warzilla

So we brought a new 2012 Audi Q7 TDI, with S-line, 21 inch wheels, in Iris White. Overall the car looks beautiful, BUT the quality on this car is ridiculous. We spent over $70k on the car and waited 3 months for delivery. So the first week we owned the car, something happens. Probably happens to everyone here. You open the door, and as you open the door, a wind picks on the door and swings it open all the way. Happens right? Well that happened to our passenger side door. So no big deal.

Next day, I notice what I think is a dent in the passenger side door. As I look closely, I can tell its not caused by being hit on the surface. Its actually a 'crease' or warping of the door surface. Here is what it looks like:

So I'm very upset. I'm thinking, "What kind of car damages itself when the door swings all the way open?". We'll not talking about a hurricane wind here, but a slight wind on a windy day. Even if the wind opened the door all the way, there are things call 'door stoppers' that prevents doors to damage themselves. I know doors on my Range Rover HSE never damaged itself when this happened to them. Darn, even my BMW didn't do this, and I personally think BMWs are put together cheaply.

So I went to the dealer, with the original thought that it was a dent that they can fix under a warranty I brought for $800.00 (covers windshield cracks, small dents, wheels, etc). So I bring in the car and within 5 minutes they tell me that its auto body damage and I need to pay out of pocket - on a brand new car. The estimate from the dealer is a couple of thousand of dollars.

Any thoughts or suggestions on what you I should do? Please chime in if you have similar quality issues with a Q7. Thank you.

ithinkmac

When I got my '10 TDI, I took whatever was on the lot at the time (Oct, 2009, so facelifted TDIs were scarce). Very excited and drove it home on the weekend. A few weeks went by and suddenly I noticed a dent by the front driver door. Right behind the wheel well and maybe an inch or two into the door panel as well. But it was a very clean dent, so smooth and clean, it's like it came from the factory that way.

Call the dealer up and explain my story, they decided to take care of it, even thought technically they don't have to do anything, the GM took a look and said, well it doesn't look like I did anything to it, it was so clean. It's like somebody dented the panels before they paint over it.

Probably a different situation than yours, but it could also be the fact that the panel was already dented, and you just haven't noticed it.

After I got mine fixed, I went back to look at my photos I took when I got the car home. And sure enough, the dent was already there from day 1.

Plead your case and see if the dealer will take care of you.

-ThinkMac-

2ndThought

You may want to consider making a claim with your insurance company. I had something similar happen with a (new at the time) '99 VW GTI. We had very strong winds and I opened my door in a parking lot, wind catches the door and slammed it open. It was so strong that it misaligned the door, and would not close correctly without slamming it shut. To make things worse, probably due to repeated shock to the door from closing it afterwards, one of the window regulator pins (cheap plastic pins that attach the glass to the regulator) had cracked. So one night after driving over an expansion joint on a bridge in Philadelphia in the middle of winter caused the entire window to crack and fall inside the door. I called the insurance company and explained the chain of events leading up to the damage and they covered it under comprehensive.

docman_md

warzilla - This happened to me too. Two weeks after getting the car I drove up to Albany for a weekend; it was a windy weekend as I remembered. My first thought was someone dinged the door. I took it to an certified Audi Collision Center and they told me the same thing. WIND! I can't believe it. I have been thinking that I am the only one here affected. Is there any one else on this forum who has experienced the same?

warzilla

Wow. I'm someone else had this issue as well. I've talked to both my dealer and Audi Customer Service. To say they been satisfactory in resolving this so far from the truth. You figure they would want me to be happy and get this resolved but its been on going. So in a nutshell where I'm at:

