Audi repair - main dealer or third party?

Big Chris

Big Chris

Big Chris

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Joined
5 Apr 2004
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Location
Bloxham
I smashed the wing mirror off my 2020 A6 Avant, clipped another driver down a narrow country lane and it's pretty buggered.

Got a quote to fix from Audi main dealer who want £1,300 for parts, labour and paint. Spoke to insurance who said they wouldn't use Audi as they're too expensive so have referred me to a random local accident repair place who will use 'manufacturer approved parts'.

The excess on my insurance is £750, and although no claims is protected the price will inevitably go up when I renew so I'm not sure which way to go. I'm also not sure I want to hand my car to a random who will not fit genuine Audi bits to it - am I right to be sceptical? On the other hand £1,300 is a lot of money!
 
It's not so much the paint I'm worried about, the mirror is black - it's the wing mirror itself which they're replacing with all the parts e.g. 360 camera, indicator etc and the internals, electricals.
 
It will be done by the same local shop anyway. Go and get a quote and then when it's less than the £900 or so that the insurance cost is worth (excess+increased premiums guess) go with that.
 
I always prefer to use my bodyshop of choice, but most of my work is 'tidying' rather than accident repairs to be fair, but they will only use approved parts. With your excess I would likely go where I want and pay myself to keep any claim off my record, protected or not.
 
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That excess :eek: I would get prices from local shops or ask Audi who they would send it to and go direct.
 
Nasher said:
Audi will just hand it to a local paint shop/repairer anyway and slap their cut on top. They won't have the equipment or skills to do it themselves
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What? You can't possibly know this without knowing who his local Audi dealer is. Some have their own repair centres, others outsource the work.
 
It's Marshall Audi in Oxford - they've done repairs for me there before (hit a pheasant and cracked the grill) and they have all the facilities. There was no suggestion they would be taking it anywhere else and their quote included labour.

I may be overthinking it - a wing mirror might just be a wing mirror regardless of whether Audi make & fit it or a third party does.
 
They have plenty of body shops near would spray it and the dealer would install. But to be honest it's not that complicated to replace them most good bodyshops can do it.
 
And is there generally much of a difference between genuine and manufacturer approved parts? It's the whole unit they're replacing, 360 camera, indicator, all the electrical gubbins for adjusting the angle, heating etc.
 
Yeah I was expecting it to be expensive but was still surprised. My main worry is that the non-Audi part isn't up to scratch, but I've not had experience of genuine vs manufacturer approved so keen to know what you guys have experienced.
 
I suppose at the end of the day Audi don't make their parts, someone else does probably exactly the same company that sells them as "manufacturer approved".
 
£250 compulsory, £500 voluntary. It's the gamble you take isn't it - more voluntary means less to pay for the annual policy, in the hope you don't have to claim (which I haven't for over ten years).

It's not a problem to pay it, I'm more concerned about fitting manufacturer approved parts and having it done by someone other than Audi - hence the thread. I've only ever had work and servicing done by Audi so wanted to get some opinions on going outside of the dealer in this instance.
 
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Big Chris said:
And is there generally much of a difference between genuine and manufacturer approved parts? It's the whole unit they're replacing, 360 camera, indicator, all the electrical gubbins for adjusting the angle, heating etc.
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Find a local VAG independent specialist and ask for a quote for the wing mirror. They should only source manufacture approved parts, and labour would be generally cheaper. I suspect the mirror unit itself will be expensive due to all the electrical parts.
 
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