Audi A4 Avant - AA warranty problems

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Fri 7 Apr 2017 15:23
Audi A4 Avant - AA warranty problems - Tony Clark

Bought the low mileage Audi A4 Avant from dealer near Bournemouth, & it came with an AA 5 Star warranty. One month later the PAS developed a fault that needed the hydraulic pump replacing. Local Audi garage in Devon (good reputation & not an expensive main dealer) investigated & the work totalled £800 - however the AA warranty people have weadeled their way out of most of it by quoting for a cheap chinese crap imported part that garage rightly refused to fit + low labour cost + ridiculously short time allowance to fit it. Hence they only paid £300 (2 weeks later) leaving me with £500 bill. Would NEVER use these people (or any other warranty company) again - just try to get some extra money off the car & sort any problems yourself. Should rename it AA Half-a-Star Warranty - they are little short of con men.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 7 Apr 2017 15:38
Audi A4 Avant - AA warranty problems - Snakey

To be honest I think most aftermarket warranties are a waste of time as they all try to get out of paying. I've had trouble even with manufacturer approved type of warranties (including the much vaunted toyota!) and am currently fighting to get a mini fixed under their so called comprehensive warranty!

I've finally learned my lesson now and I'm only going to buy decent but reasonably simple cars - the dealer warranties and aftermarket ones I will do without and will I pick a model I can generally afford to get fixed myself. At least then I can shop around for repair prices and hopefully know the job is done properly rather than a warranty fob off.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 7 Apr 2017 15:52
Audi A4 Avant - AA warranty problems - Avant

Tony - if you have the time and inclination, you could takt thi up with the AA and ask why they don't authorise proper Audi parts. It can hardly be good for their reputation if they will only pay for a part which an Audi garage says is not fit for purpose.

You might also see what Honest John himself has to say on this: Email letters@honestjohn.co.uk

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 7 Apr 2017 16:16
Audi A4 Avant - AA warranty problems - RobJP

It shouldn't have been a warranty claim anyway.

Under the Consumer Rights Act, a fault that occurs within 6 months is assumed to have been 'present or developing' at the time of sale, and is the responsibility of the selling garage to put right, at their cost.

Regards the AA warranty : Virtually all aftermarket warranties have exclusions and conditions - costs must be agreed prior to work being carried out, caps on costs, labour rates, etc, pattern parts, etc. Those conditions are pretty clear.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 7 Apr 2017 17:22
Audi A4 Avant - AA warranty problems - SLO76
Most warranties, particularly on cars over 7yrs old are poor value, the wording within the small print could effectively get them out of or dramatically reduce any claim via use of "wear and tear" and all too often they have a wholly inappropriate claims limit, sometimes less than £250 per claim that won't even look at anything major. I am surprised at the AA here though, we used to include an unlimited limit RAC warranty in our used cars above £5k and they were excellent at the time. The premium rocketed and we had to replace them with another less comprehensive product sadly.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 7 Apr 2017 19:45
Audi A4 Avant - AA warranty problems - pd

As the last pump failed at a low mileage the Audi pump doesn't sound much better than "the cheap Chinese crap".

Was this actually an Audi franchise or an Audi specialist?

.

Edited by pd on 07/04/2017 at 19:46

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide