They can't fix my car!
11-18-2012, 09:17 AM
#21
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But these things impact the alignment of the wheel as it may not be perfectly centered. I can think of no reason why they would be associated with the CLUNK when the car goes over a sharp bump, which is the real problem. The wheels the dealer put on to test where the problem went away were 18" just like mine. The clunk does not come from the wheel, it seems some property of the wheel (weight is the only one that comes to mine) changes the way the suspension reacts to a bump and makes the car clunk. Why would one set of 18" wheels be fine and another is a problem only after they worked on the car? Without knowing what the problem actually is, we are all guessing.
So just to be clear- my goal is not to go around pointing fingers and blaming Audi itself or the dealer. My problem is that they have not identified what the problem IS. At the end of the day, after more than 4 weeks of working on my car, they are sending me home with the car in the exact state it was when it arrived. It didn't make the clunk before I brought it to them in the first place- so what changed?
That's why I'm kind of bummed. 4 weeks later (6 since this whole thing started), I have a car with a clunk that wasn't there before.
11-19-2012, 04:11 AM
#22
AudiWorld Senior Member
that does put it in a different light that it didn't do it before they worked on it...
Unfortunately, unless a good dealership, it's hard to prove a negative...
Have you tried a nice conversation with the svc mgr, then the sales mgr, then the general mgr/owner of the dealership....
sometimes that helps...
good luck with it and feel your pain as I had something similar happen with a motorhome a few years back - tough lesson to learn to take them on a test ride before and video the car for sounds/ride/etc...
you shouldn't HAVE to do that, but I try to now...
Unfortunately, unless a good dealership, it's hard to prove a negative...
Have you tried a nice conversation with the svc mgr, then the sales mgr, then the general mgr/owner of the dealership....
sometimes that helps...
good luck with it and feel your pain as I had something similar happen with a motorhome a few years back - tough lesson to learn to take them on a test ride before and video the car for sounds/ride/etc...
you shouldn't HAVE to do that, but I try to now...
06-21-2016, 06:15 PM
#23
Did the two months count from the day your vehicle had been out of service for 30 days or the first day you brought in your car? My car has been at the dealership for almost 40 days. Audi of America is still trying to repair the car instead of deciding to give me a new car or buy it back.
You may not even have to get to lemon law status. Call 1 800 FOR AUDI. It took them nearly two months, but I ended up with a 2013 to replace my 2012 Q5, it was out of service 25 days (state law here is 30 days). Cost me nothing out of pocket -- they should want to make it right. Check your state laws to be sure, but my impression is that they'd rather avoid going there or getting adversarial with someone they see as a loyal or repeat customer.
06-22-2016, 09:50 AM
#24
AudiWorld Super User
Cloudy-
That's a four year old thread. Laws change, often in just one year. Corporate policies change on a whim. So you really might want to check your state lemon laws, as they apply now, and then check with AoA as to what they'll do, now that it is 2016.
That's a four year old thread. Laws change, often in just one year. Corporate policies change on a whim. So you really might want to check your state lemon laws, as they apply now, and then check with AoA as to what they'll do, now that it is 2016.
06-22-2016, 02:48 PM
#25
Thanks! It's a little complicated. I bought my car in PA, registered in NC, and now moved to OH. Plus, the car drove through a puddle last year and the engine was replaced by insurance. The AoA customer service rep said they will consider all my request, but there's no definite timeline to answer my request. I don't want things to get ugly, so I just hope this can be resolved without lawyer involved. But my company does have legal plan for employees.
06-22-2016, 03:10 PM
#26
AudiWorld Super User
You would have to start by checking with the PA DMV, and there may have been a "lemon law rights book" included in your purchase papers. AFAIK a lemon law applies to the purchase of a car in a particular state, and subsequent moves or residency ma or may not make any difference. That would be left for the laws to spell out. If they are silent on the subject, they probably would still apply, i.e. you'd have to pursue the matter under PA law.
The fact that your insurer had the engine replaced complicates things. You no longer have the original car. Unless the replacement was done with by an Audi dealer, with a new Audi engine...you probably have only the warranty that came with the replacement engine.
It should be trivial for an attorney to run these things down. By all means, use the legal plan. But you'll need to find the warranty and the details of the engine replacement first.
The fact that your insurer had the engine replaced complicates things. You no longer have the original car. Unless the replacement was done with by an Audi dealer, with a new Audi engine...you probably have only the warranty that came with the replacement engine.
It should be trivial for an attorney to run these things down. By all means, use the legal plan. But you'll need to find the warranty and the details of the engine replacement first.
06-22-2016, 05:44 PM
#27
Thank you so much! Yes, the replacement was done at an Audi dealer and they put a brand new engine in. (My car only had 3000 miles on it when the accident happened). Almost immediately after they put the new engine, it started to have EPC light on randomly. But I wasn't able to replicate the error until last month, with was about 20 days past the lemon law date (PA covers 1 year only). I guess no lemon law for me. But there gotta be something Audi can do, right? They either tell my insurance company that the car can't be fixed so it should be totalled or they fix the car because it's covered by warranty. Now I'm making monthly payment for an S4 but stuck with an A3 loaner.
You would have to start by checking with the PA DMV, and there may have been a "lemon law rights book" included in your purchase papers. AFAIK a lemon law applies to the purchase of a car in a particular state, and subsequent moves or residency ma or may not make any difference. That would be left for the laws to spell out. If they are silent on the subject, they probably would still apply, i.e. you'd have to pursue the matter under PA law.
The fact that your insurer had the engine replaced complicates things. You no longer have the original car. Unless the replacement was done with by an Audi dealer, with a new Audi engine...you probably have only the warranty that came with the replacement engine.
