Escalating complaints above Audi UK?

[Robsco]

Hi,

Hopefully a long story cut short...

In August 2012 my Audi A3 (58-reg, 30k miles) wouldn't start, after taking it to an Audi garage they said the initial diagnostics (costing £75) didn't come back with anything, the engine head had to be removed (at a cost of £400), and subsequently the engine had to be replaced, pistons/cylinders had hit something, totally knackered, apparently. At a cost of over £7,000.

6 months out of warranty.

They wouldn't give any specific details, diagnostic reports, etc. A mechanic friend then got involved, asked the right questions, which then got Audi UK agreeing to pay for the parts as a goodwill gesture. This all appeared very dodgy as-if the Audi garage had been caught trying to pull a fast one.

This left me to pay £600 for labour, in addition to £600 for hire cars, hotels, etc. (we were away for a wedding at the time).

I raised an official complaint with Audi UK, with 17 key questions/points to be addressed, specifically what exactly went wrong, why (was it related to a previous camshaft recall), and will it happen again. I had done all I could as an Audi driver, services with Audi, etc.

Audi UK agreed to pay for my hire car and hotel, but still not the labour for the repairs.

They have still not answered the questions of my complaint.

The case was escalated to a "Customer Relations Team Leader" at Audi UK, but clearly he still hasn't be able to secure any answers.

How can/should I escalate this further? To Audi worldwide? to VW?

It's not the money I'm concerned about, it's the principle, and getting answers from such a prestige brand about a vehicle that was just over 3 years old needing a new engine.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Rob

[EssexGonzo]

I'm not an expert but I suspect escalation to a non-UK entity isn't really going to help.

With the benefit of zero research I would have thought that the small claims court process comes next, followed by a solicitor and proper court if that doesn't work.

[Doctle Odd]

A new £7000.00 engine is considered parts and can be written off as goodwill? Wow!

[Robsco]

A new £7000.00 engine is considered parts and can be written off as goodwill? Wow!

That was a little bit over-generous I agree, which makes the whole thing look a little suspect.

Audi UK were happy to basically give me a brand new engine, but still left me to pay 25% of the labour (£600), well, actually turned out to be 35% on the invoice when I collected the car, something else they got wrong when making up the numbers.

Shame they can't quite find the answers to some questions about the whole affair tho.