Courtesy Cars from Audi ?

[+44 Dave]

Just wondering what everyones got as a complimentary car to drive around in for the day while yours is at the garage being serviced/repaired. The A8 is away today as i feel its going through tires to quickly! (4 sets of 2 on the rear since last Feburary) My dealer kindly comes to my house at 7:30, in whatever he chose to take home the night before and leaves that car here with me for the day and returns back at about 6 in my car again, providing all is well.

I've had all kinds of cars, considering i have an RS6+ and an A8 i always avoid A3's & 4's. My favourite so far has been the new TT (2.0) which i had for the day a while ago. Closely followed by the Q7 (3.0TDI). I was joking with the service manager about him bringing an R8 one day... Unfortunetly it wasnt today and i only got an A6 Avant (4.2) It will do though as it is well specified and has the same engine as my A8!

Whats everyone elses experiences on this front ?

[Boosted-Bora]

see here in the US our dealers are terrible. It is very rare you find a dealer that will even give you an Audi let alone a nice one. Mostly you get Ford's Chevy's and the occasional Cadillac. Also you get kia's and other rubbish......

Funny Story: FACTS::I am 6'1" over 300Lbs yes im fat I know....LOL


So i call my dealer and say to them "hey guys I need to bring my RS6 in for the check engine light you guys just "fixed" last week maybe its another problem" they say no problem bring it on down and we will get you in a car drive for the day....So i take my car in and the dealer says to me you have a choice of 3 cars today so I say "what are they" they reply "a Ford focus, Chevy aveo or Dodge neon.....I was instantly furious and started yelling at them saying HOW IN THE HELL AM I GOING TO FIT IN THIS PIECE OF SHIT blah blah blah.........so finally after i threatened to call Audi of America they said ok well get you a car so 1 hour later after waiting at the dealer I get a Dodge Charger and went home so angry........


All the dealers use Enterprise instead of loner cars. It saddens me how when you take in a 80K car like the RS6 you cant get a decent car in return and i asked they guy ( cause the dealer is BMW Audi and Porsche ) so if some one brings in a Carrera GT you give them a Charger and he replies to me yes........LOL I was laughing in his face



sorry for the long post but though you would get a kick out of this

[BLITZEN]

I've had (2) different experiences from (2) different dealers..

First, Strong Audi in Salt Lake never ever even offered a loaner car, only a lift to work in their mini-van. Then, they never fixed my problems - only caused more. WARNING - Never go to Strong Audi !

I vowed never to go back and I started driving to Ken Garff Audi, (40 minutes away in Orem, UT). They have been 100% better and well worth the extra effort on my part. The first time I took my RS6 there, they gave me a 2008 Porsche Cayenne to drive. The second time was a 2008 A4 Avant. Either way, I've been really happy with them, not just b/c of the quality loaners, but also b/c they can fix the problems that Strong Audi can't seem to figure out.

[goodduck]

see here in the US our dealers are terrible. It is very rare you find a dealer that will even give you an Audi let alone a nice one. Mostly you get Ford's Chevy's and the occasional Cadillac. Also you get kia's and other rubbish......

Funny Story: FACTS::I am 6'1" over 300Lbs yes im fat I know....LOL


So i call my dealer and say to them "hey guys I need to bring my RS6 in for the check engine light you guys just "fixed" last week maybe its another problem" they say no problem bring it on down and we will get you in a car drive for the day....So i take my car in and the dealer says to me you have a choice of 3 cars today so I say "what are they" they reply "a Ford focus, Chevy aveo or Dodge neon.....I was instantly furious and started yelling at them saying HOW IN THE HELL AM I GOING TO FIT IN THIS PIECE OF SHIT blah blah blah.........so finally after i threatened to call Audi of America they said ok well get you a car so 1 hour later after waiting at the dealer I get a Dodge Charger and went home so angry........


