Audi rip off,advise required for a small garage.

laldog

Hi all,i hope this is in the correct section as i am new to this. A wee bit of background so bear with me.
I run a small independant garage and last May i fitted an airbag ECU (the brain of the system) to a customer's car the said part being purchased from our local Audi dealer.Now the vehicle came back in this last month with a fault on the airbag system.After diagnosing the fault i came to the conclusion that the ECU had failed as it had an internal eeprom error.I contacted the suppling dealer and they told me that they would have to carry out a diagnostic check themselves. I duly booked the car in with them and then recieved a call from them telling me they agreed the fault lay with the ECU and they would replace it the next day as they would have to order a new one in.
The next day i then received a call from them saying the mechanic had started replacing the ecu but then had come accross a problem. Basically they are saying that when i replaced the ECU in May last year i should have replaced another sensor in the system but because this had not been done then this voided the warranty on the supplied ECU.They say a Technical bulliten was issued in Feb 07 and that if the customer had the work carried out with them and not with myself they would have carried out the recommended aditional sensor renewal.
They also said i was liable for a 114.00 "diagnosis charge" as it was not a warranty claim anymore!! I had to pay this charge to get my customer's car back.
My question is,product knowladge and care of duty should,in my opinion "made" (for want of a better word) them tell me of the technical bulliten. They have also stated on my invoice of the diagnosis charge that Audi will not contribute to a warranty claim due to the age of the vehicle too?? & also the fact the part was fitted outside the dealer network!! That should have nothing to do with it.
I have replaced the ECU at my cost for my customer as all i want is a happy customer.
Would i have any joy taking this to the small claims court and if so how would i word my aproach? The dealer has been very dismissive of me from the start but due to block exemption regs the customer has a choice where his car is repaired without predjudice.
Sorry for the long winded post and if there is any questions i need to answer,please ask away. Thanks in advance,Laldog.

laldog

Just to add,our local VW dealer parts guy has to sign a form to say he has read & understood any technical bullitins and if he has to supply a part that requires a linked part he tells the customer as i feel the Audi dealer should have done.

cootebird

I see your dilemma, and your main dealer don't appear to have a great customer service!
I would advise you to contact Audi's customer relationship centre and let them know how let down you feel and tell how they are effecting the business to business relationship.
I would be suprised if you get anywhere with small claims as you may have signed a job card with a disclaimer saying you would pay for work carried out. (It's in the small print usually)
Technical bulletins are hit and miss, like you say, product knowledge is key. However it may not be until they have the exact vehicle details, chassis number, production date etc that they are aware of the specific bulletins.

I'm sure they could have offered you at least a discount on the labour rate!

laldog

I did sign a job card but its not the 114.00 i am griping about,it's the 252.00 for the new ECU that i am more concerned with.I really do try to do my best for my customer's and can't believe the dealer's attitude.
Thanks for your reply.