HoonyY

Help. I have a 96 2.8 fwd that is 3 months out of warranty. It has that notorious squeaky front suspension problem that costs $800 to fix. I took it to the dealer today and they confirmed the problem and relayed it to AoA. AoA came back with an offer to cover 1/2 parts and 1/2 labor. My car only has 44,900 miles too. How can Audi produce a car that squeaks like this and then not take responsibility for their faulty suspension design? I want them to cover the full costs, but after talking to them they don't seem to budge and even offered to take away the offer altogether. What the !@!#@$##$ is up with that? I'm a young guy and had planned on buying more Audi's in the future but now I'm not so sure whether i'll be a lifetime customer. Do BMW's and Mercedes cars run like this or do they treat their customers like this? I'm sure they did not intend for the suspension to operate like this, but their inability to take total responsiblity for a problem like a suspension flaw does not give me the best feeling about AoA or AudiAG.<p>I might be forced to take this 1/2 offer, and if i do i will make sure that I escalate this issue to the appropriate audience. Comments on how to handle this situation are very welcome.<p>hoony <br>96A4 2.8 fwd

Matt Daniels

1. Did you bring up this problem before your cars waranty ran out?<br>2. If so why wasn't if fixed before?<br>3. If you didn't bring this up before you waranty ran out why not? <p>If you and your dealer have been dealing with this problem for awhile, since before the end of your warranty period, then I agree with you that it should still be covered under warrany. But if you just now decided to have this fixed, <b>after</b> the end of your warranty, then I think having AoA cover half of the bill sounds acceptable. <p>Just my opinion of course.<p>Matt

ErikR

If you don't have a written complaint with Audi prior to the warranty expiration you are essentially SOL. Have you checked the TSB's? If there is a TSB they will perform that even after the expiration, otherwise forget it.<p>This is true for any company, most of which are worse after warranty IMHO. I had a Mazda transmission problem which took legal action to take care of, and even then was a nightmare. Ask any of those knuckleheads with the bad water based paint. 50% is all they got with a known defect.

Jim Murphy

My buddy just ran into a similar problem on a Audi 90 over a bad catalytic converter ($1000). Although his car was just out of warranty (like yours) his dealer talked to AoA and they came up with a 1/3 split all around (AoA, dealer, and he). The reason (and this may apply to you) is:<p>He had brought the car in to his dealer when the car was under warranty complaining of a rattling noise (insinuating it might be the converter). The dealer did not (or could not) find anything wrong at that point so the bad converter was never replaced (I am not sure if they also thought it might have been the converter). The problem became more pronounced *after* his car was out of warranty wherin the dealer found out that it was indeed a bad catalytic converter. Since he had brought the problem up "in good faith" during his warranty period, they decided that they would cover some of the cost. Now, he also believes (rightfully so) that he shouldn't have to pay a cent but then he also believes he could have been more forceful when they first looked at the problem. So to cut to the chase, he compromised and took the 1/3 all around deal because he "was just too lazy too fight" (his words)<p>His case raises a good question for your situation: Did you originally mention this problem to the dealer while the car was under warranty? If so, I would lay the blame on the dealer as they did not fix the problem that you pointed out "in good faith".<p>If you did mention this to the dealer, I would explain to AoA that you had brought the car in under warranty to get this problem fixed (records should show this) but the dealer did not fix it. Therefore, AoA and the dealer should resolve this and eat whatever costs are needed. If this is the first time you mentioned this problem then the situation does change slightly. If this is the case, maybe the dealer would be willing to eat some (or all) of the costs to make a *repeat* customer happy. Good luck in your fight...

DL

A couple friends of mine had their cars' (Audi 100 and VW Passat) faulty transmission replaced for free even after warranty period (from the same dealer).

ErikR

Depends,<p>If they brought it in before there is legal coverage, as echoed by the later posters. If there is a "hidden" warranty, common in US cars, then they will fix it because they are reimbursed. But otherwise it is the bottom line that they are looking out for...

DH

The dealer has absolutely no control.<p>If the dealer performs unauthorized warranty work outside the warranty, they will be out of pocket.<p>Audi can authorize or "Good Will" the repairs outside the warranty.<p>If the problem was not brought to the dealer's attention prior to the expiration of the warranty, Audi can refuse to cover any portion whatsoever. BMW and Infinity are good about "Good Willing" major components if they fail shortly after the expiration of the warranty. I had a $ 4,800.00 transmission replacement in an M30 convertible that was two months outside the warranty. They good willed everything but $ 500.00.<p>I have a close friend who is a BMW factory employee who audits warranty work. He has a very generous budget to allocate toward good will repairs each quarter.<p>I have no experience with Mercedes.

HoonyY

1. Did you bring up this problem before your cars waranty ran out?<p>No. This problem occured in Nov. 98 and my warranty went out on Oct of 98. Unfortunately, it went away as the weather became colder. In a few warm days in early January, it came back and was really annoying. I had assumed that it just went away, but now I know the these kind of things just don't go away.<p>2. If so why wasn't if fixed before?<br>3. If you didn't bring this up before you waranty ran out why not? <p>The problem did not arise or wasn't noticed until after my warranty. <p>So am I out of luck? What do you think?<br>Thanks in advance<br>Hoony<p>

Matt Daniels

I suppose you could try and fight it, but 50% isn't that bad of an offer. Maybe you could see if the dealer would cover some of the cost, like of of the other posts above mentions. But I'm guessing that you're going to be paying something anyway. <p>I'm not familiar with the problem you have, could it be fixed with after market suspension parts? It might be the perfect time to upgrade if you're into that type of thing.<p>Matt

Bob Petruska

I know Passat owners will eventually have a very big grins on their faces. I don't see why us Audi owners don't have the same warranty especially when we paid a lot more! This really tics me off!<p>If I ever have a $1000 or more part go bad on my A4....back to Nissans where I never replaced one failed part on the 5 I had owned! Infinity is coming out with an AWD model this year. I believe that they call it the R35. Should be very interesting since it will have the best 6 cylinder engine produced on earth!