When my car broke down earlier this week the RAC came to tow me to a garage. He asked if I had one in mind and I said the local Audi specialist, The RAC man gave me a funny look and said he couldn't recommend him as he wasn't very good but at least he had worked for Audi in the past. He then said that quite a few Audi specialists had never worked for Audi but have caught on to the idea because they can charge more money.

He then towed me to the local RAC recommended garage.

A couple of questions. 1) Do the RAC get paid for cars being directed to an RAC recommended garage? 2) Is it true that there are a number of Audi specialists who are not Audi trained?

Can't comment on the RAC recommended stuff but anyone can say they are a specialist. I guess if a mechanic has fixed an Audi before then he could be a specialist, or owned one and fixed it before.

The only real way to get an Audi or any other guaranteed specialist is to go to a dealer...and even then not all of them are specialists it seems haha!

Specialist just means someone who devotes their time to one subject or one particular branch of a subject or pursuit.

It is possible for it to mean that the person is a trained mechanic (but not necessarily by Audi), who likes to work on, or has experience of working on, or had bought specific tools for working on Audis.

If you discount Bugatti and Bentley, Audi are the pinnacle or aspirational brand of VAG , so it makes perfect sense for a garage or mechanic to give the impression they are high end, highly trained. Not only would they attract Audi customers but also SEAT and Skoda owners who believe they are getting a high end mechanic/service without paying a high end price.

If they stated they were Skoda specialists, which some do, they would get plenty of Skoda and SEAT owners, and the occasional VW owner, but not as many Audi drivers who may believe they are getting a lesser service or qualified mechanic.