All the dealers use Enterprise instead of loner cars. It saddens me how when you take in a 80K car like the RS6 you cant get a decent car in return and i asked they guy ( cause the dealer is BMW Audi and Porsche ) so if some one brings in a Carrera GT you give them a Charger and he replies to me yes........LOL I was laughing in his face



sorry for the long post but though you would get a kick out of this


are you talking about the dealership on rockville pike?

i am not an audi owner but i have been there a few times and they do not know what the fuck they are talking about. one guy told me that they were waiting to get the "r4" :doh:

[+44 Dave]

You guys in America seem pretty hard done by, your dealers really dont seem up to scratch. Here in the UK i stopped using a dealer because its really cramped parking and i dont like them driving my A8 about their parking as i expect they'll scratch it. Most dealers in the UK will give you an Audi though, simply one of the demonstrators or a used car or something.

One of the sales people at my local garage drives an S6 for some reason:brag:

[[M3noDRFT]]

I'm witness to Drew getting a Charger hahaha! And a Kia Rio!!!

If I take my ///M3 to the BMW dealer I purchased it from- they provide a E90 325 or 328 sedan. If I take it to any other dealer, same situation with the Charger :/. Its ridiuclous.

[Boosted-Bora]

are you talking about the dealership on rockville pike?

i am not an audi owner but i have been there a few times and they do not know what the fuck they are talking about. one guy told me that they were waiting to get the "r4" :doh:

Yeah bro i am talking about them and another dealer near my house by the name of Tischer both horrible I now go to HBL in Fairfax VA its further but well worth it even though I still get a Charger....LOL

One time when I was considering an S5 and was also considering a CLK 63 the guy told me that the manual tranny in the S5 was better then the manual in the CLK.....WTF and that AMG's AWD was trash....LOL since when did Merc get manuals in high end AMG's or AWD......LOL

[CinciRS6]

I know my dealer has enterprise, but they never give me those cars. So far since I have been dealing with audi for 3 years, they have given me a: B7 a4, q7, 08 a6 fully loaded. I refuse to drive the enterprise cars, and they usually know I will put up an argument if I get the enterprise or the a4.(I think its only fair that you should get an audi for an audi)

[Mockenrue]

As an 'S' car owner I've always been under the impression that I should get an equivalent or higher model, but this has never been the case for me. I hear of S4 owners being loaned RS4s while their car is being serviced - to try and tempt them into upgrading no doubt - but no such luck on my part. I always get an Audi though, no question. I've had all sorts ranging from a basic 2.0 petrol A3 Sportback up to a fully loaded 2.7TDi C6 Avant with all the toys.

Services are one of the times when I'm glad I don't own a BMW. If you take one of those in, there's always the possibility of being loaned a http://www.tyresmoke.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/1.gif:rolleyes:

[Fonzie Audi]

When i got my torque converter done - it was a 2 week job. They pulled up a new A4 for me - and i politely denied it. I explained that after driving my RS6 around - an A4 would simply be unfair.

They understood my concern and gave me an '07 A6.

Conclusion? Not much better. It was the 3.2, and felt slow as molasses. I suppose after feeling accustomed to the RS6; any rental car is going to flat out suck.

The dealer was Champion Audi of Coral Springs, FL

[Aronis]

It's silly to expect a dealership to have on hand enough brand specific loaners to cover all those who request a loaner car when they may perhaps be servicing 20 or 30 cars a day, if they are in for urgent service for a failure of some kind.

What is annoying is if you book routine service a month or more in advance, and they still don't have a brand specific loaner! You'd think that they would not be fully booked that far in advance since those would be for routine type maintenence that far out...

Mike

[skiwi]

i will always get a car, but it does depend on what is in the garage. when i had my s8, i got an rs6 which is one of the things that convinced me to move to one (and that my initial impression of the car had been wrong). failure to do this sort of thing is pretty short-sighted by dealers...

[another Russian]

I've had (2) different experiences from (2) different dealers..

