The details are being sorted out, but AoA has not abandoned long time loyal customers and has a plan whereby returning customers would see the maintenance plan extended to their new purchases.

News thanks to AlexTTQ

All the whining can stop now :-)

or would I have to purchase it under my name?

Dave

something like the present Audi Loyalty bonus - maybe even replace the present system of Loyalty bonus.

I'm okay with that.

that they recognize their core base is what's keeping them alive in the U.S.........

With all of their problems they're worried their recent surge in sales (one time brand tries) won't continue.

Don't mess with your core market...it's your bread and butter.

Their strategy has been wrong all along.

However AoA is hardly stupid in knowing that Audi owners are a frugal (cheap) bunch and will latch onto the principal of the thing, using it as a reason to kvetch non-stop ;-)

It's obvious that since this follows so closely on the heels of the other announcement of inclusive maintenance going away in '07, they have been thinking things through in advance.

Its not just the extra $500 for maintenance, its that on top of the refusal to incentivize out of the determination that an Audi should cost every bit as much as a BMW as a MB. At those prices, people would just as soon take the BMW or, if those prices are too excessive, switch over to Accura or Infiniti. AoA is abandoning the one niche it had: a roughly equivalent vehicle to a BMW or MB for $5k less.

I paid for a good chunk by doing extra oil changes, etc.

The problem is they will continue offering poor service, keep the same morons running the dealer operations, and not respond to customer issues. You pay more for a bad quality product. It's just to fatten their margins at the expense of the customers. They say they need to do that, so some day they'll make it a better experience for the customer----sure.

I'm not saying all Audis have problems...but I've had 3. 2 out of the 3 have been absolute pieces of scheiss that cost waaaaay too much to fix and spend waaaaaay too much time in the garage (not to mention the depreciation).

The car folks need to look from advice outside of their car spectrum. It's the customer that is the focus, and Audi is focused on their returns.....which they will not get by eliminating incentives for customers like maint.

People will give Audi a try, find out that it may or may not be a piece, and get another or sell out. I think there is more of a trend to sell out. Look at the C5 board....there's more problems than you can shake a stick at. This is just a small sample of Audi's sales population that actually post about their experiences. And out of that, you're seeing more with problems than without.

My A6 went in for the almost 30th time last week for a CEL. It came back smelling like CIGS, grease all over the headliner and A pillar, and a misplaced trim piece (a repair that was done because the DEALER ripped my carpet).

I went directly to Audi to complement the service manager for his help and get a call back from Audi say oh how great it was that I called them to report a good experience (with the manager, as he felt pretty bad with a crew that fuxored up something this bad).

If I were him, I'd line them up and give them the worst near canning possible. I was having the car appraised for trade at a BMW dealer, and they spotted the trim piece (I did'nt think I needed to inspect the work, especially after the SM assured me the problem had been fixed).

That irritating incident was enough and the last straw. The next day, I returned home with my new Toyota 4 Runner.

Audi is the problem, not the customer. I've spent a good chunk of time and money with these cars so I think I've been around the horn with them.

The poor service, the arrogance of the management (both corporate and dealership), and the transient quality really needs to be addressed.

I'm done with my rant, but I still think positively of the brand. I may return if they get better with their dealers, service, and quality. Otherwise, yes, I'll be a Toyota/Lexus person.

I would say visiting the dealership up 2 times a year (non scheduled) would be ok, not 10.

The bread and butter...the core will hold this company. The 1 shot-ers...that say I'll give it a try and get burned by the dealer network will kill it.

That's simple business.

Just my .02

8 ^)

Geez! They also give 1.9% to 4.9% on purchases and subvent the money factors on leases.

they will be forced to improve.

I've had my Audi for almost a year now, and despite the car being delivered with a bad slider in the transmission (only evident in 4th and 5th gear, so PDI didn't catch it as the car was only driven in town to the gas station), my dealer(s) have been extraordinarily attentive when it comes to any questions I have - and I try very hard to go in incognito so they won't figure out who I am for the first visit or two (yeah, I'm infamous;-).

Maybe it's the luck of the draw. Maybe dealers are better in this area, since I have no gripes with the service depts in my area. I am sure that isn't the case everywhere, but handing them customers on a platter isn't going to provide any incentive to improve.

Having inclusive service didn't make one iota of difference when it came to choosing my car. I did my due diligance by driving the competition (none of whom offered inclusive service) and despite the A3 being the most expensive of the bunch, liked it best and didn't feel it needed to be subvented to make me buy it.

I have only had my 2002 b6 a4 for less than a year, have taken the car in for two warranty issues and have been very impressed with the professionalism of the service managers; they even fixed a few minor issues under warranty that I did not even point out to them (not real important to me or I would have)! Obviously, they are working very hard on customer satisfaction and in turn brand loyalty. Hell, my next purchase will most likely be a CPO A3 with DSG. BTW April your car looks great, I really like the rims!

and so got to see all kinds of dealer people from around the country during training sessions.