Nalod

Big kudos' to GM Kevin Fenner and Jim Ellis Audi in Marietta, GA for going above and beyond the call of being reasonable.

MY 2010 A4 Avant oil consumption was about a qt burned every 800 miles at the 60,000 miles mark. At just 4 years old this car had been flawless. with no warranty work and many smiles.

I don't live in Atlanta but have worked with Kevin for over 10 years and when he moved 5 hours away to take a promotion I followed him for my Audi purchase. I use my local dealer for service.

We discussed the issue and my "old school" concern that once a car is taken a part its never really quite the same. That may be a bit antiquated in this era but I was willing to look at two things: letting Audi do the rings and Pistons or trade in for a new one.

We are not big fans of the cross over variants (Q5 is lovely but we are car people) and love the A4 Avant, so we we started looking at the Allroad and was a bit taken back that a similar equipped A4 Avant (Pristige + with tech) is $6000 more now than it was 4 years ago bringing it to nearly $50,000.

Without asking, Kevin went to bat for me with Audi of North America and in one phone call was able to structure a deal that boosted my trade in value and discounted significantly to where with no money down I was able to basically buy a brand new AllRoad as mentioned above for the same payment I was making but extending it 4 years. We were just at one year left on our old note. They were able to give me 1.9% on 60 months and complimentary 3 year service maintenance prepaid!

This also bought my 4 year cost of ownership for the A4 to $333 a month depreciation! I had gotten a very good deal on a left over 2010 4 years ago!

Let me mentioned this appears to be my first post but I have been posting on and off for many years under "Bargamon" and with a different email address. I forgot my password and its just easier to register anew. I had a 2004 2.7t Allroad that I leased and really enjoyed chatting about at audiworld back in the day.

Im not posting numbers because my intent is to not be "that internet guy that gets that deal and boasts to others" because this is not a typical deal.

Im posting because loyalty goes both ways. When Mr Fenner was an up and coming top salesman I found him then as I do today to be very personable and I've enjoyed our conversations about business and family. I was really not terribly upset at the notion of having to have the car repaired as I had read that Audi was taking care of this via the class action suite as long as i had valid oil change frequency. I had all but one Oil service done at the dealership mostly because of the previous cars maintenence plan I purchased. I have another mechanic I started using for after warranty work and was planning on using going forward. I don't hate the "stealership" but its a mechanic I long trust with my other cars for the last 20 years. Having the cars documented service history at the dealership made for Audi to see the car has been serviced properly, had seen the oil consumption test done at 37k (was in tolerance then) and see now the issue.

I have read many stories here and over in some BMW forums about when dealers become unreasonable but I'd say after reading the tone of a story many times than not the car owner/writer has "lost it" and is not in line with reality. The customer is not always right!! Thats not to say dealerships are always in the "right". Not by a long shot!

Back to the story at hand, I thought I'd take a moment to do the opposite and just tell a tale of a dealer and Audi whom I thought went beyond expectation and really stepped up to the plate big time to make a customer very happy. They earned my business years ago and now I very much understand "Loyalty" in return. Kevin quickly went to bat for me and Audi of North America provided the resources for him to really step up! As with the last car I need not visit the dealer. All paper work being done either via scanned or over night. While I won't have a chance to drive the particular car before I buy it, it will be shipped to my door as was the last one. I will ask Kevin to take it home one nite to see its in good order, then they will ship it and take the old one away. I never have to visit the dealership. Its not that I don't want to, but its 5 hours away!

roger_1

Thanks for posting your good news story.

Jeff-AudiUSAParts

I want to say thank you for posting also. I think it's very valuable to know the positive experience a person has with a local place of business. Or in your case, not so local and following Kevin to his new location says a lot more. Your opinion will help somebody new to the brand and in your area.

uberwgn

Yeah, given that particular dealer's reputation, any positive review is of benefit. My concern is Nalod's post count...

Nalod

You were right to address my post count. I used to post under "Bargamon" and have not been here in a while. Do a search and you'll find many old posts. I was here since 2003. I don't blame you for being suspicious with an overly postive reveiw.

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/a4-...years-2797530/

The profile:
AudiWorld Forums - View Profile: Bargamon

Was here starting in March of 2003. My last post was in 2011.

I know its not often some paints a dealer in such a good light but this was my experience. I don't service the car in Atlanta and my local dealer is OK. Nothing to praise about in particular. I can't say everything was perfect but few business are.

I was lurking here because I was reading up on the Oil burning resolutions and to see if my soon to be new 2015 had any weird issues reported. I tried logging in by my old password did not work and since I changed Email a few years ago to an old earthlink account not active, I could not change it.

