Dealership messed up my car! Advice needed!!

[mr_pulido88]

A4 b7, 106k miles
Purchased July 2013 with 100k miles.
Timing belt was done early September, coils replaced on December.

Took it yesterday morning for a IMAF Motor recall.
Waited 2.5 hours, then the service rep. tells me: "We're gonna have the car washed, should be ready in 10 min."
15 min passed and he came back and told me "Oh, they took your car for a test drive and the car started shaking and the Low Oil Pressure message came up, so they had to stop. We're going to tow it back to the dealer and figure out what happened."

So I had to leave it there, they gave me a ride to Enterprise to rent a car to come back home (it's a 1 hour drive).

Service rep called me at 4:15pm and said that they can't really figure out the problem but the master technician thinks there is a mechanical problem inside the lower part of the engine, they're gonna check for problems and they'll cover the costs.
But if they can't figure it out, then they'll have to move on to lowering the oil pan and examine the oil to see if there are any metal shavings that could've caused the problem, and check the oil pump BUT they'll have to charge me for it and it's around 5 hrs of labor.

He called again this morning and said they checked the oil with the dipstick and it looked good, so the next step is to lower the oil pan.
They're waiting for me to call back and see what I want to do.

What should I do, or can I do?
The car was fine before I took it in, I drove 1 hour on the freeway to get there and it was running fine. He claimed that the service they did for the recall has nothing to do with the oil pressure problem.

I was going to check the Cam Follower because previous owner never looked into it, so maybe it broke and that's what caused the problem. Would the extended warranty cover everything?

[midnight407]

If it's the CF, you just made it...the cutoff is 110k miles AFAIK

[Obsidian]

If it's the CF, you just made it...the cutoff is 110k miles AFAIK

Cam follower campaign is 120k or 2017 whichever comes first. I'd wait to see what they have to say and update here once more info is known.

[aluthman]

CF warranty goes to 120k miles. They should cover everything if the CF is burned through. Ask them to check it before doing anything else. Why did they have to test drive your car after simply replacing a flapper motor? Get ready to play hardball with the dealer.

[mr_pulido88]

If it's the CF, you just made it...the cutoff is 110k miles AFAIK

Cam follower campaign is 120k or 2017 whichever comes first. I'd wait to see what they have to say and update here once more info is known.

CF warranty goes to 120k miles. They should cover everything if the CF is burned through. Ask them to check it before doing anything else. Why did they have to test drive your car after simply replacing a flapper motor? Get ready to play hardball with the dealer.

Correct, I called them last week and confirmed it. I know I am covered.
Right now they are waiting for me to call them and tell them if they should go ahead and remove the oil pan to check for metal shavings. (5 hrs. labor I'd have to pay)
Should I let them do that, or ask them to check the Cam Follower?

[diond]

Correct, I called them last week and confirmed it. I know I am covered.
Right now they are waiting for me to call them and tell them if they should go ahead and remove the oil pan to check for metal shavings. (5 hrs. labor I'd have to pay)
Should I let them do that, or ask them to check the Cam Follower?

Have they checked the oil pressure value and confirm that the pressure is low? Easy for the dealership to call for the big job.. If the pressure is bad, yes something is wrong and the oil pan, oil pump, pickup tube need to be inspected. It could be simply a bad oil pressure switch that takes few minutes to change...

[mr_pulido88]

Have they checked the oil pressure value and confirm that the pressure is low? Easy for the dealership to call for the big job.. If the pressure is bad, yes something is wrong and the oil pan, oil pump, pickup tube need to be inspected. It could be simply a bad oil pressure switch that takes few minutes to change...

I don't think so, I'll ask them though.
All he said was that there was a noise coming from the bottom of the engine and they want to check the oil for any debris or metal shavings.

[diond]

I don't think so, I'll ask them though.
All he said was that there was a noise coming from the bottom of the engine and they want to check the oil for any debris or metal shavings.

OK, so they want to take a look down there because they hear a sound. That's different now...Anyway, if you give your OK to do this job and they open the oil pan and find metal shavings or stuff like that, you have to remember this metal shavings is coming from somewhere and if your CF have never been inspected....that would be the first place I would look into.

