JP,
I'd venture that it's not necessarily the "make" but the "dealer" who is
mistreating their customers - maybe you should consider going the extra 100
miles to the other dealer - post on Audiworld and here asking what the rep
of the other dealership is - and while you're at it, post the name of the
dealership that you had problems with so others can avoid lousy treatment.
If the independent is a good shop and does great work, why not continue with
them?
Cheers!
Steve Sears
1987 Audi 5kTQ
1980 Audi 5k
1962 and '64 Auto Union DKW Junior deLuxes
(SPAM Blocker NOTE: Remove SHOES to reply)

"JP Roberts" > wrote in message
...
> (Follows on from "Guess What?".)
>
> Dealer asked me to take the car in so that I could have the steering rods
> replaced free of charge as no records showed this had been done under the
> original campaign. Boy, was I not in for a bigger surprise when after
> dropping the car there, I get a second call in the afternoon telling me
that
> while the car is on the lift, a tie-rod replacement record has shown up on
> Elsa (they had pressumably not been able to set up a connection before),
the
> German database, and that I will have to pay for the whole thing. He very
> kindly informs me that it's only the upper right-front end arms and both
> tie-rod ends that need to be replaced. Since I had asked for an estimate
> prior to any real arm replacements, he then quotes a total of some $800,
> including labour.
>
> I say "thanks for the info", but could you please lower my car and get it
> ready for me to pick it up when I finish work?
>
> So, in the end, I just took the car to an independent mechanic and had all
> of this plus an oil-and-filter change and 2 new Bilsteins for the front
end
> for $1000..
>
> I really felt I had been cheated by the dealer. I did not check any other
> ones as I did not have either the time of patience to drive an extra 100
> miles but this speaks volumes about how the make is treating their
> customers.
>
> JP Roberts
>
>
>