Audi warranty denial....

[turbo]

When you book the car in at any Audi dealer (probably ANY car dealer) there is always a clause in the document they get you to sign to say you'll pay for any repairs. You may not remember it, but they wouldn't have done any work on the car without an authorisation. If you didn't sign an authorisation then fair enough, they've just given you a new free steering rack, but my guess is you signed an authorisation at some point.

No the only authorisation I gave was when the car first went into them. This emailed authorisation was for them to perform a diagnostic (which is exactly how it was worded in the email I received from them) and nothing else. They then called me up and told me what they wanted to replace, I said ok and that's covered under warranty? To which they said yes it would be and that was the end of the conversation. I have not signed for or emailed an authorisation for repair work on the car that could mean a cost implication to me.

The dealer the car is at are obviously not going to help me sort the car out - that much is clear. They are looking for problems to wash there hands of the car. Should I contact them and get this steering rack issue cleared off? This would then allow me to recover the car to an independent garage and go from there?

In the meantime these issues with warranties and recovery damage can play out in the background...?

 

[turbo]

Not understanding why gap insurance was not the solution here versus modifying a car you do not own.
Can the ghost be easily removed without trace?

I have GAP insurance, I was merely protecting my investment due to car theft crime (which I have previously been a victim of).

The unit piggy backs on to the wiring harness somewhere in the car. I have been told by the installer that no wires are cut during the installation and the part is 100% removeable without leaving a trace. When the car leaves its current dealership its going straight to the Ghost installer to have it removed.

 

[turbo]

I reckon this is the best way forward. Correct me if I'm wrong but from what I gather it's not been established exactly what is wrong with the car.

indeed, unbelievably the steering rack was replaced (presumably) so that they could get the car to communicate with the diagnostic machine correctly as they were having issues with this initially...

The cause for the breakdown is still unknown *sigh*

 

[turbo]

I am indeed starting to feel that my only real avenue is with the RAC. That's fine by me at this stage because I just need to get the car back and see some progress. I haven't got the inclination to fight this legally. If its a case of spending a few thousand to fix it myself then so be it. The Ghost has put me in a situation I never really thought about but I can understand Audi's position its just unfortunate that I didn't consider this a factor when I got the ghost installed. I had purely good intentions by installing it but yes its causing me agro now which is was supposed to do the opposite of!

 

[turbo]

The service manager has been helpful as I have previously mentioned. He has said the warranty work pays them very well. The problem he has is how he can approach Audi with a reason for what's happened and how they can claim for it. I'm pretty sure at this stage I just need to pull the car out of there. I'm going to talk to the service manager tomorrow about the rack and if he starts being funny talk to the dealer principle about it. Once that's sorted I can get the car recovered from them and to my preferred garage. In the meantime that gives me the chance to get a secondary report done in relation to the jump starting to go along side Audi's report and go from there with the repairs.

 

[turbo]

OP - not that it helps you now, but out of interest, why did you not use audi assistance instead of the RAC? Don't all new audi's come with roadside assistance with the warranty?

I have had RAC cover for years but I did initially call the main dealer that I wanted the car to go to for the work to be done to ask about a recovery by Audi themselves. I was told that they do not offer such a service and that I should contact the RAC or the AA, etc. I wanted it to all be inhouse with Audi if possible to avoid any question of a third party recovery agent being involved but alas it was not to be.

 

[turbo]

That's crap advice on their part. The 3 year warranty includes audi assist in the UK. I've used it a few times and always had a volkswagen technician come out, who knows the car pretty well.

It's a shame as it may have avoided this whole fiasco.

I thought that was the case, but you have to believe what your told when your stuck at the side of the road and are not fully aware of what you get....

 

[turbo]

@turbo there's a guy on vwaudiforums who does a lot of oem upgrades, and understands the software and diagnostics on these cars really well. He's a decent guy too. Might be worth giving him a call, see if he has any advice?

His Facebook page is https://m.facebook.com/audiupgrades007/services

Appreciate that, thanks.

 

[turbo]

I'm waiting for the RAC to come back to me. I'm going to give them a call on Monday to see if they have a response for me. Meanwhile the car remains at the dealership...

