1 year old Audi Q5 being charged £11k for wear and tear :-(

bengalknights

Is this a Manual or DSG as sounds like the flywheel has overheated after the clutch has worn down to nothing

PhilStation

Hairymonster wrote: »

Hopefully someone can help me as I have Audi claiming my 1 year old, 13.5k miles car has £11k worth of wear and tear damage and it is stressing me out.

The background: On 30th June(3 weeks ago today) I was driving on a road close to my home when the car started getting no traction from the gears and was revving heavily. As I was on a busy motorway I deemed it pretty unsafe to stop and as I was close to home(less than 2 miles) I tried to get it home before calling Audi. I managed to get it a mile when I reached a hill and realised it wasn’t going to go any further so parked in and called Audi roadside assistance. They sent a man from the AA to inspect the car. The AA man advised me to just leave the keys and he would get Audi to pick up as I could walk home. When I went back the next day the car was still there but they AA man had left a note inside it that the car had caught fire underneath which he had to put out. This scared me as I have a 4 month old daughter and she could have been in the car. Audi sent 911 to pick up the car on 1st July to take back and inspect.

The outcome: I received a call today from Audi claiming that it took so long as they had to send pictures etc to Audi HQ in Germany to determine the outcome. They have said the damage was due to wear and tear and will not be covered under warranty and that the damage is £11000 worth of damage. He said there are a few options to me. I said to him before you go on I am not accepting liability for wear and tear damage on a car that is just over a year old (Received in May 2016) and had done just under 14000 miles. I have been driving manual cars since 2009 and never had any issues with clutches or gearboxes. The car is generally is driven to and from work (28 mile round trip) apart from 3 family trips. They are claiming all the damage came from the mile I drove to try and get the car home.

The next stage: I have said that I want them to provide everything in writing so I can take to a lawyer and also contact Audi HQ direct via social media and also in writing. I have also contacted my insurance company who will send an independent assessor. The insurance company have said that any initial wear and tear won't be covered (so say a replacement clutch) but any subsequent damage would be.

Any advice on what to do next appreciated or do I just wait on what insurance company say? I really want to go to town on social media but don't want to jeopardise anything if it goes legal.

Hi OP,

This thread appears to have gone of on a little tangent but that aside, if you could perhaps let us know more specifically what the alleged damage is (when you have it it writing), we may be able to offer some advice. As it is it is a little difficult because we don't have sufficient context but £11k seems a bit ridiculous to me and your actions of continuing to drive not unreasonable.

As for the fire, whether your daughter was in their or not, the thought of that would have scared the life out of me too. Glad everyone is safe.

0148tman

I dont realy understand this ,I think you are hoping that Audi will repair this car for nothing under the warranty , trouble is you have not really stated what the exact fault was . If it is an electrical fire you should be covered but if it was a clutch fault most warranties dont really cover them as they blame wear and tear for which it is hard to prove that your not a bad driver who holds the car on the cluctch a lot.
Surely a fire is covered on your car insurance and I would definitely make a claim for that amont of damage

Jonesya

0148tman wrote: »

but if it was a clutch fault most warranties dont really cover them as they blame wear and tear for which it is hard to prove that your not a bad driver who holds the car on the cluctch a lot.

That's why the Op needs to get hold of these photos and the report, if it was a worn clutch (wear and tear) then that should be visible on the condition of the clutch.

Clutches, like anything, can fail in lots of different ways - some gradual wear and tear, some sudden from component failures.

Jackmydad

Strider590 wrote: »

Neither do I, however the vast majority drive in a way that forces people to take notice and comment.... Which is where all the stereotypes come from. From their perspective of course, their driving is perfect and everyone is just jealous.

Ah Yes! The innate right of the "luxury" car driver to be in front of "the plebs" in their "ordinary cars" and to not have their forward progress impeded by the same.
I often smile at the thought of how much more expensive cars like that are to run properly.

Like the others have said it sounds like the clutch has burnt out big time of the OP's car.
It's a hard way to learn the lesson as far as car mechanics go "If in doubt. Stop!"
I've known several engines be wrecked over the years by people "just getting home"
I hope at least part of the cost is covered by the insurance.

neilmcl

Strider590 wrote: »

Neither do I, however the vast majority drive in a way that forces people to take notice and comment.... Which is where all the stereotypes come from. From their perspective of course, their driving is perfect and everyone is just jealous.

Don't make me laugh. You're the one here that has an obsession about what other people choose to spend their hard earned (or not) on and drive around in. You have the biggest chip on your shoulder going and everyone on this forum knows it.

Muscle750

Sounds to me as if someone may of left the handbrake on, quite how audi get a figure of £11k i wonder.

BeenThroughItAll

Muscle750 wrote: »

Sounds to me as if someone may of left the handbrake on, quite how audi get a figure of £11k i wonder.

Eh? Can you explain how you think that works then?

Strider590

neilmcl wrote: »

Don't make me laugh. You're the one here that has an obsession about what other people choose to spend their hard earned (or not) on and drive around in. You have the biggest chip on your shoulder going and everyone on this forum knows it.

Water off a ducks back mate, I get called lots of things for speaking my mind.

I came from an affluent family background, but they were tough, I earned everything I own and i'm proud of that fact.
I don't put myself in any particular social class, I hate social class systems, people hate the fact that I can't be pigeon holed.

I sit and I watch and I laugh at the majority of the human race who just spend their entire lives trying to be the same as everyone else.
I look at my father, now in his 80's with Parkinsons and I wonder how he feels now, now all that money means nothing, I wonder how much he regrets when he looks back and see's that he wasted his life chasing other peoples dreams.

So if I have this chip your so insistent that I have, then it's because i'm sick of this "me me me" society and I want to see a world where people help each other because it's the right thing to do and not just because of vanity driven virtue signalling,

Apodemus

Muscle750 wrote: »

Sounds to me as if someone may of left the handbrake on, quite how audi get a figure of £11k i wonder.

We are short of a lot of details here, but is it possible that Audi are suggesting that in calculating an insurance value for whether repair is economic, they are indicating that the deduction for wear, tear and depreciation would be £11,000. I have no clue how much that model costs when new or it's value after a year, but £11k seems entirely possible.

The OP does indicate that they stopped the garage in mid-flow and started to argue before hearing the whole story.