Sunday AM, started out for an early tennis match. Started to back out of garage and noticed right rear tyre pressure warning. Got out of car...flat tire. Pulled back into garage. Took the Jeep. On the way I called wife back to call Audi Roadside Ass. to come change the tire ( AFTER ALL, WE PAID FOR IT, ITS IN THE PRICE OF THE CAR...JUST FIND IT...AND THESE ARE TRAINED PROFESSIONALS ON HOW TO CHANGE AN EXPENSIVE GERMAN ROAD CAR..RIGHT..WRONG )played tennis....check cell phone..voice mail message...home phone #...call home...Marilyn says you are not going to believe what happened...I said just tell me the bad news...

We live on a hill...DO I HAVE TO GO ANY FURTHER?

The towing company guy came, backed GREYBOY down the drive way ( HE COULD HAVE CHANGED THE TIRE IN THE GARAGE AS THERE WAS PLENTY OF ROOM WITH THE JEEP GONE )to the end the drive way, BUT GUESS WHAT, STILL ON SOMEWHAT OF AN INCLINE/DECLINE IN THIS CASE....He also had parked his truck at the end of the drive way in the street...about 5 feet from where it appears he stopped Greyboy to JACK the car up....Well, it fell off the jack...This happens as Marilyn is on the phone to Audi RA, who had called ack to see if the guy showed up, as she's speaking to them she walks to the window and sees GREYBOY fall OFF THE JACK and procedds to roll down the hill and hits his DAMN truck.

She goes outside...he say "THAT JACK WAS "WARPED" AND IT CAUSED THE CAR TO FALL". Remember this is Marilyn telling me the story. Oh, he never bothers to say it rolled into his truck...which lead me to believe that he did NOT set the ELECTRO Mech Parking Brake...but he tells Marilyn he did (YA RIGHT BUDDY ). Then he proceeds to tell her how any damage will have to come out his own pocket...I'M SO SORRY MISTER "TRAINED" AUDI ROADSIDE ASSISTANT.

As soon as I got home I called Audi Rd Ass and said "I want to speak to a supervisor...NOW".
Was told I would get a call this AM.

I just got the call...told the story...I told them we are going out of town for Thanksgiving...I want the rear bumper cover replaced as new, the area repaired where it RIPPED out of the JACK HOLE near the right rear passenger door as new, the WARPED JACK replaced and the tyre pressur monitoring system "fixed" because I don't think the towing guy hooked the spare tire correctly. ( I'm getting no response on the TPMS ).

I said I want it repaored/fixed by Nalley Adui of Roawell GA and completed by next Wednesday sine we are leaving town and I want a comparable Audi to drive

Play hard with AoA and the AAA provider and I would FIRMLY suggest to have an atty. document and send everything you can in writing. I'm still fighting with them over the damage that occured having my car shipped to an "approved body shop". AoA has refused to assist and takes no responcibility. Cases like these only make me feel totally helpless and ill to be associated with them.

does the "assistance" on the car within a reasonable distance from the dealership. Did you call the dealer?

My advocate had turned it over to the department incharge of the service but claimed no responcibility on their part and could not offer any assistance. They suggested to claim it with my insurance company (last thing I want to do as the damage it was sent off for was a hit and run) and that they might offer to pay my deductable. The trucking company denied causing the damage yet it was not listed on the bill of ladening. So I've handed it over to my attorney and letting him do what he can.

I just had her call the 800 #. No it was not my local dealer and it was on a Sunday anyway.

prevented me from being able to work a key board!! Unbelievable! My only recommendation is to document all of this including what you expect in return in writting to all parties concerned so there is a record of what happened, who did what, and what you expect in return.

$2271...............

Replace and paint rear bumper over and associated trim, labor etc.

Replace and paint right side lower body cover, labor.