First, Strong Audi in Salt Lake never ever even offered a loaner car, only a lift to work in their mini-van. Then, they never fixed my problems - only caused more. WARNING - Never go to Strong Audi !

I vowed never to go back and I started driving to Ken Garff Audi, (40 minutes away in Orem, UT). They have been 100% better and well worth the extra effort on my part. The first time I took my RS6 there, they gave me a 2008 Porsche Cayenne to drive. The second time was a 2008 A4 Avant. Either way, I've been really happy with them, not just b/c of the quality loaners, but also b/c they can fix the problems that Strong Audi can't seem to figure out.amen, bro. SLC rocks:burnout:
I am from Moscow Russia. Every time I bring the car for any warranty repairs I get the same class vehicle or higher. I'm driving A6 and sometimes I can even have an option for free substitude of an A8 . ...But ... there was a time when dealer simply didn't have any cars.:burnout:

[DuckWingDuck]

US dealership situation is crap, my buddy takes his E55 in for service and gets a C240. But, I suppose at least he's getting another Benz :P

[Copper]

Jim Ellis Audi in Marietta tried to put me in an Enterprise Rental car and I just started to walk away while saying "I drive an RS6, I'm headed to Nalley Audi where they will put me in a dealer Audi" They then "found" an A4 1.8T for me to drive while the car was in service.


Next time, I will remind my service adviser when I schedule the appointment that I need a dealer Audi and if one is not available on the day I am coming in to schedule my service on a different day. Not a snob here, but I've owned BMWs for 10+ years and they ALWAYS put me in a BMW loaner of the same of better model. If Audi is expecting to sell 100k+ R8, RS4, RS5, S5, etc they had better start treating the owners better.

[s42ski]

Pacific Audi in Torrance is not too bad on this front. I used to get a used Audi off the back lot which would be an A8 or an A6, now they have a small fleet of A4's and A3's.
The A3's are quite fun for a day or two. My wife has a Lexus SC430 and when that was under warranty we used to get either a ES300 as a loaner.

My car goes off factory warranty in two weeks. I wonder what they will put me in at that point ? OR will I be paying for the loaner ?

[Carl Lassiter]

You guys in America seem pretty hard done by, your dealers really dont seem up to scratch. Here in the UK i stopped using a dealer because its really cramped parking and i dont like them driving my A8 about their parking as i expect they'll scratch it. Most dealers in the UK will give you an Audi though, simply one of the demonstrators or a used car or something.

One of the sales people at my local garage drives an S6 for some reason:brag:

I was given a Toyota 4-Runner when my M5 went in for it's 1,200mile service and that was only after I caused a scene when they tried giving me a fricking Chyrlser PT cruiser. This is Beverly Hills BMW and where I bought my car yet they don't even have any 3s left for a top of the range customer? Their service dept is a joke. USA having good customer service customer service- don't make me laugh.:(

[Carl Lassiter]

Pacific Audi in Torrance is not too bad on this front. I used to get a used Audi off the back lot which would be an A8 or an A6, now they have a small fleet of A4's and A3's.
The A3's are quite fun for a day or two. My wife has a Lexus SC430 and when that was under warranty we used to get either a ES300 as a loaner.

My car goes off factory warranty in two weeks. I wonder what they will put me in at that point ? OR will I be paying for the loaner ?

I've heard great things about Lexus which is why I'm poised to bring in the new LX570 to stable mate my sedan.

[s42ski]

Lexus is pretty amazing on the customer service front. They replaced one of the run flat tires for free during the warranty period. Helps when the car's are so reliable. My wife's car had one major problem under warranty - the navigation screen went out. And we bought the SC430 the first year it came out.

[DuckWingDuck]

Lexus is the king of customer care. Their cars might drive like boats (a la mercs) but man, they treat their customers right. It's part of the reason why Lexus owners swear by that crap.

