Read this today, one day Audi Delaers in the UK will do mods with Warranty

[Brett Butler]

I know it is not an A/S 3 but :-

The bright red R8 V10 Spyder looks just like the car we pitted against Ferrari, Porsche and Jaguar in our group test, yet packs a much bigger punch: the addition of a supercharger sees power and torque rise from their standard 518bhp and 391lb ft outputs to 700bhp and 523lb ft, over a third extra in both cases. That’s enough to see the 0-60mph time fall around a second to 3.1sec, quicker than a Ferrari 458 Italia supercar.

Audi’s four-wheel-drive Quattro system remains, though STaSIS has given the car’s dynamics some attention, with new Ohlins dampers as well as the fitment of lightweight (though high performance) Alcon brakes, while there’s a throatier exhaust and new 20in alloy wheels.

And the good news for buyers in the US is that STaSIS’s upgrades can be fitted by official Audi dealers and even come with a four-year/50,000-mile warranty.

I just wish we could have mods fitted and warranty

 

[sub39h]

they kinda do already... some dealers are authorised suppliers for tuner parts for example.

 

[warren_S5]

To me this says that if you have enough money to buy an R8 and want it improved further, Audi will resist their usual antics of condescending the customer as these particular customers are too valuable to lose.

For customers like me and others who tinker with their lower order cars they will revert to type and treat us like dirt. It's easy to fear what you don't understand, and lets face it, most Audi franchises struggle to support an OEM car with an anomaly which isn't fault coded anyway.

I don't think unless it becomes a serious profit affecting point of issue that we will see Audi UK making any moves to support people with dealer supplied and endorsed modifications. Shambolic from a company that claims to be leading edge, but then they were putting cassette player in their cars up until about 3.5 years ago!

 

[gynads]

To me this says that if you have enough money to buy an R8 and want it improved further, Audi will resist their usual antics of condescending the customer as these particular customers are too valuable to lose.

For customers like me and others who tinker with their lower order cars they will revert to type and treat us like dirt. It's easy to fear what you don't understand, and lets face it, most Audi franchises struggle to support an OEM car with an anomaly which isn't fault coded anyway.

I don't think unless it becomes a serious profit affecting point of issue that we will see Audi UK making any moves to support people with dealer supplied and endorsed modifications. Shambolic from a company that claims to be leading edge, but then they were putting cassette player in their cars up until about 3.5 years ago!

Well said Warren, couldn't of put it better myself. My local garage are ignorant when it comes to modifications of any kind. Any problem i seem to have, is in thier eyes, a result of the (tried,tested,researched and developed) upgrades i have chosen, to make this good car and even better one.

 

[akash_sky1]

You can already get MTM for S and RS models under warranty.

 

[auroan]

Just about every other country on the continent has dealer network upgrade packages. Germany even go as far as having an approval body for mods before they'll even let them go on road going cars (TUV) so no ebay cheapo specials that last 2 minutes in the father land. Audi AG are very progressive, and intouch with 'decent' tuners in Germany. Don't go moaning about Audi when it's just the rubbish FRANCHISE network over here thats poor. Hell you've just got to look at some of the one off's they've made in the past...... Clubsport TT anyone ?

 

[Brett Butler]

Fact is it is a massive profit making point of issue, look at all of the companies that do dam well that have set up businesses just doing that, Mods, upgrades to the Audi Group of cars, Audi are fools for not taking that in house.

 

[auroan]

They have it in house..... It's called Quattro GMBH. What do you think S and RS models are ? Just modded base models.

 

[Brett Butler]

They have it in house..... It's called Quattro GMBH. What do you think S and RS models are ? Just modded base models.

You know that is not what we are really talking about, what I am talking about is actual garages doing mods after cars are sold, or even on new cars as per topic at the garage, as some have said some Audi dealers are MTM, though I wonder what the actual relationship is between Audi GB and those franchise garages and Audi Warranty? it is few and far between the garages that are MTM, hardly worth it for most of us to travel.

 

[gynads]

They have it in house..... It's called Quattro GMBH. What do you think S and RS models are ? Just modded base models.

Ill get Quattro GMBH to fit my big turbo then........

 

[warren_S5]

I've heard Glasgow Audi will remap your car with MTM remap, but my local dealership said they would turn a blind eye but at the point of any issues I was on my own.

