Barraged

Wanted to ask this forum about their collective experiences with using a "highly rated" independent vs an Audi dealer. The example is actually for my 2008 A4 Quattro Cabriolet, but the debate is independent of the particular Audi.

About 2 weeks ago, my top stopped working. Took it to an independent Audi shop in Northern VA for repair. I sat, waiting for 5 hours for them just to try to identify the problem. They were not able to pinpoint the problem, but suspected that it was either the motor or one of the pumps. Took my car and left...then noticed that my dashboard lights would not come on when the light switch was set to Auto...grrr. They charged me one hour of labor...$111.00, asked me to set up another appointment, which I did and have since cancelled.

My wife reminded me that we had extended warranty on the A4, so I took it to Audi Arlington (VA). In one hour they diagnosed the problem, bad motor. Kept the car overnight, gave me a new A7 as a loaner. Went back the next day, picked up car, paid the $100 deductible, problem solved.

This experience has left me with the inclination to deal with my dealer and not an independent shop. I am sure the shop is fine for ECU mods, adding performance bits, but I am not sure about their overall understanding of the Audi platform.

Please share your experiences. I saw recently that an independent shop did a brake job for less than half of what Audi charges. Maybe for these kinds of repairs, it may be warranted, but I have my doubts...

BillBoost37

Any independent is only going to be as good as the knowledge of the folks working there. At a dealership the techs are trained and then continually trained on newer stuff.

For example, you could go to a GM dealer for a problem with a 3.8L car, but likely I can diagnose it faster and better over the internet. I was working on only 3.8L's for the better part of 8-10 years.

Barraged

Thanks, what you say makes a lot of sense... The tech working on my car seemed not to be all familiar with the mechanism...

stix

True, an indy shop is only as good as the people, their training and their equipment.

In my case I was lucky to find an Audi factory trained tech., has been in business for some years, only works on VW/Audis, and spends the effort to stay educated. I spent some time looking for the right guy too. I've had him check my Q5 intermittently during warranty and Audi Care. My dealership has been good but I needed the 'independent view' if I chose to keep it after warranty.

Not sure everyone can get so lucky in their area. But there seems no question not just any 'import tech' can play with these machines..

Barraged

Absolutely... Thanks...

BlackSVT

I do have to add this: my father was a dealer tech for 40+ years. I picked up most of the ins & outs/bads & goods about what goes on at dealers, and despite all the training and equipment, you still are playing the tech lottery with a dealer. There are bad, good, and great techs at most any dealer. The saving grace there, is you ultimately have other guys that can be called onto a job, the mfgr backing, and mfgr engineering to call on for something really tough.

My Dad was the dealer guy that ended up getting all the really difficult jobs when nobody could fix them. Frustrating at times when the guys that didn't want to work got the gravy: brake jobs, new car prep, and "tune ups", but the challenge seemed to keep him interested.

Here's the kicker, I worked thru HS and college at an indy garage, towing and minor stuff early on, and working on cars the past 3-4 years. The head mechanic there was one of the best in the area. My father, another guy at my dad's place and the indy guy talked all the time for ideas and tips, helping each other out. These guys just wanted to do the job well, and found ways to do that regardless of where they worked.

That stuff still goes on, and it's independent of the name on the door. So the challenge is to find someone who knows their ****, and stick with them.

AUDIIOS

Had a headlight ballast go out on my 2004 S4, outside of warranty, so I took it to an independent. Told them that a quick google search shows that this issue (blinky headlight on startup) was likely the ballast and not the bulb, but they went ahead and just replaced the bulb. On my way back from California the bulb burned out, and I was pulled over by a trooper who was nice enough to give a warning. Went back to them -- "oh yeah it's the ballast -- and you need a new bulb". hahaha. Very funny. I think they gave me the bulb and maybe 20% off the labor for my trouble, but I learned my lesson. I would agree, I'll only seek out independents for scheduled maintenance, not for repairs.

MattMan3104

I had the parking break of my 2005 A6 failing to release. Took it to the independent shop and they failed to see a wire to the electric motor shorting out, and just reset the error code. After paying for their time, I still had to take it to the dealer where the problem was correctly identified and corrected. I have good experiences with the independent doing routine maintenance, but if there is something out of the ordinary, I'll probably just go straight to the dealer.

Dalancroft

Formula is:

-Non-warranty, simple repair work such as brakes = indy
-Warranty work = dealer
-Complex work indy might not know how to do = dealer

For example, my 2011 2.0T Premium Plus CPO needed front brake pads & rotors. Dealer wanted $900 & change, indy within walking distance of my house did a fabulous job for $500.

New pistons & rods to fix the oil burning? Definitely dealer. New transmission? Dealer. Tires? Tire shop. Etc. etc. etc.

motoguy128

Indy is 2 miles from my house. Dealer is 50 minutes away. I need to pretty much take a 1/2 day off work to go there for service or spend a Saturday there.