if its been found to have gone to Dealer B.
Ps I find Sainsburys basic beans which also have little pork sausages in are only 25p which I think is a real bargain.
Main Dealers are good at this, give it a year and you will be able to use the cheaper independents.
Till then it looks like you may have to stay with using Dealer A.
And if anything really major went wrong with your car you wouldn't get a good will claim off Audi if its been found to have gone to Dealer B.
Ps I find Sainsburys basic beans which also have little pork sausages in are only 25p which I think is a real bargain.
Sorry about that my mistake, I thought dealer A was a Main dealer, so with the RAC warranty I imagine you can take your car to whoever you wish as long as genuine parts are used.
Plus as the car is now coming up to 7 years old, Audi wont cover any defect apart from corrosion anyway, not that you should get any as My A4 is 16 years old and is still rust free.
I guess thats why I'm out of touch with warranties
Plus as the car is now coming up to 7 years old, Audi wont cover any defect apart from corrosion anyway, not that you should get any as My A4 is 16 years old and is still rust free.
I guess thats why I'm out of touch with warranties
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