# Damage to car after dealer repair of something else



## Snake TT (Jul 13, 2007)

Hi All,

Car has just been in and had the seat repaired under warranty. It has an issue where the upper centre back portion of the seat would click and creak against my back when in motion. Thats been sorted today and appears to be fixed however the car now has some new damage that wasn't there before:

Driver side kick plate:









Headrest R Side:









Headrest L Side:









Inside edge of seat:









Damage to steering wheel:









Clearly the kick plate has been damaged taking the seat out and the seat has been damaged separating the plastic back from the front of the seat.

So the result of all this is that I am £414.49 worse off (had a service, oil change, and brake fluid done the same time), I have a fixed seat and I have damage to what used to be an immaculate interior.

Also I noticed on the way home that my dash cam wasn't working and when I checked it, they had unplugged it from the camera side. Nobody mentioned this and if I hadn't noticed I would be stuffed if there were an accident. Why would they have done that?

Can anyone advise the best course of action? Any help much appreciated before I phone them. Debating whether its worth addressing directly with Audi themselves?

*UPDATED:* More pictures added as I have explored further. Marks to the steering wheel, and the inside edge of the seat has been closed jamming a bit of the trim


----------



## Gnasher (Oct 21, 2020)

I'd give them the opportunity to remedy this themselves first. All the parts will be readily available for them to order and replace.

If they don't play ball, that's the time to get Audi customer service involved but it's only fair that you give them a chance to remedy it first.

As for the dashcam - they would have unplugged it for one of 2 reasons...

1. To ensure the battery didn't run down whilst the car was at the dealers, or
2. They unplugged it before any test drive so you didn't have any evidence of their "driving style".

However there is literally no way of proving this conclusively.


----------



## digital_dreamer (Aug 28, 2011)

Notice you are based in South Wales - Was this Cardiff Audi? I had issues with damage to mk2 ink of all things over the seats and wheel.

Thankfully I noticed it before I left and complained and to be fair to them they replaced all parts after it was clear I wasn't just roll over.

I'd get back to the dealer ASAP in person as said above and give them a chance.


----------



## Snake TT (Jul 13, 2007)

digital_dreamer said:


> Notice you are based in South Wales - Was this Cardiff Audi? I had issues with damage to mk2 ink of all things over the seats and wheel.
> 
> Thankfully I noticed it before I left and complained and to be fair to them they replaced all parts after it was clear I wasn't just roll over.
> 
> I'd get back to the dealer ASAP in person as said above and give them a chance.


Its Swansea Sinclair. I want to like them but I have always experienced issues that shouldn't happen with a luxury brand. The last 'repair' they did was fitting a new clutch to my previous Mk2 TT which completely seized up on the way home rendering the car un-drivable. At which point they asked if I could arrange for it to be collected and delivered to them for inspection!

I have just phoned them now as I didn't want to leave it too long. They have asked that I send pictures of the damage to review. It so disheartening as prior to this the inside of the car was immaculate (as is the outside) :?


----------



## digital_dreamer (Aug 28, 2011)

All those parts can be replaced don't worry and it will look like new. Doesn't look like any damage to the leather in the photo so that's good!

Such a pain they don't take care when doing things.... basic standards and training lacking.


----------



## Snake TT (Jul 13, 2007)

digital_dreamer said:


> All those parts can be replaced don't worry and it will look like new. Doesn't look like any damage to the leather in the photo so that's good!
> 
> Such a pain they don't take care when doing things.... basic standards and training lacking.


Yeah thanks mate. I don't want to just accept it, because no matter how small, Audi would charge us the customer, a fortune to replace. I believe the kick plates on the door sill are well over £100.

Also, if I had inflicted that kind of damage to the courtesy car, they would have definitely charged me.


----------



## digital_dreamer (Aug 28, 2011)

Out of interest did they check your car over for damage before they took in?


