audi dealers rip off

[FellyMagic]

3 year old cars have always been given a wide berth by the franchised trade. And stop defending the con merchants that are the Audi Stealers. I have worked for several main dealers in the past as a valeter and they are all the same, no matter what brand. Minimal prepping, & shove on the forecourt for as much as they can. Wheel refurb at a main stealer involves sanding down the grot, and blowing over with rattle cans, then gobbing on shedloads of snotty tyre sheen. A proper refurb costs anything up to £100 a corner..No way would they pay for that!

3 year old plus cars also have a much higher chance of warranty issues,and are no longer covered by manuafacturers, so its cheapo not worth the paper its printed on warranty time, another reason why main stealers avoid them.

£20k is way above book for a 3 year old car that is falling out of fashion. The other dealer has their price at what the main stealer should be charging.

Amanda, you also have to realise that Audi's suffer from heavy depreciation, just like all so called premium brands, and within 2 years, they are worth roughly 50% of their new list, and thanks to the credit crunch, pricier cars are falling much faster.

[Lady Elanore]

3 year old cars have always been given a wide berth by the franchised trade. And stop defending the con merchants that are the Audi Stealers. I have worked for several main dealers in the past as a valeter and they are all the same, no matter what brand. Minimal prepping, & shove on the forecourt for as much as they can. Wheel refurb at a main stealer involves sanding down the grot, and blowing over with rattle cans, then gobbing on shedloads of snotty tyre sheen. A proper refurb costs anything up to £100 a corner..No way would they pay for that!

3 year old plus cars also have a much higher chance of warranty issues,and are no longer covered by manuafacturers, so its cheapo not worth the paper its printed on warranty time, another reason why main stealers avoid them.

£20k is way above book for a 3 year old car that is falling out of fashion. The other dealer has their price at what the main stealer should be charging.

Amanda, you also have to realise that Audi's suffer from heavy depreciation, just like all so called premium brands, and within 2 years, they are worth roughly 50% of their new list, and thanks to the credit crunch, pricier cars are falling much faster.

When I was at Bauer Millets we had the wheels done at Sheldons (great place to buy replica wheels in Manchester) and had our own professional valeter/detailer (we sold Rolls Royce amongst others). When I was at Nissan, out valeter drove an unauthorised Micra (Ie he regularly stole it for the day on a weekend) didn't have a license and his brother was shot dead in the passenger seat whilst he was out in it!.

We would never had sent a 3 year old 'own brand' car to the block after only a month or two. The loss would be ridiculous. Even the little Peugeots were hung on to for a few months before the panic set in. I do rmember that some of the valeters were better than others and I made sure my cas were valeted by the guys who actually cared what they were doing.

As for the price, I would like to see the car. My 123D was advertised by the dealer in a way that made it look a little expensive, but once a customer saw the condition and true full spec it went within the month. I sold it straight to the dealer (I was on a PCP) and cleared a surprising amount of equity, way over the Glasses/CAP guide.

Edited 11 March, 2011 by Lady Elanore

[FellyMagic]

And Amanda, the reason why BM's had cheap servicing was everyone got hacked off with being shafted & went to their local BM specialists that sprung up like a rash, and charged a third of what main agents did, and thanks to an EU ruling, your manufacturers warranty was still valid. BM slashed their servicing costs as a result, and I remember when they launched the Bini, there was an all inclusive servicing pack valid for 3 years for around £500. BMW were so desperate to cling on to owners wallets for as long as possible and I have heard are now even doing spares for older BM's!

[auroan]

God some off the stuff in this thread !!!! I've not known such lack of knowledge a closed mindedness about a VAG brand from fellow VAG owners.

And before some start slating the audi fanboy. I have owned a few skodas in my time. I'm with lady E on this. And fully back the comments made.

Oh and by the way. The mk 2 TT is nothing like a golf. It doesn't share any thing of it's chassis with any other VAG car. It's an all new combination of steel and aluminium chassis structure.

[auroan]

Oh and my a4 was just over 3 years old when I got it from a main dealer.

[FellyMagic]

Its credit crunch time auroan, and a change of reg too, and the country still gripped by wintry conditions, so that Audi, which is an overpriced fashion icon (something certain people refuse to accept), always has been, and trying to charge roughly £3-4k above book is quite frankly extracting the urine. Its at the age where it is non franchised dealer time, and judging by the age of it, it will have definitely done the rounds in the dealer group. If the car isn't locally registered either, walk miles & miles from it, because that is another sign that it has done more miles on a trailer than on the road.

And also Audi and VW are lower down the pecking order in customer satisfaction surveys than Skoda. No doubt its the stealer customer service letting the side down. Sadly this is now hitting many Skoda main agents as VW-itis spreads like a rash.