[mr_pulido88]

OK, so they want to take a look down there because they hear a sound. That's different now...Anyway, if you give your OK to do this job and they open the oil pan and find metal shavings or stuff like that, you have to remember this metal shavings is coming from somewhere and if your CF have never been inspected....that would be the first place I would look into.

Yeah that's what I've been thinking, it's the only reason why there would be metal shavings in the engine.
Would the extended warranty cover EVERYTHING? Or just the Camshaft, Follower, and HPFP?

[Quattro SFC]

Op, if you give them permission to check the oil pan and they do find shavings they will cover repair costs. I just had the entire motor replaced because CF shavings were in my pan. It was a factory refurbished motor. They gave me a new turbo as well. This was last month. It might be in your best interest to have them check the pan. If they dont find anything, im sorry, you just lost $300, but spending that to get a new motor may be worth it. My old motor had 104k

[aluthman]

Tell them to check the CF before tearing into the motor on your dime.

[diond]

Tell them to check the CF before tearing into the motor on your dime.

X2.

CF job = 30min.
Oil pan Job = 4 hours.

The choice is easy. But, do not forget that dealership hear a sound at the bottom of the engine. you could have something else down there.

[LoKisSpYdR]

X2.

CF job = 30min.
Oil pan Job = 4 hours.

The choice is easy. But, do not forget that dealership hear a sound at the bottom of the engine. you could have something else down there.

And after the confirm it's the follower, then they can work on getting all the little chucks out, or just replace the engine.

[mr_pulido88]

Op, if you give them permission to check the oil pan and they do find shavings they will cover repair costs. I just had the entire motor replaced because CF shavings were in my pan. It was a factory refurbished motor. They gave me a new turbo as well. This was last month. It might be in your best interest to have them check the pan. If they dont find anything, im sorry, you just lost $300, but spending that to get a new motor may be worth it. My old motor had 104k

Tell them to check the CF before tearing into the motor on your dime.

Well I just got off the phone with them.
He says the MUST take the oil pan off, I told them to check the CF first and he said the Master Mechanic must do the oil pan. It will take a couple days and cost $980.00

I told him about the CF AGAIN and he literally said "If the CF fails, it can't damage the engine, it would be only that part that fails."
I told him I KNOW it fails and if it breaks the fragments can get into the engine and do damage.
I insisted and told him that I also know it's under an extended warranty, he said it only covered up to 100k miles... I told him no, it covers up to 120k but if you want to confirm please do so.

He said he will go ahead and check with the techs and also give me a price to check the CF...

[mr_pulido88]

X2.

CF job = 30min.
Oil pan Job = 4 hours.

The choice is easy. But, do not forget that dealership hear a sound at the bottom of the engine. you could have something else down there.

He mentioned that too, and that's what worries me. So the CF failure only damages the top of the engine?

[mr_pulido88]

He just called and said to check br CF it's gonna be $340... But that if the CF would've been the problem it would've came up on the computer, but there's nothing there... Thoughts?


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[diond]

He just called and said to check br CF it's gonna be $340... But that if the CF would've been the problem it would've came up on the computer, but there's nothing there... Thoughts?


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OK, just let you know: Last year, I had the CF, HPFP and INTAKE CAM replaced all under warranty by the dealership and you know what: No code on the computer. And they found metal shavings in the oil at that time...

340$ for looking at the follower, Wow they are expensive for a 30min job.

[Acme]

You're getting shafted if they charge you 340$ to check the CF. I think in their book it's a 1 hour job to replace it. That's what my dealer charged me just last month when I asked them to replace it before my CPO went out. Your dealership is obviously full of it!!!!!

[PDX04a4]

This dealer is just trying to pull one over on you, to check the cam follower almost EVERY dealer I've ever heard of charges 1 hour of labor ($120), it's what I was charged when the local dealer checked mine. It's not a $340 job in any manner (what is that? 2.5-3 hours of labor? it's a 1 hour book job). Second the dealer is full of shit and they know it, a failing cam follower and damaged cam lobe can absolutely cause massive damage to the engine, there are PLENTY of documented cases of this. Ask them for an email where you can send them several of the failed cam follower/destroyed engines posted here and else where on the net. A dealer tech telling you that a cam follower failing can't do anything to the engine is an absolute idiot and I would talk to the manager immediately about it.

