It’s still unclear as to what the actual owners manual from the glove box states.
If the manual states change the fluid at 30k and the dealer did not do it then the dealer is at fault; not the warranty company or corporate Audi. Since the dealer is history…
If the manual does not state change the fluid at 30, 35, or whatever and since this revision referred to only occurred 6 months ago odds are this incident happened long before the revision.
It would seem to me that the warranty company is obligated (not meaning they’re actually going to do anything) to go by what happened at the time. If the manual states no fluid change at 35k miles then the car owner is not at fault.
If the warranty company does not step up (good luck there) and since a revision was made by Audi (AFTER the fact) then maybe a polite but firm appeal to the regional office for a good will warranty although corporate Audi has no responbility for any of this.
A defunct dealer and a 3rd party warranty company is just going to add up to a huge headache.
The dealer represents the carmaker, under contract.Your 35K miles service was done when this dealership represented Audi. Their failure to drain and refill transmission fluid (and change the filter) is the failure of Audi.The dealership is the face of Audi for customers. Now that dealership ceased to exist, you can talk to Audi and request warranty repairs by presenting third party warranty’s refusal to honor their warranty based on failure to do periodic maintenance by Audi dealership.
I think you have got a strong case as long as you have the papers.
Also I would suggest reading (if you have not done already recently) the third party’s warranty terms and conditions to see if there is any article that they can apply to your case in order not to honor their warranty obligation.
I saw a similar warranty ad on TV. It seems they sell warranty for even 10 years old cars. If the terms are this strict, it is a waste of money.
The major problem is the 3rd party warranty. I warn anyone considering one never do it. This is a classic example besides these company’s going out of business.
If you purchase an extended warranty, always buy from vehicle maker. This case the poster would not even post as Audi would cover it without hestitation.
There seems to be an assumption here the dealer did not perform the service that was allegedly required and at this point it’s not known for certain if the dealer erred or not.
The car has about 66k miles on it.
The service that was allegedly not performed was at around the 35k miles mark.
This means the event, or non-event, was probably around 2 years ago.
If the owners manual states no fluid change at 35k miles and this was not done 2 years ago then the dealer did nothing wrong.
The OP has already stated he has discovered a revision of the maintenance requirement and this revision was around 10/08 which is likely long after the service in question was allegedly not performed.
RESOLUTION: Audi will cover everything! I am very grateful they are taking responsibility for this.
FYI, I did find out that the original maintenance schedule called for the transmission fluid to be changed at 35K. My car was towed to an Audi dealership that I had used several times and they offered to take care of the cost of the transmission and they wanted me to cover labor (not cheap!). Last week I contacted Audi the car manufacturer and explained the situation. On Friday, they called back and I am happy to say that I will not have to cover any of the costs for this repair!
Lessons learned here: 1) Double check that the mechanic does everything according to the maintenance schedule even if you take it to the dealer’s service shop; 2) An extended warranty purchased from the dealer rather than a third party would’ve saved me from some headaches (even if I had to lay out a few hundred more for the warranty); 3) Follow up with the car manufacturer when all else fails.
That is great news for you! It is also an indicator of how reputable Audi (through VW) is.
Corporate Audi and the dealer are two separate business entities and a dealer screwup does not mean that Audi is legally on the hook for the problem caused by the dealer.
They’re performing a Good Will warranty for you and it’s the right thing to do in this case.