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Broken key

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  • 08-05-2010 11:47am
    #1
    MagicSean
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,897 ✭✭✭


    On thursday my girlfriends car key broke in the ignition. It is one of the black flip keys for an audi. The silver key part broke about half way down. So I rang two audi garages and a VW garage to get a quote for a new one. All three of them quoted €220 plus they said the car would need to be towed to the garage for the key to be coded on it. I explained to one of them that the black fob wasn't damaged and it was just the silver part and he told me that was where the immobiliser was so it needed to be coded. I then got a number from the motors board for a locksmith. He was able to replace the silver part of the key with no need for any coding or for the car to be present. It cost €40.

    Personally I was disgusted at the way the main dealers blatantly lied about what needed to be done to get the key repaired and wanted to charge extra for unnecessary services. If I had not found the locksmith it would have cost a fortune. I plan on writing to Audi to tell them of this but I also wondered if there is anyone else I should report it too. I would hate to think of how many other people they have scammed like this.


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    #2
    Dannyboy1987
    Closed Accounts Posts: 202 ✭✭Dannyboy1987


    All main dealers are the same. All they want is alot of your money for feck all work . better off using jonny back lane to be honest. well done getting it done for €40 :D


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    #3
    MagicMarker
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 32,865 ✭✭✭✭MagicMarker


    That's pretty shocking actually. Just be sure to send a letter to their head office as well as the dealership you contacted.


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    #4
    tommy21
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,419 ✭✭✭tommy21


    Yeah, definately send it to head office - I would send it to European head office though, I've lost faith in any accountability in Ireland or from Irish companies! Well done on thinking outside the box and getting it done so cheaply in comparison.


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    #5
    looksee
    Registered Users Posts: 28,544 ✭✭✭✭looksee


    My experience with a main dealer was when my VW Polo got a very gentle shunt from behind - we were waiting at a junction and the person behind ran into me very gently, impact was minimal. She said she would pay for it and I went to the main dealers to get a quote.

    They said the chassis was crumpled and it would cost around 6 or 7 hundred to repair - this was a few years ago, and they gave me a written quote saying this.
    Well I could not see that it was crumpled, or that I would need any more repair than a new bumper, and the other party said the same.

    So I went to a local guy who did our servicing and he said that the chassis was not crumpled, and in fact it only needed a new bumper, which he got and fixed and done, for the price of the bumper - about €200 I think.

    I wished afterwards that I had persued the false quote, but who would I have reported it to - we had the quote and the car, what do you do next?


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    #6
    Dannyboy1987
    Closed Accounts Posts: 202 ✭✭Dannyboy1987


    looksee wrote: »
    My experience with a main dealer was when my VW Polo got a very gentle shunt from behind - we were waiting at a junction and the person behind ran into me very gently, impact was minimal. She said she would pay for it and I went to the main dealers to get a quote.

    They said the chassis was crumpled and it would cost around 6 or 7 hundred to repair - this was a few years ago, and they gave me a written quote saying this.
    Well I could not see that it was crumpled, or that I would need any more repair than a new bumper, and the other party said the same.

    So I went to a local guy who did our servicing and he said that the chassis was not crumpled, and in fact it only needed a new bumper, which he got and fixed and done, for the price of the bumper - about €200 I think.

    I wished afterwards that I had persued the false quote, but who would I have reported it to - we had the quote and the car, what do you do next?
    Just so you know most of the time you get hit in the back. the back panel does get damaged and i wouldn't trust a guy who services cars who isn't a panel beater two different trades altogether. There is alot of damage a normal person wouldn't see. but thats not to say a main dealer wasn't trying to rip you off :)


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