[thumper]

anyone want to share their stealership stories?

my friend's audi a4 is broken (again). it needed to be towed so he went back to his stealership and they told him that 3 of his coil packs are shot. $54 each + labor. he feels he's getting shafted so asks me what i thought.

well i go online and got the part number from a vw message board and go looking. my vw dealer helps me out and discovers that the part number matches up with the touraeg SUV (same v6 engine i think) as being the same part, and they sell it for $25 each...

WTF? :confused:

i call another audi dealership and they can't match the price. i even call friend's stealership and tell them, and all they say is that i'm wrong and they are right, and that these VW parts are not interchangeable with audi, and demanded to know where i got these prices from.... whatever.

[!Tigger]

depends where you go, places need to mark up prices to make some money. but 25 -> 54 is way too much

[ShyGuy]

If the part # is the same then it will work. Just go buy it from VW.

[NNT]

Its probably the same parts but since VWG decide to charge a higher price because its wrap in an audi box then nothing the dealership can really do.

[shenmecar]

are you saying you called a different Audi dealership and they charge the same as the first Audi dealership?

[crazyazn]

try all the dealerships...some set the price way higher

[hk20000]

LOL that's like ranting about how Lexus sport pedals are 3x more expensive than the sport pedals found on a Celica GT

you aren't just paying for the parts, you are paying for the expensive dealership's expensive people as well.

[shenmecar]

LOL that's like ranting about how Lexus sport pedals are 3x more expensive than the sport pedals found on a Celica GT

you aren't just paying for the parts, you are paying for the expensive dealership's expensive people as well.

haha thats like saying that buying an oil filter at lexus is more expensive than buying the same oil filter at toyota.

[wasabisashimi]

haha thats like saying that buying an oil filter at lexus is more expensive than buying the same oil filter at toyota.

haha thats like you want to buy audi but cant afford their services . Just buy VW parts and get a private mechanic to install it.

[taylor192]

The MAF for my car was $750 CND at the dealership.
It was $315 USD through an OEM supplier.

My dealership actually recommended I buy it online, cause they do not control the mark-up yet know many of these prices are just silly.

[jing]

Buy the coilpacks from VW and install them yourself.

Problem solved.

[saiko]

ah, the good ol' coil packs. They all go bad at one time or another, but 3 at a time wow..

My gf's car had one go bad too, she paid quite a bit for them.. She ended up buying 4 brand new ones and keeping the good ones in the trunk for emergency purposes.

Local dealerships and online prices vary drastically.. local dealerships have no control over it, as many of you guys have said.

And why is your friend even complaining.. he chose to drive an Audi... I mean, and AUDI. GERMAN = $$

[asian_XL]

bought 5 Plastic Rivets at Auto West BMW....$17 + tax

at home depot, similar rivets sell for $0.16 ea

[ctsport]

And why is your friend even complaining.. he chose to drive an Audi... I mean, and AUDI. GERMAN = $$

I find it pretty pathetic. Shallow people who buy premium labels to show off to other shallow people then complain about marked up prices on parts/maintenance.

And don't even bother making the excuse of "they buy these brands for performance/quality" LOL

[too_slow]

I find it pretty pathetic. Shallow people who buy premium labels to show off to other shallow people then complain about marked up prices on parts/maintenance.

And don't even bother making the excuse of "they buy these brands for performance/quality" LOL

With your logic, people should pay the full retail price on parts to retain their ego of owning a 'premium' car? :rolleyes:

[ctsport]

With your logic, people should pay the full retail price on parts to retain their ego of owning a 'premium' car? :rolleyes:

If you can't afford the "premium price" of owning a "premium car" then buy a Toyota and stop the bitching.

Its like losers who spend every last penny to buy a BMW then penny-pinch for everything else LOL. Pathetic.

[alex.w *//]

or like the people that buy the lowest class benz,audi,bmw

with fabric seats, base model etc

[godwin]

In the dealership's defence.. they only have Audi product and prices on their computer.

