[Audiggity]

You have got to be kidding me... everything was planned to perfection. I was looking forward to this day for weeks. Here's what happened:
- Dropped my car off at the dealership today for my 15K service. All good, tires were low on tread so I agreed to get 2 additional and have them rotated (I'll purchase an all new set of 4 once I get it chipped)
- Aside from the standard maintenance/tire additions, I was having the dealership install the new EvoMS V Flow (Finally)

- Picked it up after work, super excited. Hopped in and started it up, the sound of the intake was sweet. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif Felt much smoother during acceleration, but I never got on an open road to really see if the intake made a big difference in terms of performance.
- As I was driving to pick my girlfriend up for a nice post-intake date. "BOOM!" [follow by sounds of clinking metal]. A loud scraping noise followed and I realized that something was seriously wrong

- Pulled over into a random driveway ASAP (No emergency lanes, just sidewalks). Drop to the cement to inspect - my AWE Catback exhaust completely fell apart! It was hanging on by the rubber attachment at the very end of the car.
- Ended up calling roadside assistance in a panic... then realized I could remove the dam thing myself. Which I did. Waited for Cap'n Tow Truck and told him the story.
- To save him time I offered to drive my cat-only car back to the dealership (no need to tow it at this point).
- In an extremely embarassing situation (for the dealership), the dealership offered me a loaner car... thank god.

So. What do I do? Do I demand not only a full blown replacement - but have them purchase and install the AWE metal downpipe as well

Do I let them simply replace the catback? Bring up the fact that I was slightly burned during the emergency exhaust removal?
The fact of the matter is; there were absolutely no problems with the car before taking it in today, and less than a mile from leaving the dealership my exhaust self destructs. Coincidence? Doubtful.
I know one thing - my car better AT LEAST be in tip top shape when I get it back, at the VERY least... or they will lose more than a single customer; I'd be inclined to construct a website informing everyone of this (and another bad experience I had with this dealership) to ensure a noticeable decline in revenue.
Advice?
My poor A3 did not deserve this.

 

[A32Have]

Who did the exhuast install?

 

[OOOO-A3]

Re: (A32Have)

Quote, originally posted by A32Have »

Who did the exhuast install?

That, and WTF would the dealer have possibly done during your service/intake install that could have affected the exhaust? Did a weld break? If so, how is that the dealer's problem?

 

[crew219]

WTF?
why would the dealership ever cover your aftermarket exhaust?
have you even bothered reading the warranty booklet? You essentially voided any warranty you had on the exhaust by removing it and replacing it with aftermarket products.
You're way off base here.
Dave

 

[Audiggity]

While I'd normally be making the very same comments... the dealership did the installation per an arrangement we made when the A3 was initially purchased.
What they did that caused it to completely fall apart less than 1 mile from the dealership after months of perfect operation? I have no idea... all I know is that fault was already admitted by them and a loaner car was given to me.

 

[crew219]

Re: (Audiggity)

Quote, originally posted by Audiggity »

While I'd normally be making the very same comments... the dealership did the installation per an arrangement we made when the A3 was initially purchased. What they did that caused it to completely fall apart less than 1 mile from the dealership after months of perfect operation? I have no idea... all I know is that fault was already admitted by them and a loaner car was given to me.

oh come on . . . . just look at the construction of the AWE. It has more clamps and unnecessary connections than any other exhaust. They also only use 2 out of 4 of the stock exhaust hangers. Add in some heat cycling + vibrations and it's not hard to figure out what happened.
Dave

 

[Audiggity]

Re: (crew217)

Quote, originally posted by crew217 »

oh come on . . . . just look at the construction of the AWE. It has more clamps and unnecessary connections than any other exhaust. They also only use 2 out of 4 of the stock exhaust hangers. Add in some heat cycling + vibrations and it's not hard to figure out what happened. Dave

Ok, so, AWE is responsible due to poor design?

 

[Audiggity]

Anyone else w/ AWE exhaust have it fall apart? Within 1 mile after a 15k service? Subsequent to 12,000 miles of error free operation?

 

[OOOO-A3]

Re: (Audiggity)

Quote, originally posted by Audiggity »

Within 1 mile after a 15k service? Subsequent to 12,000 miles of error free operation?

I have no idea about the design or quality of AWE exhausts, but correlation != causation. At a 15k service, they replaced the oil, oil filter and cabin air filter. You said they also installed the V-Flow, which according to the PDF I have is a pretty trivial procedure that has nothing to do with the exhaust attachment (particularly from the cat backwards).
Shiznit can happen at any time, and the fact that it happened then is almost certainly coincidence (unless they did something seriously stupid with a hydraulic lift in the shop, but that's a real stretch). Maybe they mis-installed it 12,000 miles ago. All I'm saying is to not be surprised (or upset) if they disclaim all liability for it. It's an aftermarket product, so it's not their problem regardless of any gentleman's agreement with them about installation.

 

[crew219]

Re: (OOOO-A3)

Quote, originally posted by OOOO-A3 »

I have no idea about the design or quality of AWE exhausts, but correlation != causation. At a 15k service, they replaced the oil, oil filter and cabin air filter. You said they also installed the V-Flow, which according to the PDF I have is a pretty trivial procedure that has nothing to do with the exhaust attachment (particularly from the cat backwards). Shiznit can happen at any time, and the fact that it happened then is almost certainly coincidence (unless they did something seriously stupid with a hydraulic lift in the shop, but that's a real stretch). Maybe they mis-installed it 12,000 miles ago. All I'm saying is to not be surprised (or upset) if they disclaim all liability for it. It's an aftermarket product, so it's not their problem regardless of any gentleman's agreement with them about installation.