[another Russian]

My car goes off factory warranty in two weeks. I wonder what they will put me in at that point ? OR will I be paying for the loaner ?
http://www.lexus.com/models/LS/service/index.html
that might help . All of the mentioned comes with a "warranty repairs"

Service Loaner Vehicles: If your vehicle must be kept overnight at a Lexus dealership for warranty repairs that require more than eight hours to repair, Lexus will provide you with a complimentary loaner vehicle for up to five days.

[cornishmoocher]

I tend to stick around in th dealership if practical and drive as many of their cars as possible, have done the R8( porn), TTs (to small- kept banging my bonce) Q7 (felt like a drug dealer), the new A4 ( has the biggest wing mirrors I have ever seen any anything smaller than a Scammel truck) A bright orange S3 (no comment) and a 3.0 TDI A6 (FAAANTASTIC car for an everyday bus).
I am testing the RS6 on the first day they have it available, will take my camera and take some Video to post somewhere around here if you woud like?:burnout:

[peiserg]

wow all you guys complaining about your loaners.. I really don't care what kind of car I get as long as there's A/C and a stereo. I figure I'll save my whining for when it matters.

I just took in my rs6 for leaking tranny seal... I had a ford taurus loaner. And guess what? I was actually grateful that they offer the loaner. It didn't even occur to me to bitch and moan that the loaner wasn't "up to par."

And ditto for when I take my Acura NSX in. Really guys... isn't there something more important to whine abhout out there?

[another Russian]

wow all you guys complaining about your loaners.. I really don't care what kind of car I get as long as there's A/C and a stereo. I figure I'll save my whining for when it matters.

I just took in my rs6 for leaking tranny seal... I had a ford taurus loaner. And guess what? I was actually grateful that they offer the loaner. It didn't even occur to me to bitch and moan that the loaner wasn't "up to par."

And ditto for when I take my Acura NSX in. Really guys... isn't there something more important to whine abhout out there?
it's not about the whining but the quality service. It's there or it's not. I wouldn't mind any wheels but the better the marrier :hahahehe:

[Boosted-Bora]

wow all you guys complaining about your loaners.. I really don't care what kind of car I get as long as there's A/C and a stereo. I figure I'll save my whining for when it matters.

I just took in my rs6 for leaking tranny seal... I had a ford taurus loaner. And guess what? I was actually grateful that they offer the loaner. It didn't even occur to me to bitch and moan that the loaner wasn't "up to par."

And ditto for when I take my Acura NSX in. Really guys... isn't there something more important to whine abhout out there?


I understand what you are saying but its more of a matter that I am too big for half the cars that they try to give me not only that the cars are crappy how can you give someone 6'1" 300+ lbs a taurus I just am not comfortable

[Audiphile]

Pacific Audi in Torrance is not too bad on this front. I used to get a used Audi off the back lot which would be an A8 or an A6, now they have a small fleet of A4's and A3's.
The A3's are quite fun for a day or two. My wife has a Lexus SC430 and when that was under warranty we used to get either a ES300 as a loaner.

My car goes off factory warranty in two weeks. I wonder what they will put me in at that point ? OR will I be paying for the loaner ?

Pacific Audi is my dealer as well in terms of purchases and service. When I bring in any my Audis, I either get an A8L or an Q7 3.6. Generally, either one is waiting for me when I arrive. My sales manager takes care of all the details and is always informed if I am bringing any my Audis for service. My take is if you find a dealer that treats you well, it does pay to show loyality over the years.

[Audiphile]

Lexus is the king of customer care. Their cars might drive like boats (a la mercs) but man, they treat their customers right. It's part of the reason why Lexus owners swear by that crap.

Agreed, but I always find it a superficial reason to own a vehicle if it is based only on strictly external reasoning such as getting a "hug" to show high quality service, therefore I will continue to buy crap. In America, Lexus filled the vacuum created by the downfall of Oldsmobile and slow erosion of Buick. The demographics are literally the same. Reliability is great, but for Lexus I just see it as overhyped in this regard more from marketing and perceived stereotypes. In other words, someone might over look problems because they have been indoctrinated by PR. Audi's weakness in the US is simply its dealer network. Fix the various dealer issues, and Audi will explode because the substance of product is there and supercedes Lexus by a long shot. For example, this is becoming evident in the LA market where Audi is booming. Better service and new dealerships.

