The Audi European Delivery Experience & the CRASH

At the end of 2010, we had the luxury of picking up our new car from the factory in Ingolstadt, Germany using the Audi European Delivery Program (EDP). Before we bought the car, I looked for people detailing their experience to try to understand the process better. I found a few but thought that one more post might be useful to others considering this option. So, what follows is our story. I am writing this well after the fact, so pardon any minor timeline and detail errors.


Our car:
2011 Audi A4 Avant Quattro
Package: Premium Plus
Options: Bang and Olufsen sound system, MMI navigation
Color: Pearl effect blue
The dealer: Circle Audi, Long Beach, California
Pick-up date: Sept 9, 2010

The process is pretty straightforward. You select the model and the options you desire and get the form back to the dealer with a deposit. Time from order to delivery is around 60 days.The benefit of this is you get the exact options you want and don't pay for any options you don't.

The price is MSRP less 5%. I have heard this is negotiable but did not find a dealer willing to negotiate on a 2011 in August 2010. There is also a destination charge (~$1,000) that is not negotiable and does not benefit from the discount.

Once the order is submitted and accepted by Audi USA you will receive a vehicle completion date. You have 90 after this date to retrieve your car from the factory. Audi will send you correspondence during the process including a portfolio and other marketing material.

Once you pick up the car from the factory, you can drive it within Europe for 90 days. Audi covers the cost of the insurance for 15 days. After that they offer insurance for an additional fee. Your U.S. insurance will not cover you in Europe and insurance is mandatory by law.

The license plates are International Plates. They DO NOT look like normal EU plates and have the date the vehicle is required to leave the continent as part of the detail. Because they do not look like EU plates they attract the attention of police. We were stopped in Switzerland and France for no reason other than our plates. After checking our papers were in order we were sent on our way. (Note: in France you are required to carry identification. My wife was a passenger and did not bring her ID and got into an argument with the French National Police.)

The Pick Up:

Audi pays for the hotel the night before you pick up your car. You have a choice of two hotels in Ingolstadt, both of which receive acceptable reviews on Tripadvisor, and a third nicer hotel, the Kempinski, attached to the Munich Airport. We stayed by the airport figuring we would go into Munich that night, which of course we didn't.

On the morning of pick-up, we were met at our hotel by a driver who took us to the factory in a Mercedes van. He told me that normally they use an Audi but since we were traveling with a large dog they sent the van.

At the factory we were offered coffee and tea, juice, and pastries, and given a 10:00 a.m. delivery. You are also provided a wrist band that gives you access to the museum and cafeteria. The cafeteria is open all day and is spectacular.

Because we were traveling with our dog and we had to check out of the hotel, we did not get to go on the factory tour.  We were disappointed to miss this because it is supposed to be great.  So, if you go, plan on spending the whole day at the factory.

10:00 a.m. arrived, our name was called and we shown to our car for inspection.  It was all very efficient.  Your phones get sync'ed to the Bluetooth, you get a tour of the car, your picture is taken, and then you drive your car out of the showroom (which is a little nerve wracking since many people are watching and you are driving a brand new car you have never driven before).  Audi provides a GPS since your car navigation is North American based and will not work in Europe.

Everything went smoothly and we were soon on the highway and off to tour Europe in our brand spanking new car.  And, it felt good!

Drop-off
We kept the car for the full 90 days.  Audi has drop off locations throughout Europe and we elected to drop it off at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.  I had the car washed and detailed at the airport so their would be no dirt on it prior to shipping.

The shipping company does a thorough inspection for any damage and I wanted to make sure I delivered a car that looked pristine so there would be no questions about prior damage if something got scratched during shipping.

They truck the cars back to Germany to be shipped to the USA.  I assumed that we would be just another Audi being shipped on a boat with Audis but that turns out to be naive.


The CRASH:

After 8 weeks with no information, I finally sent an email to the dealer and Audi. The documentation tells you to allow 8 weeks for delivery but looking at some other blogs I found that east coast cars sometimes arrive much earlier.  Two days went by with no reply. Then the call came while we were driving.

A gentleman by the name of Christoper introduced himself as a customer service supervisor for the R8 and A8 division. This made me a little nervous as we purchased a different (lower) class of vehicle.

Chris informed us that our vehicle had landed in the Port of San Diego two days earlier. Unfortunately, it had sustained damage during shipping. They were going to replace the left rear quarter panel and left rear door.  Sounded pretty bad but no pictures or other details such as extent of damage or cause of damage were available.

I determined that the car had yet to clear customs on a follow-up call the next day.  Not sure why it was not fixed in Germany or why it took Audi two months to inform us there was a problem.  I am guessing it was cleared to leave Germany and they figured it wasn't their problem once it left the port or it was just more convenient to keep loading it.

