Lawyers or anyone else

[ars2210]

Sorry for the length...
Facts:

2004 Audi A4 3.0 w/CVT transmission mileage: 29500 (new) 35500 (presently)
Factory Warranty: 4 years/50000 miles

Bought from xxxxx Auto, an independent dealer that specialize in Audi and Volkswagon vehicles. The vehicle was found on the internet, where it was advertised as being pre certified by Audi of America. From the Audi website pre certification is supposed to warranty for and additional 2 years or 50k miles. This was obviously a selling point for them as it was the first thing mentioned on the page, and mentioned many other times on the page and I was also told this by the salesman while filling out paperwork for the sale (obviously no way to prove this except my dad being there to hear it). I checked the car out and decided it looked like a good buy (low miles, pre certified, all scheduled maintenance done at dealership on time, Audi reliability, etc) I drive it home 200 miles with no problems. The next day I take the car out and notice transmission acting funny and not seeming to want to go into reverse. I take it to the dealership where they determine the transmission control module ($1700 part) needs to be replaced, but the car actually isn't pre certified. xxxxx Auto agreed to pay to have it fixed. Part is on back order from Germany. I am without a car for 2 months without transportation. Finally get it back, no problems until just the other day. I am coming home Thursday night and start to hear this ticking sounds like a nail in the tire, but gradually begins to become louder and rougher. It was due for its 35K maintenance anyway so I decide to take it in. Take it to the Audi dealership who then tells that I need a new transmission (quoted $7800). I called xxxxx Auto thinking they would take responsibility even though it was out of warranty since I had only had the car for 6k miles and it had already required $9500 of repair work. They said since it was over the 4 year warranty period they would not do anything. I guess the question is should I try to persue something with them being dishonest about the pre certification? I have screenshots of the web page where they were advertising as pre certified, only problem is that hard drive crashed where i had those stored. I'm pretty sure I could get them pulled of if need be though. I signed something that said "sold as is" but was given paper work that said "existing factory warranty" and was told to call Audi to get details. This, I understood to be the warranty that went along with the pre certification so I did not opt to buy an extended warranty. When I called it turned out to be the factory warranty that had expired 2 monthes before I had purchased the vehicle. As another option, should I try to call Audi Customer Relations, and convince them that it is not acceptable to have the transmission fail at only 35000 miles, and should be the fault of the manufacturer? As you guys already probably know, there have been many other cases of failed CVT transmission although most not quite as early as mine but starting near around 40-50k, but I have heard of several failing as early as 25-35k. Any suggestions helpful guys, if I can't get this worked out I'm prob just gonna have to trade it in for what its worth or sell it and take a pretty big loss. Thanks.

[kwimberly]

Was it kinda like this:

http://www.donohooauto.com/detail-20...t-3485247.html

The terminology is very important here. Is Audi's "Audi Certified Pre-Owned" the same as what these independent shops are representing? What is the difference between "pre-certified" and "Audi Certified Pre-Owned"..... It could be that "pre-certified" is meaningless and is an attempt to confuse the consumer into thinking that it's an Audi Certified Pre-Owned car.

P.S. - I am a lawyer, but this is NOT legal advice. This isn't my area of expertise.

[InTTruder]

"Precertified" is not Certified Preowned (CPO) in my opinion. The business practices of JFA (or whomever) are in question. But essentially "Caveat Emptor" is at play here: you signed it "as-is" w/o any real warranty and no Audi documentation in your sales package that states (vice what they said) that you have a warranty. You might win a legal battle, but it'll cost more than going to a breaker and getting a warranted used CVT.

There is no class action about CVT. I have several friends in the area who track their CVT w/o difficulty, so it'd be tough to say they all fail. Have you contacted the BBB to see about their track record.

[kwimberly]

That's how I read "pre-certified" - not the same as Audi's Certified pre-owned. And if I did get the dealer right, then that page expressly defines what "pre-certified" means to them. It seems like you found the additional 2-year warranty stuff from Audi's Certified Pre-Owned program. So, the dealer defined pre-certified, and you signed for it "as-is" without any warranty other than the balance of Audi's warranty. It's going to be a tough row to hoe...

[ars2210]

You got it right, kwimberly, it is Donohoo. Except in my case they explicitly stated that it was pre certified by Audi of America. So you think there is no chance? Also, InTTruder, how much do you think I could get a used CVT for and where, I'm probably gonna get rid of the car soon after I fix it anyway due to this experience. Thing is I really like the car a lot too, I just don't trust that it wouldn't fail again soon. Maybe I can find one without CVT.

[romell]

CVT blows... get a 6 speed..

[CyberPMG]

I signed something that said "sold as is" but was given paper work that said "existing factory warranty" and was told to call Audi to get details. This, I understood to be the warranty that went along with the pre certification so I did not opt to buy an extended warranty.

Signing a form that said "sold as is" means that there is no implied warranty to be provided by the independent dealer. "Existing factory warranty" meant that the car still had miles/years left on it's original factory warranty when you made the purchase. In order for the factory warranty to be valid, the car would need to undergo a full inspection at an Authorised Audi dealer. This must be done because the car was being sold outside of an Audi dealer and doesn't have the full maintenance history.

None of this implies that you have Audi's Certified Pre-Owned extended warranty. To get that would require another inspection at an Audi dealer followed by an additional cost ($2k to $3k). What this means, unfortunately, is that you do not have Audi's Certified Pre-Owned extended warranty for an additional 2 years/50k miles. To get a Certified Pre-Owned Audi, you would have to have signed a contract through Audi (or at least have the copy of the contract from the previous owner that you can take to a dealer and get transferred over to your name).

The only thing Pre-Certified will mean is that the car underwent an inspection to check for only the basics, but it does not imply any type of warranty expressed, implied, or otherwise.

It looks like the factory warranty has expired (due to years, not mileage). I don't think you have anything to use legally to have the repair done at no cost. I also don't think you have anythign to use to go after the independent dealer except for hearsay (your Dad overhearing the conversation, but nothing documented on paper).

I'm sorry about what happened to your car, but I'm afriad that you're stuck with the full repair cost (or trade in on another car).