********** Service from Audi Centre Menlyn

Item: Audi South Africa
Rating: 1
Author: Yurissa T

It has been 5 months of stress and upset due to the dismal service I received from Audi Centre Menlyn in Pretoria East. Please patient enough to read a detailed account of what we experienced in these 5 months. This is the email of complaint that I sent to Audi South Africa and Audi Germany on 04/07/2016 which sums up most of my experience (please excuse the typos) : "Good day I was in university when the 2011 Audi A1 was released and I made a promise to myself that as soon as I could afford one I would buy it. I eventually purchased a 2011 Audi A1 1.4 Tfsi S-tronic two years ago purely based my love for that specific car. My car began making a slight "tapping" sound on idle in January 2016, but other that that I had no complaint with regard to the car's performance. In mid January 2016 I took it to Audi Hatfield in Pretoria to sort the issue out as I feared it was a symptom of a more serious problem. They returned the car after 3 days, but the noise was still there. In mid February 2016 I took the car to Audi Menlyn. They informed us that the 2011 Audi A1's had a fault that caused the sound, and had been recalled in Germany. The fault was something to do with the fuel lines and a missing valve. I am by no means car mechanical fundi. They took the car apart multiple times over a period of 2 months to fix the noise. The technician in charge told me that the car was mechanically sound, but he was being efficient in wanting to fix the noise and correct the problem. Over the two month period we received minimal updates, and the lady in charge of our case had poor knowledge of cars to explain or update us on the progress, when I did get her on the phone. Most times my husband had to leave work and pick me up to go to Audi Menlyn to get an update. During the 2 month period my car went out of warranty at Audi Menlyn. It had arrived at Audi Menlyn with 3/4 a tank of fuel, which no one bothered to log. After two months we received the car with the fuel being in reserve level, and cracks to an inner component of the engine compartment, and both headlights (noticed later upon further inspection). The plastic inner components of the engine compartment were scratched as well, showing how roughly the car was handled. The wheel arch component was also missing the plastic clips. We made the complaint to the lady handling our case and she said she would call us the next day to sort those problems out. We never heard from her. We drove the car home and on the next day. Thereafter for a few days the car was parked the garage. When I go to use the car thereafter, it refused to start at all. The park light flashed and that was it. The Audi Roadside technician came through and diagnosed that it was most probably the mechantronics that failed. We had to arrange with my insurance to send through a flat bed truck to tow the car to Audi Menlyn as I now had no maintenance plan. The same lady was in charge of our case and told us that after we give her the go ahead to order the part, the work would take 2 days at the most. We received the car back two whole weeks later, and during that time we received the same pathetic service of no updates unless we called or went there personally. At one stage a mechanic even told us that they were having a problem fixing the car and he believes the gear box is broken. That caused us a huge amount of stress as our car was now out of motor plan. We were told that we had to pay cash to fix this problem as it did not fall under the 1 year guarantee of the previous problem that was fixed. I am recently unemployed so this was a nightmare. After 2 weeks we were called to collect the car, only to find that the cracked engine compartment component and wheel arch clips were not fixed. I had specifically asked that those be fixed at the same time so we did not have to bring the in car again. The same lady in charge of our case tells me that the technician now says that they didn't damage those components, and who will pay for the replacement. I was utterly shocked and disgusted. This coming from her when we complained of these faults on the day of receipt of the car after the initial problem. This was unacceptable. After I told her that that was not my concern, as the car was damaged in Audi's care and it must be fixed as the car has been devalued. She then said she will speak to her manager and get back to me the next day. I never heard from her again. We then go to the car and the car has been returned to us completely free of fuel with a 0km range. It is 5pm in Pretoria which means peak traffic and there is no garage to fill fuel anywhere nearby. Can you imagine the stress of driving a car with a 0km range in peak traffic on a Friday afternoon? The car was sputtering and jerking on the road as I just managed to pull in to a filling station. This was utterly unacceptable service from Audi. To make matters worse after now having the car for two weeks and driving it daily, I discover that the car is leaking oil continuously. My husband checked the oil level and the engine was completely empty and puddle of oil was on our garage floor. The engine could have been damaged due to this. Who would then be responsible? What if I had broken down on the Roadside? We called Audi Menlyn once again. They sent through their Roadside technician. He checked the oil, put in some new oil and told us to drive the car in. When we do they say that: Yes, it was due to them not putting the car together correctly after the previous work of replacing the mechantronics. They say this will be covered by the 1 year guarantee on their work. What about the stress and inconvenience