Ordered S4 is stuck at port...what are my options?

[karrera4]

I have an incoming S4 that made it to port the weekend of August 10th. It was cleared thru customs within 2 days and got on a carrier Wed the 14th. It is still sitting on the carrier at port. The dealer seems to have no pull other than to forward me emails from Audi Distribution telling them the car is sitting on the truck. They say the truck wont leave until its full (it has 5 out of 6 cars on it) but they cant seem to find another car to put on it. This has been going on since the 14th. Every day they say the truck will be filled tomorrow and be on its way...the fact it has been sitting there for over a week now is concerning me. I am getting pretty pissed that no one seems to know what to do. I have ordered cars before...this has never happened. Do I have any recourse...or is there someone up the food chain that will actually look into this. I find it ridiculous that a sold car is sitting on a carrier for almost 2 weeks now because they cant figure out how to find a 6th car to throw on the truck or send the damn truck as is...

[SwankPeRFection]

2 Minutes Turkish. [;)]


There's probably not much you can do except figure out how to call someone up high enough at Audi distribution and bitch and moan. Most likely it won't do anything anyway. Just drive up there and take it off the truck and when security tries to stop you, throw them a big wad of cash totaling 60k or whatever you paid for it. lol

[S4Phantom]

There's not much you're going to be able to do about it. Its unfortunately just one of those things you have to deal with. I had to wait an extra 2 weeks for my car because by the time it got to the port in Germany to be on its way to the States, the ports had closed down for the Christmas holidays. I was SOL and you probably are too. Just put up a little stink and your dealer will probably throw you a shirt or some Audi merch. Obviously you want your car but see what they'll give you. Also I have the B8 S4 too and trust me, its worth the wait. Enjoy the new car!

[isles1]

Not sure what port your car is at or how far that port is from the dealer, but if they are holding the truck until full, I assume there are significant transportation costs at issue if the truck leaves port less than full. This is largely out of the hands of the dealer and I'd refrain from being a difficult customer from the start, especially if you hope to establish a relationship with the dealer as far as service and future purchases. Are you inside or outside the delivery window that the dealer gave you when you ordered the car? I know it is a long wait, but take a step back and try to put things in perspective.

[PaperishPlastic]

5 minutes turkish. 5 minutes? you said 2 minutes 5 minutes ago.

[Wilbur]

Options? Wait for car or cancel order. Recourse? For what? was the car promised for a certain date? sh&t happens. It will get there when it gets there.

[karrera4]

Thanks for the responses. Yes, obviously the delivery is outside the window they told me or I wouldn't even be posting about it. Second, "it will get here when it gets here" is not good enough for me given I have ordered cars before and never had this kind of experience where it seems like no one knows whats going on or can do anything about. Third, my family had a relationship with this dealer that accounted for more than 10 cars ordered/bought in less than 7 years - over that period of time, the service at the dealership continued to decline and our salesman/sales manager moved to a different dealer which was the only reason we stuck with them. After he left and the dealer was sold to a major chain, it turned into a joke and the last car we bought from them was my 2004 S4. Several Audis and VWs later, when I decided I was going to go for a B8, I figured rather than order thru the dealer in Scottsdale we had worked with, I would give the old dealer a try. They were eager to earn our business back and everything seemed great. However, this latest snafu seems to be a case of over promising. I am not trying to be a difficult customer and by most accounts they have been pretty good (and should be seeing as that they realize there is a lot of business in it for them), but I expect people to follow thru on commitments and be honest. Right now, I cant get a call returned from anywhere there and that is ridiculous - at least APPEAR to be on top of things. The truck my car is sitting on with 4 other cars are all coming to my dealer....and its about 15 hours from the port...this doesnt seem that complicated.

[SwankPeRFection]

Ask for free Audi maintenance or a discount on the car or something else from the dealer. They had you order the car, they quoted a certain delivery window, the reason why it's not there is NOT a production issue, it's a bullshit shipping stickler not wanting to send the truck because it's one car short. Either you get what you want at the cost of the schmuck at the ports who doesn't want to drive the truck because it's one car short or you threaten to cancel the order. Stick to your guns. Fuck em if they can't take it. Be prepared to walk away if you have to on principal alone.

[marr]

Ask for free Audi maintenance or a discount on the car or something else from the dealer. They had you order the car, they quoted a certain delivery window, the reason why it's not there is NOT a production issue, it's a bullshit shipping stickler not wanting to send the truck because it's one car short. Either you get what you want at the cost of the schmuck at the ports who doesn't want to drive the truck because it's one car short or you threaten to cancel the order. Stick to your guns. Fuck em if they can't take it. Be prepared to walk away if you have to on principal alone.

