a4problems

I have a 1998 A4 1.8T which is part of the oil sludge extended warranty. However, I'm having a LOT of trouble from audi in getting my car covered as I need a complete new engine and oil lines etc.
I replaced half of my engine in April as a result of this oil sludge problem before Audi had even given out the extended warranty letter in August.
I use a backyard mechanic that comes to my house and does my oil changes every 6 months or 5000kms which is following the correct maintenance schedule.

I have receipts from him and other garages that I went to for all my oil changes. I have EVERY record from 1998 to 2004. However Audi has made it VERY difficult by sending me back each time with new reasons.

First, they said some of the receipts that I have gotten (from Licensed and certified garages) don't have the odometre on it and just the date. They said that because of that, I can't be covered.
But I reasoned with them and said that if the dates are there, then whats the difference? Many ppl use receipts as evidence and do their own oil changes without writing the odometre. If the intervals are correct then there shouldn't be any problems.
When they finally took those receipts, they then told me that my receipts from the backyard mechanic is not acceptable. I once again asked them what the problem is. My mechanic is certified and he can even come to Audi and fix a car in front of them to show that he is more than capable of doing a simple thing like an oil change.

The extended warranty is there for people that can prove that they followed the correct means of maintaining their engine, not any other BS. I TOTALLY followed the proper maintenance by either going to the garage, the dealership, or my mechanic.

They then brought the most ridiculous stipulation from the Audi letter concerning the extended warranty on the oil sludge,

"if you have previously paid for a repair as a result of an engine oil sludge related concern that is described in this letter, and you can provide documentation of maintenance completed by an authorized Aealer or a professional licensed repair facility according to the maintenance schedule for your vehicle, you may be entitled to reimbursement."

THEY WONT COVER ME BECAUSE I DIDNT DO IT AT A LICENSED FACILITY!!!

they teach you how to do an oil change in AUto shop in highschool. I'm sure 10% of the people do thier own oil changes. I didnt even do that. I went and got a professional mechanic to do it for me and they STILL wont cover it!!!

how ridiculous is that?

I'm thinking about going to arbitration or court. All I wanted was them to cover the $9000 engine repair this time even though I spent 5000 last time on replacing half of the engine.

Does anyone either in the auto industry or the legal industry think I have a case???

RKA

repair, but they have no way of verifying the first repair was done properly, so why should they cover anything if you took it to a backyard mechanic? I'm not arguing with you...just presenting you with their point of view.

As for the first repair...so far, feedback on these forums indicates that AoA is making it VERY difficult for people to recover costs even if they fall under this oil sludge recall.

I don't have any specific advice for you, except to tell you that there is no reason you should be spending $9000 to repair your car. It's barely worth that much in working order.

3pt8 turbo

have u tried other dealerships?

a4problems

Well the first repair I did was at an actual garage and NOT my private mechanic. But it still shoudlnt matter if he did it because he is a licensed mechanic. He just works privately and doesnt own a garage.

qfrog Ti20

My experience thus far tells me that there are only 3 safe ways to get your oil changed. back yard mechanic is not one of them... neither is a quicky lube place or a K-mart or sears.

1. yourself and retain recipts for filter & oil plus note mileage of car in maintainance booklet in glovebox.

2. Dealership, dealerships keep records and just for good measure have them stamp your service booklet.

3. An audi specialist garage... not a gas station with a garage attached... but a european car specialist that has ancient german cars sitting in front that still run. Get booklet stamped and keep recitps in a file at home with mileage noted. These places have technicians that have worked on european cars for deccades and they also tend not to screw up a basic task like chaning the oil on a 1.8T. Many of their techs will have worked at dealership and have recieved Factory training in the past.

I do my own maintainance... I also am an audi parts consultant so there is very little I cant get done for a please, thank you and some boozer and on rare occasion a few bucks.

Why doesnt audi want to pay for your engine... it wasnt done at a dealership. Audi Dealerships do about 80% of their work under warranty... they are trained by audi, supplied by audi and given technical support by audi. Why is all of that important... to minimize replacing parts that dont need to be replaced. The sludge Technical bulletin instructs a technician to examine the engine first, then procede to replace only the parts necessary, not the whole engine on a whim. If your engine died due to you not doing your timing belt at 60K... then the sludge problem doesnt even concern you.

If you changed your oil ever 5K miles then your problem most likely wasnt sludge related. The sludge related engine failures all look approximately the same... I've seen a dozen or so of them in person. The top of the engine has a nasty film of black slime on it which is dirty burnt dino based motor oil. Sludge related failures are caused by the oil and oil filter NOT being changed at a 3-5K interval but rather at a 10K interval.

