Killing 2 birds with one stone, by way of introduction and DEAD ENGINE AT 200 MILES OLD, catastrophic engine failure...

[mark2jag]

Hello All. This  will be  my first post on  here, and  I am posting as  i need some advice and  help please.

Basically the long and short of this story is that my 2 day old Audi A3 Vorsprung 150 TDI is dead, and stone dead at that, with only about 200 miles on it.

I bought my car from Reading Audi, and  only had the car for 2 days, and it basically waited until I had filled it with it's  first full tank of diesel, drove it away from the filling station only  for it  to make the same sort of noise you would hear from a car with tin cans tied behind it. Stopped the car, and immediately looked under and  behind it to see if  I had run over anything, which I  hadnt. Phoned Audi assist and they asked if the car would restart and were there any warning lights. I told them it starts and there are no warning lights, and its stopped making any noises now. They advised that as there are no more noises carry on driving it but best to take it to an Audi dealer. 

 

Luck must  have been on my side that day as I was only a mile and a bit from Farnborough Audi.

I spoke to the receptionist, explained my tale of  woe, and was politely invited to discuss the problem well away from the customer area, so that no one else could hear about my potential issues with the car.

 

I drove my car into the inspection/handover bay they have at Farnborough, and they asked me to start the car, which I did. While the car was running another customer was trying to get his car out so i was asked would I mind moving my car, which was when i discovered a LARGE pool of oil now under the car where there was none previously.

 

Very long boring story about  how Reading Audi were mysteriously unable to help me or  find a manager or any sales staff or any service staff, also letting me know in the process that all the managers have now left for Xmas, and sorry we cant  do  bugger all.

 

Farnborough Audi eventually phoned me  back and told me that a bolt connected somehow to the injectors had fallen inside the engine and damaged it, requiring a new engine from Germany.... Am i being bullshitted beyond belief??? Are the injectors not on the outside of the engine?   I am not technically minded and do not know my way round an engine, and could probably do an oil and filter  change but that's where my knowledge stops..

SO..... some questions.... How long does an replacement Audi engine take to arrive, how long does it  take to fit, and what's the likely turnaround time  for me to get my car back????

No doubt you will probably want to know why I didn't  just ask Audi themselves, so you might not be surprised to hear that they told me they don't know, and  I will just have to wait.

Does anyone think I can ask for compensation for the major fvcking about  I  had to endure, and  what would be reasonable?? Just fit wireless charging to my car, and  I will call that reasonable compensation, as I ordered a Vorsprung as I thought it  had all the toys, and errrr it !Removed! well doesn't. 360 Cameras also seem to be missing too....which I would also like as I seem to  have paid for them.

[Magnet]

Hello Mark,

Thanks for being in touch with the forum, and really sorry to hear of your almost unbelievable mis fortune so quickly. 
In normal times of vehicle availability, I would see the way forward as simply being that the dealer supplies you with a like for like replacement from nationwide stock. 
Of course, things aren’t normal, and if this were mine, I wouldn’t want it back for a pension, but how quickly will you find a replacement ?? - so you are probably at their mercy, and their ‘mercy’ is very much an unknown quantity. Again if it were me, I would be seeking legal advice, and then arranging a meeting with the dealer principal. 
Compensation? If this is your bag, then obviously it is important, and I’m sure you can sort this out amicably. For me, it would very much be of secondary importance in the whole picture. 
Again, if there is any element of finance or PCP involved, then you will need to inform them since they ‘own’ the vehicle. 
I really hope this works out for you.

Perhaps you could keep us informed as things develop Mark.

Kind regards,

Gareth.