[email protected]
28/11/2019

Audi Berwick
755 Pronces Hwy
Berwick
VIC 3805

Dear Sir/Madam

Re: Audi A3 AMBITION 1.8L TFSI S-tronic Quattro, hatchback

On 11/05/2015 I purchased a motor vehicle from your dealership. Unfortunately, the vehicle has not been satisfactory because in the next two years had too many problems for a BRAND NEW CAR.

I can start with

had to change a battery(again not sure why when its a new car). I called Audi road serviceand they responded fast and i was told to contact service department where i had to take my car to change it

second thing started this year, i had water on drivers side on the carpet. somehow the water was entering my car. I had to take it 3 times in the next couple of months before it finaly got fixed. i was told each time that they fixed the isuue but unfortunatly it was not fixed. I had to waste time, being with no car for long period of time. while it was getting fixed for the last time i diid have a replacment car and they also had to service it , when i was told that my termostat is leaking oil, and they had to change that too.

last one , so far , just to let you know my car is getting fixed again, because for some reason my TURBO needs to be changed.WOW Again im left with no car, its not my fault clearly that this is happening. Its manufacturers fault.

My brother in law has Audi A5 and his one is perfect.

This was supposed to be prestige/luxury car, but all i have experienced is just problems.

Honestly , they can keep it in repair shop because there is no point of even picking it up again, another problem will eventually show up again.

Now , please you tell me what im i supposed to do?

Dear Professor Rupert Stadler,
Greetings from Buenos Aires. First of all I would like to thank you in advance for your time and for taking into consideration what you are about to read regarding Audi’s operations in Argentina.
I am the legal guardian of my handicapped brother Juan Carlos Fabián Vallejos whom I represent in all aspects of his civil and legal interactions. Fabián, as we all call him, was injured at birth by the use of forceps resulting in brain paralysis for him since day one (now he is 58 years of age). He lived pretty much all his life with our parents until they passed away when he came to live with me, his youngest brother. Throughout his life, after much rehabilitation and some surgeries, he has been able to walk by himself (with great difficulty I should say) since he suffers from a spastic hemiplegia due to the malpractice that doctors performed when he was being born.
The Argentine government provides a series of benefits for disabled people in our country, being one of such a benefit the possibility of acquiring national or imported vehicles with tax exemptions for motor handicaps.
Taking advantage of this law in March 2014 he ended up owning an Audi A1 Sportback which is used for his transportation. We carefully evaluated different brands and models and ended up deciding that the size and the features of the A1 would be suitable for a city with lots of traffic jams and clutter like Buenos Aires. After a bit more than a year and with only 8.000 km the A1 began having all types of electronic and mechanical problems: the oil pressure warning light would be on for no mechanical reasons (according to Audi mechanics) and then the emission control system light (catalyzer’s) would do the same. We towed the A1 a couple of times to the same (official) Audi dealership on 04/May/2015 and on 26/May/2015 until finally on 10/June/2015 the car went it for repair and it remained there for two months.
During the first month Espasa (official Audi dealership) wouldn’t give us any information about the car, what they were planning to do or fix or when they would do it, so we contacted Audi Argentina to see if they had any news or if they could intervene and do something. Please bear in mind at all times that this vehicle was bought by a motor handicapped person who cannot use public transportation or just go out and stop a taxi due to his disabilities. Audi Argentina was not of any help, they were not informed of the problems we were having with the car nor offered any solutions for my brother’s transportation in the meantime. They did provide us with a “complaint number” in case we needed “to do a follow up” on the complaint. They also mentioned that Audi Argentina had a program called Audi for Audi and that Espasa should have offered to provide us with a car to use while the A1 was in the workshop. We contacted Espasa and asked to be part of such a program but the answer was that they didn’t have any cars available to lend us.
After more than a month and much back and forth we decided to place a formal legal complaint before the Consumer Rights Office of the city of Buenos Aires. On 22/June/2015 Volkswagen Argentina SA was legally notified of the situation and we met with Espasa’s and Volkswagen Argentina’s lawyers four times: on 31/July/2015, on 23/September/2015, on 19/November/2015 and on 04/December/2015. During the first meeting Espasa blamed Volkswagen Argentina for not providing a temporary car and Volkswagen’s lawyers declared they were not aware of the Audi For Audi program, but neither of them gave any information about what was going on with the car. During the second mediation we learned that Audi/Volkswagen Argentina took more than seven weeks to authorize the replacement of the parts needed to fix the car (a car, by the way, with nearly 9.000 km, that had been bought the previous year brand new and which was under the original warranty). I’ll spare you the mechanical details since I trust that with the VIN number I am providing at the end of this letter you will be able to find out what they really did. They officially told us they had to replace the whole exhaust pipe, the catalyzer, the lambda probe and the admission connector. During the third mediation when the mediator of the city of Buenos Aires asked Volkswagen’s lawyers “why don’t you replace the car for a new one since Audi sold a faulty vehicle” they declared that Audi/Volkswagen only provided car replacements in those cases when the mechanical malfunctions would persist or reoccur after being fixed. Instead they offered to extend the original warranty of the car to four years and to give us a free annual service in 2016 in compensation for all the troubles we went through. But that time (early December) we already had the car back so we accepted the offer. I frankly told the lawyers how disappointed I was with the way Audi/Volkswagen treated my brother, how they had ignored how vital the A1 was for his transportation and that all those mediations (and the money, the time and the energy we had to consume to reach an agreement) wouldn’t have happened if they had provided a temporary car while the A1 was being repaired. I must point out that we never received neither a phone call nor a note/card from Audi/Volkswagen Argentina.
Unfortunately the story doesn’t end here. Last 24/October/2016 the car went in the same official dealership (Espasa) for repair with the same catalyzer’s light on and everybody is behaving the same way: nobody is telling us what is going on with the car, neither Audi/Volkswagen is providing us with a temporary means of transportation for my brother, we have legally notified Volkswagen Argentina of the situation and we have placed another legal complaint before the Consumer Rights’ office of the City of Buenos Aires. We will have our first mediaton on 2/December/2016.
Now let me tell you a little bit about myself. Since my brother cannot defend his rights I think you should know what truly motivates me to write this letter: I am a nice guy, respectful, cheerful, practical, with a positive approach to life. I’m in my mid-forties and I believe I’ve seen my share of injustice in this world (not only happening to my brother, friends and/or relatives but to other human/not human beings on this planet) which helps me take distance from what I’m going through in any situation and put things into perspective. I am an idealist, I like thinking I get up every day to do my best in whatever it is that I do. I say hello in the elevator, I yield to other people, I never complain about the weather, and I always make an effort to speak the truth. I have 20 years of experience in the fields of Communications and Public Relations and let me tell you that I have never seen anything like this. I am appalled by the lack of PR skills that Audi/Volkswagen have in Argentina. Whether we are talking about Audi/Volkswagen themselves or Espasa, their official dealership, all of them behave the same way: they ignore their clients and their responsibilities towards them. We have owned Mercedes, VMWs, Peugeot, Fiat, Renault, Ford, Chevrolet. When or if there were mechanical malfunctions, we were treated kindly and felt my brother’s disability was taken into consideration. It was never the case of Audi/Volkswagen Argentina. I am positive, I really try to see the glass half full, despite I have become the anti-ambassador of the Audi brand: whenever the opportunity comes up, I tell my story. I cannot believe a premium brand like Audi treat/mistreat a (disable) client the way Audi/Volkswagen Argentina are treating my brother. In terms of Marketing, Communications and PR they are doing (or not doing) things that even interns wouldn’t do. I refuse to believe that this is standard policy for Audi. I know that Audi Germany may not be aware of this situation and I am hoping you’ll take matters into your own hands.
Like in any other corporation, Audi/Volkswagen’s legal teams would try to reach an understanding in the following mediations. Perhaps they will offer some more compensation. Maybe we won’t reach an agreement and we will seek civil compensation by litigation.
When you built the A1 my brother owns, Audi may have not been able to shield it from mechanical error but at least Audi/Volkswagen Argentina certainly could have tried to bridge the mishap with a little PR strategy.
Sincerely,