I've seen higher mileage 1.8T engines that are pristine clean, because they have been maintained with synthetic oil and oil change intervals of less than 5K miles. My 12v 2.8 V6 has 108K miles on it and the engine is very very clean... I only use synthetic be it Castrol, royal purple or Mobil 1... and I've also had the oil system flushed recently. I dont have nor expect to have any oil related problems. Any 1.8T maintained in the same manner wont develop problems.

a4problems

thanks a lot for your input. Any help from an experienced Audi guy HELPS me A LOT.
BUt the problem is Phil, if you do your own maintenance, even YOU wouldn't be covered in this situation. I have ALL the documentation and receipts for proper maintenance schedule. IN hindsight, I should have gone to the AUdi dealership for my oil changes but they released this extended warranty because they too used crappy API oil instead of using the better type. They only found out and released this info to the public in August 2004. THaht is the reason why they are extending the warranty.
My problem is that they only cover jobs done at either Audi or a repair facility (including some crappy garage that use crappy oil) However, in this case, they choose to ignore recipts given by a certified private mechanic who does not happen to own a garage.
There is no explanation for that except that they are trying to cheap out by making dumb stipulations.
A licensed repair facility is requested because they want someone who knows how to do something simple like an oil change done properly. Its not because the facility makes the oil change any better. A licensed mechanic who does his own oil change does just as good of a job at his house compared to a crappy garage that knows nothing about European cars except in this case, the latter is covered.

qfrog Ti20

I've heard some discussion about poor oil grades being used in the US... oil that isnt equal to that used in Germany... I cant verify this to be causation, thus at this point it is an intersting piece of hearsay.

I dont recall there ever being a test or survey pertaining to the 1.8T and sludge... if there was it would have come to this forum's attention.

You dont know what oil and filters were used on your car. The general consensus of this forum is that synthetic oils & oem filters are the only way to go... there is a lot of experience backing that up too. If you had been an AudiWorld user long ago you would have read endless discussions/threads regarding this. Had that been the case odds are that you never would have had a problem in the first place... as you would have been using the recommended oil/filter combo. There is a world of a difference between the lubrication provided by $1/qt value oil and a $5 no name filter... VS Mobil 1 and an OEM Mahle/Mann filter.

The only reason I know of for audi to extend the warranty on the engine is because the published suggested oil change intervals is not sufficient to keep a 1.8T engine clean & free of sludge.

Massacre

There's a very good reason why Audi is not wanting to reimburse you. If your looking for an objective evaluation, think of the precedent they would be setting. They stipulate the requirements and even though they haven't been followed fully (although it does look like you intended to and thought you were), they are now asked to pay out. But ultimately, they lose nothing by saying no until you do take them to court. As an insurance agent, I see people who "get screwed" all the time and just accept it because it's not worth the trouble. Remember it's like speeding... it's not illegal to do 180 miles an hour on the freeway, it's illegal to get caught doing it! Good luck.

a4problems

WHat you say is most likely probably true. I only signed up on AUdiworld today and had I read more, say 3-4 years ago on this siite, I wouldnt have had this problem. But many people that own cars are not car enthusiasts. They do as they're told in their manuals and that is it.
I am guessing avid fans of Audi and knowledgable car people (esp the ones that read up on Audi) would have taken a different course of action and as a result not have an oil sludge problem.
However, for the regualr and majority of the car owners out their, they do not have information like htis. Had Audi put all this in the owner's manual instead of me having to look it up on an audiworld internet club site, there would also not be this problem.

Audi only released this info to their uninformed customers in AUgust. THey should have done it as soon as they found out. WHy didnt they? Probably because they didn't realize the serious implications of it or the consequence. If this problem was 3 years in the making, and they had the knowedge then, they should ahve released a letter then, not in Aufgust 2004

a4problems

thanks a lot for your comments. You are right in saying that it would set a precedent. I have checked previous court cases and court case studies involving a consumer versus a car manufacturer involving warranties. THese cases reflect negligiance on part of the consumer more so than the manufacturer (Volvo) where buddy decided not to change his belt despite a letter sent by Volvo claiming that it had to be done at 32000km and not 48 000km. despite the fact that the manual says 48 000. As a result, it snapped and the engine busted. However, the judge ruled in favour of the consumer indicating that he is an average vehicle owner and not an expert in cars.

so he got the full reimbursement plus 750 for rental car costs.

My case is a lil better than that one and I do not htink I will have a problem winning this. Just wnated the opinion of others to see if I am way off?