----------



## Snake TT (Jul 13, 2007)

digital_dreamer said:


> Out of interest did they check your car over for damage before they took in?


No they didn't, but my instinct told me to take pictures before I gave it in. In the end though I decided to not be so cynical and have faith in them. oops.


----------



## Skateboard (Oct 25, 2020)

Sinclairs used to have their body shop at their VW dealership and is quite possibly the worst I've come across. I assume this is Sinclairs?


----------



## Snake TT (Jul 13, 2007)

Skateboard said:


> Sinclairs used to have their body shop at their VW dealership and is quite possibly the worst I've come across. I assume this is Sinclairs?


Yeah Sinclair's.


----------



## Skateboard (Oct 25, 2020)

Snake TT said:


> Skateboard said:
> 
> 
> > Sinclairs used to have their body shop at their VW dealership and is quite possibly the worst I've come across. I assume this is Sinclairs?
> ...


Every time they had my car in for cosmetic damage they'd caused it came back with damage elsewhere.

They're shocking.


----------



## ZephyR2 (Feb 20, 2013)

If you get them to accept responsibility and rectify the damage when you take it back in ask them to come and look at the car with you to verify that there is no other damage anywhere else on the car. Avoids any arguments if further damage is caused and it will concentrate their minds a little.

Unplugging the dashcam seems to be a common feature these days. They don't want you having a recording of what they've done, what they said and how / where they've driven it. But they should plug it back in afterwards. Put it to them that it has been declared on your insurance policy that you have a dashcam and if it wasn't working when you drove off your insurance could be compromised.


----------



## Snake TT (Jul 13, 2007)

ZephyR2 said:


> If you get them to accept responsibility and rectify the damage when you take it back in ask them to come and look at the car with you to verify that there is no other damage anywhere else on the car. Avoids any arguments if further damage is caused and it will concentrate their minds a little.
> 
> Unplugging the dashcam seems to be a common feature these days. They don't want you having a recording of what they've done, what they said and how / where they've driven it. But they should plug it back in afterwards. Put it to them that it has been declared on your insurance policy that you have a dashcam and if it wasn't working when you drove off your insurance could be compromised.


Thanks for the advice. Depending on how they deal with this will determine if I ever use them again for service work or to buy a new car.


----------



## Snake TT (Jul 13, 2007)

More pictures added to the original post. Marks to the steering wheel and the inside edge of the seat has been closed jamming a bit of the trim and exposing the internals of these very expensive seats [smiley=bigcry.gif]


----------



## kevin#34 (Jan 8, 2019)

incredible how much incompetent a dealer can be [smiley=argue.gif]


----------



## leopard (May 1, 2015)

It's not good for sure but I'll be very surprised if they'll replace all that. You may have to manage expectations if people give you the idea that they will. They will possibly go for "repairable cosmetic damage" and smart repair everything.


----------



## Snake TT (Jul 13, 2007)

leopard said:


> It's not good for sure but I'll be very surprised if they'll replace all that. You may have to manage expectations if people give you the idea that they will. They will possibly go for "repairable cosmetic damage" and smart repair everything.


At the end of the day the ball is in their court. For a start they need to put the seat back together properly and the kick plate on the door sill is easily replaceable by them. The steering wheel and the scratched rear shell of the seats not so easy for them so lets see what they say.

At the end of the day they have (partially) fixed one issue and created five new ones in the process. Of course my contact with them is just the first step before raising a complaint directly to Audi themselves, so it's in their power at the moment to do right by the customer.


----------



## leopard (May 1, 2015)

Snake TT said:


> Of course my contact with them is just the first step before raising a complaint directly to Audi themselves, so it's in their power at the moment to do right by the customer.


Just be prepared for a fight if it has to go down this route. 
My experience is Audi customer services are apathetic when it comes to complaints to say the least. Fingers crossed you'll get it sorted with the dealership.