You need to give it to these asshole straight and tell them to stop jerking you around, there is no way in hell a cam follower check is $340. And the comment that they MUST check the oil pan is completely ridiculous, they don't HAVE to do anything unless you tell them to. Remember, you are the customer here, the car was in their possession and under their control when the issues started happening. Don't be afraid to tell them this, they are on the hook here, not you.

[Obsidian]

If it were me..... get Audi of America involved. They'll set things straight and get you on the right path.

[4rings5stars]

Def get AoA involved or bring someone who won't take any of their bullshit.

What state are you in?

[mr_pulido88]

You're getting shafted if they charge you 340$ to check the CF. I think in their book it's a 1 hour job to replace it. That's what my dealer charged me just last month when I asked them to replace it before my CPO went out. Your dealership is obviously full of it!!!!!

This dealer is just trying to pull one over on you, to check the cam follower almost EVERY dealer I've ever heard of charges 1 hour of labor ($120), it's what I was charged when the local dealer checked mine. It's not a $340 job in any manner (what is that? 2.5-3 hours of labor? it's a 1 hour book job). Second the dealer is full of shit and they know it, a failing cam follower and damaged cam lobe can absolutely cause massive damage to the engine, there are PLENTY of documented cases of this. Ask them for an email where you can send them several of the failed cam follower/destroyed engines posted here and else where on the net. A dealer tech telling you that a cam follower failing can't do anything to the engine is an absolute idiot and I would talk to the manager immediately about it.

You need to give it to these asshole straight and tell them to stop jerking you around, there is no way in hell a cam follower check is $340. And the comment that they MUST check the oil pan is completely ridiculous, they don't HAVE to do anything unless you tell them to. Remember, you are the customer here, the car was in their possession and under their control when the issues started happening. Don't be afraid to tell them this, they are on the hook here, not you.

Is there any place I could find the "book time" for this? Or should I just tell him to email me a breakdown of why it costs so much?
I'm going to call him back tomorrow and see what he says. It seems like they wanna steer me away from having them check the CF, he even told me that it's NO USE because it didn't show up on the computer and they would have to end up checking the oil pan anyways.

I'll just tell him: My car was running fine when I took it in, you worked on it, not it's not even drivable. I want it how I brought it.

If he doesn't listen, I'll talk to the manager, dealer owner, and even threaten to take it up to Audi of America.

[mr_pulido88]

Def get AoA involved or bring someone who won't take any of their bullshit.

What state are you in?

I'm in California.
The problem is that I live 1 hr away from them, and I work full time so it's hard for me to get there at their normal business hours.

[mr_pulido88]

If it were me..... get Audi of America involved. They'll set things straight and get you on the right path.

I will, but first I want to try and get them to work with me and do everything right, which I doubt will happen but we'll see.

[Acme]

Is there any place I could find the "book time" for this? Or should I just tell him to email me a breakdown of why it costs so much?

You probably can't have this information on the web, but there a couple of guys here who work at dealerships. They have the information. But I know for a fact that it's a 1 hour job, and can scan my invoice... The only problem is.... it's in french........ Loll

[PNW Avant]

I wouldnt fight with them on prices or book time - simply say what you said before - my car was perfect when I dropped it off, now it is not.

If they don't fix your car at their expense, call AoA and walk them through your experience.

It is also a good time to be writing down the steps, details of your conversations, dates, times, who you talked to, etc. so that you have a nice record for AoA when you talk to them.

[mr_pulido88]

I wouldnt fight with them on prices or book time - simply say what you said before - my car was perfect when I dropped it off, now it is not.

If they don't fix your car at their expense, call AoA and walk them through your experience.

It is also a good time to be writing down the steps, details of your conversations, dates, times, who you talked to, etc. so that you have a nice record for AoA when you talk to them.

You're right, I'll start doing that.