Where the market the car is has no bearing in this argument.. because it is the dealership sells that brand only..

Audi and VW belongs to the same group, on the manufacturing level. However on their service / pricing, it is each on their own.

I would balk if your friend went into a 3rd party shop and people insist on charging Audi prices.

[too_slow]

or like the people that buy the lowest class benz,audi,bmw

with fabric seats, base model etc

Some people might have sensitive skin, and cannot tolerate leather.. The A6/5series in the UK can be opted with premium cloth if I'm not mistaken..

I have a bigger pet peave with people driving 323i/C230/A4/IS250 barebones, and then dumping money on aftermarket HIDs and then blinding the crap out of people. They couldn't spend that extra $ on factory HIDs instead..

[q0192837465]

lol, BMW wanna charge $25/spark plug, $7 online

Well, most dealerships make their money on services. The mark-up on the cars they sell alone are not enough for the dealership to survive. That's why manufacturers r making their cars harder to service by independent shops so people will have no choice but to go back to dealership & swallow their over-inflated rates

[godwin]

It is just like running into Market order a glass of pop and complain Safeway is selling it for $2 a bottle down the street.

It is up to the owner to discern pricing before they go to any shop / business establishment.

lol, BMW wanna charge $25/spark plug, $7 online

Well, most dealerships make their money on services. The mark-up on the cars they sell alone are not enough for the dealership to survive. That's why manufacturers r making their cars harder to service by independent shops so people will have no choice but to go back to dealership & swallow their over-inflated rates

[wasabisashimi]

Some people might have sensitive skin, and cannot tolerate leather.. The A6/5series in the UK can be opted with premium cloth if I'm not mistaken..

I have a bigger pet peave with people driving 323i/C230/A4/IS250 barebones, and then dumping money on aftermarket HIDs and then blinding the crap out of people. They couldn't spend that extra $ on factory HIDs instead..

I dont really understand the attraction on base model bmw , benz, and A4. Why would people want to buy them in the first place? Its lacking luxury, lacking performance (generally speaking the weak sauce engine, and no sports suspension etc).

You are basically paying for the brand image, which isnt working, because I am suppose to be "wow, nice car", but i am not, I would laugh at you trying hard looking good while being cheap .

[Wykydtron]

The parts dept has some leeway in pricing of the parts, but for the most part, they don't dictate the MSRP of things.....that's why it's called MSRP, Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price.

[underscore]

Local dealerships and online prices vary drastically.. local dealerships have no control over it, as many of you guys have said.

indeed they do, hell when my friend ordered some parts at Toyota for his MR2 the young guy at the parts/service counter gave him the seniors discount :lol

[parm104]

I just got a recall letter this month from Audi regarding the coil packs. I used to have to keep one extra in my trunk just in case one blew. Audi is giving us new coil packs for free that are more durable and reimbursing us for any we bought.

[thumper]

my friend also got the notice in the mail. he wants to be compensated, but from the wording in the letter it appears his claim needs to be backed up with a dealership diagnosis that the coils were faulty (which he has) and were replaced by an authorized mechanic, which he did not because the coils were bought from a vw dealer and installed by himself...

[tofu1413]

customers usually get MSRP.. unless theyre returning/ regular customers.


ahhh.. nothing beats staff pricing.

[falcon]

indeed they do, hell when my friend ordered some parts at Toyota for his MR2 the young guy at the parts/service counter gave him the seniors discount :lol

all you have to do is ask.

I went to Wolfe Mazda to buy all my parts for my RX7 rebuild. When I said I would buy all my parts through them I asked what he could do for me. I get wicked prices and they have now earned my business. I've spent over 2k purely on gaskets/washers/small items etc. And not my engine blew again so I need more parts. Guess where I'm going... they treated me well the first time around so they're getting more business.

Just ask...

[falcon]

my friend also got the notice in the mail. he wants to be compensated, but from the wording in the letter it appears his claim needs to be backed up with a dealership diagnosis that the coils were faulty (which he has) and were replaced by an authorized mechanic, which he did not because the coils were bought from a vw dealer and installed by himself...

working at a BMW dealership and knowing how warranty works, I don't see it being an issue. What the dealer would just do is claim it now, and when they get paid out from the manufacture they will actually come out ahead because all warranty claims are paid out with labour included.

