Story with a happy ending

[tailpipe]

My RS3 died and my dealer was not able to repair it without changing the entire gearbox. Bitter past experience has taught me that as soon as you begin ripping open the guts of a brand new car, other problems start to emerge. So I felt I had no option but to reject the car and ask for my money back.

I was completely depressed, because the RS3 is a superb machine. There is no other car that I want to drive. I thought there was no prospect of getting another. I thought it was the end of my dream!

I was wrong.

Audi has been fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. First of all, they are going to give me a brand new one from the factory. Secondly, they're going to give me a loaner RS3 until it arrives. I have managed to get a cancelled build slot for early in the new year.

My dealer is a hero. He knew I'd been an Audi customer for more than a decade and did everything he could to keep me in the brand. The moral of this story is that, despite the best laid plans, sometimes things do go wrong. It's how people react when they do that matters.

The bottom line is that the kind of failure I experienced is such a rare occurrence that Audi pulled out the stops to fix it.

[Moschops]

TP..that's a brilliant conclusion to your story, are you staying with the same spec? Loaner RS3 to boot as well. Bonus.

My local VW dealer loaned me a brand new Polo 1.2 whilst my factory ordered Golf GTI Edition 30 was being built, all I did was pay the depreciation on the polo which was about £400. I had the car for 4 months. The manager at the branch at the time was fantastic...as you say it all depends on how people react...

[Tuffy]

Thats defenately impressive.

[Joker]

That's great news tailpipe and so happy that Audi's reputation in the UK is still living up to it's stellar standards. I don't even thing it's that unique to be offered a car while you wait because I've got offered this twice in the last 8 years, first was buying an S4v8 which was delayed a month, that time I got a brand new A4 Avant for the period that they only charged me £150 for the pleasure, the second was 3yrs ago whilst buying an S5 which they had a buyer for my old car 3week prior to my S5 being delivered only this time I got the sales manager's A6.

Audi really do bend over backwards to help in my experience.

[tailpipe]

TP..that's a brilliant conclusion to your story, are you staying with the same spec? Loaner RS3 to boot as well. Bonus.

My local VW dealer loaned me a brand new Polo 1.2 whilst my factory ordered Golf GTI Edition 30 was being built, all I did was pay the depreciation on the polo which was about £400. I had the car for 4 months. The manager at the branch at the time was fantastic...as you say it all depends on how people react...

Staying with exactly the same spec:
- Phantom black
- Matt aluminium styling pack
- Electric front seats
- Heated seats
- Load thru' facility
- Light & rain sensor pack
- Aluminium race inlays

I notice that Audi is now offering different wheel options. Anybody know anything about this?

[Benman]

Thats defenately impressive.

Ditto that! A loaner RS 3 PLUS a brand new RS 3 to replace yours... Congrats for both the great service and for relaying your outstanding experience.

[The RS6]

Glad things worked out ok! Nice work by Audi.

So...an obvious question coming...did you ask any questions regarding RS3+? Might wanna strech out a few grand more...

[JavierNuvolari]

The moral of this story is that, despite the best laid plans, sometimes things do go wrong. It's how people react when they do that matters.

SO true, I am glad to hear that Audi stepped up and fixed your problem and gave you a loaner...I mean, how cool is that!

Cheers!, I bet beer tasted sweeter for you that day!

[rs-6]

thats great news!

[Ruergard]

Astonishing service there.

Congratulations!

[The Pretender]

Happy to hear there is still Audi customer service around.

[tailpipe]

Thanks for all the nice comments, guys. Much appreciated.

I did ask about the RS3+. It isn't confirmed for the UK and it looks like a May launch. That's too long to wait. Meanwhile, production of standard RS3 has doubled to around 5,000 units. Demand has amazed Audi as much as the much better than advertised 4.1 second 0-100 kph has stunned its customers.

The success of the RS3 may well mean that next S3 gets the 2.5 litre five cylinder engine. I hope so.

[The Pretender]

No 2.5TFSI for the new S3.
Rumour has it that it will have a bi-charge 2.0TFSI with ± 300 hp.

[SteveCuz]

So happy you got sorted. I'm heading to 4,000 miles in mine and love every minute of it.

Pity it's so dirty and I can't be bothered cleaning it as it will be dirty again tomorrow!

Steve

[doodlebug]

That's really good to hear, unfortunately most of the comments on VAG customer service are negative. I have an issue with VW, if that ends up even 50% as successful I'll be chuffed.

[tailpipe]

Today, I took delivery of my replacement RS3 which has just arrived fresh from the factory in Gyor, Hungary.

After my first RS3 gave up the ghost after barely 1,000 miles of use, I gave it back. Audi very kindly ordered me a new one and gave me a loan RS3 ,which I've been driving in since last November, while waiting for the new one to arrive. In that time, my RS3 hasn't put a wheel wrong. When I gave it back today in exchange for an identical new RS3 (but black instead of red) in my desired spec, I felt a massive sense of loss because i had grown so attached to the car.

Of course, the new one is exactly the same and every bit as well screwed together. If anything, after almost a year of making RS3's, the latest ones to roll off the production line have benefitted from the Gyor team's experience with the RS3. In short, this is an epic car. Brilliant in every way, it exudes quality. There is no other car I would rather be driving.

Thank you, Audi!

[The RS6]

And you really posted that without pics? Come on

[tailpipe]

I only got it at 4:00 pm today. Driving to Italy via Switzerland tomorrow. Pics and story to follow....