[mmaturo]

Seems I am lucky in Chicago...most dealers provide a loaner and certainly an Audi loaner if i call in advance and ask for it. Had A4s, A6s, A8, Q7 from my preferred dealer. Only ran into one where they changed their policy and said they would only give a loaner to customers who bought from them...having had serviced 2 audis there for over 5 years they immediately lost my business (that and the screwed up repairs). In my market competition is a good thing.

[peiserg]

Agreed, but I always find it a superficial reason to own a vehicle if it is based only on strictly external reasoning such as getting a "hug" to show high quality service, therefore I will continue to buy crap. In America, Lexus filled the vacuum created by the downfall of Oldsmobile and slow erosion of Buick. The demographics are literally the same. Reliability is great, but for Lexus I just see it as overhyped in this regard more from marketing and perceived stereotypes. In other words, someone might over look problems because they have been indoctrinated by PR. Audi's weakness in the US is simply its dealer network. Fix the various dealer issues, and Audi will explode because the substance of product is there and supercedes Lexus by a long shot. For example, this is becoming evident in the LA market where Audi is booming. Better service and new dealerships.

I don't think the audi weakness is the dealer network. I've had my audi for 14000 miles and had to fix a broken AC switch, headlight washer, fuel tank sensor, and leaking transmission. I don't think audi will explode until the quality improves. I've had my nsx for 35000 miles and had not a single issue.

[butcher]

When I had my S4 serviced, they gave a demo RS4 Avant for two days

now I know why, I brought the RS4 2 days later. !!!!!!!!

S4 was great :s4Addict:

RS4 is fantastic :rs4kiss:

[another Russian]

When I had my S4 serviced, they gave a demo RS4 Avant for two days

now I know why, I brought the RS4 2 days later. !!!!!!!!

S4 was great :s4Addict:

RS4 is fantastic :rs4kiss: "I bought" would me more appropriate:hihi:

[butcher]

"I bought" would me more appropriate:hihi:

I knew I should have stayed at school longer !!!!! :lovl:

[another Russian]

I knew I should have stayed at school longer !!!!! :lovl:me is no school teacher , me is an audi driver :lovl:
That was a smart move from the dealer to have a great loaner in stable:revs:

[DuckWingDuck]

Richard, I agree with most of what you're saying but Lexus vehicles are quality vehicles. They don't necessarily fall into the category of vehicles that you and I might drive but my mom loves her Lexus and for her, it's all the performance and comfort that she ever needs.

[cornishmoocher]

Richard, I agree with most of what you're saying but Lexus vehicles are quality vehicles. They don't necessarily fall into the category of vehicles that you and I might drive but my mom loves her Lexus and for her, it's all the performance and comfort that she ever needs.

My brother in law drives a lexus is200.
He thought it was quick and sounded nice...... Then he got RS6ed, 250 miles in my car and he needed diapers(??) nappies! :lovl:
His car was completely bullit and bomb proof though and never went wrong in 5 years.
We wernt sure who was the shiney knob though, him or the gearstick!!

[Copper]

Ditto on the quality Lexus service. My wife drives a GX470 and Audi is not anywhere even close to Lexus for customer service. Not fiction. Fact. Better than BMW as well. You pay for it however.

Solid vehicles. High resale value excellent service but BORING to drive for sure. If I sold our GX470 today we would profit private party by $6k. Our lease is up in 6 months and the dealer has been calling us offering $4K over the residual value to buy it now and put us in another Lexus.


Audi has horrible resale value, sub-par service but FUN to drive. Go figure. If I sold my either RS6 right now I'd loose $6-$10K and the dealer would rape me on the trade in for sure.


