Audi Centre Durban - *********** and Unprofessional

Item: Audi South Africa
Rating: 1
Author: nevanramdas N

This is regarding my Audi A3 1.8T Cabriolet 2009 Registration: NEVANR-ZN VIN: TRUZZZ8P ********** 95 Mileage: 38710KM My Audi A3 1.8T Cabriolet 2009 was diagnosed with a Mechatronics fault. I purchased a brand new Mechatronics from Ramesh Cassie the Parts Manager of Barons VW Durban for R26 811.89, with 7 pints Gear Oil (Code: VG 052 182A2) costing R2 856.84 . Ramesh Cassie advised that I send the car to Audi Centre Durban to have the new Mechatronics fitted because Barons VW Durban did not have the software required to program the new Mechatronics. My car was towed to Audi Centre Durban to have the new Mechatronics fitted and programmed. I was informed by the Raven Govender the service advisor at Audi Centre Durban that the 7 pints of gear oil delivered to them by Barons VW Durban was the incorrect gear oil required, and that my car gearbox would require 2 pints of another gear oil (Code: VG 052 512A2) which they would provide me with. I returned the 7 pints of incorrect gear oil to Ramesh Cassie the Parts Manager of Barons VW Durban for which I received a full refund of R2 856.84. Once the new Mechatronics was fitted by Audi Centre Durban, I was advised by Raven Govender and the mechanic at Audi Centre Durban that my car was still not fixed and that I would require new clutches to be fitted in order for the car to be fixed. They assured me that once the new clutches were fitted my car would be able to drive on the road. The cost of the new clutches inclusive of labour from Audi Centre Durban totaled R22 446.90. This was paid for by myself in order for the new clutches to be ordered and fitted. After the new clutches were fitted, Raven Govender and Grant Massey-Hicks the Service Manager at Audi Centre Durban informed me that the car is still not drivable because there is a fault with the gearbox. A new gearbox would cost in excess of R70 000 and Audi Centre Durban does not repair gearboxes themselves, they outsource gearbox repairs. Disappointed I had my car towed out of Audi Centre Durban, after paying them in excess of R22 446.90 without the car being fixed, to Khan’s Gearbox Specialists. Khan’s Gearbox Specialists diagnosed the fault was the incorrect Mechatronics was fitted to my car by Audi Centre Durban. Audi Centre Durban was trying to repair my car with the incorrect part. I reported the matter to Elzanne Marais at Audi South Africa who said that they would investigate. Barons VW Durban gave me a full refund of R26 811.89 for the incorrect Mechatronics. I then purchased a new Mechatronics from Weiss Durban VW that cost R16 758, which is much less than the first Mechatronics purchased from Barons VW Durban for R26 811.89. The Parts Manager at Weiss Durban VW informed me that the Mechatronics that I had purchased from Barons VW Durban, fitted by Audi Centre Durban was the incorrect part and was actually for a VW and not for an Audi. The Mechatronics part numbers are not the same and the parts are not interchangeable. This was the reason the Mechatronics fitted by Audi Centre Durban could not be programmed and did not work. When my Vin Number was entered into the system to purchase the Mechatronics it indicated two separate Mechatronics part numbers – The one part number specified for VW and the second part number specified for Audi. 1. Mechatronics part number: V 0AM 325 025DXZFX (Purchased from Barons VW Durban for R26 811.89) – Did not work 2. Mechatronics part number: V 0AM 325 025DXZJX (Purchased from Weiss Durban VW for R16 758) – Works perfectly My question here is why was it not picked up by the professionals at Audi Centre Durban and the experts at Audi South Africa that the incorrect part was supp**** and fitted. Did the professional fitters at Audi Centre Durban even check if they were fitting the correct part or not before actually fitting it? This is incompetence. The second issue is of the gear oil. When I purchased the first Mechatronics from Barons VW Durban I was also supp**** with 7 Gear Oil (Code: VG 052 182A2) as I was informed that this is also required when fitting the new Mechatronics. Raven Govender of Audi Centre Durban informed me that this was the incorrect oil and I had returned it to Barons VW Durban for a refund. When I purchased the second Mechatronics from Weiss Durban VW I was also supp**** with 2 Gear Oil (Code: VG 052 512A2). My question here is how come Audi Centre Durban picked up that the oil supp**** was incorrect (because the one oil is for dry clutches and the other is for wet clutches) but they did not pick up that the Mechatronics that they were fitting was incorrect as the Mechatronics and Oil work hand in hand with each other. This is incompetence once again. I have all of the relevant invoices together with the part numbers and diagnostic reports in my possession as proof of the mess up that has cost me over R60 000. I have been bearing all of the costs (for Parts, Clutches, Labour, Inconvenience) thus far for what seems to be incompetence and lack of professionalism. How come the mechanics at Audi Centre Durban picked up that the gear oil supp**** was incorrect (because the one gear oil is for dry clutches and the other is for wet clutches) but they did not check that the Mechtronics that they were fitting was incorrect, as the Mechatronics and Gear Oil work hand in hand with each other. How come the experts at Audi South Africa did not pick up that the incorrect Mechatronics was fitted during their investigation in the very first place. Elzanne Marais at Audi South Africa has informed me that they will not be able to divulge the outcome of the investigation to me as they can only mediate between myself and the dealership, and this will be used to improve their service in the future. I am disappointed that Audi South Africa has not been much help in assisting me resolve this problem. All of this stems down to Audi Centre Durban fitting the incorrect Mechatronics that was incompatible and unprogrammable with my car. I have also failed in my attempts to get hold of Jacques Breytenbach the Dealer Principal of Audi Centre Durban to assist in resolving this problem.

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