Audi warranty

[Oortam]

I had my S3 in for it's first MOT yesterday. One of my rear springs was broken but was told that it was no problem as it is covered by warranty and they'll replace it. I mentioned that it's normal to replace springs as a pair if one is broken and was told that Audi recommend this but they'll only replace the broken one under warranty. So I said to replace the pair and I'll pay for the other one. So Audi recommend that springs are replaced as a pair but only pay for the broken one under warranty if they're paying for it. If you came in off the street with a broken spring they would do everything to convince you to replace the pair, and pay for them of course. So is this just a money making exercise or is it Audi not listening to their own guidelines?

[sjj84]

BMW replace them seperately under warranty too, not sure what they advise if you are paying yourself.

[Rich_W]

I daresay the dealer would quite happily change both and charge Audi if they could. But some bean counters at Audi Warranty overrule the dealer.

Saying that, I wonder if you would actually tell the different if you only had 1 changed. Evidently you couldn't tell it was broken before the MOT. So maybe at the rear it's less critical.

[The Turbonator]

I get all my work done by a family friend who owns a garage.

When my front nearside coil went, I asked him to replace the other side too. He said he would, if I really wanted him to, but he said that coils going is pretty much random. The other side might go, it might not, or the one I just replaced could go first again.

That was over a year ago and the other coil still hasn't gone.

[Sheepshanks]

sjj84 said:

BMW replace them seperately under warranty too, not sure what they advise if you are paying yourself.

And Mercedes. And in my case the dealer regarded it as vital that the other was replaced too. They did discount it slightly but could have done more.

[Sheepshanks]

The Turbonator said:

I get all my work done by a family friend who owns a garage.

When my front nearside coil went, I asked him to replace the other side too. He said he would, if I really wanted him to, but he said that coils going is pretty much random. The other side might go, it might not, or the one I just replaced could go first again.

That was over a year ago and the other coil still hasn't gone.

They tend to develop loads of micro-cracks, so older springs are softer than new ones.

[ging84]

only things which genuinely need replacing as a pair are brake friction parts, it is rare to find anything else which needs to be a matched pair.
generally when things like steering and suspension parts are recommended to be replaced in pairs, it's because they will have suffered pretty similar levels of wear, so the other one probably last a whole lot longer and savings will be made by doing them both at the same time.
But when a warranty is paying out for one, but might not end up paying out for the other, it's cheaper to just pay for the one.

[Oortam]

I've always thought that it was preferable to change these things as pairs on the same axle, as I would do with shocks as well, to ensure they have the same wear" and feel. Audi obviously agree with this as this is what they recommend. Until they are paying for it and they then say it's OK to change singly. The dealer agreed with me and said they'd always change as a pair but Audi would only pay for the broken one under warrenty. Vorsprung Durch Technik!

[tomjol]

Manufacturer in "doing the bare minimum for warranty work, just like competitors" shocker.