Letter to Jeremy Hicks

Skipton01 said:
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.
Click to expand...

Thanks for taking the trouble to do this, it's much appreciated.

It'll be interesting to see their reaction. This is nothing like as bad as the Renault Clio bonnet catch issue in terms of safety, and Renault didn't take that very seriously despite Watchdog's efforts. So a couple of little cracks that don't seem to get much longer than 1cm probably won't cause Audi too much sweat. They'll be taking a pragmatic business approach to how they deal with it.

They'll be looking at:
a) How big the issue is in terms of proportion affected and absolute numbers.
b) Is it safety related?
c) Whether they are contractually obliged to repair under warranty.
d) Would it damage the brand?
e) Cost to repair.
f) What happens if they ignore it?

Judging by your experience and the recent post in the Aluminium fatigue thread from erstens it looks as though the problem is recognised and is starting to be addressed. However, getting Audi to repair every affected car is unlikely to be easy. I suspect they will attempt to wriggle out of their warranty obligations as it's not caused by corrosion.

In preparation for any second letter I think it would be useful to arm ourselves with the answer to a) so I've set up a poll to help us get a better idea of numbers. I've kept it simple after toying with the idea of adding age and crack length ;) questions.

Mark
 
The problem is: Ok it is recognised but it is this scince about two years allready!
One German, who visited the open day at Audi showed the problem to the Workshop Coordinator. He said, they have seen the problem allready at test cars but never on customer cars. Scince this day, it is more than 1,5 years ago, theay say, they work on a repair solution which shoud be ready in 2007. Now it will become 2008 :(

a) it is big as most cars are effected!
b)They say it is not.
c)that's the point..
d) don't want say anything...
e) don't know, but should I care? No.
f) good question. Don't want to say what I think about..
 
I'm going to try another claim for work on the doors saturday ensuring that they put it through on the 12 year anti-corrosion warranty
 
Very well written, Mike. I don't know how well this in known in other parts of Europe, but Mercedes-Benz have had serious corrosion issues with mainly the E-class between 1996 and 2001. At first they denied the problem but as more and more vehicles became affected they had to do something to save the reputation of Mercedes-Benz. Even though they didn't have a corrosion warranty at all they replaced body parts and in many cases repaired and repainted vehicles as old as eight years. A collegue of mine got his 1999 E-class estate repaired last year, including a full body respray at no cost.
 
Good Letter

Well done!

I think you might have pushed the ECO bit a bit more. All the German Manufacturers are being blasted by Brussels as we speak about the ever increasing CO2 emissions of their cars. Only Fiat and the French cars seem to be going for less weight at the moment. The new Polo, Golf, Passat all weigh more than before inspite of some minor progress with the Bluemotion series.

Audi is worse than BMW on emissions now that BMW have produced a better 2 litre diesel and improved the MINI no engine range.

Also the anti roll bar issue remains unresolved and much more of a safety item than the doors. How a car handles in an emergency matters - any looseness in the suspension affects braking distances and sterring inputs.

I still have no response from my letter on that subject from Audi UK or Mr Hicks.
 
Well, it's 2008 and Mr Hicks hasn't bothered with a reply yet, so I think I'll take things a little further:

Firstly, I'll re-send the letter, just in case the first one slipped his attention (it did reach the address, as it was sent recorded!) and I think I'll put a letter in the next Audi Driver magazine.

This will be along the lines of "It has come to our attention over the last 12 months..........Can all A2 owners please check...............This matter has been raised with Jeremy Hicks, but so far no response has been forthcoming............Please see this thread on the A2OC for more details etc"

What do you think?

Cheers,

Mike
 
Re-send the letter as you suggest Mike and allow the courtesy of January for a response.

If nothing is forthcoming - at least Audi can't say that we have been underhand - so then press for a Feb/March article as you suggest.

Cheers,

Darren
 
Mike,
I would also agree, but not to wait a further month before taking further action, unless that is, Audi send you a covering letter within say 7 days stating their intention to investigate, within a certain timeframe.

We need Audi to start taking the issues raised and this forum seriously.

