How's this for service from Audi? A few months ago my A4 3-litre Quattro's steering and ESP lights came on so I got the car to my local dealer in the Midlands. It then took Audi UK nearly seven weeks to get the tool from Germany to fix it. The dealership made sure that they had a steering column and rack in stock, just in case. I was given an A6 quattro as a courtesy car and then a 3.2 A4 Avant to go to France for our holidays, as they couldn't insure the A6 for Europe. Not bad.

Added to that I was given a free MOT and brake fluid change, Audi UK refunded me for lost tax and insurance on a daily basis whilst my car was off the road due to them not having the correct tools available, and knocked £250 off the cost of a further 12 months' warranty. I was also given £750 insurance against next year's MOT in case of failure.

The cause of my problem was the adaptive dynamic steering column and a new one was fitted under warranty. In the end, Audi came up trumps and the dealership, Halesowen Beechwood was brilliant and extremely helpful, but it is a shame that the car went wrong in the first place.