But, I drive the RS6 so it's worth the price of admission and issues I guess. I wish the IS-F was going to be a little bigger. I'd consider it.

[cornishmoocher]

I am sure this has been said here before, but it sounds like you guys in the states have it tough with the dealers, over here Audi cannot do enough, yeah it costs, but to me anyway they have always been top notch, coffee, even a sandwich if I ahve been waiting for a car, always happy to chat and give advice, and generally make you feel good.
Don't know if any of the other uk bods here have had the Audi follow up survey? Its quite funny, they ask you if you left the dealership feeling warm and fluffy!

[Audiphile]

I don't think the audi weakness is the dealer network. I've had my audi for 14000 miles and had to fix a broken AC switch, headlight washer, fuel tank sensor, and leaking transmission. I don't think audi will explode until the quality improves. I've had my nsx for 35000 miles and had not a single issue.

I've had ten Audis and everyone of them has been a bedrock of reliability. I'm sorry you are having those problems, but every carmaker has issues including precious little overhyped Lexus. Audi has had problems, but its quality is among the best as evidenced from various awards. Quality is there although it needs to continue to improve as is the corporate goal of Audi. Dealers also do not always fix things right giving the impression of low quality and this is where Audi needs to fix these type of issues.

[Audiphile]

I am sure this has been said here before, but it sounds like you guys in the states have it tough with the dealers, over here Audi cannot do enough, yeah it costs, but to me anyway they have always been top notch, coffee, even a sandwich if I ahve been waiting for a car, always happy to chat and give advice, and generally make you feel good.
Don't know if any of the other uk bods here have had the Audi follow up survey? Its quite funny, they ask you if you left the dealership feeling warm and fluffy!


It depends where you live in the States. Unfortunately, Audi has some so-called legacy dealers that were established by VW when VW was giving away franchises decades ago giving Audi franchise to dealers that should have never got them. However, many Audi dealers do offer top notch service. For example, recently my S6 was getting some cosmetic work done at my body shop. The body shop was trying to get hold of a new S6 grill for weeks which is hard to get as they are sent directly from Germany. I called my dealer and asked them to help him. They placed a critical search on it and within few days they got it for me and worked out all the details with the body shop without me breaking a sweat. So, there are very good Audi dealers and this type of experience has been my general experience over the years.

[DuckWingDuck]

Hence Richard's sig, "audi geek"! Richard, finally back in town, feeling all sorts of jetlag but when we gonna do the angeles forest run? Should I set up a thread?

[cornishmoocher]

Now VW dealership thats a different matter, I drove a passat TDI for a work car, and was quite impressed, so I went to my local dealer and asked them to find me a W8 , I nearly punched the bloke, he was unhelpful he was almost rude telling me and I quote, He was not going to waste his time trying to find me one, even if he found one, it was going to be out of my price range! I hadn't even told " a price range". I sold the VW a week later and ought the A4 2.4SE, wrote to VW uk to complain and never even got a response. VW Tunbridge Wells- be named and shamed!!!

[DuckWingDuck]

man, that's just sad.

[Audiphile]

Hence Richard's sig, "audi geek"! Richard, finally back in town, feeling all sorts of jetlag but when we gonna do the angeles forest run? Should I set up a thread?

Nice to have you back in the States! The jetlag can be bad. I know I get that coming back from Europe. Yes, let's set up a thread for the Angel's Forest Run. Throw some dates out, but let's shoot for either 29th or 30th of March. Does that work? Let me know.

[DetailersDomain]

I had my Rs6 in for gasket leaks, cam seals, and vac hose leaks, they gave me a 2008 a4 2.0 for 1 week and a free ez pass ...not bad.
I didn't even have to schedule the appt I just walked in.

DCH Audi in Maplewood NJ btw.

[cornishmoocher]

As per my other posts elsewhere, mine goes in for DRc work on monday, have got an S4 cabrio as a loaner- bet it pisses with rain the whole time!