My Barrier Audi Experience

Day 102: All I can say is…..WOW!

flacito — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:00:05 +0000

I got a very surprising email from the General Manager today. I’m still not sure how to react to it. Some excerpts from the mail:

“Even when the vehicle has been detailed the swirl marks may continue to reappear after washing”

Really? After 102 days of dealing with Barrier Audi, that’s the first I’ve heard of that. Barrier Audi always gave me the impression that they were going to get this issue fixed. Now that you’ve tried a couple of times and can’t fix it, I guess it’s just easier to tell me that it’s not a issue, but instead a ‘feature’ of the car.

“When we met and had initially discussed the situation I indicated this was not a case that would warrant Audi buying back the vehicle“

Really? Is that why we sat in your office and you looked through your inventory of what cars you had in stock and you asked me what colors I would consider for a replacement car? Didn’t you also calculate the cost of having the car replaced and then told me that you’d need Audi of America to contribute half of that ammount – which you were going to ask them to do?

“Throughout our dealings we have apologized for the challenge and have accomodated your request for assistance getting the spots and swirls removed”

Really? I thought you were trying to rectify selling me a car that clearly had defective paintwork. Now you seem to make it sound like you were doing me a favor all this time?

Also despite my repeated attempts to get the sales/service folks to escalate the issue to their management, no one seemed interested. And then after 52 frustrating days of trying to work with your staff, I published this blog and sent a link to the owner of Barrier Motors and then suddenly I’m contacted by the General Manager the next day asking to meet with me.

If you really ‘promise to do more’ then I shouldn’t have had to take those steps for my complaints to be taken seriously and getting senior management attention.

“We hope that this information will be helpful bringing this concern to a satisfactory conclusion”

So that’s it?!!! WOW!

Day 101: My car still hasn’t been fixed properly

flacito — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 20:00:33 +0000

I checked out the car today and the ‘clouding/swirling’ issue still hasn’t been resolved. I sent an email to the General Manager with some new photos and let her know that I’m still not happy and that the clouding/swirling issue has not been resolved. I’m frustrated with this situation. It’s been over 100 days since I first reported the problems to Barrier Audi. I’ve sent countless emails, come into their dealership a dozen times and have had the car go to Queen City Autos on three separate occasions.

I really think they should replace the car and give me what I paid for – a brand new car, in brand new condition.

Is that really too much to ask for?

Click here for the slideshow and other photos.

Day 100: Woohoo!

flacito — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 20:01:42 +0000

Yes, today is the 100 day anniversary since I first reported the problem with the car to Barrier Audi. I noticed that there still seemed to be some ‘clouding’ on the car a couple of days ago, but I was in a rush and I was hoping that it was my imagination. I took the car for a wash yesterday and was hoping to inspect it properly this weekend, but we’ve a couple of days without much sunshine which makes it really hard to tell if the issue is truly resolved or not.

Day 92: Your car is fixed….again

flacito — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:58:10 +0000

I picked up my car this evening. It appears that the issues have been resolved. But as I’ve already learnt twice, I need to give it a few days to carefully inspect the car. So I’m not getting too excited about it for now (just exhausted).

Day 92: Dropped the car at Barrier Audi

flacito — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:00:55 +0000

I took my car into Barrier Audi this morning and picked up a loaner. I’m told that my car will be back by the end of the day.

Day 88: Back to Queen City Autos….Again!!!

flacito — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:54:30 +0000

I got an email from the General Manager. Apparently, the clouding on the car is due to ‘an oversight on Queen City’s’ part. She asked me to bring the car back or they could pick it up.

Day 85: 15 days away from a 100 day ‘anniversary’

flacito — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:00:12 +0000

I didn’t hear back from the General Manager today. I wonder if they’ll finally replace the car now or not.

We’re now just 15 days away from a 100 day ‘anniversary’ since this whole episode started. I don’t know if I should laugh or cry.

Day 85: This site is now the #1 site on Google Blog Search

flacito — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:00:00 +0000

I haven’t really been trying to do search engine optimization with this site i.e. getting it to appear on the first results page when someone searches for “Barrier Audi” on Google or Bing. I could do that if I wanted to know, but that was never really the purpose of this site i.e. it wasn’t a campaign against Barrier Audi; it was just my attempt to get the level of attention and service this problem deserved.

But I noticed something interesting today – without me trying, this site is now the #1 search result when you search for “Barrier Audi” on Google Blog Search. I guess this site is starting to get noticed.

Day 84: Good news & bad news

flacito — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:00:32 +0000

GOOD NEWS: I inspected the car in the sunshine and the water spots appeared to be gone. I took the car for another Brown Bear Car Wash. Once the car was dry, I checked again and still no sign of the water spots. Could they finally be gone?

BAD NEWS: I noticed the ‘clouding’ problem still hadn’t been fixed. I checked both sides of the car and the ‘clouding/streaks’ were still there. Here’s a photo slideshow.

Clouding problem still not fixed

I replied to the General Manager’s email to let her know the good news and bad news. I told her that while I appreciated the effort that had been made to remove the water spots, I still wasn’t happy with the condition of the car.

Day 83: Are you happy with the car?

flacito — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:00:47 +0000

I got an email from the General Manager asking if I was happy with the results. I was on a training course for the last couple of days so didn’t get a chance to check the car. Will need to do that first thing tomorrow.