tglad5
04-29-2013, 05:32 PM
I posted this on the AW forum as well and wanted to share with members on this forum. Please post your comments. I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who will weigh in. I want to help fellow members avoid the situation but I also would like to let Audi/dealers hear what our community feels about this issue. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had this happen.
I had my car detailed a few days ago and the detailer pointed out several areas on the car that had overspray and poor quality work (swirl buffing marks on clear coat, overspray, drip marks, and paint tape lines). I researched this a bit over the weekend and it appears that dealers are not required to disclose repairs on new car sales in Virginia unless it exceeds 3% of MSRP. I bought a fully loaded 2013 A6 with an MSRP of nearly $70k. So a 3% threshold would be something like $2,100 which I think is quite significant. I called the dealer and they confirmed that they had repaired the vehicle and that they did not disclose nor were they required to do so. It is also interesting that while the threshold for disclosure is set at a % of MSRP, there are no guidelines on how repair costs should be evaluated except that costs of glass and wheels/ tires are excluded. So with that and a little accounting trickery the threshold for disclosure can be manipulated. This is certainly not something that is consumer friendly.
The dealer said they would send someone to look at the vehicle to discuss how/if they will remedy the repair. I don't think I can trust them to do it right if they didn't the first time.
This practice may be legal but I feel cheated. I would expect that a luxury car dealer would have a more stringent disclosure policy that is better than that of state minimums. Audi should require dealers to adhere to disclosures policies and ethics policies, and a code of conduct that exemplifies some class and sophistication.
Forum members please comment back. What would your reaction be if this happened to you? If anyone had this happen before how did you resolve the issue?
One lesson learned is that everyone buying a new car should ask the dealer if they are aware of any repairs however minor that were made to the vehicle prior to taking delivery. There is no substitute to this and perhaps even get a written statement from the dealer. Caveat emptor.
I had my car detailed a few days ago and the detailer pointed out several areas on the car that had overspray and poor quality work (swirl buffing marks on clear coat, overspray, drip marks, and paint tape lines). I researched this a bit over the weekend and it appears that dealers are not required to disclose repairs on new car sales in Virginia unless it exceeds 3% of MSRP. I bought a fully loaded 2013 A6 with an MSRP of nearly $70k. So a 3% threshold would be something like $2,100 which I think is quite significant. I called the dealer and they confirmed that they had repaired the vehicle and that they did not disclose nor were they required to do so. It is also interesting that while the threshold for disclosure is set at a % of MSRP, there are no guidelines on how repair costs should be evaluated except that costs of glass and wheels/ tires are excluded. So with that and a little accounting trickery the threshold for disclosure can be manipulated. This is certainly not something that is consumer friendly.
The dealer said they would send someone to look at the vehicle to discuss how/if they will remedy the repair. I don't think I can trust them to do it right if they didn't the first time.
This practice may be legal but I feel cheated. I would expect that a luxury car dealer would have a more stringent disclosure policy that is better than that of state minimums. Audi should require dealers to adhere to disclosures policies and ethics policies, and a code of conduct that exemplifies some class and sophistication.
Forum members please comment back. What would your reaction be if this happened to you? If anyone had this happen before how did you resolve the issue?
One lesson learned is that everyone buying a new car should ask the dealer if they are aware of any repairs however minor that were made to the vehicle prior to taking delivery. There is no substitute to this and perhaps even get a written statement from the dealer. Caveat emptor.