So why do people buy luxury cars again? (Coworker's shitty dealer experience)

[Laconian]

My coworker just got a 2011 Audi S5 Cabriolet. Ordered from Germany to his spec, with his favorite color and all the fancy whatnots checked. The A5 Cabrio 2.0T was his dream car, and he bumped it up to an S5 when he got the new bonus numbers.

400 miles in, the rear right suspension starts making a pretty awful creaking sound that gets more and more frequent. He takes it in for warranty service.

He just went to go pick it up, and there is a huge noticeable dent the size of a baseball along the rear quarter panels, right at the corner crease. Apparently they dented the car when they were doing some tests with the suspension under load. He's been arguing with the GM of the dealership who is trying to weasel his way out of making things perfectly square. I thought that was one of the allures with dealing with a luxury marque, the fact that they treat you right? This seems to be straight out of a high-volume Chevrolet dealer playbook.

All this drama after just 500 miles, quelle horreur.

[CJ]

You just bought one?

[Laconian]

[SJ_GTI]

Not all dealerships are equal.

My suggestion is for your friend/coworker to call Audi USA and speak with a customer service rep/manager who actually works for Audi. The dealership is an independent company...Audi would not appreciate this type of "service" especially consdering we are talking about an S5 cabrio.

[Raza]

Yup, one dealership is indicative of all luxury dealerships worldwide, across all makes. 

[Vinsanity]

I've generally had a very pleasant experience at the Caddy dealerships. But then again, I make it a point to avoid the ones with the alarmingly negative reviews.

[thewizard16]

Not all dealerships are equal.

My suggestion is for your friend/coworker to call Audi USA and speak with a customer service rep/manager who actually works for Audi. The dealership is an independent company...Audi would not appreciate this type of "service" especially consdering we are talking about an S5 cabrio.

Seconded. He can choose the tell the dealership he's going to get corporate involved if they don't make things right if he wants to give them a warning to see if they play ball better, or just quit wasting his time with them and go straight up the ladder.

Some people get creative in their ways to show a dealership they can't stomp all over the customer too... I once saw a half page ad in the paper once  taken out by a disgruntled customer about a dealership that apparently screwed them over. I'm sure it would have been cheaper for them to do whatever that customer had been asking than deal with that much bad publicity and potential loss of business.

[SJ_GTI]

BTW just to explain further, Audi will (attempt to) rate every single service experience. It then distributes bonuses to dealerships who meet or exceed certain satisfaction levels. This is why you will always get asked to take a survey, and why most service reps will practically bend over backward to help you out and then let you know that they are going to get graded based on your responses.

This particular manager seems like a scumball who probably wants to try and save his dealership some money, but if the proper buttons are pushed it will be cheaper for him to repair the car.

[The Pirate]

Not that it matters (and he should go the proper lengths to get the car fixed), but was the suspension issue fixed?

[GoCougs]

IMO most dealerships pretty much suck. They are there for the one-time sale and to bilk you with unnecessary service.

The conundrum is if dealerships were honest and without BS most wouldn't survive.

[Mustangfan2003]

It doesn't matter if it's basic, premium, new, or used it's hard to find a good dealer. 

[the Teuton]

For as shitty as my Bimmer dealer was, they never hesitated to make body damage right. I did something similar on a BMW or two. Mistakes happen when you drive hundreds and hundreds of cars a week. It's almost inevitable.

It's all how they own up to it. With three BMW dealers in the area, it'd be suicide to not own up to that immediately here from a dealer's perspective.

[Mustangfan2003]

I'd say used dealers are the most shady from my dealings in the parts business.  We would sell fabric paint and radiator stop leak to plenty of them. 

[the Teuton]

I'd say used dealers are the most shady from my dealings in the parts business.  We would sell fabric paint and radiator stop leak to plenty of them. 

How about a $20 spray bottle of "BMW Official Wheel Cleaner," otherwise known as diluted acid that you can pick up at Autozone for $5? People bought the stuff regularly, too.

[Mustangfan2003]

Wow, BMW has their own wheel cleaner?  And I thought the Surf City stuff was expensive.

[CJ]

I'm a fan of Meguiar's Hot Rims. Shit's great.