Dealer relations are very important. For the customer, just as much as the dealer. I'd be willing to bet that if he "stuck to his guns" or "walked away on principal alone" that dealer wouldn't be as willing to work with him in the future, or get aggressive on earning his business, and if he put a deposit down? Probably can kiss that good-bye...And then if he decides to mod, let's see how quick that TD1 flag flies... It's important to have a good relationship with your dealer, and that street is very much 2 ways. You're probably not hearing from the dealer because they don't have anything to update you on. Would you really feel that much better if they called you every day just to simply say "Sorry Mr. _____, same story as yesterday, I have no further updates"?

It's frustrating, but there is NOTHING the dealer can do about it. Really no reason to be burning bridges there.

[isles1]

How long ago did you place the order? The delivery window generally given is 12 - 16 weeks. Aside from wanting the car, what hardship is the delay causing you? Try discussing that hardship with the dealer as see how they can help. For example: If you are coming out of an Audi lease, there should be no problem extending it; I was coming out of a lease from a difference manufacturer, and my Audi dealer gave me a loaner to bridge the 4 or 5 day gap. And all I did was ask nicely.

It seems like you may live in a locale with few local dealers. For that reason alone, I'd be even more hesitant to sour the relationship.

[karrera4]

Dealer relations are very important. For the customer, just as much as the dealer. I'd be willing to bet that if he "stuck to his guns" or "walked away on principal alone" that dealer wouldn't be as willing to work with him in the future, or get aggressive on earning his business, and if he put a deposit down? Probably can kiss that good-bye...And then if he decides to mod, let's see how quick that TD1 flag flies... It's important to have a good relationship with your dealer, and that street is very much 2 ways. You're probably not hearing from the dealer because they don't have anything to update you on. Would you really feel that much better if they called you every day just to simply say "Sorry Mr. _____, same story as yesterday, I have no further updates"?

It's frustrating, but there is NOTHING the dealer can do about it. Really no reason to be burning bridges there.


You make great points, and I agree with all of them. However, when someone makes a commitment that isnt upheld, I guess I do expect regular updates even if there is nothing to report because that tells me they are on top of it. The way it was has been handled initially made me think no one knew what was going on and/or didnt give a shit. I check in with my dealer every other day, so its not like Im calling them every hour. I do expect they call me back regardless if they have "good" news or have to tell me that they once again contacted port and there is nothing new to report. I will tell you, at a certain point, I fully expect them to involve AoA because they keep telling me this has "never happened before" and if that is really the case, then something needs to be done (inventory cars are showing up and sold cars are being held). In the end, I know a couple weeks here or there isnt that big of deal and I so far I am pleased with the efforts the dealer is making to rebuild the relationship we had that was very lucrative for them (and convenient for me), but I just want to see the follow thru!... and as I type this, the dealer is calling!

Update: the GM called AoA and supposedly Audi said the car will be en route tomorrow morning....we will seeeeee!

[jedirocker]

I went through something similar, but my delay was not as long. Well_Armed and I both watched our vehicles arrive at Houston port on the same ship. He lives in the upper NW (Seattle, I think). I live in Dallas area. It is a 4 hour drive from Houston port area to the dealership in Plano. Well_Armed received his car before me. My salesman kept calling the port to try and find out why the delay. The dealer had no influence on port operations. I empathize w/ your frustration.

[Pilfer]

5 minutes turkish. 5 minutes? you said 2 minutes 5 minutes ago.

Love that movie, haha

[SwankPeRFection]

Dealer relations are very important. For the customer, just as much as the dealer. I'd be willing to bet that if he "stuck to his guns" or "walked away on principal alone" that dealer wouldn't be as willing to work with him in the future, or get aggressive on earning his business, and if he put a deposit down? Probably can kiss that good-bye...And then if he decides to mod, let's see how quick that TD1 flag flies... It's important to have a good relationship with your dealer, and that street is very much 2 ways. You're probably not hearing from the dealer because they don't have anything to update you on. Would you really feel that much better if they called you every day just to simply say "Sorry Mr. _____, same story as yesterday, I have no further updates"?

It's frustrating, but there is NOTHING the dealer can do about it. Really no reason to be burning bridges there.

Yes, because it shows that they give a shit and it shows that as much as they're trying, they are unfortunately in the same boat as the customer and they are paying for it as much as the customer is. It shows humility that they go the extra mile even if it's getting them no further with the shipping company.

[karrera4]

Yes, because it shows that they give a shit and it shows that as much as they're trying, they are unfortunately in the same boat as the customer and they are paying for it as much as the customer is. It shows humility that they go the extra mile even if it's getting them no further with the shipping company.

Yep, exactly what I was saying in post 11. All in all, I didnt mean to make a mountain out of a mole hill on this....mostly frustrated and excited to get the car!! I apologize for venting and hopefully the car will be here soon and I can make a proper intro!!