Colin
 
Most companies send an interim courtesy letter to acknowledge that they have received your letter (when it regards complaints or queries). Government depts are especially good at this. If they haven’t bothered to acknowledge you letter, even though you sent it recorded, I would think they had there chance to respond.

2 pence
 
Bearing in mind Colins point, I will go ahead with the matter as outlined in my earlier post.

Due to copy deadlines, it is unlikely that the letter to Audi Driver magazine will appear in the February issue, so that should give a little grace for the re-sent letter to have the desired effect.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Mike,

Firstly, Happy New Year!

It's not too surprising that you haven't had a response yet as it probably didn't get to the right people until the middle of December.

I'm a little concerned about raising the profile of this issue as it could impact values. Remember what happened to Lancia in the 70s after That's Life publicised how the sub-frames of Betas rusted prematurely and the engine dropped out of one! This was a much more serious issue, obviously and it ended up with Lancia pulling out of the UK. I doubt this will have anything like that impact on the A2, but if its publicised badly, like it would be if Watchdog took an interest in it, it could have a disproportionate impact on peoples views of the A2.

I would send a new letter, reminding him of the first one, but this time more succinct and to the point. There are a few rules about writing to organisations that may help:

1) If you're writing to an individual use his/her name rather than Sir/Madam, which should only be used if you don't know who it's going to. End in "Yours sincerely" if you know the name, otherwise "Yours faithfully". Using "Sir" invites a response from anyone at Audi.

2) Keep the letter short and stick to the point. In this case, is the letter about cracks or other concerns? Stick to one main issue per letter. Use bullet points.

3) State some facts, e.g. it affects nearly 6 out of 10 A2s according to a recent poll and that you are aware that Audi in Germany is addressing the issue and has produced a repair kit.

4) State the desired outcome - that we want to see all affected cars repaired FOC whether in warranty or not.

5) Put everything you want them to do in a numbered list.

6) Give them a reasonable timescale to respond.

7) Suggest, but don't threaten, adverse publicity, e.g. say we hope that this can be resolved before the press gets hold of it.

Lastly, I think we, as owners, have more to lose than Audi UK over this. Any adverse publicity can be countered by Audi as they will say they don't make that car any more, it doesn't affect the A8 and all their other cars are steel. It's not going to put off new customers.

Happy to help draft the letter.

Cheers,

Mark
 
Mr K said:
Lastly, I think we, as owners, have more to lose than Audi UK over this. Any adverse publicity can be countered by Audi as they will say they don't make that car any more, it doesn't affect the A8 and all their other cars are steel. It's not going to put off new customers.
Click to expand...

Mark,

I would not agree with the last point; any prospective customer would, or should, be put off by such a stance, whether the car is still made or not. What does matter is whether the cars concerned are still within the 12-year warranty, not when it was built.

RAB
 
Skipton01 - Don't be too quick

Whilst I agree that Audi UK should have acknowledged your letter, please remember that what you are asking has big implications on cost. At the very least Audi UK would have to be in contact with the German headquarters for guidance and policy advice and would be unable to make a unilateral rule covering the entire fleet of one of their models. Factor in Christmas holidays (and office parties) and it is no suprise that you have not had a considered response (being optomistic) yet.
Yes, re-send the letter, but please allow plenty of time for an answer before taking the next step, especially if you wish to raise the temperature a little.
 
GBMSU said:
Whilst I agree that Audi UK should have acknowledged your letter, please remember that what you are asking has big implications on cost. At the very least Audi UK would have to be in contact with the German headquarters for guidance and policy advice and would be unable to make a unilateral rule covering the entire fleet of one of their models. Factor in Christmas holidays (and office parties) and it is no suprise that you have not had a considered response (being optomistic) yet.
Yes, re-send the letter, but please allow plenty of time for an answer before taking the next step, especially if you wish to raise the temperature a little.
Click to expand...

I understand what you're syaing, which is why I'll time the letter to Audi Driver magazine so that it goes in the March issue. If Audi gets back to be before mid Feb, then I can call the publishers and ask for the letter to be pulled, depending on Audis response.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Just a point but, speaking as an experienced national newspaper/magazine sub-editor/designer, there's no guarantee that Audi Driver would publish the letter in the first place and, if they do, depending on production schedules, it might be too late, or the editor might be unwilling, to kill it.
 
richardaudi0 said:
Just a point but, speaking as an experienced national newspaper/magazine sub-editor/designer, there's no guarantee that Audi Driver would publish the letter in the first place and, if they do, depending on production schedules, it might be too late, or the editor might be unwilling, to kill it.
Click to expand...

