From Audi Love to Audi Letdown: A Lesson in Globalized Failure
“I didn’t buy a car—I bought a myth. And it broke down in a Costco parking lot.”
January 8, 2026
It wasn’t the first time that I walked into a car dealership with one purpose in mind and walked out with a new car. But it was the most memorable.
A few days ago, my wife said to me that instead of me buying her a new Mercedes (because her old one had been totaled through no fault of hers), she might like to take over my Toyota Camry XLE Hybrid. And that I should buy myself a new car.
ACT I – NOT BUYING A CAR FOR ME
So I consulted my AI. I asked him what kind of a car he thinks suits the best my personality. After back and forth about other details, the short answer he gave me was either a Volvo XC60 Plug-In Hybrid or a BMW X5 Plug-In Hybrid.
I did like the “plug-in hybrid-part since I have had either hybrid or EV cars or the last two decades. But I am not into cars per se so I had no idea what these two Volvo and BMW models looked like.
I was surprised when I saw that they were both SUVs. These are the gas-guzzling monsters which my wife and I ridicule when we sit at a local Starbucks and see some tiny women or huge men in them in the drive-in lineup.
“That’s not me.” I said to myself. “That’s a car for some yuppy snobs. Or families.”
(For those of you who did not grow up in America, the SUV’s are the successors to the family sedan – “station wagon” – which ruled America in the 1950s and 1960s).
To me, the SUV’s are like Rhinos or Hippos. Bulky and heavy. No thanks. I’d rather have something powerful but sleek and nimble.
ACT II – BUYING A MERCEDES AND ENDING UP WITH AN AUDI
So I went back to Plan A- buying a Mercedes C300 4Matic for my wife. After looking at several cars in the distant parts of metropolitan Phoenix, we finished the day at the Audi dealership in North Scottsdale, near our home.
While waiting for the salesman to bring out the Mercedes for my wife, we browsed various Audis in the showroom. Suddenly my wife stopped.
“This is your car,” she said pointing to a gleaming white 2025 Audi A6 Quattro. “You should buy that.”
My heart also fluttered. Yet neither of us knew anything about that car at the moment. My wife just had a gut feel she said. And I a heart throb.
So I asked another salesman to explain the car to me. We then went on to look at the Mercedes with the first salesman. The car seemed like a good deal but was still in service being cleaning and touched up for sale as they had just received it as a trade-in.
So we went home. That evening, my wife brought up the white Audi again. I admitted to her that I was starting to fall in love with it.
“But I have not even driven it,” I said. “And I know nothing about these Audis.”
“So let’s go back tomorrow so you can drive it,” she said.
And so we did. The ride was a smooth as silk, nimble as a Puma, and as powerful as a Jaguar.
Long story short, I bought it on the spot. I made a deal for an $80,000 2025 Audi A6 Quattro with 10,000 miles for $50,000. Less he $25,000 for my Toyota Camry trade-in. So a net of $25,000. For an all-wheel drive sedan with a 335 horsepower engine. Quattro stands for an all-wheel drive, with the V6 offering 369 lb-ft of torque and 0-60 mph in roughly 4.8-5.1 seconds.
ACT III – BUYING A MERCEDES FOR MY WIFE
Two days later, I also bought a Mercedes C-300 for my wife from a BMW dealer in western Phoenix.
Talk about squeezing a lemon which life hands you and making a lemonade.
For both of us.
So no Rhinos or Hippos for me. And a sleek Merc for my wife.
A good friend of mine, who knows something about cars, had this to say:
“I do know a bit about cars. Number one, Audi is far better car than Mercedes. You bought an excellent car for great price. Unless your wife is dead-set on Mercedes, get her Audi as well.”
Validation! From someone who knows.
ACT IV – BUYER’S REMORSE
Everything was hunky-dory for a few weeks. Both new cars were purring like the big cats in the Amazon jungle.
Then on Feb 24, when I tried to start my Audi at a Costco parking lot, this was the message that flashed on the dashboard.
“Oh my God,” I thought. The message sounded urgent: “Contact service!”
So I did. They told me to bring the car in right away.
A young tech Jake explained that they would thoroughly check everything out and let me know by the end of the business day if they would need to keep the car overnight. He booked me an Uber to get back home.
At 4pm, Jake called and said that indeed they would keep it till the next day.
