Audi tells dealers "Either get in or get out"
Audi's US sales have done quite well lately, with a 7% rise in August, and 6% in July. But successful companies know complacency does not foster greater success. So Audi has had a little talk with some of its less-than-stellar Stateside dealers.
Basically, the German automaker has told underperformers they either need to invest in their franchises to improve sales and customer satisfaction, or sell them back. According to Automotive News, Audi has already identified six specific dealers that fall into this unfavorable category, and is even in final buyback talks with two of them.
An Audi spokesperson told Automotive News that most of the weak businesses also sell brands other than Audi. That's why the company is urging dealers to build stand-alone Audi dealerships, with a goal of 150 independent Audi sales locations by 2012. The push for more stores includes a new flagship store in New York with another high-volume location in Los Angeles.
An incentive program encourages independent Audi dealers by paying them a 16% bonus for every vehicle sold, while multi-brand dealers get as little as 7%.
[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
John 8:35PM (9/28/2007)
I can think of one dealership that made the list....Audi of Fairfield, CT.......I get much better service and respect at a Subaru dealer. Simply put, Subaru, at least my dealer, knows how to say thank you and values the customer. My Audi experience was a little like this: "F you, it is an Audi, take it or leave it, you should be greatful we sold you the car"....."how dare you bother us with your failed ignition coil!"
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mxrz 8:45PM (9/28/2007)
Coilpack failures are common with the 1.8T motor, even the latest revisions, if that's what you have. Should carry at least two new ones in the trunk. Replacing them is very easy, and can be done on the side of the road in five minutes, without any tools. Or upgrade all four, to something like Hitachi's E series.
K-zoo Boi 10:18PM (9/28/2007)
I would add Maple Hill of Kalamazoo, MI to this list. Their service is one of the worst I have seen. I had an issue with my car and all they had was excuses. Only their Subaru department can service and they do it well. The VW and Audi service is pathetic. I hope they move to a better dealer.
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Jim 12:21PM (9/29/2007)
Yeah the Audi and VW dealers in my area are rather pathetic as well, I have tried to buy a car from three dealerships and when I leave them with the specs I want, they go looking for the car and never get back to me. Then when I call them they play like they are still looking through their stock. On the service side of things I have two VWs now and I dread taking them in for service, every service center in Vancouver (Cowell, Clarkdale, Capilano) all have this belief that I owe them for the privilege of the VW. As most these places service Audi too I have been thinking twice before I buy another VW or an Audi. It is too bad as I like the cars, just cannot stand the work I have to do to buy one then the trouble it takes to service them.
Bill 10:06PM (9/30/2007)
Wasn't long ago that Audi dealers were dumping Audi for the junk they were making.
Now they think their s--- doesn't stink.
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zamafir 10:36PM (9/28/2007)
pity vw can't do the same
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JerryB 10:48PM (9/28/2007)
Hmmm. Buy an expensive German luxury car and keep spare parts in the trunk.
What's wrong with this picture?
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mxrz 11:18PM (9/28/2007)
Do you also think it's wrong to have a "spare" tire in the trunk?
Barney 11:45PM (9/28/2007)
It was at one time considered worthwhile to carry a ballast resister in your Chrysler product. They used them for decades.
Barney 11:48PM (9/28/2007)
"Do you also think it's wrong to have a "spare" tire in the trunk?"
You consider it normal to carry spare parts for your car, in it's trunk? What kind of car do you drive and how full of extra parts is it?
mxrz 12:07AM (9/29/2007)
Yeah, I do consider that normal... Then again I'm a car nut.
the friendly grizzly 11:14AM (9/29/2007)
Nothing is wrong with it at all. I knew a BMW owner who used to lament "I have one of the most finely engineered and precision-built cars in the world! And I have a drawerful of repair bills to prove it!".
Now, Audis are made in Germany, correct? And they have coil failures like VWs, right? With that table set, let me ask VW fans this: where is all your talk about how the failed coils in your VWs are because the car is made in Mexico?
d3 a8 swb 9:15AM (9/29/2007)
An expensive luxury car, huh ?
The a4 is neither expensive, nor is it a luxury car.
Basically what it is is a way for Audi to get money from idiots that should be buying a used Honda and saving their cash. They have built a high-end luxury brand, and the small-sized cars are a way to extend the profitability of that brand.
Stop and think for a second - does a 4-cylinder, 1.8 L engine sound like something that is in a high end car ? No, it doesn't.
That's why they are so cheap.
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mxrz 12:42AM (9/29/2007)
So just because I wanted a medium size sedan with quattro, that doesn't weigh as much as a house like your A8, I'm an idiot? The A4 has all the luxury features that I want, and maybe it only has a four banger with less displacement than a 2 liter bottle of coke, but guess what, I “wanted” it instead of the V6, because mine makes more power and a shitload more torque than your A8. Even if you had the S8, I'd still be making more power. See, we all have different needs, to you, your big sedan might be the shit, to me, it’s an oversized, overpriced, boat of a sedan that is boooooring to drive.
And your entire view on what this segment of the market represents couldn't be less idiotic. The entry level luxury sedans, made by Audi, BMW, Lexus, Infiniti, Acura, etc... are in fact, their most essential offerings, it's what keeps these brands alive in the market place, and more often than not, it's their most reliable and cost effective vehicle.
And finally, if you think Audi “built a high end luxury brand” you need to learn some history son, try wikipedia.
mxrz 12:49AM (9/29/2007)
doh, what I meant is that your opinion couldn't be "more" idiotic ;) You sound like you're irritated that we're both Audi owners, even though I spent considerably less on mine... Me, I'm ashamed we're both Audi owners because snobs like you just reinforce the stereotypical bullshit associated with "high end" car brands.
Harrison 12:57AM (9/29/2007)
mxrz, there's a car that fits your criteria. It's called the Subaru Legacy 3.0R.
mxrz 1:24AM (9/29/2007)
I'm too much of a quattro fan to drive anything else other than Audi ;) In terms of "dry performance" it may not be the best AWD system out there, but since it's a purely mechanical system, it's very reliable, and easily upgradable. I have a custom, high rear-bias center torsen differential and a true LSD in the back (thanks to Stasis engineering), and the handling is just supreme. My car has been so extensively modified, its performance is almost unnatural for this type of vehicle, but I’m no street racer, I take it to the track on weekly basis, yet it is still my daily driver.
Bob-o 1:32AM (9/29/2007)
Want a cookie?
Larry 8:51AM (9/29/2007)
and that's why, here in Miami, there are six A4's at every intersection, as well as six BMW's!
Random Task 2:14AM (9/29/2007)
Wow. Someone bought an Audi because of some reliability concern? Now I've heard it all.... and then he mods it. That's just hilarious.
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