- Dealer gives me an estimate for $3,200.00 to fix the door. Tells me to contact Audi Customer Service to see if they can help.
- Audi Customer Service tells me they will pay $2,500.00 but then I need to pay out of pocket for the rest
- My bro-in-law who know Audi Tech folk, asked them about it and they told him the car is defective or something is wrong and ask for a 'buyback'. Doors shouldn't damage themselves even if a wind swings them wide open.
- I respond to Audi Customer Service and tell them that they had a chance to make it right by just fixing the door totally but now I want a 'buyback' on the car.
- Audi Customer Service still stands on just paying $2,500.00 to fix the door.
- I respond back to Audi Customer Service and ask them how did they determine that its only worth for them to pay $2,500.00 for the door? They tell me that its based on their belief and the dealers that this is an buyer 'operational' issue - meaning its the equivalent of me hitting a brick wall and causing damage to the car (I've heard this metaphor a couple of times from different people at the Audi Dealer. I think that's their MO line or something)
- I talk to the Audi Dealer and ask them to cover the difference of the estimate and just fix my door. They say No - they can't. They tell me to just pay the difference and enjoy the car.

So guys, any suggestions? I'm getting frustrated here and my wife and I are just thinking of selling this Audi Q7 TDI altogether. Again, we had Range Rovers in the past - and trust me they aren't the most reliable cars in the world - but Land Rover would never leave us hanging like this.

Also docman_md where is your Audi Collision Center? I may want to talk to them about the door as well.

adriangroom

Well... I hate to be the one, but someone's got to say it...

I'm no fan of Audi's customer care (in fact far from it), but quite frankly you should bite their hand off and take the $2500 offer (seriously). They're under no obligation to fix damage that's caused [essentially] beyond their control through some act of nature, otherwise they'd be paying out on everything from stone chips to acid rain and bird droppings.

The check straps are there to provide selected stop points and limit the doors maximum excursion, not to stop it being blown open (light wind or otherwise).

Q7 doors are large, so they'll always be prone to catching the wind if they're in the right direction to do so, and will gain considerable momentum in the process. If they, along with other parts of the vehicle, were made even more robust to cater for every possible occurrence in daily life then people would be bleating on about how heavy and sluggish the car is and what poor economy it delivers - remember, the Q7 is designed as a 'luxury' SUV and not a tank... it will have limitations!

If you want something that's going to take everything life throws at you, go buy a second hand armoured truck, if you want something that's cheaper to fix, go buy a Suzuki...

I live on an island, which is inherently windy, and I've seen more than a few doors damaged to an extent far beyond what you've experienced, on many different makes and models, so nothing unique here at all.

OK - your really p*ssed because it's a new car... totally understandable seeing that you've just shelled out $70k, and I do sympathise with you (genuinely)... but just accept that sh*t happens... it's not your fault, it's not Audi's fault, it's just life and sometimes life isn't fair!

If you (and your wife) truly want to sell the car already as a result of this ( - pause for vision of teddy being thrown out of pram - ), then maybe you just weren't meant to be a Q7 owner.

Not trying to antagonise here, just stating an opinion.

docman_md

The collision I used for both my Audis is in Annapolis, Maryland (Criswell Audi Collision). They estimated $1800 for the fix. I made the claim with the insurance company which paid all cost minus $250 deductible. IMOH, I would accept the $2500 offer and fix it; you are lucky they even considering it... This is one of those things where it is really not a design issue but more the act of mother nature.

djc1969

....Am I the only one that thinks that actually you are responsible for the damage to the door Warzilla?

You knew it was windy - correct?

You had the vehicle for sufficient time to know how easy it is for the wind to "catch" the door - correct?

The solution is to hold on to the door!

This has nothing to do with quality issues with your car - seriously I think that in this instance AoA are absolutely correct - in the UK I think that Audi would have rejected this claim entirely.

Take the $2500 contribution from AoA, fix the door, and enjoy the fact that your Audi won't break down every 20 minutes like a lot of Range Rovers!

warzilla

I thank everyone for the feedback. Seems like some of you think the settlement is fair and that I should take the Audi money. If that is the case that I'll consider doing that.

PARealtor

I believe the offer is fair and if they are willing to give you that much take it and get it fixed. As others have stated its in no way their fault and if they wanted to be total ****** about it could say go away. $2500 seems more than fair