As the ink dries on a £32k agreement for a car that you know has limitations it's not the sweetest of pills to swallow, especially when you're not asking them to tear the guts out of the car or put 6 exhaust tail pipes out the back (most of it is bolt ons which surpass the performance of parts that were designed to offer a balance of comfort / performance for the average user).

Whilst the S/RS cars are a step forward, they aren't exactly 'black editions'. Whilst at Goodwood this year I had a chat with a few of the Audi guys about this (just as I did at Audi Driver International in 2008 and 2009), and the overbearing sentiment was the same - we've done our research, we don't believe our customers want upgrade services in the UK. When challenged that brands across all price points were offering it (Vauxhall, Saab, Abarth, Mercedes, BMW, Ford.....) and did the person think that most of the people at these shows had totally standard cars you just got an awkward silence and a usual brush off comment that if there was profit in it they would do it. Over nearly 2 years there has been no change in attitude and no wake up call.

I think its a shame as the S/RS offer a good platform for more extreme motoring pleasures, but the only reason the Audi R8 GT was born is because Audi R8 customers complained to Audi that the R8 wasn't a strong enough challenger against other competitor models, it needed to be lighter, more responsive and faster. Audi won't listen the S3 customers, because at £30k+ we spend little more than someone buying an A5 diesel (e.g. we just top up the pot).

Those of us who choose to modify (and don't have single syllable first names, triple barrel surnames, wear tweed country jackets with elbow pads, badly fitting corduroy trousers and waft into Audi like a dandy fop with open cheque book for the latest R8), need to re-familiarise ourselves with our level in the Audi customer pecking order (a borderline inconvenience).

 

[Brett Butler]

I wonder if there are more total £ cost Customers buying S3's over Total R 8's? per Year?

anyhow, Lets face i the main is if there is an upgrade to be done, then some will do it, it is like a drug really, R8's and pretty well all S/RS cars can be modified out of the Audi Dealership. and I bet some are

 

[VWAddict]

When I was shopping for my A3, I looked at the in-town Dealer (Orlando, FL) and they only had one A3 in stock: a 3.2 which I wasn't looking for.

So I broadened my search radius to 100 miles, and of the two other dealers (Melbourne FL, and Tampa FL), only one really had any number of A3's in stock.

I drove down to Tampa and old them what I was looking for (open-skye, 2.0T, leather etc.) and the sales guy said 'before I show you two cars which match your description perfectly, let me show you one which we loaded with aftermarket mods" and showed me a silver 2.0T which was lowered, re-mapped, and with a Charactere body kit on it. -He told me that they'd warranty ALL the mods, and give me $5,000 off the retail price (it had been sitting for a couple of months and the new model year facelift 2009's were about to come in, so -even though it was a brand new car- they wanted it to go).

I told him that the ONLY thing which was stopping me from buying it was the lack of open-skye roof, so it wasn't going to work for me...

But yes, some dealers over here in the US will fit stuff for you, AND back up the mods with a warranty.

Keith

 

[akash_sky1]

In the US dealers have always offered OEM or aftermarket mods direct since the muscle car era no? While you guys had LSD , low ratio final drives and 'big block upgrade' tick boxes, us Brits had 'optional heater' LOL.

If Audi could have fitted me an OEM+ clutch I would be extremely grateful right now

 

[sub39h]

...we just top up the pot...

i agreed with almost everything you said, apart from that. A3s, A4s, A6s etc generate far more profit than R8s will when numbers sold are taken into consideration. if Audi made a bad next gen R8 it'd survive. if it made a bad next gen A4 it'd probably go bust.


in regards to the way you're treated based on the money you're spending i've experienced it and agree. lately my dad's had me buy the family cars because he's lost interest in it and i've made a few connections. when we bought my sister's not inconsiderable £35k SLK we were treated completely differently to when we bought mum's £80k S-Class. what it boils down to is that as a statistic A3 buyers will be far more important than R8 ones, but in the showroom on the day, if £20k walks out on you to buy from someone else it's not a big deal. if £90k walks out you'll have some explaining to do to your manager.

 

[PaulAr]

(and don't have single syllable first names, triple barrel surnames, wear tweed country jackets with elbow pads, badly fitting corduroy trousers and waft into Audi like a dandy fop with open cheque book for the latest R8), need to re-familiarise ourselves with our level in the Audi customer pecking order (a borderline inconvenience).

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