This part the collision shop missed on FIRST PASS ESTIMATE but Bob at Nalley Audi A8 Service Tech caught it as he was taking the tire out of the trunk to be "plugged" so that I would have a spare going forward...when the car fell on it's right side it pushed/bent the right muffler/exhaust assembly UP....you can see it as you look at it from the rear and compare the left exhaust tip is centered and the right one is higher.

What is it with tow truck people not setting the parking brake? Or jacking up a car that's not on a _level_ surface? Maybe aluminum just has a strong attraction to tow trucks . . .<ul><li><a href="http://forums.audiworld.com/a8/msgs/75051.phtml">TimD's recent encounter with a tow truck</a></li></ul>

that you get the home phone# of someone you are pretty tight with at the dealership. Explain what happened and I bet theyll understand why you want to go through the dealer and not some AAA outfit! The alternative might be to let the car sit if something happens on a Sunday if you happen to be home.

cannot support this car! I didnt buy this car to have Audi 6 days a week and AAA on Sunday! Its time to start shaking the tree. Now if I could only figure out who should receive this letter!!!

All auto companies sub-contract the majority of the roadside assistance (MB Excluded except for towing). Some Audi dealers do have Audi Assist ("Rolling Shop" Allroads for out of gas, flat situations) but only the ones that fork out the cash to have the service. Other wise its the AAA service 100% .

BEFORE he attempted to change the tire and whose jack did he use, yours or his?

are not schooled in the area of Audi repair. If I drove a Ford or a Chevy, I would assume that most areas of concern with those cars could be easily tackled by a sub-contractor.

This is one of those situations where it is just implausible everyone that could possible be involved in performing some type of action on a vehicle be thoroughly trained. Its a risk that we must be forced to take and the only safety measure we have to prevent an incident from occuring is to be present and vocal when the service is rendered. AA's situation is a little different in the fact that the tow operator did not have an ounce of common sense to his name. I have no doubt he wouldn't know about the parking brake and certainly not about jack mode on the MMI (if you dont select it the car will continue to raise itself by lowering the strut). Still lack of knowledge of the systems in the car is no excuse for trying to change a tire on an incline.

chances are he would understand what he was working on. I dont care about Mercedes or BMW until I buy one!

# in the Service Manual 1-888-891-A8A8, not Triple A. FYI, I have a very good relationship with Nalley service and I asked her this afternoon who I should have called for this type of situation and she said Audi RoadSide Assistance. She related another local A8 incident with Audi Roadside Assistance ( by the way FYI..."ARA" is located in Miami,FL - I faxed the repair estimate to a 305 area code number ). She said this local Atlanta fellows A8 was on a flatbed being towed and it fell off and rolled down the road and crashed into a tree and I think she said it was totaled. I didn't get all the details.

I have to reiterate it AGAIN for AoA monitoring this board. If an AUDI owner calls Audi Roadside Assistance we expect that your sub-contractors have been trained and their sub-contractors have been trained in AUDI RAODSIDE SERVICE. WE ARE IN ESSENCE CALLING AUDI OF AMERICA ( as far as we are concerned ), PERIOD END OF STATEMENT.

No execuese for this poor level of training. The sub-contractor should have at least a basic understanding of how to change a tyre or tow a quattro equiped car. Can you imagine the cost of repairing a towing screw-up for example?

Which is based out of FL. AAA in turn sub contracts out to local companies that pay a fee to be a AAA service provider.

I can tell you from personal experience that you may be talking to a brick wall if you want anything more than lip service from AoA. Ultimately, no matter who they pawn this off on, AoA SHOULD be stepping up to the plate and taking care of their customers who are stepping up to the plate and forking over the cash for their flagship models. Unfortunately, that has not been the case time and time again.

The A8L is a phenomenal car, but the reality is that cars like this require a support network of dealers and service people who know what they are doing. AoA must stand behind every single one of them. No questions asked. No passing the buck.

