Having paid the sticker price for a 16 plate Audi A6 Avant that wouldn’t start outside the dealer, I’m left feeling more than a little frustrated and disappointed.
I have the impression the Sales Staff have a well-rehearsed and smart answer for every situation that deflects the issue, but they don’t really care or get to the root cause, leaving my confidence in the Audi brand and trust in them as a dealer, seriously dented.
The car from Cheshire Oaks Audi was described in the advert as ‘An outstanding car’ and ‘Manufacturer Approved’ so we paid the main dealer price expecting problem fee motoring.
As the car was handed over I found the sat nav was not working so the Sales Exec ran off to fetch the SD card from the safe, returning with a story that when they had tried to fit it, the card had failed, and a new SD card was on order from Germany and he would give me a call in when it arrived ‘In a couple of days’.
Disappointed that I had had to point out the omission of the SD card, nevertheless we were excited at the prospect of the new purchase – until the car flat refused to start on handover right outside the front door of the main dealer
The car was jump started and we were invited to drive off - which I refused, asking for a new battery and the car to be thoroughly checked to understand why the battery had gone flat.
At this Point the Jon Smith the Manager, got involved and did a good job of smoothing things over.
The stock answer to a new battery was it would be ordered from Germany which would take two days. A partial recharge would take four hours, but we opted to leave the car with the dealer another 24 hours to have it fully recharged.
When we collected the car the next day, Jon showed us test results showing the battery was fully recharged and said they thought it most likely the cleaner had left the radio on which had flatted the battery.
This was a little incredulous, ‘How long do you have to leave the radio on to flatten the battery?’ was expertly sidestepped.
My main concern is a low-level drain on the battery which will run down the charge over a long period of time – meaning that I am left at the roadside with a car that won’t start in weeks / months to come.
They tried to say that they had check this but no clarity, and certainly no test results were forthcoming.
So, in the end we drove off with a car in which we had much less than 100% confidence, our faith in Audi brand quality and security seriously undermined.
After a few days, I emailed the Sales Exec enquiring of the SD Sat Nav card.
He was on leave so a call to Jon Smith prompted a call back saying they thought they had found my SD card in the safe. I explained that the I preferred the new 2018 SD Card that had been ordered rather than the original 2016 SD card that had been reported to have a fault.
I was advised that the new SD card was ‘on back order’ and they couldn’t say how long it would take so I should accept the original 2016 card. Again, I have the feeling these are just well rehearsed smart answers to steer you in the direction they want you to go.
So, I ended up with a car that didn’t start outside the garage, with the original battery and original SD card, both of which either failed or were said to have failed.
Having paid the sticker price and with no offer of any compensation of complementary servicing, I’m left feeling more than a little frustrated and disappointed and hence I score the Trustpilot with a low rating.
Overall assessment: - I feel fobbed off with tarnished goods.
