Kkirkg

I came across several posts on various threads about dealer service loaners. Thought I would try to start a dedicated thread for that topic.

First point . . . I keep asking for an R8 but that hasn't happened yet . . . But I live in hope.

I would rather schedule my appointment when it suits my schedule rather than waiting for an A8 loaner. I was hoping for a Q5 last week so I could pick up a Christmas tree but ended up with an A5 instead. Oh well . . .

My way of thinking is "Keep my car as long as you need to get the work done correctly." As long as I have their car they have a reason to get it done within a reasonable amount of time.

I know everyone has a different opinion about what is suitable for a loaner, but growing up in the car business I had a different car about every third day . . .

I enjoy driving the other Audi models. So far I've had several A6s, Q5s, A5s, and an S4. I enjoy driving them because it makes me appreciate how great the A8 is in comparison to the other Audi models.

derfA8L

Yes, agree. I usually get an A8 as a loaner, but do like getting behind the wheel of the other Audi models from time to time. I recall getting a Q5 one very windy Saturday, and I laughed my **** off with the high-pitched whistle inside the cabin from the wind hitting the roof rail system. When I brought the car back and mentioned the whistling, the service manager laughed and said they all do that. He said he was considering removing the rails from the 2 Q5 loaners he had---I guess we could refer to that as a different take on "truth in lending." 😇

jakematic

The only loaner I've had was a Q-something.
Felt like riding a buckboard wagon across the plains in the old West !
Wow the trim was terrible, and the technology was vintage by comparison to a D4.

Normally I just "work" from the dealership since they have WhyFi, espresso and croissants.
My SA continues to tell me I can get my nails done too - just out of arms reach luckily for him.
In reality... it's my day to fart around, read magazines, and smoke out back with my friends at Audi

Modiecast

I always get an A8L loaner unless I request something else.

motegi

Being that my car is in service once every three weeks since I bought it in March I've had plenty of loaners....

Everything from Q5 (the worst), A6, A7, to A8Ls. Never got an S model of anything.

The good/bad thing about getting an A8L loaner is finding out that the loaners (usually with less than 2000 miles on the ODO) also have some of the same electrical/mechanical issues as my car. I guess some problems are just "inherent" in the design.

This has been by far the least reliable car that I've ever owned. While it's all under warranty and at no cost to me it is comically bad. My wife has been telling me to throw in the towel and abandon ship. I hesitate because I foolishly paid for AudiCare at the time of purchase and stand to lose a considerable amount.

derfA8L

I have to say that my experience with 3 previous A8Ls (2006 and 2008 D3s; 2011 D4) have been the exact opposite. Aside from a few minor issues that required some "tweaking", all three cars were very reliable, with few and far between dealer service visits. The D4 service loaners I've driven have had no gremlins, electrical or mechanical. I'm hoping this positive experience continues with my new A8L.

Sorry to hear that your experience hasn't been a positive one...at least to date. It happens, that some cars have problems---hopefully only initially, and that they get sorted out with a bit of patience. I'm lucky to have a pretty good dealer service department that I can rely on. I've found that often times it's not the car that's the real issue, but a below average service department that fails to either diagnose and/or perform repairs properly the first time around. Hope that things get better for you and your A8.

motegi

Thanks. While I love the car the unreliability of it is driving me insane. My colleagues at work are amazed that I've put up with it this long (hasn't even been one year). And I usually keep my cars for 6-7 years at a minimum and well over 100k miles each. That's why I prepaid the AudiCare maintenance plan at the time of purchase fully intending to keep it for the long term...

Unfortunately I don't think it is a dealer issue as I've had my car at three different Audi dealer service centers. I now drive 1 hour each way just to go to take my car in to what I think is the best dealer.

It wouldn't be a problem if it was just once every few months. But my A8L has literally been in service more days over the past two months than it has been in my driveway for a variety of issues including repeated check engine lights requiring replacement of two sensors (O2 and camshaft position sensors) that required three separate visits and hundreds of dealer added miles for testing. Also two visits for an MMI screen that continues to refuse to stay on including replacement of a control unit and a cable harness. Thankfully they always have a very low mileage Audi loaner available and even brought a car all the way out to me the last time.

In fact my car has been at the dealer for over a week now and I can only wish that I'll have it back before Christmas.

The last two A8L loaners (2014 and 2015) both have had one of the rear passenger privacy shades that were stuck in the raised position. The 2015 even had an MMI screen that would spontaneously retract when going over railroad tracks. All of my loaners have had the same intermittent function of the steering wheel easy entry memory and most have had the same suspension squawk as my car. Hence my conclusion that these are basic design flaws for the D4 and not issues with my particular car. Just looking through the various threads here you can see that these last two are common issues.

Coming from almost 2 decades of multiple japanese luxury cars (virtually problem free) this is my first foray into a German marque and will likely be my last.

Heck, this ordeal has even gotten me thinking how much worse could a British car be than this! I'm actually considering an Aston Martin...

motegi

I too enjoy being able to drive some of the other models from time to time but only to a certain point.

However being stuck in a relatively poorly equipped Q5 (2015 with low miles) for over a week is not my idea of a good time (it was that or an A4).

BTW, I see that you've only had your D4 A8 since 2013 but see you listed multiple loaners. If you don't mind my asking, how many times has your car been in service since you bought it?

Kkirkg

I'll have to pull my service folder and count them up. Some where purely scheduled maintenance, other were problem related, and a few were mixed problem and maintenance.

BigBoy11

Surely Texas has Lemon Laws that would potentially apply in this instance. Might be worth checking out.