Next morning, Jake booked me another Uber to go back and pick up my car. He said that they suspected that the problem had something to do with the “ECM” (Audi Engine Control Module – ECM/ECU).
“My car has had brain tumor,” I joked when I tried to describe the problem to my wife. “But the Audi people said they fixed it.”
Yikes!
Little did I know that it was no joke. For in less than 24 hours the same unwelcome message flashed again on my dashboard: “Contact service”
Yikes!
So I took my Audi back into the dealer.
By early afternoon, I received their diagnosis. It was indeed a faulty ECM. They would have to replace it. But this is a part which has to come from Germany. So they would have to keep my car in the shop for about a week.
I could not believe my ears. A luxury car sold in America with no spare parts in our country!?
So I penned this message to the general manager of the dealership:
“Good morning, Kari. I am forwarding to you my correspondence with Jake Korthals from your service department. Two days ago, out of the blue, I got this message on my Audi dashboard. I sent it to my salesman Matt and he referred me to the service department.
I took the car in for service and Jake on Tuesday, and he and his people supposedly repaired the problem. They said it was a baromatric gauge in the ECM that was causing it. They returned the car to me by Tuesday evening. Less than 24 hrs later, however, the same error message appeared again. So I took my Audi back to Jake again yesterday. And now you can see what he is telling me – that I have to wait till March 4 for them to install a new ECM.
That’s a terrible experience, especially for an upscale car like an Audi, as I also told Jake. I don’t know how you can make it up to me, but you need to do something.
I am EXTREMELY disappointed and may write an article about my experience.
Bob
Letter to German Audi CEO
Since the dealer told me their hands were tied, I next wrote to the Audi CEO in Germany:
Sehr geehrter Herr Doellner,
In the last 20 years, I have driven a Nissan Infiniti, a Mercedes SL 600, two Honda hybrids, a Nissan electric car, a Jeep Wrangler, and two Toyota Camry hybrids. And none of them had any problems with the engine or electronic parts. Only the most illustrious German auto manufacturer, AUDI, has given me such trouble.
In brief, I bought an Audi A6 in early January from the Audi North Scottsdale dealership in Scottsdale, Arizona. Just over a month later, my dashboard displayed an error message warning me about a system error (see the photo). I sent it to my salesman, Matt, who referred me to the service department.
I took the car in for service on Tuesday, Feb 24. Jake, your service advisor, and his people supposedly repaired the problem. They said it was a baromatric gauge in the ECM that was causing it. They returned the car to me by Tuesday evening.
Less than 24 hrs later, however, the same error message appeared again. So I took my Audi back to Jake again yesterday. And now you can see what he is telling me – that I have to wait till March 4 for them to install a new ECM.
That’s a terrible experience, especially for an upscale car like an Audi. Kari. the general sales manager of the Audi dealer here, said the ECM controller had to be ordered from Germany. This is because it is supposedly specific to each car.
I told her how stupid that system is. Germans used to be known for their good organizational skills. But centralizing the parts inventory for a global company is idiotic. So I told her that I may write an article about that after I communicate with the CEO of Audi in Germany, and hear his perspective.
So Mr Doelner, what do you have to say about that?
Bob
What followed was the usual bureaucratic gobbledygook
“Thank you, we appreciated you as a customer, will investigate everything and get back to you” (paraphrasing).
And then this letter from Audi America:
March 18, 2026
“I have shared our findings with Executive Leadership and provided a report to the German Board of Management. While I understand that you were not left with a positive impression following your recent repair experience, between the timeline for the part arrival and the fuel charge, Audi of America is in support of the dealership’s response to learning of your concern. Of course, we would never want any of our vehicle owners to experience a wait for a part’s arrival, we find that it did arrive in a reasonable amount of time according to Audi standards. I hope that we, along with our dealership partners, will be able to win you over as your ownership experience progresses. Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. I wish you all the best.”
And my reply:
March 18, 2026
Thank you for the update. Bottom line of your investigation seems to be – “do nothing.” So how can you then “hope that we, along with our dealership partners, will be able to win you over as your ownership experience progresses.” The only thing that could do that is to have the parts available for the US customers in the US. So that no one has to wait a week to have his vehicle fixed. Of course, if would be even better if the quality of the Audi products were such that no repairs of this kind would be necessary. As had been my experience with a slew of your competitors.
Now that I have received your response, I will write an article about it.
Which I have now done.
Truth in Media 
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