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Audi Financial Services

2xaudi2xaudi Member Posts: 7
edited March 2014 in Audi
I purchased an Audi Allroad and financed it through Audi Financial Services in 2004. I set up the payments to be automatically debited each month from my bank account. Roughly 9 months ago (aug 2005), we moved into our new house and I was not paying attention to all the debits on my account because we were spending for this here and that there.

Fast forward to march 2006, as we were doing our taxes and referring back to our bank account to reconcile some expenses, my wife and I discovered that we had been debited twice for one month :mad: (we have removed the auto-debit once it was discovered we got double-dipped). We had plenty of funds in the account so insufficient funds was not a factor. I've contacted them numerous times, getting a different rep who gave me the canned answers of we'll look into and get back to you -- and then no response. :mad:

I've asked my bank to get involved and they have faxed all documents which showed what had happened. It has been 3 months since my initial inquiry. And nothing.... :mad: I just can't believe it. I've filed a complaint with the Los Angeles BBB, where I found out Audi FS has a "D" rating. Which is about as bad as you can have. Basically, you want to run away from anyone who has this kind of rating.

In principle, I can no longer respect the Audi brand, although I still love my car, I will not buy another Audi after this experience -- they lost me as a customer and this was my second audi.

If you're going to buy an Audi and have to finance, just make sure you finance it through your bank that you have a long relationship with. It blows me away STILL that a company that's doing this well would have an affiliation with such a poorly rated finance company.

My guess is... any finance company affiliated with an auto maker would be the same.

Comments

  • colo4474colo4474 Member Posts: 1
    I had a similar experience with Audi Financial. They are crooks! I leased my A4. Because I was 4 weeks ahead in my payments, they never sent me statements (saying that no statement was needed since I was ahead). Their voice response system is old and doesn't update once a payment has been made, leading you to believe you might be past due. The reps on the phone couldn't even calculate my monthly payment correctly! TO TOP IT OFF, now that I am ready to end my lease, I'm being led on a goose chase to get an inspection done (since the inspectors only come to my Denver suburb MONTHLY). So, I tried to trade it to an Acura dealer for my purchase price. The real kicker is that Audi won't sell my car to the dealer at my negotiated price. The price went up $3000 for the Acura dealer. What crooks. They've made plenty of money off me for the past 36 months, and now they want to make it so painful to return the car! They use unfair business practices and make it so difficult for customers to end their leases! Shame on Audi! I'm almost done with playing their games and they are not going to rip me off anymore! Buyer or Lessor Beware! The fun car was NOT WORTH THE HASSLE OF AUDI FINANCIAL!!
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Check out the Audi Q7: Lease Questions discussion too. A call to your state's attorney general or consumer protection division probably wouldn't hurt either!
  • reality2reality2 Member Posts: 303
    I have found Audi Financial to be very professional, knowledgable, courteous, and very attentive in the purchase of my various Audis. Plus, they have offered some of the best financing and incentives specific to my needs.
  • rbirns1rbirns1 Member Posts: 311
    Ditto. I'm on my third car with Audi Financial. No problems whatsoever.
  • richneedsaleasrichneedsaleas Member Posts: 40
    I am sorry, but I am leaning to agreement on the crooks part. Driving my Audi was OK, but boy, the leasing department (Audi Financial Services in Detroit)was a very negative experience at lease end.

    Niggling charges up the whazoo on a very, very undermileage car. M Benz was a wonderful experience on a similarly driven vehicle turned in only two weeks later. No turn in fees, not even the disposition. Audi was horrible.

    Somebody should tell AFS about customer service, it was a nightmare and isn't going to help the brand. Of course, I couldn't even get a supervisor on the line at Audi to discuss the issue. I am very dissatified with Audi. Kudos to Mercedes though!
  • richneedsaleasrichneedsaleas Member Posts: 40
    Driving my Audi was OK, but boy, the leasing department (Audi Financial Services in Detroit)was a very negative experience at lease end.

    Niggling charges up the whazoo on a very, very undermileage car. Mercedes Benz was a wonderful experience on a similarly driven vehicle turned in only two weeks later. No turn in fees, not even the disposition! Audi was horrible and had many unjust and even incorrect fees.