+1
What Len said is absolutely correct. Nothing in the 15k service + the v-flow install touches anything remotely close to the exhaust.
Dave

 

[Audiggity]

Re: (OOOO-A3)

Fair enough... I am ready for anything - I'm obviously just bitter about the whole thing. (Original post was made about 30 min after getting home from the dealership)
Just frustrating, I don't necessarily have the means to randomly switch out exhaust systems. Unfortunately it has been a dry season, and my money tree isn't doing so well.
Is it so wrong to expect quality products for a quality car?

 

[Audiggity]

Speaking of which... anybody know what kind of warranty I can expect from AWE? I browsed the website but didn't see anything right away.
*Nevermind, got the warranty*


Modified by Audiggity at 11:56 PM 8/21/2006

 

[ProjectA3]

Re: (Audiggity)

very odd situation you got there.
but you may want to change your signature to
EVOMS V-flow added
AWE Cat-back recently disassembled itself or something of the sort.

 

[WhyteA3]

Re: (ProjectA3)

Quote, originally posted by ProjectA3 »

EVOMS V-flow added AWE Cat-back recently disassembled itself or something of the sort.

Haha, I was thinking the same thing...

 

[KnockKnock]

Re: (ProjectA3)

Brian... remember that post about wishing more dealers would pre-install aftermarket parts? How it would differentiate the dealer, give added value for enthusiasts? There was the question about who would be responsible in cases of something breaking. This sounds like a case in point. Especially where warrantees are involved. Not that I have a point here. Just ruminating.
This does suck, I feel for you Audiggity. You may be very fortunate to have a dealer willing to take responsibility for any breakage, and maybe they should if they guarantee the AWE install. There's nothing worse than having a very expensive toy break on you. But crap does happen, and it doesn't mean the techs necessarily bungled anything, or that it's Audi's fault somehow, oh wait, you never implicated Audi, just AWE. I do want to Revo and swap out suspension bits, but one does have to understand who's responsible for what, and accept all that fine print... though it still sucks.

 

[Audiggity]

I'll change my signature later tonight

Yes, this does suck.... I should be getting a call from the dealer shortly - will provide an update later tonight.
Just a sidepoint: Considering the dealership has absolutely nothing to do with aftermarket parts, yet, everyone brings their A3's back for scheduled maintenance - what's preventing an unstable tech from simply loosening a mod? According to you guys, they won't be responsible... no matter what (If I had a screwdriver sticking out of my V Flow or a broken AWE turbo gauge right when I picked the car up, would I have a case?)
We'll see what happens.

 

[judgegavel]

Re: (KnockKnock)

Quote, originally posted by KnockKnock »

Brian... remember that post about wishing more dealers would pre-install aftermarket parts? How it would differentiate the dealer, give added value for enthusiasts? There was the question about who would be responsible in cases of something breaking. This sounds like a case in point. Especially where warrantees are involved. Not that I have a point here. Just ruminating.

Um, who would be responsible in any exhaust install, why because the dealership did the install would it make a difference. If the failure is proven to be a result of poor craftsmanship its on AWE, if its a bad install its on the dealership, if its outside forces its on the customer. Same as if any muffler shop did the install, people make to much of the precious Audi Warranty, the dealership will usually do what they want in and back up their work like any mechanic would.

 

[crew219]

Re: (judgegavel)

Quote, originally posted by judgegavel »

If the failure is proven to be a result of poor craftsmanship its on AWE

U'd never get them to admit that

Point being, an exhaust system designed to hang on 4 hangers is only using two. The center hanger is pretty important and there are plenty of slip joints that can work loose with heatcycling and vibration. It's not hard to see what happened here. I'd use exhaust cement on each of the slip joints. The dealer can't be responsible for putting it on, since factory systems come as one piece instead of 4 different pieces.
Dave

 

[Audiggity]

Re: (crew217)

Well, if the dealer 'isn't responsible' for putting it on - why would they have agreed to install it in the first place? If you get work done on your car and it simply falls apart, you will just walk away with your tail between your legs and pay someone else to re-do the work? I doubt it.
So, why is my car being worked on right now?
And why did the GM ensure me that he'll do anything to 'make it right'?
Mods sell Audi's and VW's. I think they are catching on to this fact, an intelligent business approach would be to look beyond the erroneous exhaust (whether it be the installation or poor construction) and to focus on potentially losing a lifetime customer. http://****************.com/smile/emthdown.gif
This is not just based on the exhaust that fell apart 1 mile from the dealership after they spent the day working on my car; there have been other issues (even with my last Audi).
We'll see.

 

[crew219]

Re: (Audiggity)

Quote, originally posted by Audiggity »

Well, if the dealer 'isn't responsible' for putting it on - why would they have agreed to install it in the first place? If you get work done on your car and it simply falls apart, you will just walk away with your tail between your legs and pay someone else to re-do the work? I doubt it. So, why is my car being worked on right now? And why did the GM ensure me that he'll do anything to 'make it right'? Mods sell Audi's and VW's. I think they are catching on to this fact, an intelligent business approach would be to look beyond the erroneous exhaust (whether it be the installation or poor construction) and to focus on potentially losing a lifetime customer. http://****************.com/smile/emthdown.gif This is not just based on the exhaust that fell apart 1 mile from the dealership after they spent the day working on my car; there have been other issues (even with my last Audi). We'll see.

I suppose you also believe that jiffy lube will perform just as good of a job as your dealership would when changing the oil just because you paid them.

My point is . . . . mods go to a tuning shop to get installed, dealers get maintenance and repair work.
Dave