I don't think they'll fix it, he already said there is NO physical or possible way the work they did could've damaged the engine.

Should i tell them I'm going to have to call AoA, or just do it?


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[mr_pulido88]

You probably can't have this information on the web, but there a couple of guys here who work at dealerships. They have the information. But I know for a fact that it's a 1 hour job, and can scan my invoice... The only problem is.... it's in french........ Loll

Lol I was thinking of calling other dealers in the area and ask for prices and compare them.
But for now I don't think I'm even going to argue about prices, I'll just make them fix what they broke.


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[red_eh_4]

You're right, I'll start doing that.

I don't think they'll fix it, he already said there is NO physical or possible way the work they did could've damaged the engine.

Should i tell them I'm going to have to call AoA, or just do it?


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Just DO IT. I did not have great luck with AoA just to play Devil's Advocate. Your situation is different for the simple fact your car was fine when you brough it in. They shouldn't charge you for ANYTHING until they diagnose what is wrong... if you don't want to pay the labor at that point and it's something that's not covered, they just won't give you the car. You shouldn't have to pay a single dime before the diagnosis. Your car was fine, then it wasn't. That's a THEM problem, not a YOU problem. It's pretty simple business and AoA will probably back you on that.

Also- Def talk to the service manager at the dealer. Ask for him, and him only. I had to do this over a year ago and let me tell you... it saved me a LOT of time and energy DICKING around with techs who are paid to lie and make the company money. The service manager also works on some commission, but unlike his tech's, he has more to lose and will be your greatest resource and liason between your probelm, getting it fixed, and making Audi of America happy.

Your problem ultimately isn't going to be finding out what happened- it's going to be them proving it wasn't the lobe or the follower and you proving it was (if you can). My other friend who has the same engine in his GTI had to take his to a private mechanic who specializes in Audi / VW and this guy literally took pictures, documented it, and printed articles like others have said, and talked to AoA and got VW to fix everything for free, but everyone's experience doing this is different (mine included).

Lastly- each dealer through what I've learned in my experience (look up my previous posts and you'll see I had major issues as well at only 48k miles) has a certain amount of "good will" to fix problems that are not techincally under CPO or AoA listed extended warranties. If your problem ends up being something that is in fact NOT covered, try your hardest to be polite, honest, and work with them, and they MIGHT just give you some "good will" towards your issues. Mention repeat business, and the fact you want to be a customer, and recommend them. That can go a long way as simple as it is.

Good luck to you.

[mr_pulido88]

Your problem ultimately isn't going to be finding out what happened- it's going to be them proving it wasn't the lobe or the follower and you proving it was (if you can).

Thanks man!
This is one of my bigger concerns.
It's not like I can be there while they're working on the car and taking off the hpfp, so they can easily lie and tell me the CF wasn't the problem.

Another option (as a last resource) is bringing it back home and have my mechanic open it up for me and documenting everything.
But ONLY if they just won't do anything for me.


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[red_eh_4]

Thanks man!
This is one of my bigger concerns.
It's not like I can be there while they're working on the car and taking off the hpfp, so they can easily lie and tell me the CF wasn't the problem.

Another option (as a last resource) is bringing it back home and have my mechanic open it up for me and documenting everything.
But ONLY if they just won't do anything for me.


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That's what I would do... If they refuse to work with you... Tow it to your guy and see what he says. Could save you $hundreds if not $thousands.

P.S.- I had to tow my car from a different dealer who was trying to bend me over. When I went to meet the tow truck there the next day the service manager almost shit his drawers BC he didn't want an issue with Audio of Am.

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[naiku]

I don't think they'll fix it, he already said there is NO physical or possible way the work they did could've damaged the engine.

Should i tell them I'm going to have to call AoA, or just do it?

At this point I would just call AoA. You took your WORKING car in for a recall, while it was out of your posession something happened so that you now no longer have a WORKING car.

Something the dealership did broke it, and you should not be paying to fix it. Maybe it is the cam follower and it just is a coincidence that it happened to grenade itself while the tech was driving your car. But, regardless of what happened you left them with a working car, and now don't have a working car, and they are trying to get you to pay for it.

