Audi Service Center Diagnostics Fees!?

Question

Ok so have a car that Audi Jack Daniels dealership in NJ doesn't seem to be able to ever fix. My problem is that I have the oil light coming on and nothing is actually wrong with the car. They said it's an electrical problem and want to run diagnostics on the car and charge me $550 just to look at it. The first hour $125 and they needed an additional 3 hours which was $425. Is this normal?

They didn't find anything wrong yet and want to do more diagnostics, I don't think I should have to pay the $550 because they didn't fix or find anything. Usually when I bring my car to Audi they wave the diag fees if i get it fixed there. I dont know why they won't wave the fee this time and want to add it to whatever i get fixed. Are they just looking to empty my bank account completly?

Answer 1

Because Audi's are luxury cars, they demand "luxury" priced premiums. I don't know what they did for 4 hours and couldn't find anything. They should've run the diagnostics first... I have never owned an Audi, but my dad's friend does, and he's constantly shoveling out cash for it (last month, transmission job for $700). I'd get a detailed service write-up from the manager, see what they even say. If it's not on the service write-up, request to know what they even did for 4 hours, even if it requires talking to the technician(s) who personally worked on your car. I hope your car is pretty new, because that's one hefty price. Sorry I wasn't too much of a help. Cheers.

Answer 2

This is possible the biggest ripoff I have ever heard of. Usually, Audi dealerships charge 1 hour for the diagnostic test, and its done by sticking a small hand-held machine into the diagnostic port under the steering wheel and the error message pops up 30 seconds later. Charging 100 bucks for a 30 second job is a rip off, but charging $550????????? No way. No friggin way. I dont care that its a luxury car. $550 is WWWAAAAYYY too much to just have the machine read the error message. Coupla options you could do to sidestep this huge ripoff...



1,) Go to another dealership. This one sounds sleazy as hell.



2.) Invest in the hand-held machine yourself. Heres a link.......



http://www.automotive-diagnostic-tools.com/Automotive-Code-Readers-s/40.htm



A little expensive for some of the higher end ones, but it pays for itself the first time you use it.



3.) Take it to Autozone or another car parts place and let them know of the issue. Usually they have the code reader themselves and let you know what the problem is for a small fee, much smaller than $550.



If you find out what the problem is yourself, without the help of the dealership, you can relay the error message to them and sidestep the $550 diagnostic fee. Of course, you have to pay parts and labor still, and they will probably rip you off here as well. A lot of independent garages do quality work at 50-70% the price that the dealership charges. Why not go to one of those? Let me know how it works out.

Answer 3

You didn't give much information as to what type of Audi you have or engine etc. but I have a couple of ideas. Depending on which you have and when the problem occurs, it could be oil pressure sensor related or more commonly (if it is a 1.8 turbo engine) an engine oil pressure issue. The 1.8t in this vehicle has a history of sludge buildup and there is actually an extended warranty of 7 years and a certain number of miles for this issue. Generally dealers do not waive diagnostic fees as their technicians are highly trained and therefore general highly paid and have to be paid somehow. It may be necessary to remove the oil pan to inspect for oil sludge or also to see if the oil pickup tube screen is plugged with debris. This could possiby be the next step of diagnosis that they want to attempt. Good luck!

Answer 4

Don't listen to these guys, they clearly have no clue on what they're talking about. I am a developer at Microsoft so I know a thing or two about computers. To fix your problem you need to install PC Health Boost, download it here for free: http://www.pcboostcleaner.com



It's very light and it's the only antivirus/cleaner with a 99.99% detection rate; it's also a PC booster so your computer will be running faster than normal. Install it, hit run and problem solved. It shouldn't take you more than 5 minutes.

Answer 5

http://www.obd2works.com, as a professional auto diagnostic tools online supplier, providing our customers with a vast range of high-quality and affordable automobile maintenance tools.Our main business line covers: Automotive Professional Diagnostic Tools for OBD I and OBD II compliant vehicles; Auto Diagnostic tool, OBD2 Code Scanners, ECU Chip Tuning Tool, Car Key programmer Mileage Programmer as well as other more featured products.

Answer 6

yea well, its New Jersey.