 

[turbo]

I’d stick this into What Car or some other journal who likes to represent the reader v the manufacturer. At the moment all I see is an insurer doing their best to get out of paying and in doing so setting a precedent that someone has probably challenged before.

Yes I think you have a point. Car alarms have been fitted for years to vehicles to stop them being stolen, how can this be seen as being a negative?

I've had people in this thread calling me an idiot for wanting to protect something that I 'own' with an immobiliser. Saying I should happily use my insurance if it were to be stolen. Why should I bare the additional cost of a stolen car and all that goes with it if I can avoid it? Only someone that has not experienced car theft can say something as callous as that...

Autowatch have been notified and I have included the main dealers report with the email. I am awaiting a response which should hopefully be with me in the coming days.

 

[turbo]

Its a £50k + car. The right (wrong) people can make at least £20k for a nights work taking one and selling it once it’s been chopped. Do you know many people earning £20k a week?

Its a black edition as well.... Trust me this car would have no problem disappearing and my little town has had its own spate of car thefts over the years. For my M5 they came into the house for the keys but didn't come upstairs. The guys that came for that knew exactly what they were doing as well to defeat the door lock on the house, etc. Following that episode I got a house alarm, cameras, etc, etc....

 

[turbo]

Surely they’d just force you to unlock the system by knife point or whatever they use? I mean if they’re prepared to break into your house who knows?

I suppose that could be one way of looking at it. In the meantime the house alarm is going off, my wife would be kicking off, etc, etc. I have no doubt that if a knife is against my throat for the car I'm helping them take it but your going to have to be pretty clued up to come into my house whilst the alarm is going off, with me and my wife up, the street woken up and then have me standing at the top of my stairs telling you to come at me...

I'm no Rambo but the odds are against them in this scenario...

If I was a thief I would just look for the next house that doesn't have obvious deterrents visible from the road and go for that instead...

 

[turbo]

Rtft. It prevents keyless signal boosting theft by requiring a password/code made up of any buttons on the dash you chose.

exactly this. It stops someone standing outside my house with a computer stealing my car...

It doesn’t stop main dealers being dorks though

 

[turbo]

any updates ? op was wondering how it was going?

No nothing as of yet.

RAC have replied and are taking it seriously it seems. They are awaiting a report from the recovery agent which is bound to say 'we didn't do it'...

 

[turbo]

Total pain in the backside I bet.

Well I would certainly prefer to have the car back and was initially thinking about going and getting the vehicle recovered to another garage to have it assessed. This would have then presented other issues because the RAC could then say 'well its not where it was before it left and other things could have happened, etc'. At least this way it has been with Audi the whole time and only the recovery agent and Audi have seen the car. I think going forward this was the best I could have done within the circumstances...

 

[turbo]

This was Auowatches response when I emailed them as well....


Hi ***,


I am really sorry to hear about the ridiculous stance Audi have taken when you are supposed to be a valued Audi customer. We unfortunately do not have an Audi approval or any car manufacturers approvals for that matter but the system is E Mark approved. The Ghost admittedly uses the actual Audi CAN codes to prevent the vehicle from being driven until the valid “Push Sequence” is entered but that would NEVER cause fuses to blow or damage the vehicle in any way. If the installer had made a bad installation there would have been problems from day one when you got the car back. If you put the Ghost system into Service Mode, it is as though the Ghost is not there and they can do whatever checks they need to. I assume you know how to do this and that it was in Service mode when it went to the Dealership. As mentioned, we only use the Audi software CAN codes in our Ghost software and we do not Re-Map or permanently change any of the Audi software settings, so if a Ghost is disconnected, the vehicles’ software settings are the same as it was before the Ghost was ever installed.


I hope you are able to resolve this matter.


Regards

 

[turbo]

So the RAC emailed me this morning...

Dear Mr ****

Following my previous correspondence, I have now completed my investigation into your concerns and welcome this opportunity to explain my findings.

Our partner Burke Bros who attended your vehicle on 17 February 2021 has issued a report to me detailing what actions he carried out at the time. I have forwarded this to our National Technical Centre (NTC) for advice.