[Kalize]

The dealership is doing their job. If you think its too much look elsewhere...plain and simple.
It doesn't matter what the car is...high end or not...if you can get the part cheaper elsewhere...just get it and stop whining
I have a BMW and if I can get the exact same part (same part #) down south and it being cheaper, for example, I will...

this goes for anything you buy...

[hk20000]

Therefore you should buy the minimal necessary when you buy a car.

in theory a Corolla will do everything well LOL.

But it's a consumer's market, and consumers are not logical animals.

[CP.AR]

Therefore you should buy the minimal necessary when you buy a car.

in theory a Corolla will do everything well LOL.

But it's a consumer's market, and consumers are not logical animals.

my grandparent's 08 Corolla did the most insane thing ever.

4 months after they bought it, it refused to start, and if it did it would shut itself off within 20 seconds, unless you kept the revs at 4000k (lol listen to that 4 banger)
At that point the car only had 400km in it (they only use it to go to Yaohan, but they live like <1km away from it)

Called up Richmond Toyota, and the service guy thought I was crazy, citing that "THIS AINT A GM, COROLLAS DON'T DO THAT". After a while of explaning, they sent a tow truck, one day service, got everything fixed (turned out the ECU raped itself) for absolutely nothing. Moral of the story - corollas do fuck up, just not very often.

[ericthehalfbee]

Complaining about $54 for a coil pack? Guess you've never worked on many cars before. Most cars on the road would average more than $100 per coil, and many cars are in the $200-$300 range (and I'm not talking about high-end cars either).

I did a $1,000 repair on an A4 that came up under recall later on (the timing one), and Audi re-imbursed her the full amount, even though we're an independent shop.

Another Audi customer had new coils replaced by us at a cost of $80 per coil (before the PRICE DROP). All they had was an invoice from us and Audi still gave them back the $80 per coil they paid (plus labour) even though the current price is much lower.


I sometimes wonder why some people have so many problems with dealers when most people I know have things go smoothly.

[RabidRat]

Complaining about $54 for a coil pack? Guess you've never worked on many cars before. Most cars on the road would average more than $100 per coil, and many cars are in the $200-$300 range (and I'm not talking about high-end cars either).

I did a $1,000 repair on an A4 that came up under recall later on (the timing one), and Audi re-imbursed her the full amount, even though we're an independent shop.

Another Audi customer had new coils replaced by us at a cost of $80 per coil (before the PRICE DROP). All they had was an invoice from us and Audi still gave them back the $80 per coil they paid (plus labour) even though the current price is much lower.


I sometimes wonder why some people have so many problems with dealers when most people I know have things go smoothly.

Wasn't it not that long ago that you posted a thread (http://www.revscene.net/forums/never-ever-buy-t593575.html?t=593575&highlight=mercedes) about how badly dealerships have ripped your customers off? Something about knowingly selling sham extended warranties that had fine print contradicting official service intervals directly from the manufacturer? These are all the same appalling crew of pirates. So what makes you so skeptical of dealerships apparently having bent so many people over in other respects?

[Warp9Racing]

try a nissan/infiniti ign.coil is about $140.

and usually its hard to trace to a single cylinder and if you do, the rest are most likely to fail within a few months, so usally have to replace them all, for a v6 thats over $800!

if you can't afford to take your car to a dealership then don't. simple!

[parm104]

Another Audi customer had new coils replaced by us at a cost of $80 per coil (before the PRICE DROP). All they had was an invoice from us and Audi still gave them back the $80 per coil they paid (plus labour) even though the current price is much lower.

You charge labor for replacing coil packs on an Audi?! I'd love to go to your shop LOL. I've never seen a shop charge for a 2 minute job that requires almost no tools at all.

Let me know where this shop is so I can come there the next time my coils blow!