New Audi owner in the tampa area.....mod-friendly dealers?

**Alky** · 10-29-2008 10:19 PM

I live in clearwater and I should be taking delivery of my new car in a couple of weeks.

Does anybody know of any mod friendly dealers (car is still under warranty) as well as any reputable performance shops in this area?

Any info is appreciated. Thanks.

**pyro** · 10-30-2008 06:33 AM

reeves in tampa is pretty good about mods...they have a performance shop there that does tuning. a good performance shop that wont rape your wallet is lutz performance auto...thats where i take all of my cars.
www.lutzperfauto.net

if you wanna make the trip, shawns 1552 in sarasota is the guy to go to for just about anything, its just a little farther depending on where you are.

what did you get?

**Alky** · 10-30-2008 09:38 PM

I got an 05 b7/quattro/6spd.

I'll have to talk to the guys at reeves. I want to do pretty much whatever I can performance wise without losing the warranty, especially because I'm planning on getting an extended warranty.

But let me get that straight, the shop is called "1552" and the guy to talk to is "shawn"? Lutz is definitely closer though.

Also, where around here is an AWD dyno?

**golgo13** · 10-31-2008 02:44 PM

vortex on hillsboruough ave has one I think.

**A4ringedONE8T** · 11-02-2008 03:43 PM

Welcome, and nice pick up

Reeves is fairly mod friendly as said. BTW I am Shawn from 1552 (www.1552v2.com). If theres anything you need feel free to let me know!

**B8Buckeye** · 11-07-2008 10:26 PM

i can give some experience here... i have not had good experience at crown in clearwater. their techs told me that my turbo was blown on my a4. they wanted north of $3k to fix it. i told them no thanks, and went to an APR tuner in port charlotte to get a k04 setup. once i got there, they told me that i had just blown the intercooler line off and the car had gone into limp mode. my k03 was fine. crown techs hemmed & hawed about it but took no responsibility. i have never been back.

i bought my TT roadster CPO from reeves'. i immediately got it chipped. after i crossed the 50k mark, the CPO warrany kicked in, and i had to have the convertible top replaced ($5k) and the turbo replaced ($4k). both were covered under the CPO, and they never mentioned anything about the chip and never hesitated to cover the blown turbo. while a bit expensive for regular maintenance, they are very good for warranty work. i give them high marks. i don't take my a4 there any longer, and as soon as my CPO has run out (at the end of this month), i won't take my TT there either.

my new shop is...

1552 in sarasota, and they are fantastic. shawn & adrian are the best. they have been helping trouble-shoot my poor gas mileage and lean codes. very helpful, honest & fair. in fact, they go way above & beyond. i'll have them help me when i do my exhaust, and they'll definitely do my GTRS when i get to it. big props to them!

there you have it - that has been my experience.

**Alky** · 11-15-2008 08:46 PM

I've heard some other bad things about crown which kind of sucks because they're really close to me. Reeves isn't super far but it will be kind of a PITA having to drive there because my car will be modded. Will crown actually void my warranty because of mods or just turn me down for service?

Anyway, Shawn, I'll definitely hit you guys up if I ever need any real work done. You guys are too far for simple things...

**B8Buckeye** · 11-17-2008 10:01 AM

Originally Posted by Alky

Will crown actually void my warranty because of mods or just turn me down for service?

i don't know what crown's official (or otherwise) policy toward mods is. i just know that my experience with them relative to my "blown" turbo is that they either acted incompetently, dishonestly or both. either way, i wouldn't trust them with my car whether modded or not.

as for reeves', i don't know their policies either. their service guys would know whether my TT was chipped or not - it's very obvious on that car. after the tech put on a new k04 turbo, the service manager drove it the car and commented to me how fast my car seemed compared to stock. he never asked me if it was chipped. he just commented that it definitely felt chipped. i just smiled and thanked him for their help in getting me back up & running again.

anytime you're dealing with a modded car & warranties, it will be a gamble. be prepared for the worst - that way you'll be pleasantly surprised if things work out in your favor.