Our partner Burke Bros advised on arrival you mention you required recovery to Audi as the Alternator had failed. Their technician put the battery pack on the vehicle and the vehicle started, he removed the batter pack and the vehicle cut out. He then loaded the vehicle to take in to storage and delivered to dealer. Burke Bros advised they only operate 12v battery packs and could not have caused the damage claimed.

NTC have considered your comments but they believe the if the engine cut out when the leads were disconnected, this should not be damage from the alternator if the charging system is not working correctly. The engine has cut out due to the battery not being able to support the electrics with no power from the charging system. At present there is insufficient evidence to suggest our partner Burke Bros were negligent whilst working on your vehicle or enhanced the repair costs.

In view of this, I regret that I am unable to accept liability for the costs you have claimed. I appreciate this is not the response you was hoping for, but trust this email explains the reasons for this decision.

Although I recognise that your overall experience was not a positive one, I hope you will remain confident in our ability to provide a first class service to you in the future.

Yours sincerely

***
Customer Care Executive

Apart from it being written by someone who is illiterate I will say the following...

The first issue I would raise with this response is that it was is the recovery guy that said about the alternator being the cause not me???

They have not addressed the other multiple times it has been jump started outside of my presence due to it going to storage or the fact that the main dealer is stating that an external influence is the cause of the damage to the fuses?

Don't really know how to reply to this either??

 

[turbo]

Yes it appears my options are dwindling quickly, at least I can say I have exhausted all avenues BEFORE pulling the car out of the dealer.

I will update in the coming days with what's going on...

Thanks again people for replying as you have done, for the most part the responses have been very constructive and it has been appreciated.

 

[turbo]

I linked to this thread on another forum I frequent as a chap there was buying a new RS6 and planned to fit a Ghost. He collected it last night and Audi advised him to fit one and told him it would not invalidate the warranty. It's been suggested that he gets that in writing!!!

See that's exactly the double standards I have come to realise exist over something like this. I can guarantee that's the salesman's viewpoint though. If he said that to his manager the response would probably be more corporate than helpful. However if you have a link to the forum that you have posted this on it would be interesting to see how that develops or a copy of the letter / email stating this would not invalidate his warranty if one ever materialises.

 

[turbo]

Ok so the finance company called me today and said that for any faults they are liable to step in for are those found within the first 6 months of my ownership. After this time any faults that occur with the vehicle are on my head and should (I think she said) be taken up with the retailer that you purchased the car from so I take that as use your warranty.

So they didn't say 'you need to pay for the car', etc, etc.

I have one final thing to do and that is to complain to the dealer principle about how this has all been handled.

- I've been told in the Audi report that an 'external' influence has damaged the car. Which was apparently or potentially a jump pack in this instance.

- Having contacted the RAC they have assured me via an investigation that they only have access to 12v jump packs and out of all the people to jump start cars, recovery guys should be more than 'qualified'. If jump starting a car was not safe why do jump poles exist on the car? This report also states that at the time of recovery the alternator was deemed as being the cause of the breakdown.

- Audi began working on the car fully knowing that the Ghost immobiliser was fitted and at no point was I informed before any work was undertaken or carried out during the diagnostic phase that this would present 'difficulties' with warranty payments. This included the master tech that was apparently trying to diagnose the faults on the car and fix it.

- I still have not been told why the car broke down or how they plan on fixing the car whether its via warranty or through me paying!
In the initial audi report the 48v battery is coming back as faulty? I realise that the car starts and runs on the 12v side but could this have spiked the car? Its showing an overload and we have blown fuses? Surely a battery can damage the car? We also have the query on the alternator from the RAC's initial assessment. The alternator works on the 12v side and almost certainly is capable of causing damage to the 12v side if it fails.

- I was advised by the service manager to look into making an 'insurance claim' against the vehicle for damage sustained to the vehicle. This is still damage that has not been properly investigated and it appeared to me to be pure guess work as to what has happened so far. For a breakdown why was this advised on a car that has covered 8000 miles and has been fault free up until now. I would also add that the vehicle has only ever been worked on at your dealership and the last service was just 300 miles ago.

Anything else you think I should add into this guys?

Thanks