[mr_pulido88]

That's what I would do... If they refuse to work with you... Tow it to your guy and see what he says. Could save you $hundreds if not $thousands.

P.S.- I had to tow my car from a different dealer who was trying to bend me over. When I went to meet the tow truck there the next day the service manager almost shit his drawers BC he didn't want an issue with Audio of Am.

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At this point I would just call AoA. You took your WORKING car in for a recall, while it was out of your posession something happened so that you now no longer have a WORKING car.

Something the dealership did broke it, and you should not be paying to fix it. Maybe it is the cam follower and it just is a coincidence that it happened to grenade itself while the tech was driving your car. But, regardless of what happened you left them with a working car, and now don't have a working car, and they are trying to get you to pay for it.

Well I'm about to call him and get them to fix it and cover the costs.
The guy just called and left a message saying "we want to get the ball rolling on this because you are driving an Enterprise and we're paying for that, and we don't want the bill going up"
What the hell?!! They're worried about spending $59 a day for the rental car but they wan't me to just hand over $1,000+ just to diagnose a problem! wow...

[red_eh_4]

Well I'm about to call him and get them to fix it and cover the costs.
The guy just called and left a message saying "we want to get the ball rolling on this because you are driving an Enterprise and we're paying for that, and we don't want the bill going up"
What the hell?!! They're worried about spending $59 a day for the rental car but they wan't me to just hand over $1,000+ just to diagnose a problem! wow...

Why the hell didn't they give you a loaner from their stock? Its Free. They sound absolutely incompetent

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[PDX04a4]

Why the hell didn't they give you a loaner from their stock? Its Free. They sound absolutely incompetent

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Ya, this is spiraling out of control, this dealer is all sorts of backward. Why on earth would a dealer set you up with an enterprirse rental car? If there is another dealer in the area I would contact them and tell them you are probably going to have the car towed to them. Then I would call AoA and inform them of the situation, give them a breakdown and timeline of how everything went down, be very detailed and don't leave anything out. Once they have a record you should call the current dealer up and tell them that you have contacted another dealer AND AoA and that you are going to have your car towed.

The way everything has happened with this dealer your car is currently at I wouldn't let them touch my car with a 100 ft pole. Like red_eh said, they sound utterly incompetent.

[naiku]

Why the hell didn't they give you a loaner from their stock? Its Free. They sound absolutely incompetent

Why on earth would a dealer set you up with an enterprirse rental car?

Quite a few dealers will do this, one of them here has an Enterprise office right off the service desk. I think they typically will put you in a rental if your car is a little older, or if they are out of loaner vehicles. OP is lucky, last time they gave me one of the Enterprise rentals after 24 hours I had to pay for it.

[Audi_509]

@ PDX ^I completely agree. I would get the ball rolling with contacting AOA.

[Tyler8]

Please keep us updated on what happens. This sounds like a crazy ordeal and I want to see how this plays out. Good luck with everything, don't let the dealership fuck with you.


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[mr_pulido88]

Ya, this is spiraling out of control, this dealer is all sorts of backward. Why on earth would a dealer set you up with an enterprirse rental car? If there is another dealer in the area I would contact them and tell them you are probably going to have the car towed to them. Then I would call AoA and inform them of the situation, give them a breakdown and timeline of how everything went down, be very detailed and don't leave anything out. Once they have a record you should call the current dealer up and tell them that you have contacted another dealer AND AoA and that you are going to have your car towed.

The way everything has happened with this dealer your car is currently at I wouldn't let them touch my car with a 100 ft pole. Like red_eh said, they sound utterly incompetent.

Well I just emailed the guy, I'm working and can't really be on the phone.

I told him I am NOT paying for anything because it broke under their care. I've had no issues like that recently, and the drive to their dealer is 1 hr on the freeway, and there was NOTHING wrong.
It's just not right to charge the customer to diagnose a problem caused under their care.

I'm awaiting a response... If he still doesn't accept the costs, I'll do what you said.

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR INPUT AND SUGGESTIONS!!!

[mr_pulido88]

I will keep you all updated, again THANK YOU!