Skipton01
Admin Team
Following on from the recent door cracking issues and the used car award debacle, below is a copy of the letter sent to Jeremy Hicks, the head of Audi UK:
Have a read and let me know what you think.
As has been suggested, we can all write in to express our concerns and then maybe take further steps if this proves futile, but let's see how this letter goes first.
Cheers,
Mike
Dear Sir,
I would like to bring to your attention what could be a very serious issue with the Audi A2.
I am the Technical Director of the A2 Owners Club and the owner of a 2005 model year A2. This car, although only just 3 years old, has had both its front doors replaced, under warranty, following the discovery of cracking around the hinges.
I am quite aware that the A2 has been out of production for some time now, with the last cars coming off the production line in the summer of 2005 and that issues of this nature will not be uppermost in your mind. However, what should be of concern to you is the way in which owners of these vehicles are being treated by your franchised dealers when they try to resolve the cracks in their doors.
Most owners are told that it isn’t a problem and that anyway, they are now out of warranty, so if they want something doing about it, they will have to pay for the work themselves. This is not really the attitude expected, especially when many owners are only just outside the warranty period and have spent a lot of money on the A2 in the first place (my own example, which I bought new from Stockport Audi, cost almost £20,000!). I am not so sure that the issue is so easily dismissed though, as I regard it as a design fault.
Having had a long talk about the door issue with a workshop manager of one of your authorised aluminium repair centres, it appears that the design of the doors now being fitted to A2s, whether due to cracking or to accident damage repair, is substantially different, especially in the area affected by the cracking. The area around the top hinge is substantially stronger and reinforced by the addition of a spacer plate, features that are absent on doors manufactured before, or fitted to cars built prior to mid-2005.
For this reason, I would ask you to rethink Audis position on the matter of door replacement. The standard 3 year/60,000 mile warranty, should not be used as the yardstick in this instance, as the failure is due to poor design and it can be argued that the doors were not fit for purpose. I would ask that any A2 owner should be able to have their doors replaced, free of charge in respect of parts, materials and labour, if they are showing signs of cracking around the top hinge area, irrespective of the age of the vehicle. After all, even the oldest example is now only 7 years old and problems of this nature should not be expected at this stage in the vehicles life.
Aside from the above issue, which affects a large number of cars, I would also like to raise a separate issue with you, which is of concern to virtually all A2 owners:
I meet many owners in the course of my work with the A2 Owners Club and one topic that is always raised is the feeling of abandonment by Audi, which has substantially increased since the deletion of the model. The reported attitude of most franchised dealers is one of near contempt for owners and their vehicles. When this is combined with the letters that a lot of owners received offering a substantial increase in the trade-in value of their A2 is taken into account, it seems that Audi is trying to quietly brush the A2 under the carpet, as something to be ashamed of! The availability of certain parts is already an issue and we are only 2 years on from the cessation of production!
Vorsprung Durch Technik – Advancement Through Technology, it is the essence of Audi and no car of recent years embodied this ethos more so than the A2. It was, and remains, a truly innovative car, which was ahead of its time. The world has now seen that the path forged by the A2 was the right way to go and yet Audi cannot see this, choosing to forge ahead with the development of hybrid technology (Q7 & Metroquattro concept) instead of building in efficiency from the start. Audi is now following the lead of other manufacturers, instead of leading the way forward.
If the powers that be had had the courage to continue and develop the A2, it is almost certain that the limiting factor of sale price could have been resolved by new methods of construction and increased production efficiency, as used now on the TT and A5.
It is also highly ironic that for many years, Audi has strived to build a car that can beat the BMW Mini, but they actually had one all along, that they cancelled! I refer of course to the recent Autotrader Used Car Awards.
It was my own A2 that was used for the location filming of the awards and the votes that helped to achieve the significant victory came from my members, those very people who feel so let down by Audi. Having recently won the Audi Driver Gold Award for Information, we at the A2OC feel that this award would be more appropriate if it were donated to us. After all, Audi does not make used cars and we truly feel that the award was secured for the A2 by all of the owners and members who voted with such conviction and hold the car in such esteem.
If you have reached this point, having read all of the above, I thank you. I realise, as I said before, that the A2 is not the most pressing issue you must have and it is good to see the marquee going forwards with such pace. However, I would appreciate your thoughts on the above and look forward to an early reply. If you would like any more details on the cracking or photographs, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Have a read and let me know what you think.
