So in August I trade in my 2006 A4 Cab for a new 2009 A4 cab quattro. It was missing some features that my '06 had like homelink and auto headlamps but I figured I'd deal with it. I loved the quicker acceleration, the more responsive steering and the quattro handling of the '09 but really missed the auto headlamps and the homelink. Come to find out that soon after the 2009 introduction, Audi changed the model and billed it as a "special edition". It now includes AT NO EXTRA COST, homelink, bi-xenon auto headlamps, auto dimming mirrors inside and out, rain sensitive wipers, wind deflector, Bose premium sound, 18" wheels and heated front seats. Over $3000 worth of options at no extra cost on the same 2009 model I purchased only a few months earlier. There's also a $2000 customer incentive on it now but I understand the nature of incentives so I can't be really upset about that.
So I write a letter to Audi expressing my dissatisfaction. I explain that I know I screwed up by buying a model without features that I ultimately missed, but I express that I'm also upset that Audi didn't enter the model year with the vehicle equipped as it now is. Let's face it, these weren't minor changes to the price and equipment, it was significant and only a few months after my purchase. So basically I say that I am an unhappy customer and I will consider this experience when I purchase a new car in 2012. I never asked for anything in my letter!
I get a call from a woman named Heather at Audi a few weeks ago. She understands how I feel and SHE ASKS ME "what can Audi do to make you happy". Ok... So I say, offer me some trade assistance so I can get into a vehicle that I'll be more happy with and you'll earn a customer for life. After two weeks of calling me for more information, I get a call from her today telling me that, "Audi, like any other manufacturer reserves the right to make any changes in price or equipment during the model year"."Sorry, there's nothing we can do to help you." Somehow she thinks that I was asking for Audi to deliver me a new car for free. When I tell her that I know that that is totally unreasonable and all I was asking for (since she asked) was assistance toward the trade of a new one, she says, "that's not what I understood". She sounds like it's my fault now that she thought I was asking for a new car for free and it's too late for her to modify the request! So she calls me back an hour later and says, "we won't help you at all".
I guess I feel like I'm in a Seinfeld episode. (Remember the one where the car rental agency didn't hold his reservation?) Why did they call me and ask what would make me happy if they weren't going to make even the slightest peace offering in the first place? If they new they were going to offer me nothing, why did they ask??? They made it worse by asking. I actually was thinking today that I would have felt better if they hadn't called at all and raised my hopes that they were actually interested in helping me out in some way. I wrote the letter to just get this off my chest. I wasn't looking for anything until they asked me!
Well, I just wrote this to get this off my chest again. I'm not looking for anything, so if you're reading this, don't get the wrong idea. It is a great car, though a little decontented for a $44,000 MSRP vehicle. I'll enjoy the ride and handling for the next three years. But I'll continue to relay this unusual and disappointing experience to anyone who will listen and hope that in 2012 I find a company with more sensitive customer relations to replace my Audi!
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