that we experienced and have been experiencing for 3 months now of dealing with Audi Menlyn? I have spoken to the Service Manager at Audi Menlyn with regard to everything that I have stated here only to be superficially pacified and to be told that he does not know anything about certain key points of my case. How is this possible? Is it normal for the same vehicle to be in continuously for 3 consecutive months? He told me that my car would be fixed that day and returned. It is now 4 days later I have not had an update, let alone received my car back. My vehicle was perfectly fine prior to being handled by Audi Menlyn. It drove well, the power was excellent and it had great fuel consumption. I loved. After it being taken apart and put together continously for that initial two month period it has never been the same again. It has given us problem after problem. The damage and scratches and dents to engine compartment is evidence as to the care that was taken with the car whilst in Audi Menlyn's care, and I believe that this branch is solely responsible for all the mechanical issues arising with a car that never gave me a day's issue in the 2 years I have owned it. The service from this branch has been beyond pathetic and it's my first experience with Audi and surely will be the last, which is very sad as I bought this car out of love for it and always thought that I would drive an Audi. I now need to sell the car out of fear that something else will break. In good conscience how can I sell this car to another individual when I myself have no confidence in it?? I have spoken to the customer care call centre when they called and rated Audi Menlyn a 2. The customer service consultant was appalled by the service I received and told me that the service manager will be in contact. It's been over a week, no one has called me in this connection? I am not shocked. Am I to believe that this is a reflection of this prestigious brand of motor vehicle? Was I mistaken to have faith in this brand? Please make the difference and undo the damage that has been done, however much you can. We have through the worst stress for the past 3 months, and it's not over. Thank you" Just before this email was sent, Audi Menlyn said that they ordered 2 new headlights that were cracked and the inner bumper component that was cracked from Germany . This according to them took 10+ days to arrive. We took the car in when called on Thursday 28/07/2016, and we're told to collect the car this afternoon, Friday, 29/07/2016. We hoped that this was end of this terrible experience. Unfortunately not. When we see the car, it is glaringly obvious that the front bumper, the face of the car has been sc****d badly . Bear in mind, my car is metallic burgundy so any scratch is visible. These scratches went deep enough such that you could see the white undercoat. Immediately we ask to see the service manager, Martinus. The same lady, Charmaine, goes to call him. She comes back alone stating he is busy. He told her to tell us that they did not scratch the car. We were furious. We demanded to see him once more. Then she says that he also said to tell us that "We must take the car to the panel beaters and they will pay half". We were shocked and outraged that the manager could not see us and blatantly refuses to accept responsibility, then in the same breath offers to pay half??? We refused to accept this and demanded to speak to him once again. After 10 minutes of waiting, the dealer principal Mr Kruger, comes to speak to us. My husband explained the situation to him reasonably. He refused to take responsibility and says that they did not damage the vehicle. They don't work in that manner according to him. He also makes the offer to pay half of what the panel beater would charge. My husband showed him that these are fresh scratches from being pulled on a rough surface. The service manager then joins us stating that he did the work himself with one assistant. He then points out the stone chips. This is 5 years old, we agreed it had stone chips but was not sc****d. My husband asks to see the log of the car's defects when it came in. He was ignored. The dealer principal said they put the parts on a clean epoxy surface when fixing the car, yet the service manager said he placed the bumper on a "piece of card" when asked. They refused to help us fix the damage they caused. We were treated like we were trying to de***** them into spraying our bumper. We were also told, when we pointed out that the car was damaged previously in their care, that they only replaced the headlights and bumper component out of goodwill. This was an outright lie as the headlight front covers were replaced, not the entire lights. When the dealer principal asked if the service manager had already sent the "old lights" away, the service manager rep**** that Yes he gave it to "the guy that supp**** them". Is Audi not supposed to supply parts?? We were told that the parts were coming from Germany! And the dealer principal then conveniently adds "that you sign documents that state that your car is parked here under your own risk". What does that mean? They damaged it but we were aware that it could happen? And is that why they'll pay 50% of the panel beater's bill? This dealership has proven to be ************ and totally lacking in honesty and any form of customer service. We have been stressed, shocked, outraged, and insulted by this dealership; and after 5 months all we have to show is a newly damaged vehicle. This cannot be fair and acceptable. PS: Audi SA cannot assist in such matters. The dealer principal can only help you. They will only create and uphold communication between the client and dealership.

Helpful (0)

Replies (0)