Ariel Edmundo Cristian Vallejos
A1 Sportback
VIN: WAURYA8XXEB036830
Motor number: CAXD98919

Sunday afternoon had a the rear left suspension fail and snap causing the 5 month old brand new 2015 Audi S3 to suddenly veer right across two lanes at a speed of 80km into opposite oncoming traffic on Old Windsor Road until the driver gained control , went back into her side of the road and stopped. Luckily the cars on the otherside of the road stopped and there was no collision.

On inspection a suspension stabilising arm had broken and caused the car to lose control. Audi centre at Zetland said that this part is usually extremely strong and never breaks and can only be broken by a major side on collision… They said the wouldn’t cover it under warranty because believed I had a majors side collision as I had resprayed my rear bumper.
My S3 has never been involved in any accidents at all and the rear bumper was touched up by SCHMICK car care service purchased from Audi Paramatta as I scratched it as I was putting a bicycle in the boot.
Now seen as I haven’t had any accidents at all in this car and I have complained from day 1 that there was a loud knocking in the rear suspension the suspension snapping has occurred due to it being defective.. I have notes on the service receipts re the noise in the suspension and I have receipt from SCHMICK for the touch up on the bumper..
Also the claim it’s been in a major side collision because I recently changed the wheel to an 18″ as I had new tyres on the 18″ wheels . I have shown Audi Zetland the factory 19″ wheels and they are undamaged and there is no void of warranty as the S3 standard wheels are 18″ and the overall diameter is the same on both sizes of rim..

On what grounds can the service team there insist strongly that I have had a severe side impact in that car when I haven’t had any crashes at all.

Also on delivery of the S3 Audi Paramatta failed to complete the checks and tick them off for the suspension and underside of the car.

They have no grounds to say that and and they can call my insurance and check that there have been none.
This car has constantly given me trouble from 2 days old starting with electrical problems with sensors to replacement of gearbox on ly weeks ago and still the new gearbox seems to stall in between gear changes..
Audi Australia is lucky that the two ladies in the car on Sunday weren’t killed .. I have had legal advise privately and also live on air on 2UE radio and have been told to go back on air next Monday as they’d like to follow up on my case..
I’d like Audi Australia to repair my vehicle and compensate me for hire car I’ve had to use and all charges related to that also…
This is the third Audi I’ve owned and until now have been satisfied ..
3655D5BD-ACE7-4E81-AAD4-12EB89F9AFBB

11DAF00F-B25F-4636-AE0B-26339A7BFDB5

Peter Andrianopoulos
0406 937 409

Sent from my iPhone

Sent from my iPhone