Purchased B8.5 S4 Audi Certified :plus with Body Damage

[englishbay]

Hi Everyone I purchased a 2015 S4 from an Audi dealer a couple of weeks ago and am loving the car. When I initially looked at it there was what looked like some surface scrapes around the left front headlight. The sales person said that the previous driver must have scraped against an underground parking pillar and it would be taken car of. When I looked at it, it seemed that it just needed some paint from a mobile paint/dent removal service. The car is misano red and in the dealership the lighting wasn't the best.

After I brought it home I noticed a reverse dent on the wheel well, and since I already picked up the car thought that I wouldn't complain and I could get a dent removal person to fix it for like $100 or something close to that. There were some rock chips that I wanted to get done at the same time.

So I was at Colorworks yesterday and the person there said that they had painted part of the bumper and not blended the paint. If you run your hand over the area it feels bumpy and definitely not like the rest of the paint on the car. And the dent was caused by the impact by pinching the wheel well.

Crap !!! so he said I will need the bumper painted and the dent taken out by a body shop and the corner panel painted, Could be as much as $2k. I have an appointment today to get an estimate from a reputable body shop.

I have a copy of the 300+ point inspection and there is no mention of the damage, but the salesman did arrange to get the scraps fixed. I phoned him yesterday and told him I am not happy and he said to send him the estimate. On the Audi websites I can't find any reference to body condition for certified cars, just that they go through an inspection.

Any advice from the members on this issue? Anyone else had a similar experience with certified cars that have body damage? I will be expecting the Audi fixes this but will have to prepare for a drawn out battle.

Here are a couple of pictures:It might be hard to see the pinched dent on the wheel well, its at the top - right above the 35

[Works2shoot]

I believe that CPO only certifies that the car doesn't have frame damage. I could be wrong though.

[kristokes]

I believe Audi can certify their cars with exterior/cosmetic damage, in your case, the front bumper cover and left fender. However, they cannot certify their cars with structural damage.

[englishbay]

I believe Audi can certify their cars with exterior/cosmetic damage

I feel in love with the car when I saw it so didn't do the proper inspection - note to self for next time. It has everything on my list: DSG, Technik, Sport Diff, B&O, Carbon Fiber Inlays, Titanium Wheels, Back Optics Package and Misano Red Pearl Effect. The dealer didn't budge much on the price, only took off $1k, so I think I paid a premium over the other B8.5's on the market here.

It does look goofy with the dent when you see it, so will have to do something if Audi won't cover the cost.

[hilmar2k]

You can actually see the orange peel in the first picture. Far from quality work.....

[optionfa]

Look up the CPO checklist see if there is something there that covers this type of body work damage.

Audi of Mississuaga (ontario) sold me a CPO car with really bad curb rash wheels, car still had different winters on it when i bought it and it was raining hard when i picked up the car so i didnt notice on pickup.. I later called them asking them to refinish the wheels for me which they at first refused to do.. I looked up the Audi CPO checklist which clearly states wheels and tires must be in good condition and threatened to make a complaint to Audi Canada... Eventually they agreed to refinish all wheels for free.

[englishbay]

Look up the CPO checklist see if there is something there that covers this type of body work damage.

The CPO checklist doesn't show anything but there was work done...I'll see if I can get the invoice for the work. Probably done by Colorworks or someone equivalent

[Fresh.S4]

Do you have the complete check list for a ppi?

[englishbay]

Do you have the complete check list for a ppi?

Yes I do have the completed form. They did note that the brake pads did not meet the requirement and the dealer did replace pads and rotors. But there was no mention of the body damage.

[wangshuo1989]

Happened to me on my 2013 S5 when I bought it at 2015, there's a key scratch on the passenger side (fender, door, quarter panel). AoA won't do anything and either did the dealer. I also fell in love with the car and didn't do proper inspection, and the color is also misano red! Since the car is perfect otherwise so I planned to keep it long term, and I brought it to a high end Mercedes certified body shop and have the whole passenger side repainted. Cost me $2200 bucks but I'm happier now. Next time I'll keep my brain cool and do a thorough inspection.

[englishbay]

Cost me $2200 bucks but I'm happier now.

Wow that's so similar to my situation. Just got the quote its $2000. Sent it off to the dealer so lets see what they say. I went to another dealer today that I have a great relationship with the service people and they said that the other dealer may cover the cost to keep a loyal customer.

[LINDW4LL]

Yes, CPO cars can have paintwork, unfortunately, and so it's no guarantee against a prior incident.

I'd be a little shocked if your dealer is willing to cover it, but that would be terrific if so!