[Mustangfan2003]

I like it too.  Seems to cut brake dust better than the other wheel cleaners.  Tried Black Magic once and it was about as effective as water. 

[the Teuton]

Wow, BMW has their own wheel cleaner?  And I thought the Surf City stuff was expensive.

Yeah, we often just filled the bottles with the stuff we used in the garage, which comes in massive industrial barrels.

Buying anything at a lux dealer is bound to be expensive.

[Laconian]

He's drafting an angry letter to Audi USA right now.

[hotrodalex]

I love drafting angry letters.

[cawimmer430]

Your friend should have bought a Lexus. They're so reliable they don't even need to have oil changes or tire pressure checks. Yes, they're that reliable!

[Laconian]

Your friend should have bought a Lexus. They're so reliable they don't even need to have oil changes or tire pressure checks. Yes, they're that reliable!

Actually the dealer experience of Lexus is one of their selling points. They wouldn't have fought this.

[thewizard16]

Actually the dealer experience of Lexus is one of their selling points. They wouldn't have fought this.

Not to question your friend's judgement too much, but is a strongly worded letter the fastest way to go about this? It seems a phone call might move things along faster.

[Morris Minor]

He's drafting an angry letter to Audi USA right now.

Tell him to include the words: "appalled," "amazed," and "abysmal." Angry letters should always include those words somewhere.

[cawimmer430]

Actually the dealer experience of Lexus is one of their selling points. They wouldn't have fought this.

Yep. It's called ASS KISSING. 

[Atomic]

from all accounts from family and friends driving luxury cars and exotics, most positive reports seem to come from acura, lexus and infiniti dealerships. maybe they've needed to do this to compete, but have not seem to lose the touch. our benz dealership treats you like dirt unless you look like a million bucks, but as we shared in past treads, a poorly dressed person could actual be your magic ticket. never underestimate youth, seats or shorts and sneakers, i say.

[CALL_911]

Yep. It's called ASS KISSING. 

If I'm dropping that much money on a car, I'd better get my ass kissed.

[ChrisV]

For as shitty as my Bimmer dealer was, they never hesitated to make body damage right. I did something similar on a BMW or two. Mistakes happen when you drive hundreds and hundreds of cars a week. It's almost inevitable.

It's all how they own up to it. With three BMW dealers in the area, it'd be suicide to not own up to that immediately here from a dealer's perspective.

hell, this past summer, I took my 7 in to have the AC recharged and run a diagnostic  on at the loca dealer (the one that gives me a 20% discounts on parts with my BMW CCA membership), and apparently they curbed one of the front RPM wheels (the passenger side). Didn't see it until I got home. Called them up, they had me bring it back to look at. I even said "I have no proof it was done here, but I don't park anywhere near curbs with it at work OR home." They scheduled a wheel repair company to come out and fix it with no other questions asked. Can't tell at all where the wheel had ever had any damage, at no cost to me. I didn't buy my car there, and it had almost 180k on it at the time.

[Secret Chimp]

Actually the dealer experience of Lexus is one of their selling points. They wouldn't have fought this.

Lexus was my company's first big client back when everybody thought putting your dealership on the internet was a waste of money. They have their own dedicated teams up and down on our end now. They've always known how to get stuff done right.

[SJ_GTI]

from all accounts from family and friends driving luxury cars and exotics, most positive reports seem to come from acura, lexus and infiniti dealerships. maybe they've needed to do this to compete, but have not seem to lose the touch. our benz dealership treats you like dirt unless you look like a million bucks, but as we shared in past treads, a poorly dressed person could actual be your magic ticket. never underestimate youth, seats or shorts and sneakers, i say.

Again, folks need to realize that different dealerships are independant companies, they are not owned by lexus, audi, acura, etc...

The Audi dealership I used in Montreal was awesome, treated me like a million bucks even though I drove an A4 1.8T. The dealership where I bought my S4 rolled out the red carpet when I was buying my car. The dealership where I had my first service done on my S4 was anonymous and sterile (I could have been driving a hyundai accent and proabbly been treated exactly the same). Not all dealers for a particular brand are the same.

That being said all dealers do have a relationship (backed up by money) with the manufacturer, so if something isn't being done to your satisfaction the best bet is to call the manufacturer.