[Wusty]

In all honesty, your SOL. You just need to wait. There's nothing you can do about it.

[helix139]

Call AOA and complain about it. I had a similar situation and it caused me to miss out on one of their financing promotions by a few days and my SA called up and got me free Audi care out of it. It also helped that they shipped a truck full of unsold cars for dealer inventory and left my car and a sold R8 sitting at the port waiting for the next truck. Dealer wasn't too happy about all that either.

[Tyrnnus]

my car sat for over a week on the east coast of canada waiting for the train to load it. Then it sat again for over a week in my city waiting for a full truck. Car landed in Canada Aug 8th and I did not get delivery until Sept 18th.
I think this is why Audi does not offer a way to track orders for customers, like BMW does, because more the more info people get the more pi$$ed off they get due to delays.

[stumpjumper]

aside from the "it'll get here when it gets here" comments be weary of the "why" it was delayed

sometimes delays happen because it missed a truck, sometimes delays happen because port-installed parts weren't available (side blades, badges, mats)

Now the worst case is sometimes delays happen because the car was damaged in shipping and they can replace and repaint entire panels and not have to tell you about it, the car will still be "new" and Audi doesn't have to tell you anything happened. I would check and re-check everything and make sure the paint is right. There are some pretty silly examples out there of panels being painted the wrong shade of a color at port and being delivered that way. This gets reall bad when you have a higher end car that somebody would check over with a paint thickness meter before purchase and one panel gets flagged as a repaint.

[boss2k]

aside from the "it'll get here when it gets here" comments be weary of the "why" it was delayed

Now the worst case is sometimes delays happen because the car was damaged in shipping and they can replace and repaint entire panels and not have to tell you about it, the car will still be "new" and Audi doesn't have to tell you anything happened. I would check and re-check everything and make sure the paint is right. There are some pretty silly examples out there of panels being painted the wrong shade of a color at port and being delivered that way. This gets reall bad when you have a higher end car that somebody would check over with a paint thickness meter before purchase and one panel gets flagged as a repaint.

Correct , my dealer had mentioned to me why delays may happen due to damage and so check the car thoroughly and grill the dealer why there is a delay.

[Wusty]

The transportation industry is difficult. Say the carriers getting paid $1000 per vehicle to transport. They have 6 positions, 5 are full. The carrier can A) send the truck and make $5K or B) Wait & wait to get a 6th car & make an extra grand going to the same place. If they're not in dire need to run the truck, maybe business is slow and AOA doesn't make them ship faster, you're SOL. They're gonna wait till the truck is full every time to make the extra G. My Dad owns trucking companies, I grew up in the industry, this is what happens.

[SteveYem]

I know it's a sucky situation, but by the time we're done conjecturing you'll be posting in this thread from your smart phone connecting via the 3G signal in your new S4.

[karrera4]

You all are correct and the one reason I was really focused on this is because I know damage can delay shipping. In the end, I was not SOL and my dealer, at my prompting, did get AoA involved and the car shipped within 12 hours. It is now on its way with the 5 cars :)

My case was helped by the fact that inventory cars were showing up but my sold car was sitting there. I am impressed Audi got involved and found a quick resolution.

[karrera4]

aside from the "it'll get here when it gets here" comments be weary of the "why" it was delayed

sometimes delays happen because it missed a truck, sometimes delays happen because port-installed parts weren't available (side blades, badges, mats)

Now the worst case is sometimes delays happen because the car was damaged in shipping and they can replace and repaint entire panels and not have to tell you about it, the car will still be "new" and Audi doesn't have to tell you anything happened. I would check and re-check everything and make sure the paint is right. There are some pretty silly examples out there of panels being painted the wrong shade of a color at port and being delivered that way. This gets reall bad when you have a higher end car that somebody would check over with a paint thickness meter before purchase and one panel gets flagged as a repaint.

This happened to my Dad with an A8 but we didnt figure it out until a year later when a few panels started showing really weird paint issues. He was able to reach a deal with Audi that took care of the issue and paid him a nice sum for his troubles and any depreciation. It saved Audi one of the more loyal customers (and now his sons - me and my brother) out there who has had more Audi's than I can count starting in 1980.

[Thomas@TAI-VW]

http://1-akamai.tapcdn.com/images/thumbs/taps/2012/06/google-image-result-for-http-www-lolbrary-com-lolpics-635-first-world-problems-5635-jpg-54391091-sz504x416-animate.jpg

[SwankPeRFection]

Stolen Pony!!! Oh! Shit just got real! [>_<]

[Wilbur]

^no kidding.

[karrera4]

^no kidding.

You would understand if it was your S4

[dame drizzo]

Hey man, I feel your pain. PM, I might be able to help. What dealer and what state are you located in ?