[casablancab5]

I've got some insight to offer.. My dad works for Audi in the US and it is impossible for them to find all the damage and repair it. As it is the certification costs them about $1,800. As you can see the cost to repair something costs quite a lot, and unless someone like a proper detailer is going over the car, most people won't notice the damage or orange peel. Especially if the car is examined right after it arrives and it is a little dirty. I recently bought a 15 stick moonlight S4. It was nearly impossible to find one where I am at a decent price at a decent dealer. I drove it and no problems. It was raining and dark. I picked it up and noticed a golf ball sized dent in the back bumper and the car was swirled beyond belief. Now i over paid for the car as it was being it was a manual, but i loved the car, I daily drive it, and i'm able to live with the dent. I detail so I cleaned the car up to better condition than new. As much as it sucks to say, the dealer isn't responsible, and you are getting charged too much for the body shop. A new fender costs $350 (probably 500 cad) on ECS tuning which would only require minor prep work and paint. My guess is another $350 (500 cad?). I had to get my B5 bumper redone once and I went this route. One of the best shops around charged $250 to repaint and perform minor prep. If I were you, I'd be glad that the car was CPO'd because to me that is worth more than the minor damage. I've also seen dealerships CPO cars with accidents before. They care about the mechanical aspect more than the body.

[englishbay]

After quite a lot of prodding and getting another quote for approximate the same amount ($1900) from the body shop that the dealer uses, it looks like they are going to fix the body damage. I am going down there today to see exactly what they are willing to do, because the salesman is quite vague. Another dent repair guy says that the fender can be repaired with dent repair (he wants to get a second option from another dent repair place) and he said I should go that route if I can so that the original point is preserved and I don't have to deal with any problems that the body shop may cause.

The bumper does definitely need to be redone. So have three quotes now on the bumper and they are all around $1000. One is for $900 to completely redo the bumper. I guess in my area we just get screwed on body shop repair rates.

[YSPAIK]

After quite a lot of prodding and getting another quote for approximate the same amount ($1900) from the body shop that the dealer uses, it looks like they are going to fix the body damage. I am going down there today to see exactly what they are willing to do, because the salesman is quite vague. Another dent repair guy says that the fender can be repaired with dent repair (he wants to get a second option from another dent repair place) and he said I should go that route if I can so that the original point is preserved and I don't have to deal with any problems that the body shop may cause.

The bumper does definitely need to be redone. So have three quotes now on the bumper and they are all around $1000. One is for $900 to completely redo the bumper. I guess in my area we just get screwed on body shop repair rates.

Awesome to hear! Good to see the dealer taking care of their customers!


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine

[englishbay]

Another dent repair guy says that the fender can be repaired with dent repair (he wants to get a second option from another dent repair place) and he said I should go that route if I can so that the original point is preserved and I don't have to deal with any problems that the body shop may cause.

The dent repair technician said that because the buckle in the fender goes out that there must be some other structural aspect to the fender damage that will need to be addressed, so said that he cannot do anything and the repair needs to be done at a body shop. I went to the dealer and looks like they are will to send the car to their body shop to get their opinion and what repairs need to be done and they will cover them. I have been looking at before and after pictures of what dent repair and its pretty amazing stuff that they can fix.

I was able to get the car ceramic coated because of a client cancellation on Friday, so I don't want to take any chances affecting the coating during the two week curing period from the technician who did the coating, so am asking the dealer if I can reschedule for a couple of weeks. The technician said to not use any soap on the car, only water, so can't guarantee that the body shop/dealer won't do a car wash.

By the way my ceramic coating technician said to NEVER get the dealer to wash your car...good to know

[Solarsuplex]

Its pretty well known that dealer lots will have the porters (young guys that just get paid to shuffle cars around and wash cars) was the cars and they care a whole lot less about your investment than you do.

To be frank I would just try and work with the dealer to get that $2000 in your pocket and tell them you will take care of the bodywork on your own time. You appreciate their help but cut out the middle man. HIGHLY DOUBT they will go for that but its worth doing. Enjoy the car over the summer and then take it in after winter takes its beating on the car. By that time you may be a bit less honeymoon periodish with the car and be happy you have an extra $2000 sitting around than a slightly less orange pealy bumper.

Obviously depends on the extent of the crappy paint work and the dent.

[englishbay]

Well good news, after a lot of back and forth, the work has been done at a reputable body shop. They painted the bumper, fixed the fender and repainted and also blended paint on the door. So glad it worked out and the car looks awesome. Will take it easy while the paint cures and then will put some good wax on it. Just wanted to let everyone knows that this scenario is possible at the right dealer.