Conversation with Audi USA about Audi Tradition parts

[90quattrocoupe]

I used to order parts from Audi Tradition, when no longer available from local Audi Dealer. But recently, Audi Tradition will no longer ship to the states. So I went to the local dealer, from whom I have been buying parts from since 1982. I know the parts mgr, and he tried to look into them getting access to getting those parts. No luck so far.

So I went onto the Audi USA web site and went to Audi Chat. It is near the bottom of the page.

https://www.audiusa.com/myaudi

This is the conversation that took place on Audi Chat.

An online assistant will be with you shortly.

Siobhan H. said:

Hello Greg. My name is Siobhan H.. How can I help you?

Greg said:

Hi Siofhan, Audi has a source for older Audis, called Audi Tradition. Until recently, you could order parts from them, and they would ship to the states. They no longer ship to the states and you cannot get the parts through the regular dealer parts. Why will they no longer ship to the state?

Greg said:

https://trshop.audi.de/konakart/Welcome.do" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Siobhan H. said:

Hi Greg. I am unaware of the change in this process as we do not handle Audi Tradition here at Audi of America. This is something offered by Audi Germany. They do have contact information on their website if you'd like to inquire further with them.

Greg said:

So pass the buck? They would not give me a reason, that had any real answer to it. Audi always like to use the older Audis in their advertising, but when it comes to getting parts for these cars in the states, it is like pulling teeth.

Greg said:

When Audi almost pulled out of the states in the early 90s, because of the 60 Minutes debacle, it was the guys that bought the early 90s cars, that held everything together. But now that these cars are getting old, we don't matter anymore.

Greg said:

Over the last 25 years, my family has purchased 6 VAG cars. But we have a tendency to hold onto cars for a while. But if it starts to be a problem with getting parts for even the late 2000 cars, we may just have to do a little rethinking on our next car purchases. Seems you can buy parts for older Mercs and BMWs without a problem.

Siobhan H. said:

I understand your frustration Greg and I apologize. We do appreciate your loyalty to the brand and I wish I had more information to offer, but as Audi of America does not offer the Audi Tradition program, I would not be able to provide any further guidance. I'm not sure if the Audi Tradition program will work with U.S. dealers to help in supplying parts, but I would recommend speaking with them to see if they do have any suggestions. In cases when we have customers who need parts for older vehicles, we refer them to http://shokan.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; but this is not always a guarantee that they will have what you're looking for as they are not sponsored by Audi.

Greg said:

Shokan.com is only used parts and since they are located in the salt belt, all there stuff is rusty and they are way overpriced. Chris at force5.com has better prices and tries to weed out the rusty parts. But used parts are used parts. Some of us like to buy new replacement parts. If we can't bet parts shipped from Audi Tradition, we should at least be able to buy the same parts from the local dealer. Crappy deal all around.

Siobhan H. said:

I apologize for your dissatisfaction Greg and I will make sure that your feedback is documented within the appropriate resources within Audi of America.

Greg said:

My first Audi was a 1984 Coupe GT, which I bought at Circle Audi in Long Beach, CA. Next up was a 1990 Coupe from Beverly Hills Audi. I have been buying parts from Circle Audi for 30 years. I want to talk to someone from Audi US parts division. At least at the level of VP.. My number is ----------.

Greg said:

They can call me in the next few days.

Siobhan H. said:

I will certainly request that a supervisor call you.

Greg said:

The family also owns 2 VAG TDIs. I don't have a problem with what VAG did, but it is a little tough defending VAG. In fact, out of 7 cars, the family owns at the moment, only one is not a VAG product. It is a Ford Diesel Van. We have it because VAG does not import a diesel with that kind of towing power.

Siobhan H. said:

We do appreciate your enthusiasm and loyalty to the brand. I will pass your feedback along and have a supervisor contact you within 2 business days.

Greg said:

Also, not a supervisor, to call me. At least a VP level in the parts division.

Siobhan H. said:

We do not handle the sales of parts here, however a supervisor would be able to reach out to any resources that may be able to provide further information.

Greg said:

Thank you for your time. You have a good day

Siobhan H. said:

Thank you. You as well.

Siobhan H. said:

closed the chat



If you are seriously interested in the parts still being available for our older cars, I would suggest you have a chat with Audi Chat also. Let them know what you think, nicely. The more people that do this, we may be able to get more parts options for our cars. If you don't do something now, you will no right to bitch about it later one

Greg W.

[audifreakjim]

Greg Wood for President!

[loxxrider]

I love it! Maybe I'll try and have some fun with that tomorrow. Nice job pushing them for answers.

[Mcstiff]

Such BS, the reason I heard (not from Audi) was because of dealer/distribution territory BS.

[90quattrocoupe]

Greg Wood for President!

Sorry Jim, I don't think I could be nasty enough during a campaign to get elected.

Greg W.

[90quattrocoupe]

So I got a call back from Audi of America. They will let the powers to be know of my concerns. But:

Parts for cars only guaranteed for 10 years.
They don't have any pull with Audi Tradition and I should still try to work with them.
Thanks for your support over the years.
Not anything they can do.
etc, etc.

Greg W.

[scubagli]

I'm a former Shokan Employee, everything you said was true except the total bullshit remark about them selling rusty parts. All the old audi parts have been sitting on a shelf since the 90's, and most if not all parts that leave there are steam cleaned, bead blasted, painted. I'll put on my flame suit now...I know first hand Shokan reputation in this community, but it's no excuse to bad mouth and blatantly lie about a local to me business that supported my family, as well as 5 other families and still does. Totally unrelated to thread content but I couldn't let it go. That's such a dick move.

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[PRY4SNO]

LOL dick move. They sell used parts at a premium, that's the beef most people have. I was able to get UrS/b5 hubs for a swap from them for a decent price, and they were in good shape. Everything else I've asked for a quote for was at quite a markup.



Thanks Greg for posting your process. I like where you're going with this. Porsche stocks parts for all their old models, no reason another VAG company can't/shouldn't. It's just good marketing to have as many old models on the road for as long as possible. I'll do this as well.