    Somebody should tell AFS about customer service, it was a nightmare to reach anyone there. Of course, I couldn't even get a supervisor on the line at Audi to discuss the issues and the clerks were bored by my calls. I am very dissatisfied with Audi. Kudos to Mercedes though!
  • mcwenzelmcwenzel Member Posts: 37
    Never, ever lease a car through Audi Financial Services for the following reason, something that Audi does but other car companies DO NOT do.

    When you lease your car, you have a negotiated residual. If you want to trade in your leased vehicle through AFS, you simply pay the negotiated buyout price, which decreases each month of your lease until the end when it equals the residuatl value.

    However, AFS will only sell the car at the contract price to you. So if you attempt to trade the car in to a dealer and buy a new car, they will give you a "special quote" based on "fair market value". This is much higher than the price you can buy the car for.

    In other words, they will jack up the price making it impossible for you to trade in your Audi without paying significant out of pocket. This is truly a customer hostile policy. They will not negotiate. You can't buy the car and turn around and sell it to the dealer for the same price because you will incur substantial sales tax, unless you are in a no sales tax state.

    So basically you can forget a lease trade in of an Audi without eating at least $1000. From what I understand, they are the only financing company that does this.

    While there is no question this is unfair and customer unfriendly, the question is whether it is even legal in all states or constitutes an unfair business practice.
  • adanielsadaniels Member Posts: 2
    You're probably unaware that dealerships have to pay market value. Their loyalty lies to you, the customer who has the exclusive purchase price listed in your contract. If a dealer wants to purchase they have to pay fair market. Dealers are very quick to lie and disguise to make themselves look better but unfortunately the majority of people eat up every word they say. If you were to read your contract thoroughly before you sign it, you would have avoided all of the hassle completely.
  • mcwenzelmcwenzel Member Posts: 37
    Oh Christ. Here we go again. Please read the other fifty e-mails about this that discuss the differences in polices of the various leasing companies and the extent of disclosure of this policy in the contractual language.
  • adanielsadaniels Member Posts: 2
    A cusomers residual is also not always less than market....sometimes its favorable to buy through the dealer and sometimes its advantageous to purchase the vehicle through AFS. If you want to purchase through a dlr there are ways to purchase at residual, it just takes a flexiable dlr and they rather not work for their dollar.
  • jaysailsjaysails Member Posts: 2
    I also will never use Audi Financal again. In fact, it has soured my tast for leasing another Audi again ever. I have leased many cars in the past. This is the worst end of lease experience I have seen. They are trying to charge me an extra $1,000.00 for bogus damages, and they say the car is already sold and they cannot bring it back to the lot. Their customer service is useless, and if you happen to read this, avoid Audi Financial.
  • richneedsaleasrichneedsaleas Member Posts: 40
    Yes, it really is a shame. Good cars, terrible corporation to deal with. Keep on at them they will give you some sort of rebate. Someone somewhere at VW has to listen to that poor stupid little felow, (what do they call him? um? Oh yes, the customer!). Any one high up at Audi/VW listening to the minions yet? Mercedes finance corp is the cream of the crop in my years of experience and no sign of change yet.
  • 0audilicious00audilicious0 Member Posts: 47
    I'm not questioning that you may have personally had a bad experience, but I was very surprised at how little AFS charged me when I turned in my 4 year old A4 with dents, scratched rims and a cracked windshield. I was out of pocket an additional $175 when I expected well over $500.

    I just wanted to offer another side of the coin (so to speak).
  • richneedsaleasrichneedsaleas Member Posts: 40
    Maybe you have other leases or had other leases with Audi? or VW?

    Or maybe you know who to talk to there!!! When I called in, it seemed that the people in CS were less interested than the ones you get transferred over to sometimes in India....
  • geoftikasgeoftikas Member Posts: 1
    My lease on a 2004 A8 was up and I leased a new 2007 Audi. According to AFS's offer, the turn-in fee for the 2004 vehicle would be waived because of the
    new lease but no way! AFS demanded that I pay the $150 nevertheless; even a letter to Jo Lebeck, AFS's Director, was answered by an "assistant" who would not relent on my obligation to pay the fee despite their offer. I wouldn't go to court for such a trivial amount but I am now ordering a 2008 S4 but AFS no more! I will lease it through Chase.
  • richneedsaleasrichneedsaleas Member Posts: 40
    Sorry to hear that AFS is still so badly managed. They were my worst experience to date. Just about to turn in a Toureg to their parent, will be interesting to see how they handle things. So far, Mercedes is the best I've come across.
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