At this point we did what any reasonable person would do:  asked for a new car.  This request was refused outright.

We had to wait about a week for the car to clear customs and be transported to the dealer.  The day of delivery we met with the Audi regional sales rep, and the head of Sterling Collision Center, Audi's partner for any body work to cars damaged during transport.  We learned from this process that many cars are damaged during transport and they are fixed before they are sold to the public.  This work is considered factory work and is rarely disclosed to new car buyers.  You can ask for the shipping manifest and it will indicate if the car had damage before it cleared customs.

The entire left rear door and quarter panel were smashed. We still are not sure entirely sure what happened but it appears that a dock worker hit the car into a concrete post while loading it onto the ship.  According to Sterling, this is a common auto accident (clipping the car while making a left turn) and there was no evidence of wreckless driving from what they could tell.

Sterling was great to work with.  We toured their shop and saw other cars with similar damage in various states of repair.  After trucking our car to their center and reviewing it, they estimated the damage at $14,000 (almost 1/3 of the sticker of the car) and at least two months to repair. 

Again at this point we reiterated our desire for a new car to Chris at Audi.  Again, Audi refused.  We contacted several lawyers and an insurance claims adjuster and they all felt that while Audi might help us because of the damage to their brand and their EDP, Audi was under no legal obligation since we had taken possession of the car.

Chris, from Audi, and I were not agreeing on what was a fair offer.  I asked to speak to his supervisor and he informed me that he did not have one.  That struck me as odd since everyone at a company has a boss.  I asked who gave him his annual review.  He said HR.  I asked who he escalated issues to when they arose.  He said he resolved all issues and there was no one for him to go to.  He was the top guy.  I looked on the Audi site and it does not appear he is the head of Audi USA but he apparently doesn't report to that guy either.  He might be the only corporate employee in the US without a boss!

Audi offered a loaner car while our car was being repaired and to cover car payments during this time.  Plus, they would extend the warranty by 12 months/12,000 miles.  We felt this was unacceptable for several reasons:

1) We delivered them a car in pristine condition with 7,000 miles. (Note: I had driven 7,000 miles in France with not so much as a scratch or door ding!)  They returned a car with $14,000 in body damage.  Not like for like.
2) We will have to disclose this damage if we sold the car in the future.
3) We were (and remain) concerned that the car will wear differently given the repairs. We now have 20,000 miles and there are a couple rattles.  We will never know if we would have had those no matter what.
4) We purchased an Audi for the Audi emotional experience of driving a luxury brand.  We were no longer in love with the car because we were delivered a wrecked car (done not by us but by Audi's selected shipper).

The settlement:

After several rounds of back and forth, here is what we finally agreed to:

• Loaner car while ours was in the shop (Circle Audi provided us with the exact model and year - thank you Circle Audi!)
• Audi to compensate us for car payments due while the car was in the shop
• $4,000 cash
• Warranty extended by 2 year/24,000 miles but not transferable
• Audi service package to cover all maintenance during first 48 months

Summary:


Would I buy a car using the EDP again?  I don't think so. 

Here is the problem I see with European Delivery Programs in general: you have accepted delivery of the car and you own it.  They are merely transporting it for you but none of the normal packaging (covering the car) and loading procedures apply.  You are an individual shipping your car back to your home country.  You turn your car over to a shipper chosen by the car manufacturer and have no control over the process or communication.  In our case the shipper was E.H. Harms.  (Yes, I see the irony in the name).  E.H. Harms appears to do most of the shipping for Audi and BMW, among others.



If I were to buy a high-end car like an R8, Porsche, or M5 it would be fun to drive it on the Autobahn.  However, you are in the break-in period when you pick up the car so there are limits. 

For any other models, I would get a rental car and just pick up your new car when you get home.  EDP is good in theory, I am glad I tried it, but the risks of delivery and the car being out of your control are too great.  Plus, the two months you are without your car while making payments reduces any financial benefit of a discount. 

Would I buy an Audi again?  I don't think so.  I understand they are a business trying to make a profit and giving away cars is not profitable.  But, they bring 120,000 cars into the U.S. each year.  I buy 1 every four or five years.  They have they ability to push the damaged car out to their dealer network with minimal cost to them.  I do not have the same opportunities.  They could have stepped up to make this go away but they kept us going through the process for weeks during the negotiation and then months waiting for the repairs. 

They could have cemented brand loyalty.  But, instead they left a customer with a reconditioned car that they don't love anymore.  And, a customer that will tell this story to other people.  In the end, neither party ends up completely satisfied.

Us:     -1
Audi:  -1

I hope this post helps other people considering an Audi or the EDP help to make a decision.