Hi, my wife bought a high specification A1 s-line back in June 2011 from Bolton Audi.

We viewed the showroom model and had test drives in the demonstrator vehicle and from there based the spec on her requirements which brought the price to iro £24k (yes I know but it's Audi!). We assumed (like it would appear after an internet search so many others have too) that as the drivers door mirror on the demo vehicle, the showroom model (both of which were low spec) and eventually Karens car when delivered had the heating element strip attached, the mirror was heated. Last winter proved that was not the case and a quick word with the service dept confirmed that heated mirrors were not standard fit on this vehicle.

Fast forward to this week and whilst the car was in for warranty work that was not repaired last week correctly, I asked the master tech whether there was a retro fit available to which he replied that there was not, but it was an option at the time of purchase. I googled Audi A1 Heated Mirror and was quite surprised to see that the Audi A1 forum is awash with complaints from drivers who were under a similar impression of heated drivers mirror on the model as standard given the presence of the heating element strip. The salesman did not say otherwise and nowhere in the brochure did it say that the heating on the mirror was non functioning unless you specified the folding and heated option (a £130 additional cost).

The sales team are of course saying it's my fault for assuming that because the element was there, there was a heated mirror as standard and I am saying that if the element is there it's only natural to assume the heating as standard as it is on Lexus, jaguar, volvo and other so called luxury brands. Following pressure it seems that from) October 2012, mirror heating is now a standard option. The person I spoke to yesterday, after stepping off his soap box, agreed that he to would expect heated mirrors as standard on Lexus, Jaguar etc given their luxury brand status but was silenced when I asked if that meant he considered Audi not to be a luxury brand.

Finally my statement and question.

I believe there has been a mass misrepresentation of a product by Audi leading customers to assume they are getting something when in fact they are not. You sit in a car, see something and you assume its going to work (since we bought the car in the summer it was impossible to test the function or non function until the suitable temperatures of winter). The brochure did not make it clear and neither did any of the sales team mention that the feature was not active. Do you think there is a chance that the Sale of Goods and Services Act or the legislation surrounding false advertising or misinterpretation of a product may have been breached here or is it simply a case of buyer (or mass buyers who may have been duped) beware?

OK - I know that some vehicles have additional controls (e.g. multi function steering wheels) that do not work due to the spec but normally you can see these do not work straight away by pressing them. You can then ask the question "what spec is required to achieve this function". You cannot do this for an item aimed for winter when purchased in the summer (unless its heated seats which will obviously warm up).

I have owned Audi's of different models and specs since 1997 including SE models, S-line models and quattros and ALL of them have had heated mirrors either with or without the element present.

Sorry to be so long winded but if it had only been me I could put that down to miss communication between the sales person and I but even my wife, who is not really interested in cars, assumed the mirror was heated given the element and so it would appear would many others.

Many thanks for your time and apologies for the non brevity. Keep up the great work BTW!