The Audi of America Experience

[Finnus]

Sorry I'm repeating myself here, but I though this made sense as a separate thread. So here is my rant:

I think AofA's problems relate to 1) poor quality and small showrooms and 2) pathetic service to and treament of actual and prospective customers. Someone buying a marquis brand should get marquis treatment.

I'm not just talking about bringing the car in for service (and my customer service guy Patrick is GREAT - perhaps the one bright spot - he does the best he can within the system). Every aspect of buying an Audi should make the buyer feel special and respected - great treatment before and after the sale!!!

I feel like I'm imposing when I talk to the general manager - and I've purchased the most expensive car in the product line and the most expensive 4-series at the time I purchased my S4!

I've asked them to let me know when details on the RS4 & LeMans Quattro are out and I haven't heard one word from them.

It's not rocket science. It really is pathetic.

Have others on the forum had a similar "Audi Experience"???

Audi, I hope you're listening ...

Finnus

[Benman]

Originally posted by Finnus

I think AofA's problems relate to 1) poor quality and small showrooms and 2) pathetic service to and treament of actual and prospective customers. Someone buying a marquis brand should get marquis treatment.

I'm not just talking about bringing the car in for service (and my customer service guy Patrick is GREAT - perhaps the one bright spot - he does the best he can within the system). Every aspect of buying an Audi should make the buyer feel special and respected - great treatment before and after the sale!!!

I feel like I'm imposing when I talk to the general manager - and I've purchased the most expensive car in the product line and the most expensive 4-series at the time I purchased my S4!

I've asked them to let me know when details on the RS4 & LeMans Quattro are out and I haven't heard one word from them.

Have others on the forum had a similar "Audi Experience"???

Audi, I hope you're listening ...

Finnus

Finnus,

I know exactly what you're talking about. I wish you guys could see the way Audi handles things in the Father Land. When I was on vacation visiting my uncle, we stopped at Ingolstadt to visit Audi GmbH. What I saw at the delivery canter was incredible. A wonderful museum of all things Audi (and Auto Union), superb caffe and a delivery center that was second to NONE. We watched one customer take delivery of their car. As he waited with the salesman (customer representative?) a porter drove there car to them inside of the immaculate, HUGE showroom. He gave the customer a warm greeting and handed him the keys. At that point the representative(?) went around the car with them, taking the time to show him ALL the features of his new car. By the time they were done (about 7 or 8 minutes later) and as the owner was getting into his new car to drive off, another person walked up to the owner and presented a picture of him (the owner) being handed the keys to his new car! Amazing that they would go to that kind of trouble and attention to detail! Needless to say the new owner was shocked at how fast they had developed the picture (poloriod?) and were able to present it to the gentlemen. How totally cool to have a picture in your house that you can show all your friends that was you inside of the Audi headquarters taking delivery of your new car! The owner' smile of pride and satisfaction was one that my unlce and I will not soon forget!

Sadly that is there and NOT here. Here as you state things are different. I too have ZERO complaints with my service lady Stacy. Her service is excellent but as you say, you feel as if you're imposing any time you need to talk to a manager. And also like you mentioned, it's not as if you bought a "stripper" model A4 (ohh... can you delete the sunroof as well? ). I mean come on, we bought the FLAGSHIP for goodness sake!

Sadly, this is also the reason my father will never own an Audi. I've tried to convince him how great the cars are and he has driven mine on several occasions (and REALLY likes it). But he won't except the loss in customer service he would take over his Lexus LS 430. He asked me once to go with him to THAT dealership to experience THEIR customer service. Wow, I was impressed! They almost seem to invent new ways for them to kiss your rear end! The go all out to make sure they EXCEED your expectations as a customer.

Lexus cars just don't do it for me (no "soul") but I'd be a fool not to admit that their ownership "experience" ins't superior to AOA, because it IS. Will I by another Audi. Most definately. I just wish it was like it was in the Father Land.

Ben

[Finnus]

Ben,

I agree 100% with the Lexus experience.

1) The cars just don't do it for me (not even close although they're a great value buy)

2) They know how to treat a customer and roll out the red carpet.


AofA needs to treat every customer like he or she is the very best customer. The A4 buyer of today is the A6 or A8 purchaser of tomorrow. Use the power of praise and referrals - they're free and must be earned.

Finnus

[JAXRS6]

My experience has been different, I guess.

My salesman in Michigan was outstanding, including explanations and letting me take a test drive upon delivery, before I accepted the car. He stops in at Audi club driving schools without being a spy for mods. The Audi-only dealership there opened just a few years ago in a state of the art facility that reflects an aircraft hangar type of architecture now seen in other new dealerships. Plenty of room, too. It's in Rochester Hills, close to AoA.

Here in SW Florida, the dealership also is new but shared with Porsche and VW. Good service for the most part. I've had plenty of issues, but dealer says AoA calls the shots, so I'm not sure it's fair to blame the dealer.

In SE Florida there is an extremely impressive new facility -- REALLY big -- that has two parts: Big building on left is Audi, big building on right is Porsche, and in between is an indoor/outdoor "neutral zone." It's name, of course, is Champion; they are keeping their (too-small) Pomano location and calling this an "expansion" in Coral Springs. Champion is the only dealership in the US to dive seriously into racing, with its Motorsport division (separate new facility, also extremely impressive) fielding two R8s tomorrow at Sebring.

In summer I live in the Detroit market, where I hear a lot of radio ads for Audi on the top ranked all-news station. Reaching drivers to sell cars during drive time makes a lot of sense and only radio can do it. In the case of Motown, some Big 3 execs are listening too. (There also are billboards, of course, but they don't convey much info.) I used to work in radio, on the news side, and learned from just being there that in some markets, dealers will cooperate and go for an ad campaign; in other markets, they are too competitive or otherwise just not willing or able to do that.