----------



## Outnumbered (Mar 8, 2015)

This is completely unacceptable in my opinion. If the dealership doesn't deal with this in a satisfactory way I would be emailing the Managing Director of Audi.
My experience in the past of having to complain regarding a companies failings, is if you go straight to the top, things get dealt with a lot quicker and more effectively. 
If you need it, [email protected]


----------



## Vorsprung20 (Nov 4, 2019)

digital_dreamer said:


> Notice you are based in South Wales - Was this Cardiff Audi? I had issues with damage to mk2 ink of all things over the seats and wheel.
> 
> Thankfully I noticed it before I left and complained and to be fair to them they replaced all parts after it was clear I wasn't just roll over.
> 
> I'd get back to the dealer ASAP in person as said above and give them a chance.


With the initial Post along with the experience detailed above I fear a long trip is in order to get my service done in March. Hereford / Bath / Taunton?! Either that or use a specialist Audi VW centre in South Wales.

Will be interested to see how the dealership rectifies this for you, I suspect a Smart repair as already stated; however I'd be demanding replacement parts for sure.

Out of interest does anyone have a hard wired Dash cam, and if so has this been fiddled with on work being completed :?:


----------



## Hoggy (May 8, 2002)

Hi, This doesn't really help but no dashcam fiddling with a Vauxhall dealer. Perhaps they have nothing to hide.
Hoggy.


----------



## Snake TT (Jul 13, 2007)

Outnumbered said:


> This is completely unacceptable in my opinion. If the dealership doesn't deal with this in a satisfactory way I would be emailing the Managing Director of Audi.
> My experience in the past of having to complain regarding a companies failings, is if you go straight to the top, things get dealt with a lot quicker and more effectively.
> If you need it, [email protected]


Thanks for the email address I will use it if I have to take my complaint further. Appreciate the help


----------



## Macca1969 (Jan 13, 2018)

I really feel for you pal as I know only to well how you now feel. I have had several similar experiences over the years. My approach has always been the same, go in personally and very calmly and concisely put your point across and ask them to replace everything that has been damaged. I know someone who hard a MK1 TT and his seat was squeaking so it went into the dealer. They also took out the seat and while doing so they scratched the inside frame around the door. Went he went in to collect the vehicle they lied to him and said the car had gone to another brand as they couldn't fix the seat. Without telling the dealer he drove to the other branch only to find his car in the paint spraying booth having the damage painted over!! So sly and underhanded by what is regarded as a luxury car brand. Just don't accept being fobbed off and insist you want everything replaced. Good luck.


----------



## powerplay (Feb 8, 2008)

Reading this really makes my blood boil, have had curcumstantial damage from Audi myself for repairs.

I once had an electric window switch repair, collected car and found a fresh gouge down the side of the door, looked like someone had dropped a tool on it. This was when they used to walk round the car with you and note any existing marks on a spec sheet. In this case they had (rather obviously) added this new damage on the spec sheet - it was in a different ink to everything else :roll: :lol: Boy, did I have fun with that.... 

Nothing to add to what others have said, other than to maybe send this to the various moting magazines for advice - and let Audi know you intend to.


----------



## Mark Pred (Feb 1, 2017)

Bloody awful, that is shocking. I've had my car damaged when in for a service. They had to fit a new LED strip in the door, as it had failed. Driving the car home I had to brake quite hard and the right hand air vent flew out and physically hit me in the face! On inspection I could see it was broken and someone had jammed it in place hoping I guess that I wouldn't notice. No idea why they'd removed the trim in that position of the car either. I had an uphill struggle with the dealer getting just that sorted out. They really don't give a shit. I've also had the car washed when I specifically told them not to; I even put a note on the dashboard. It took me half a day to polish out the swirl marks they left on my car. Huntingdon Audi - AVOID!

Hope you get it all sorted.