As has been suggested, we can all write in to express our concerns and then maybe take further steps if this proves futile, but let's see how this letter goes first.
Cheers,
Mike
Dear Sir,
I would like to bring to your attention what could be a very serious issue with the Audi A2.
I am the Technical Director of the A2 Owners Club and the owner of a 2005 model year A2. This car, although only just 3 years old, has had both its front doors replaced, under warranty, following the discovery of cracking around the hinges.
I am quite aware that the A2 has been out of production for some time now, with the last cars coming off the production line in the summer of 2005 and that issues of this nature will not be uppermost in your mind. However, what should be of concern to you is the way in which owners of these vehicles are being treated by your franchised dealers when they try to resolve the cracks in their doors.
Most owners are told that it isn’t a problem and that anyway, they are now out of warranty, so if they want something doing about it, they will have to pay for the work themselves. This is not really the attitude expected, especially when many owners are only just outside the warranty period and have spent a lot of money on the A2 in the first place (my own example, which I bought new from Stockport Audi, cost almost £20,000!). I am not so sure that the issue is so easily dismissed though, as I regard it as a design fault.
Having had a long talk about the door issue with a workshop manager of one of your authorised aluminium repair centres, it appears that the design of the doors now being fitted to A2s, whether due to cracking or to accident damage repair, is substantially different, especially in the area affected by the cracking. The area around the top hinge is substantially stronger and reinforced by the addition of a spacer plate, features that are absent on doors manufactured before, or fitted to cars built prior to mid-2005.
For this reason, I would ask you to rethink Audis position on the matter of door replacement. The standard 3 year/60,000 mile warranty, should not be used as the yardstick in this instance, as the failure is due to poor design and it can be argued that the doors were not fit for purpose. I would ask that any A2 owner should be able to have their doors replaced, free of charge in respect of parts, materials and labour, if they are showing signs of cracking around the top hinge area, irrespective of the age of the vehicle. After all, even the oldest example is now only 7 years old and problems of this nature should not be expected at this stage in the vehicles life.
Aside from the above issue, which affects a large number of cars, I would also like to raise a separate issue with you, which is of concern to virtually all A2 owners:
I meet many owners in the course of my work with the A2 Owners Club and one topic that is always raised is the feeling of abandonment by Audi, which has substantially increased since the deletion of the model. The reported attitude of most franchised dealers is one of near contempt for owners and their vehicles. When this is combined with the letters that a lot of owners received offering a substantial increase in the trade-in value of their A2 is taken into account, it seems that Audi is trying to quietly brush the A2 under the carpet, as something to be ashamed of! The availability of certain parts is already an issue and we are only 2 years on from the cessation of production!
Vorsprung Durch Technik – Advancement Through Technology, it is the essence of Audi and no car of recent years embodied this ethos more so than the A2. It was, and remains, a truly innovative car, which was ahead of its time. The world has now seen that the path forged by the A2 was the right way to go and yet Audi cannot see this, choosing to forge ahead with the development of hybrid technology (Q7 & Metroquattro concept) instead of building in efficiency from the start. Audi is now following the lead of other manufacturers, instead of leading the way forward.
If the powers that be had had the courage to continue and develop the A2, it is almost certain that the limiting factor of sale price could have been resolved by new methods of construction and increased production efficiency, as used now on the TT and A5.
It is also highly ironic that for many years, Audi has strived to build a car that can beat the BMW Mini, but they actually had one all along, that they cancelled! I refer of course to the recent Autotrader Used Car Awards.
It was my own A2 that was used for the location filming of the awards and the votes that helped to achieve the significant victory came from my members, those very people who feel so let down by Audi. Having recently won the Audi Driver Gold Award for Information, we at the A2OC feel that this award would be more appropriate if it were donated to us. After all, Audi does not make used cars and we truly feel that the award was secured for the A2 by all of the owners and members who voted with such conviction and hold the car in such esteem.
If you have reached this point, having read all of the above, I thank you. I realise, as I said before, that the A2 is not the most pressing issue you must have and it is good to see the marquee going forwards with such pace. However, I would appreciate your thoughts on the above and look forward to an early reply. If you would like any more details on the cracking or photographs, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