If I was having trouble with a GM, I'd consider writing to the dealership owner, maybe with a cc to Mr. Winterkorn. Personally, tho, I don't spend much time with GMs.

As for poor quality, Mr. Winterkorn seems almost obsessed with perfection, so I would expect that to improve.

Bottom line for me is that right now, with my car running great and planning to drive it to Sebring tomorrow, to park in the Florida club's Audi Corral on turn 17 with tent & big screen TV coverage & catered lunch at no charge, today I am one happy owner!

[SpinEcho]

So Audi wishes to be taken seriously as a premium brand in North America? Well, I agree with you guys - they have a long way to go, and they don't seem to be doing much about from where I stand.

From my own personal experience, the local Audi dealer is pretty sad. They are the only one in town, a monopoly, and they act like it. For starters, they were not interested in selling me an RS6, despite the fact I had already purchased my TT from them. They do not provide loaners (but they will take you to rental car agency where you are free to rent the usual GM garbage). When my wife took the car in for its last service because I was away, she was asked if she wanted a ride to work, but was then told after giving them the location (about 10 km away) "oh, if you're going there it might be an hour and a half 'til we can drop you off".

To be fair to the dealer who sold me the car (several hours away), the transaction and handover was an OK experience, except for the farcical 2 hour delay after the OnStar system failed to operate correctly when the salesman tried to demonstrate it to me.

My only contact with Audi since purchasing their flagship sports sedan has been the receipt of the well known leather portfolio with a two year old press release and a couple of photos, and a letter telling me I must be looking forward to delivery of my RS6 (3 months after the fact). Oh, and I also got a letter telling me I had an advocate, about 9 months after delivery.

Hardly the actions of a company that wishes to be taken seriously. Not that my experience with the local BMW dealer has been any better...

[griff]

I have unfortunately had horrible experience with Audi in the US, specifically Audi Exchange in the north suburbs of Chicago. I tried to buy a car from them and they were so uninterested and $14K off the mark between trade in and purchase price that I purchased from a dealer in Atlanta.

My gas guage is malfunctioning, which caused me to be stranded on the side of the highway in rush hour. I had to have the car taken to the dealer on a flat bed. They had the car for two days and told me the problem was fixed. When I went to pick up the car there was nobody to explain the fix or handle my questions.

They did not fix the problem, they ran diagnostics and no problem showed up so thye assumed everything was alright. The car almost stranded me again.

This dealer controls the area that could be one of the best markets for audi in North America: North Shore of Chicago where luxury cars with four wheel drive should own the market. But due in large part to this dealer, Audi is a bit player.

I love my car, but will have think seriously about ever buying audi again due to the dealer network.

[SpinEcho]

Sorry to hear about your problems. Truly amazing that a car company whose boss has stated he wants to compete with or outdo the big luxury marques could let one of their dealers behave like this, and it's not like your incident is isolated.

You have summed up one of the main problems: there is too much dealer variability, and Audi does not seem to have any knowledge and/or control over their North American dealer network. Of course, that's assuming they care how their dealers are treating customers...

Are you listening Audi?

[Finnus]

Are you listening Audi?

I hope so. Listening and acting upon what they hear.

How about those of you with good or mixed experiences ...

And don't get me wrong, I'm still a big Audi fan in spite of AofA!

Finnus

[GmbHouse]

I have to say that over 3 Audis and 1 Porsche I have had great luck with my dealer in Denver (Prestige). Everyone there is knowledgeable and helpful. They also definitely recognize the placement of the RS6 in their model line. It might help that they sold more RS6's than any other dealer and that they are car nuts. The GM/owner and his son have done One Lap in a highly modified S4.

[JAXRS6]

Thanks to help from Erik, here are pix of stateside state of the art in terms of Audi dealerships. This is the new "branch" for Champion Audi, located in Coral Springs, Florida; the "main" dealership is in Pomano Beach, a few miles away but small with no room to grow. Both share with Porsche, one brand that makes sense to sell with Audi IMO (and vice versa). Partly due to heritage; partly because, together, Porsche and Audi offer a full line of products for enthusiasts.

There's also Champion Motorsport, which fielded the winning R8s in Sebring this month; same owner, different facility & location in Pompano. (See link below.) Besides racing in ALMS and making lightweight wheels, they are tuners for BMW, Ferrari and Corvette as well as Porsche and Audi.

I visited both during an Audi Club of Florida rally in February which was sponsored by Champion. More facilities like this would help Audi's image, don't you think? If this can be done in South Florida, where drivers never need AWD for snow, one would think it could be done in markets where demand should be even greater.

Then again, dealerships are independently owned franchises, so it's not like AOA can just plant a new dealership wherever it wants.







For pix & more on Champion Motorsport, which derived from "the world's largest Porsche dealer" and was founded by a native of India, click below.

http://championmotorsport.com/about.htm

[Audihead]

I live in Detroit as well as JAXRS6. I have not had a single problem. The salesmen are very pleasant and responsive. Just went in the other day to start a list for the new RS4. No problems. The salesman started the paperwork and got the dealer rep. . We all sat and talked for awhile. Service has been fine as well. The service manager even recognized me from when he used to service my BMW's. He is an enthusiast as well. I guess it all depends on where you go and who ya know. Such as the story everywhere. Yes Audi could use a little work, the new A0A bosses should being doing this shortly. The best thing to do is be proactive if you have a problem. Write, call, pickett, do what you have to, to get satisfaction. If all else fails take them to court. Then they have to listen, even if it's for a little while.

:s4addict:

[Benman]

Jax,

A very nice facility. Along the exact same lines as the nicer Audi dealers I saw in Germany. We need more of those beauties here.

Ben