----------



## Barmybob (Nov 4, 2015)

A few years back my A5 went in to have an accessory fitted. It involved removing a lot of interior and they damaged several of the interior panels! There were screwdriver pry marks, dents and scratches everywhere. Fortunately, because I knew how much of the interior they were removing, I took BEFORE pictures. I had everything replaced FOC, I also had a TT roadster for a week. I was very eventually happy with the outcome but it really shouldn't have happened in the first place.


----------



## DPG (Dec 7, 2005)

Thats a disgrace, but at least all parts are fairly easy to replace. I just don't know if I'd trust them to replace without damaging anything else.

They always remove the memory card from my dash cam, thankfully it alerts me that there is no sd card so I don't get far.


----------



## Mark Pred (Feb 1, 2017)

Fiddling with your dashcam? Why? If they've nothing to hide they'd surely leave it alone. I'd be pretty pissed off if tyhey touched mine. In fact, I found it quite interesting watching how my car was being treated after viewing the footage recorded from my last service; it was actually reassuring to be able to see it. I'm going to make a point of asking them not to touch it when it next goes in - just in case this is a growing trend at Audi dealers.


----------



## Alan Sl (Nov 11, 2009)

It's a bit ironic that some dealers are switching off dash cams as many dealers insist on sending you videos of them inspecting your car during servicing etc whether you want it or not.

A while back my then three month old Q5 went in for some warranty work. The dealer sent me a video saying that they had undertaken a comprehensive inspection and were pleased to advise everything was ok. I bloody well hope so!


----------



## Emanuel29 (Oct 28, 2019)

Updates?


----------



## Snake TT (Jul 13, 2007)

Emanuel29 said:


> Updates?


Nothing yet, no call back. To be fair I didn't even get any sort of apology when I made them aware, they just asked me to send pictures.

If I don't hear anything by Wednesday lunch time I'll be straight on the phone.

Meanwhile I have had two feedback surveys, one from them and one from Audi, telling me that the customer is at the heart of everything they do and asking me if I have had a 5 star service lol.


----------



## Emanuel29 (Oct 28, 2019)

Snake TT said:


> Emanuel29 said:
> 
> 
> > Updates?
> ...


I also had a problem which I sorted without having to use the Customer Service from Audi, though, I did try to do so and I used the simple live-chat Audi has on their webpage and the agent told me that I should first try to talk to them and if nothing works out, to contact them again. Don't know how the things were going to be if the dealer didn't accept the fault and had to contact the customer service, though.
Would love to know if CS is quick to solve problems of this genre.
Really sorry for your car though, can't believe what they did

In the meanwhile maybe you can look more thoroughly if anything else has been damaged?


----------



## jwa1 (Nov 2, 2019)

I would go straight to the dealership and demand for them to take the car back and fix it immediately with the provision of a courtesy car. Obviously done in a polite and completely calm way. If you aren't firm then they will question if it was them and try to blame you.

Whenever I have had any of my cars in for repair and the problem isn't fixed, this is what I do. Some service reps get funny about it but in most cases it's obvious they have determined a fix and not tested it, so I just explain how if they had tested it, I wouldn't be back.

I would also raise an issue with Audi UK, leave them 0/5 stars in that survey plus also email their dealership head and group customer services director if you don't hear from him after a reasonable period of time.

It's fairly obvious the damage will have been caused by carelessly removing seats, so you shouldn't have a problem there.


----------



## digital_dreamer (Aug 28, 2011)

i'd be back in the dealer in person. When I had an issue they didn't want me in the showroom the sales manager used the can we go outside and look at the issue to get me off the shop floor :lol: :lol: :lol:


----------



## iainfrmeastkilbride (Feb 19, 2016)

I had severe problems of a different matter that caused me to reject 2 new TT in a row 4.5 years ago. I went straight to Audi and the Head of business at the dealers. That got the ball rolling.


----------



## Lenovos (Aug 27, 2020)

WOW, shocking service i would be sending an email to the ceo.