I learned my lesson. I sold my A8L, I sold my A4 Cabriolet, and it's only a matter of time before I part with our beloved TT. I love Audi automobiles, but the dealer network and lack of true support behind these vehicles is an absolute shame.

I do hope you find resolution... quickly and with minimal headache. Best of luck to you.

that they(AAA) get the sub-contracts. How the hell can they know ANYTHING about our cars when they cant even show up on time!!!

hi guys,

it goes without saying that you have a right
to be really pissed with the tow truck operator
and the company he works for. it's just plain
stupid trying to jack up a vehicle on an incline especially when he didn't have to.
it would crush me to have my new vehicle damaged in any way. one thing i disagree with though is calling AoA in the first place to change a flat tire in your own garage. i'm probably in the minority here but i feel that roadside service is for ...roadside service away from home. it takes only 10 minutes to change a flat and one thing is for sure...if you do it yourself you know that it was done right.

and move!!!

When I had my 745 it came with packages of pre-printed envelopes (put a key in for valet) and post-it notes that explained how to operate the thing.

Decent car, but for the normal Audi bitches and moans (not a fan of the CVT, but that was a personal gripe). Audi does build great cars. But until local dealerships and AoA start backing the product, it's not going to matter. Customers will go elsewhere. I'm proof of that.

Audi could have spent a few thousand dollars to keep me as a customer when things went south with my dealership's handling of my A8L. Yes, it would have cost them some cash. Instead, they shifted responsibility and played the blame game. ("No, it's his fault." "No, it's his fault.") I left the fold. In the few months that have passed since then, I have purchased or ordered three vehicles from other luxury manufacturers. Those vehicles very well could have been Audis, but they were too short-sighted to see that.

when it comes to a new car! I agree wholeheartedly about Audi`s lack of PR and their ability to straighten out their dealer network. I almost unloaded mine this past summer but the dealership was able to straighten things out(with the help of a huge dose of my patience!). If anything else goes south on this car, its bye-bye. I wish you well with your new vehicles.

such that you could drive the car into the envelope and "put it through the slot"!!

if/while someone else works on it.

a $25,000 "credit balance" with my attorney for future "needs", from a previous settlement. I called Audi Advocate yesterday at 5PM to get them involved.

Are you saying AA should have stayed with his car?

In 20-20 hindsight, obviously he should have. But, should the purchaser of a $70k+ car be expected to be able to supervise working on said car? Many (most?) owners are not capable of doing this.

No, I think Audi, and Audi alone, has dropped the ball here. AA's wife was as present as any owner should have needed to be.

dropped the ball but unless its a Kia(sorry Mr. R!)I wouldnt throw the keys to ANYONE and then walk away!

It's not a question of should he stay with his car. He chose not to and thats his option.

Audi, Kia, or whatever, the company sent out to attend the call should have been able to handl this or call for help if required. We have all been chanrged for this service and the expectation is that when called out the person sent has either the training to deal with the issue, or has a numbr to call for technical assitence. It's not our responcibility to vet each and every person sent out to work on our cars. Some are more able than others in tis regard.

In my case I took more than a dozen pictures when a car of mine was towed by roadside asstence and supervised every little aspect. Had I not been there and my wife had been stranded on the side of the road instead of me she would be totaly relient on whoever they sent out. It's not a fair or reasonable expectation that to drive an Audi you have to be a mechanic.

I disagree with the assertion that the owner in this case had any duty or respocibility to be there, and is somehow in part to blame for what happened. It's just plain wrong.

or responsibility on the owners part to stay with his car! IMHO, it only makes sense to do so. This is the REAL world out there and as long as there is a CHANCE that an unqualified repair person shows up, my cars will have me by them!!!

... I called Audi Roadside for the Gallardo after the pressure plate assembly fvckspl0d3d... anyway, probably the best service I've ever gotten from a roadside guy, tipped him $$$.

The roadside guy treated my car 10x better than the dealer does. Seriously.

In my area of N.Cal it's AAA.