I just came back from Poul Miller Audi dealer in Nj. My 2000 2.7T has 36350 miles on it and needs 40k tune up which is about $950. Since my 4 year/50k is expired they can not do it for free. ( 4years expired on october 2004).however, if I reached 40k two months ago it would be done for free the dealer. I feel like I am being punished for driving my car less than avarage people. I strongly beleive basic maintenances (oil chance, tuneups) should be done by dealers if the car is under 50k and should have no time expiretion at all. I would like to hear about other thoughts on this matter.. If you could also give me any complaint toll free numbers I appriciate it too..

Thanks
Emre

 

Actually, the MY 2000 warranty was 3 yrs from the in-service date or 50k miles.

 

Why didn't you take it in BEFORE the time limit expired?

 

you cannot have it done any more recently than 10 months from the previous service. So, if you don't do them pretty much anually by the calendar, and have lower miles, you will not be able to get the 4yr/40k mi sevice (which is the more extensive of the first 4 ) done for free. Being on the low mileage side myself, I ran up against this too. I made sure that I had the 3 yr done early enough to allow the 4th in my final month of warranty. If you get behind though, its tough to catch up with that 10 month thing in there.

 

In most cases the oil change interval and most other service is based on miles or months so you should have been able to get most of the service even if you didn't drive much. For example, an oil change is required at 1 year or 6 months (I can't remember) or 5000/10000 miles (again I can't remember what the interval is, it does vary with model and year of manufacture) so either by miles of time you get the same number of services in 4 years.

However, in any case the free service deal is what it is, 4 years or 50,000 miles whichever comes first. I am not crazy about Audi's service departments but I don't think they are trying to penalize anyone for driving either a lot or a little. The simple fact is that the amount of service and warranty work needed by a car is based on both time and useage (partially milage) not just one or the other. One could imagine an extreme situation where an owner lives in an urban area and only takes very short drives. They would put very few miles on their car but might actually have more wear than someone esle putting huge numbers of highway miles on their car. My BMW would vary the oil change interval recommendation substantially based on long vs. short trips for example.

In the end though you probably will have to accept the fact that the warrantee and service end at 4 years. However, it may be that you did not get all the service you were entitled to if you only took the car in for service based on milage and not time. You may have a case that you are owed some service but Audi may say that you were at fault for not bringing in the car at the recommended (time) intervals.

 

Ditto! Missed by over a year. Amazing!

 

the 40k s/b just an oil service, i.e., 8k for oil service and 16k intervals for oil service plus other checks such as pulling diagnostic codes. Check your invoices for details of services performed and billed to Audi. I likewise have low mileage (36k) on my 2000 2.7T. My invoices clearly note the service done, incl the 48k service done in month 36 at 22k.

 

thanks for all the different points guys...

a6gary: As you said may be I should have done it before the warranty expired but hey! who keeps their warranty expreation dates in mind all the time? It got stuck in my head that i am covered untill 50,000. we are all busy people in life with work and other problems. my cars warranty was the last thing in my head to be honest..

willilam: I hear you. but lets say after I had done the 30k service when I was on the 4th year than I did not use the car for one year at all. should I have still brought the car back to dealer for 40k major tune up service ( even If I did nit use at all)just because my warranty is expiring? that would not make sense either!!!..thats why I beleive the service deal should not be limited with time, it should only be limited by the mileage.. I will go back to these guys and talk to them again...lets see what happens...

 

thanks for all the different points guys...

a6gary: As you said may be I should have done it before the warranty expired but hey! who keeps their warranty expreation dates in mind all the time? It got stuck in my head that i am covered untill 50,000. we are all busy people in life with work and other problems. my cars warranty was the last thing in my head to be honest..

willilam: I hear you. but lets say after I had done the 30k service when I was on the 4th year than I did not use the car for one year at all. should I have still brought the car back to dealer for 40k major tune up service ( even If I did nit use at all)just because my warranty is expiring? that would not make sense either!!!..thats why I beleive the service deal should not be limited with time, it should only be limited by the mileage.. I will go back to these guys and talk to them again...lets see what happens...

 

you might have "had" a case for unperformed services? First, you have to get your facts straight. If you have a MY2000, your warranty was 36 months/50,000 miles whichever came first. Per your Maint manual, the service intervals are 5k (or 6 mos), 8k (first 12 mos) and Annually thereafter regardless of mileage. If you made your car available annually to the dealer, they should have performed/documented the equivalent of the 16k, 32k, and the final 48k annual service routines. As I said above, review your manual and invoices just to satisfy yourself as to what has and hasn't been done. Its important from a resale standpoint and also, to preclude a $950 quote when all you might need is a $50 oil change by an indy or even a dealer coupon oil special. Finally, these cars require TLC, i.e., even if you stored the car, you would still have to follow certain/minimal maint procedures.