----------



## j77drs (Aug 8, 2019)

Most dealers will actually put this right, the ceo or anyone at Audi uk will direct you back to the dealer, the dealers are franchises, it's not actually Audi that would foot the bill


----------



## leopard (May 1, 2015)

j77drs said:


> Most dealers will actually put this right, the ceo or anyone at Audi uk will direct you back to the dealer, the dealers are franchises, it's not actually Audi that would foot the bill


Amen


----------



## MarksBlackTT (Nov 29, 2016)

leopard said:


> j77drs said:
> 
> 
> > Most dealers will actually put this right, the ceo or anyone at Audi uk will direct you back to the dealer, the dealers are franchises, it's not actually Audi that would foot the bill
> ...


And what exactly would you do, seeing as you know everything about everything as per usual?


----------



## j77drs (Aug 8, 2019)

MarksBlackTT said:


> leopard said:
> 
> 
> > j77drs said:
> ...


Hi, not sure if this was directed at me also, i dont know everything but just stating how it works, audi would only be a mediator


----------



## ZephyR2 (Feb 20, 2013)

j77drs said:


> Hi, not sure if this was directed at me also, i dont know everything but just stating how it works, audi would only be a mediator


No its wasn't directed at you. You just got caught in the cross fire :lol:


----------



## j77drs (Aug 8, 2019)

i best " duck " then


----------



## MarksBlackTT (Nov 29, 2016)

"Most dealers will actually put this right, the ceo or anyone at Audi uk will direct you back to the dealer, the dealers are franchises, it's not actually Audi that would foot the bill"

Amen[/quote]

You're starting to bubble again. I tell you what I do know, Yorkshire tea tastes like crap and Bill was giving it to me large this morning whilst his mother watched and then I drove my Corsa to my crappy job while contemplating what utter chite you would come up with next :lol:
So, it's quite acceptable for you to make personal and insulting remarks but as soon as something mild is said of you, cry off and complain to a moderator friend to have it removed. In fact why don't you have the WHOLE thread removed like you've done on previous occasions when things don't go your way? Small man with a big mouth springs to mind, trolling away repeatedly.


----------



## Gnasher (Oct 21, 2020)

(Yawn) I thought this might be a bit of a better forum, but no - kindergarten it is lol.


----------



## spidey3 (Aug 13, 2019)

This might be a particularly American viewpoint, but I would think it might be time for a _sternly worded letter_ from your solicitor to the dealership, indicating that they should _resolve this matter promptly_...


----------



## Lenovos (Aug 27, 2020)

Audi HQ may only be a mediator however they sure will get a kick up their backsides and from experience will expediate your complaint.


----------



## Snake TT (Jul 13, 2007)

UPDATE.

Well on Wednesday I emailed them to see how they were coming along with their plan to resolve the damage they have caused. I got an email back fairly quickly to say they had ordered the door sill trim and would talk to me about the other damage when that arrived. That set of alarm bells so I mailed them back stating that I wanted everything that was damaged by them replaced.

I then got a call from a manager apologising for the damage and was actually very friendly and reasonable about the whole thing. Long story short they are replacing the door trim, seat back, and if they can't replace the steering wheel (still to be debated) they will instead compensate me in another way (my car needs some expensive new shoes).

Anyway, I'll update on when that happens and what the corrective action was like. Hopefully it will be satisfactory and not result in yet more damage as the seat will need to come out again. Fingers crossed I will get the level of premium service you would expect from a premium brand hey?


----------



## powerplay (Feb 8, 2008)

Sounds promising, I can't help think that if other forum members are able to fit a TTRS wheel fully working to an old RS3 and upgrade virtual cockput at the same time... then Audi can swap a like-for-like steering wheel :roll:


----------



## Lenovos (Aug 27, 2020)

good news!


----------



## Barmybob (Nov 4, 2015)

Snake TT said:


> I then got a call from a manager apologising for the damage and was actually very friendly and reasonable about the whole thing.


Good to hear the dealer is sorting this out for you.


----------