It should be trivial for an attorney to run these things down. By all means, use the legal plan. But you'll need to find the warranty and the details of the engine replacement first.
The fact that your insurer had the engine replaced complicates things. You no longer have the original car. Unless the replacement was done with by an Audi dealer, with a new Audi engine...you probably have only the warranty that came with the replacement engine.
It should be trivial for an attorney to run these things down. By all means, use the legal plan. But you'll need to find the warranty and the details of the engine replacement first.
06-22-2016, 05:58 PM
#28
AudiWorld Super User
If you documented the error light was coming on (complained and had a further service invoice written up) then even if it wasn't replicated, AoA might warranty the job. The dealer should have been able to pull a trouble code from the car.
This is the problem with an engine replacement. In theory, in you a bespoke suit and that's better than off the shelf suit. In theory. In practice, there's an awful lot that a team of mechanics, with unknown skills and personal conflicts, trying to bet a time clock, can miss on an engine swap. Could easily be just one pinched wire or bad connection, since the entire wiring harness might need to be replaced if the engine was submerged.
This is the problem with an engine replacement. In theory, in you a bespoke suit and that's better than off the shelf suit. In theory. In practice, there's an awful lot that a team of mechanics, with unknown skills and personal conflicts, trying to bet a time clock, can miss on an engine swap. Could easily be just one pinched wire or bad connection, since the entire wiring harness might need to be replaced if the engine was submerged.
06-23-2016, 07:11 AM
#29
They had to replace the engine because the cylinders were screwed. I did bring the car in after the first time the light was on. They cleared the code and kept it for a day and returned to me. I probably have the paper work somewhere. So far, they have replaced fuel injectors, ECM, rewired the engine, and tons of other parts. Now they are going to take the transmission out. This is hopeless. I will go consult a lawyer.
If you documented the error light was coming on (complained and had a further service invoice written up) then even if it wasn't replicated, AoA might warranty the job. The dealer should have been able to pull a trouble code from the car.
This is the problem with an engine replacement. In theory, in you a bespoke suit and that's better than off the shelf suit. In theory. In practice, there's an awful lot that a team of mechanics, with unknown skills and personal conflicts, trying to bet a time clock, can miss on an engine swap. Could easily be just one pinched wire or bad connection, since the entire wiring harness might need to be replaced if the engine was submerged.
This is the problem with an engine replacement. In theory, in you a bespoke suit and that's better than off the shelf suit. In theory. In practice, there's an awful lot that a team of mechanics, with unknown skills and personal conflicts, trying to bet a time clock, can miss on an engine swap. Could easily be just one pinched wire or bad connection, since the entire wiring harness might need to be replaced if the engine was submerged.
06-23-2016, 10:20 AM
#30
AudiWorld Super User
"I did bring the car in after the first time the light was on. They cleared the code and kept it for a day and returned to me. I probably have the paper work somewhere."
They should also have a record of that. Unless of course, like Madame Clinton Rodham, the dealership was using a private server.(G)
A hundred bucks spent on a legal consultation, often requesting that the lawyer just "send a letter", often is well worth it. When a business gets a lawyer's letter, it tells them that the customer is not going to be brushed off easily, so it becomes easier for them to just find the damned problem and fix it. As opposed to paying their corporate counsel to show up in court to answer complaints.
If your state (where the engine was replaced) has a small claims court, ask the lawyer about the rules for that. The price to file a claim may vary from $25-300 depending on how much that state wants to discourage the poor people from using the courts. And the allowed maximum claim can vary from $2,000-$25,000, again, depending on how easily the voters are placated. But if you are lucky...for $25 you can file a claim for whatever a fix costs, and the dealer and AoA have to pay their corporate counsels, probably $150-200 an hour, every hour, for every appearance and all their prep time, while you're allowed to represent yourself for free. (Although a lawyer may be advisable.)
So...quite simply it can also be cheaper for the dealership to just fix the damned car, or find some other way to make you whole and do it fast. Like, a damned generous trade-in offer costing you next to nothing for a similar car, and then they can take their sweet time trying to figure out what they missed the first time around.
I pity the guys who have to work on these cars. Even when they are honest and competent (ahem) they're forced to race the clock, and the gremlins can be SO subtle and clever these days.
They should also have a record of that. Unless of course, like Madame Clinton Rodham, the dealership was using a private server.(G)
A hundred bucks spent on a legal consultation, often requesting that the lawyer just "send a letter", often is well worth it. When a business gets a lawyer's letter, it tells them that the customer is not going to be brushed off easily, so it becomes easier for them to just find the damned problem and fix it. As opposed to paying their corporate counsel to show up in court to answer complaints.
If your state (where the engine was replaced) has a small claims court, ask the lawyer about the rules for that. The price to file a claim may vary from $25-300 depending on how much that state wants to discourage the poor people from using the courts. And the allowed maximum claim can vary from $2,000-$25,000, again, depending on how easily the voters are placated. But if you are lucky...for $25 you can file a claim for whatever a fix costs, and the dealer and AoA have to pay their corporate counsels, probably $150-200 an hour, every hour, for every appearance and all their prep time, while you're allowed to represent yourself for free. (Although a lawyer may be advisable.)
So...quite simply it can also be cheaper for the dealership to just fix the damned car, or find some other way to make you whole and do it fast. Like, a damned generous trade-in offer costing you next to nothing for a similar car, and then they can take their sweet time trying to figure out what they missed the first time around.
I pity the guys who have to work on these cars. Even when they are honest and competent (ahem) they're forced to race the clock, and the gremlins can be SO subtle and clever these days.