A cautionary tale

[vaaudia4]

I hope this story can save others from the experience I had this last weekend. I was traveling with my wife and 9 month old to get away for the weekend. We were traveling in the Audi A4 Avant that we purchased last year. I found that one of my tires had a slow leak and was almost flat. I changed it for the full-sized spare. Down the road, on the interstate, I hit a piece of debris in the road that punctured the side of the back tire. We were in a bad spot. There was no shoulder on the emergency lane where I had to stop. Vehicles, including very large trucks, were speeding by at 80 mph mere feet from the side of the car. This is where I would have called AAA for help. However, one of the percs of buying a new Audi is the Audi Roadside Assistance. I let my AAA membership lapse knowing I could count on Audi, a company that professes to provide exceptional customer service. I called the Audi service and got Andrea (in Tuscon, AZ) on the phone. She was very pleasant and sounded concerned for our predicament. She offered to send a tow truck to tow us back into town. This, unfortunately, was not an option with a 9 month old in a car seat. The other option was a tire change. This, too, was not the solution to our problem, having a nearly flat tire in the back. She asked what I would like them to do. I responded that ideally, a plug for my leaking tire would be best. Short of that, I needed air for that tire so that I could make it the 2 miles to the next exit. A truck with a compressor or even a can of Fix-A-Flat would work. Anything to get us off the side of this road. After being on hold for a while, she returned to tell me that there was nothing they could do. I could get towed or have my tire changed. Anything else was more than they could offer me. I was shocked. How hard would it be to help me inflate the tire? Too hard for Audi, apparently. They willingly left us there with no apparent options and no willingness to help me find one. They were, in short, no assistance at all. Fortunately for us, a State Police officer arrived as I was changing the unsalvageable tire for the merely almost flat tire in hopes of riding on the rim for 2 miles. He had a small $15 air compressor in his trunk and let me use it. I got enough air in the tire to get to a service station 2 miles away. He was a life saver and a great guy. Upon returning, I called Audi to let them know of my experience. I thought they would be appalled at our stranding. Alas, they were not. After speaking to Patricia Menko in customer service, I was put on hold for a good 5 minutes or more. She came back to tell me that, in-fact, that was all they could do for me. Leaving me on the side of the road with a small child was perfectly acceptable to Audi. I don't even know how to address this with Audi anymore. They are fine with this level of care. All I can do now is to let others know. So to all Audi owners and perspective owners out there, do not depend on Audi's roadside assistance to actually assist you if you need more than the very basics. Their calloused response to me on both occasions, during and after our ordeal, lets me know what kind service I can expect from Audi. This is when it really counted. When our lives were actually in real danger. They did nothing and then told me that it was exactly what they should have done. I really am amazed. I hope this can help someone else avoid what we went through.

[Badger61]

Did you not think it would have been a good idea to get the slow puncture fixed before continuing on your way?? Then you wouldn't have put yourself in the dangerous situation in the first place.