Very true, but if such a letter is phrased correctly and is not 'having a go' at Audi, then the letter will be published, after all, it is merely trying to be of help to other owners.

Let's be up front here: the aim of this is not to put Audi in a bad light. The A2 was a venture into the unknown for Audi and there were bound to be small problems to do with the technology of manufacture of aluminium components, of which the door cracking is an example.

What is important is that Audi addresses the problem and is seen to be doing something about it.

So far, this has not been the case and this is all we are trying to do - not compensation or apologies, but just remediation of the issue. Now that a repair kit has been released, there may soon be movement. We'll see.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Touch wood, the doors on my 2001 car are showing no signs of cracking so this is not such an emotive subject for me......yet.
Based on my limited experience in trying to get some action from large corporations, when it comes to sending letters of complaint, quantity normally wins over quality. Same applies to petitions and 'standard' letters which both have a minimal effect.
If Audi received 20 or 30 individual letters regarding the door problem, I'm sure this would get a better result than leaving it all to Mike to write on behalf of the A2OC.
For me, the correct approach would be for everyone with bad doors to first report the problem through their Dealer. If the result is 'sorry, we can't help' then ask if you can have a second opinion from an Audi engineer (think they visit each dealer on a regular basis) The next step would be to write to Audi outlining your concers and actions. There are some good suggestions on format in the above posts.... concise and friendly (you love your A2 and want it fixed) seem to work better than rambling and hostile (this car is the biggest load of sh....t I have ever owned)
Personally I would just like Audi to commit to fix any door which has progressed from the 'cosmetic' cracking stage to a structural problem within the 12 year bodywork guarantee period.

Hope this is not too 'rambling'

Cheers Spike
 
Firstly, my own appreciation for submitting this on behalf of the A2OC, this all takes valuable time which many of us 'write off' as a bad job (I know I frequently do) because we are all too aware of the apathy we are potentially and usually faced with.

Secondly, I would imagine that Mr.Hicks mail will be opened by a.n.other who will then pass/pigeon-hole genres of mail depending on perceived importance. I would sugest that your leter may have gone to somebody (or has been filed somewhere) pending a significant increase in correspondence on this particular matter (as Im sure they must have a stock-pile of general complaints about Audi Dealers), and should there be sufficient sorrespondence past what they may consider a threshold then it is unlikely to be brought to Mr.Hicks attention, or indeed any such other high up management-type exec. with the power/influence to effect any change?

I would however continue the gentlemanly approach as you mention and leave the barrage of mail/petition/polls as a last resort, however I would have thought Audi could have at least acknowledged the initial letter as it was thoughtfully written and not merely a rant from 1 bad experience.

Im now away to check for previous threads on this door issue as I have recently just had to tighten (2mm) my drivers door!
 
Update

Out of the blue this morning, I received a call from Christian in the Audi UK Directors Office, about the door cracking issue.

Although of little practical help, he has promised to look into the issue further and to investigate whether Audi will fully repair ANY A2 which is found to be suffering from this issue, without cost to the owner, regardless of warranty status.

He did mention that it may be prudent for any owner concerned about the issue to contact his office and detail their particular case.

To this end, can all affected owners please write to this address:

For the personal attention of:
Mr Jeremy Hicks
Audi UK
Yeomans Drive
Blakelands
Milton Keynes
MK14 5AN

Obviously, this applies to owners of UK registered cars only and please only write if you have a genuine case of cracking.

Christian has promised to keep me informed of further progress as and when it comes and will also seek to resolve every case that comes in to them.

So, get writing! Keep the letters concise and provide as much information about the car as you can (model and engine type, year of first registration, registration number and VIN number, as well as a photo of the cracking if you have one). Let's be pleasant about this too - after all, we all love our A2s and ultimately want to keep them in tip top condition and remain as satisfied Audi owners.

Cheers,

Mike
 
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