jprescott

Tire pressure monitor alerted me to the nail in my tire. Pretty cool. Called Audi service and they were nice about giving me Roadside assistance #. Called at 6:30. Helpful, kind and gave me a 45 minute ETA. With my Mercedes and Volvo I've had service from local dealer and that's why I called. Figured I could get local Audi guys out to take tire in for a fix and help with pressure monitor recalibration. At 10pm...wait sorry 10:10pm an 18 year old kid in a dodge neon showed up. I was pretty embarrassed and apologized for getting him out so late for a tire. He was with the local Pop-a-lock company and admitted he'd never seen an A8. I had to help the kid figure out where everything was to change the tire. Anyhow, 4 hours for that and I had to deal with the rest this morning. I'm sorry Audi, but in 16 months that will weigh in when I look at a new S550 or LS460. Any one else have this kind of experience?

Der Kimbo

Ummm 4yr/50k coverage - 3 week old car. How the hell can you cancel the service? BTW AoA, the Leather Notepad you sent to apologize didn't do jack.

Ringmeister

I was driving on a local road that I rarely use and drove over a cut out in the pavement that was not marked by a road construction sign (was filled with asphalt the next day). My TPMS warning came on immediately indicating my right front tyre (UK english in display) was flat. I pulled off the road to a safe spot and called Audi Roadside Assistance. 30 minutes later a kid showed up in a pickup truck from AAA and said he was not familiar with my car (no surprise) and would call a tow truck driver to assist me. I got tired of waiting for the tow truck and I changed the tire myself. Just as I was getting ready to pull away the flatbed wrecker showed up.

Lessons learned on my first encounter with ARA:

1) The notion that Audi Roadside Assistance knows something about Audi cars is false.
2) Unless you are in business attire or in inclement weather, you might consider changing your own flat (since it will usually be quicker).
3) The first thing they asked me on the phone was - am I in a safe location - I appreciate that they are concerned about that.

One thing that I had that made the tire change easier was a product called Emergency Tire Tote (which I carry in all my cars). See the link for more info.

Emergency Tire Tote
<img src="http://www.motivation-design.com/gfx/portfolio/lrg_emergency.jpg"><ul><li><a href="http://www.motivation-design.com/tiretote/tt_product.htm">http://www.motivation-design.com/tiretote/tt_product.htm</a</li></ul>

D3AeighT

Hopefully this was related to that road rage thing.

boxman

I did in the winter. I came back from my car sitting at the airport to to dead battery, I had no idea on how to get into the car, during the new car orientation with the salesman, not once did he show me the key entries for the trunk or the drivers side door. I called AOA Roadside, I might as well asked the wall how to get into the car! They didn't have a clue. Coming over from MB that's the biggest flaw with the car, roadside assistance is weak! I told the salesman about it and he said they just changed services not that long ago, that's to bad.

Audi S5 TC

Avoid the S550 at all costs. Like all other 2000+ Benzes, the S550 will most likely be problematic enough to make any Audi-old and especially new-seem like a Toyota or Lexus by comparison. The LS460, OTOH, would be an excellent choice-from a quality and reliability standpoint anyway.

Der Kimbo

Didn't want to drive the car back with the rear suspension with the extreme toe-in, but ended up doing so anyway. Kinda glad it didn't get hauled off as its evidence in the case.

greenie

a local AAA! AAA stinks from experience. My only experience with R A was, shall we say, pleasant? I discovered that the left front tire was completely flat. I called R A and W/I 40 minutes, they showed up FROM A LOCAL AUDI DEALERSHIP. They offered to take the tire off, get it back to their shop, repair it and bring it back! I said that it wasnt necessary and that they could just mount the spare. Done! I took the tire to NTW who had recently done my seasonal tire swap and LOW AND BEHOLD, the mechanic had left a rag inside the tire which seated itself between the bead and the rim!

jprescott

I'll be in the market for these in the end of their second year. I'm not too worried. Back to the above topic though, I'm still thinking Audi has some work to do in the upscale market.

jprescott

outsource all calls regardless of time of day. At this time I agree that this is a big step down from MB. I guess the important thing is I love my car more than the others available. Small price to pay?