Andrew brought his car to Audi of Downtown L.A. for routine warranty work, but left with a trunk that overflows whenever it rains. When Andrew complained to the dealership’s staff, he was told to take his business elsewhere.

Andrew writes:

Recently I had my Audi A8 serviced under warranty at Audi of Downtown LA (ADLA) for overheating and minor warranty work. There has been problem after problem directly related to repairs and service performed there. I had to return a second time so they could finish the original repairs and fix their mistakes from the first visit. One of the repairs was to my trunk. The adjustment made to the trunk mechanism of my A8 has caused the trunk to leak and fill with water when it rains. This has damaged my personal property that was within my trunk and has caused my vehicle to now smell of mildew. I returned to ADLA for them to rectify the problem only to be informed that ADLA did not want take responsibility for the damage done to my vehicle due to their work. I was also charged $300 to my credit card for the “provided” rental car. As well the other work completed on the car during the two weeks they had it did not rectify the problems diagnosed.

I have tried resolving this through the dealership as well as contacting Audi USA, to no avail. My insurance company is not covering it due to the damage being done under contract.

I have been treated with the utmost disrespect by the service manager of ADLA and I have no other recourse then legal action against the dealership.

Below is the email I sent to Dwayne at AudiAdvocate on Monday. He said he was going to get back to me by today regarding this. As of now, 5:22PM, he has not.

After first bringing my Audi A8 to Audi of Downtown LA (ADLA) for overheating and minor warranty work, not all the work was completed and the rear brake rotors were installed incorrectly (directional cross drilled rear brake rotors were installed backwards). So after first being without my car I had to reschedule another visit to complete the repairs as well fix the incorrectly installed rear brakes . After a few weeks I got a call from ADLA saying all my parts were in-stock and scheduled me to come in. To repeat, they called me to tell me my parts were in-stock. That the repairs were only to take a day.

So I bring the vehicle in and two week go by and I have heard nothing to the status of my vehicle. So I called and asked and was told then that my vehicle is ready. I ask them to please have my car ready for pickup at 5:30 PM. I arrive at the dealership and see my car sitting filthy and unwashed (the day previous to bringing the car in I had a $200 detail done). So immediately I am upset. I then approach the service counter and nothing has been printed or made ready for me to leave. So I now have to wait nearly an hour for them to do what should of been done at 5:30. Then the service advisor Juan who had replaced my previous advisor Susan, who now is no longer with the dealership. He informs me that some of the previously promised work was not done to my car. They did replace my arm rest, navigation unit, and adjusted the automatic trunk. The body molding that i was called and told was painted was now on international backorder. The MMI control short would not be repaired due to the fault being deemed not covered under warranty. This of corse is after having my car for two weeks in addition to the two weeks previous. Never once giving me the option of fixing it or not.

In the end, the repairs made to the Navigation unit did not rectify the problem, I am still without a functional navigation unit. I was billed $300 by Enterprise for the rental that I was supposed to be provided during the time ADLA had my vehicle. The adjustment made to my trunk mechanism has caused the trunk to leak and fill with water when it rains. This has damaged my personal property that was within my trunk and has caused my vehicle to now smell of mildew. I returned to ADLA for them to rectify the problem only to be met by Vicki, the Porsche Service advisor. Derek, was out of the office for a seminar and was not there. She informed me that ADLA did not want take responsibility for the damage done to my vehicle due to their work. She also informed me that ADLA did not want my business. I have no faith in the skills or competence of the entire service department of Audi of Downtown LA. I would not choose to return there in spite of the dealership being down the street from my office.

The first time I had the car in the previous service advisor, Susan had kept in constant contact with me. When I returned she was no longer with the company and I was introduced to Juan, who would be my new advisor. I had to restart from the beginning and I Juan was telling me a different story then Susan about my parts. I left expecting some form of communication from Juan. Two weeks go by and I hear nothing about my vehicle. Juan has records in his computer of messages left. But I have no such messages and the phone records that prove that. The level of customer service at Audi of Downtown LA does not reflect the Audi name and image. Being treated second tier is not something I have been accustomed to with audi and am very sorry to say that I am extremely disappointed with the level of service and the utmost disrespect from Derek Uerling, service manager.

I also received mail correspondence from ADLA regarding the reviews for the service department and that anything besides a positive review would result in a fail for Derek and ADLA. Tactics like that are not received well. Especially when I tried to send in the review and the website link goes no where. As I most definitely wanted to voice my opinion on my experience.

So now I still need to rectify the problems I initially had with the vehicle as well as the new issues that have presented themselves. I spoke with Dwayne, one of the A8 advocates earlier today. He gave me this email.

Please advise as to how I should proceed as soon as possible.

Look forward to hearing back from you.

High staff turnover? Multiple failed repairs? Sounds like something strange is going on down at Audi of Downtown L.A. Reach out to Audi corporate. Hopefully they’ll recommend a new dealership, one that can drain your trunk and fix your car.

(Photo: span)

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