I also noted that I would not post my price as its a private matter and I would not expect anyone to get that price. Kevin is the GM. I have read so many stories over the years where the dealer did not have the customers back. Often the customer is over the top demanding things sometimes they are not entitled to and freak out. I also read when someone gets an amazing price. THere is always "That guy that did better than anyone else and has to let everyone know!"

I am a 53 year old man and not a 22 year old whose life revolves around his/her car.

I was not shopping for a new car but when I looked backwards of the cost of ownership being super low IF i were to trade in on the proposed deal and project again because of the numbers a potential low cost going forward (I hope this one has no issues and resale is strong) it became a viable option. Having a care 5 model years newer does not suck either.

Remarkable that when we test drove an Allroad (locally) before deciding just how similar my 2010 felt to the 2015 Allroad. Really, there was no "WOW" factor that the new one was so much improved over what I had. Thats a testiment to how good these cars are!!!

No mods, no stay up at nite dreaming of how I can spend my vacation doing a carbon fiber interior wrap or squeeze another 10 HP by getting a new exhaust.........I just want my wife to be happy and have a nice long distance driver for our ski trips!

IN a world where most dealerships are blasted on the internet I thought a good gesture on my part to share a positive story. Basically happy people don't post. I didn't post since 2011.

BMWBig6

That's great that you were taken care of like this. I have no experience with that dealership location but I've purchased and serviced my Audis at the other Jim Ellis location in Atlanta and they are first class. Thanks for sharing!

uberwgn

Nalod, thanks for expanding this. I think it's important to share the history. There are PR firms that are doing nothing but shill and leaving positive reviews for re-sellers that need some bolstering - - I hope your experience with Jim Ellis continues to excel. And I agree with the bit about not posting anything at all when you have a positive experience. Our local dealership has been great. They're not cheap, but the experience is fairly predictable. I think many of us are enjoying good "relationships" with our servicing Audi dealers.


Take care, and there's no reason to be a stranger!

Nalod

Uber,

I know this is counter intuitive to those who seek "value" and go away from dealerships for service but in my instance I "Might" have been rewarded for having my car to the dealership after the Audi Care was done. It was more convienence than anything but perhaps in the long run there are occurances when its beneficial to do so.

I, like many will go on line and research problems and the nice thing about forums like this is most often others have had problems and perhaps found the solution. I changed my angel eyes on my BMW when one went out rather than go to a dealer. I also did not want to do a "Mod" and put $250 brighter ones on, just replace them. I found decent ones for $60 and did the job myself. Little stuff like that can add up. Im just using this as one experience.
There is one guy on here, "Markincincinatti" who has had like 32 Audi's over the years and talks of his great relationship with his dealer and it seems to have paid off for him as he gets invited to all the events and "taken care of".
I get PR firms boosting reputations and thats not right. On the other hand perhaps we should speak about postitive experiences and reasons for staying with the dealer network? I'd have to say I am rethinking my stance a bit as well.

I know we read when things go wrong at a dealer but most often Im not sure posters will share the result of a negative independant which sometimes concludes that "Independants are better than Stealerships".

True the auto business historically leaves a lot to be desired and few have succeeded in chagning the perceptions of the mantenence area.

Nalod

Got the car delivered via transport at 9:30 last nite. Missed the 2nd period of the football game.

2010 a4 Avant vs. 2015 Allroad:

1. Google maps is really funny. Sitting in my driveway I was astonished when you zoom in just how detailed the view is. Yeah its one thing to it via laptop but on the display in the car was a hoot.
2. Not sure how fast the wifi will be. It did not stream music at first try. Bluetooth worked great and sounded great from my iTunes list. Im disappointed the menu is not accessible on the display. I'll likely use my 80gb iPod classic. Same music as on my phone.
3. fit and finish felt great. seats felt better as well. The three spoke steering wheel is good looking and felt good.
4. Engine is quieter then the Avant. Since there is no snarl, its an improvement!
5. 8 speed transmission is super smooth and aid's in performance vs. 6speed auto.
6. The moor brown dash and contrast is a nice touch!

Great handling and luxury package for the money. Im fine without a "Sport" package (do like the seats!) but this is a nice compliment to my BMW coupe and its "Sport 6mt" configuration and my wives preference. Its primarily her car and my miles with it will be mostly on trips. For that Im good with the Non-Sport.

Coming from a 2010 avant PP+ with 60k miles on it these are the first impressions I have in comparison. I was happy with the old car and the 5 year progress on this car is notable.