If that Audi dealer wants a sale, go in and tell em you have found an identical car down the road at a non franchised site (along with a print out or proof), and say match that price! If they won't budge on the sale price, just walk away. Its their commission lost.

I honestly do not get people who pay way over book from main agents for used cars...

[auroan]

Its credit crunch time auroan, and a change of reg too, and the country still gripped by wintry conditions, so that Audi, which is an overpriced fashion icon (something certain people refuse to accept), always has been, and trying to charge roughly £3-4k above book is quite frankly extracting the urine. Its at the age where it is non franchised dealer time, and judging by the age of it, it will have definitely done the rounds in the dealer group. If the car isn't locally registered either, walk miles & miles from it, because that is another sign that it has done more miles on a trailer than on the road.

And also Audi and VW are lower down the pecking order in customer satisfaction surveys than Skoda. No doubt its the stealer customer service letting the side down. Sadly this is now hitting many Skoda main agents as VW-itis spreads like a rash.

If that Audi dealer wants a sale, go in and tell em you have found an identical car down the road at a non franchised site (along with a print out or proof), and say match that price! If they won't budge on the sale price, just walk away. Its their commission lost.

I honestly do not get people who pay way over book from main agents for used cars...

:giggle:

Audi as fashion icon ? Pull the other one. Lets set something straight that you appear to be preaching to people.

Firstly dealerships are FRANCHISES !! They are not owned by VAG and never will be. So lets stop calling a dealer by the brand name shall we ?

Secondly not all franchised dealers are as bad as others, and not all charge WAY over the odds for the vehicles they sell.

Thirdly, 95% of most "good" franchise dealer stock are low mileage, fsh (main dealer) 1 owner vehicles or well spec'd ex demo. Which usually (and i say usually as some lemons may leak through) means they are pretty good cars. I'd very much doubt you could find a identical car at a non-main dealer than a main dealer. Franchises cherry pick there own brands and only stock the best examples if they can.

Fourth ... Main dealer warrenties (I know for def Audi franchise dealers are) are backed by the manufactourer. Which is a damn site better than some of the warrenties (which you usually have to pay for on top of the sticker price of the car) you get from non-franchise dealers

From experience, I've yet to have a problem with a car from a main dealer, and I've never paid over the odds for one from a main dealer either. It's called negotiation.

And not everyone is suffering at the mo. Those who didn't stretch them selfs and are up to the eyes in debt, in good jobs, and can manage their money well; can, and will afford these prices.

At the end of the day you get what you pay for. Pay peanuts and most often than not you get monkeys.

Oh and I'd just like to add a little tit bit for you. Audi developed/made 1st us of the following, which is now in use in most VAG brands;

Torsen quattro, Haldex quattro, FSI, TFSI, TDI, Valve lift, Variable geometry Turbos, ESP, canbus, xenon, LED head/tail lights etc etc etc.

Their sports division have also won just about every touring car series in Europe, LeMans (several times), WRC, DTM, GT racing etc etc

If a fashion icon is capable of the above, then I'm damn happy with my fashion icon !!

[KenONeill]

Thirdly, 95% of most "good" franchise dealer stock are low mileage, fsh (main dealer) 1 owner vehicles or well spec'd ex demo. Which usually (and i say usually as some lemons may leak through) means they are pretty good cars. I'd very much doubt you could find a identical car at a non-main dealer than a main dealer. Franchises cherry pick there own brands and only stock the best examples if they can.

And if someone wants to sell a car for cash, or for an example of amother make?

[auroan]

And what ? Thats not the argument is it ?

[Lady Elanore]

I am still trying to work out how my car is a fashion item I reckon it's better looking than anything in the Skoda/Seat/VS stable but that's not the point. I have proper Quattro Torque Vectoring Diff and 3.0tdi V6. Where can I buy this fashion item in the VAG range, if not from an Audi dealer? Is it better to drive than the Passat? Well Jasob Plato seemed to think it was better to drive than the V6 petrol Passat.

[Guest Tim31]

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Edited 18 May, 2012 by Tim31

[mikey vrs]

That's your opinion. Everyones different.

My opinion of Audi drivers is simple just like BMW drivers there badge snobs who drive like cocks and think they own the bloody road.

I think its a bit harsh to slag off audi & bmw drivers,every make of car has drivers that drive like a co*k,even skoda! I have friends with audi's & bmw's & they dont drive like a co*k & actually look after the cars they have bought themselves which are actually very nice cars!

[auroan]

That's your opinion. Everyones different.

My opinion of Audi drivers is simple just like BMW drivers there badge snobs who drive like cocks and think they own the bloody road.

Actually I think she said it was Jason Plato who said the A4 drove better than the Passat ?

[Lady Elanore]

That's your opinion. Everyones different.

My opinion of Audi drivers is simple just like BMW drivers there badge snobs who drive like cocks and think they own the bloody road.

You are so right. That's exactly my opinion of Skoda drivers too