‘Turbocharger needed already at 50,000 miles??’: Woman issues warning about Audi dealership. It backfires

A Florida-based woman calls her local Audi dealership "shady," but Clearwater Audi says her claims are "bogus." Brittany (@britsbustingbusinesses) alleges a slew of vehicle issues and poor communication regarding her car’s warranty.

In a June 20 TikTok, Brittany rates her 2020 Audi Q5 a five out of 10 due to various maintenance issues.

When her car was under 30,000 miles, she says, a tire went out.

Brittany also explains she had to get repairs on her coolant container and brake hose. This was while her car was under 50,000 miles.

“I never had those issues with other cars I've owned,” she says.

She also says her parking brake has locked up multiple times. 

“I was pregnant two times since I've had the Audi, and when my seat belt tightens with a big belly, that crap really pisses me off,” Brittany says. “One time I was just going over a hill and it [broke] in midair.”

On July 2, Brittany uploaded a TikTok in which she details her experience at the Audi Clearwater dealership.

“The dealership, at least here in Florida, they're like a three out of 10,” she says.

She explains that she keeps up with regular car maintenance and had recently brought in her vehicle to troubleshoot a system malfunction light.

Brittany says she told an Audi advisor that she has Audi Clearwater’s Crown Confidence Plan, which covers repairs up to 100,000 miles.

A disputed factory warranty

However, in an interview with the Daily Dot, Audi Clearwater store manager David Jacovides said Brittany only had the 50,000 mile factory warranty.

In her TikTok, Brittany says her vehicle was at 53,000 miles at the time of her appointment.

Jacovides said she had signed a document stating that she declines all warranties other than the car's factory warranty when she purchased the vehicle.

"She's very well aware of what options were available to her, because it's spelled out on the document," he said. "Nowhere on that document doesn't say anything about a Crown Confidence Plan."

Brittany says she sent screenshots of the plan to her advisor, asking him to confirm her warranty. The advisor, she says, confirmed, saying, “Yes, from what you're telling me, you have it."

“I don't even understand what this dude's talking about at this point,” Brittany says. “Like, do you know the company you're working for?

Brittany says the Audi dealership ran a “soft scan” on her Audi Q5, but an Audi employee told her they wouldn’t know anything for sure until they run the full diagnostic test. 

“I just tell them to go ahead and run it,” she says.

Brittany also says the dealership gave her a loaner car that was smaller than her vehicle.

“Me and my husband are both bigger people,” she says. “We also have two kids. You pick a car size based on your comfortability. I'm really shocked they gave me a smaller car. That's the first time they ever did that.”

At the end of the video, she explains that she hasn’t heard back from her Audi advisor.

In a July 7 TikTok, Brittany says a new Audi advisor reached out to her after five days. 

Jacovides said it does typically take time to diagnose a vehicle, and that there was a queue of people ahead of her.

“My advisor, I wouldn't say he was rude, but he definitely wasn't very helpful,” Brittany says in her TikTok. “It was a confusing process.”

She says the advisor let her know the cause for the system malfunction light is her turbocharger.

What's a turbocharger anyway?

According to Progressive, turbochargers are fuel-efficient alternatives to improving engine performance. 

Audi Q5s have turbocharged engines, meaning they need functioning turbo chargers in order to drive effectively.

“Turbocharger needed already at 50,000 miles?? That's ridiculous! Should last at least 150,000 miles,” a viewer commented on Brittany's video.

At this point, Brittany says, she still thought she had the 100,000 mile warranty. However, she says her advisor told her the turbocharger was not covered and that he had submitted a claim.

“I thought it was a bit shady, but this guy seems pretty nice, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt,” Brittany says. 

Then, she says the advisor told her the vehicle was not in the Audi dealership’s database.

However, Jacovides said the only thing that they couldn't find in the system was the Confidence Plan warranty she claimed to have.

“This kind of just seems like a problem on your guys' end. Please fix it,” Brittany says in her TikTok. “I want to let him know that I'm not angered by it. Just fix the problem and let's just move forward.”

Brittany says her advisor eventually informed her that she does not have the Confidence Plan on her Audi Q5.

"She bought the vehicle new," Jacovides said. "She had thought she had a Crown Confidence warranty, and that's what she asked for. So when the service writer looked that up, they found no warranty in her name, because when you buy a new car, Crown Confidence is not applicable, as it states on our website."

Audi dealership finds solution

The Crown Automotive website features a video, which details the Crown Confidence Plan. “Hand-picked, slightly used, pre-owned cars,” the woman in the video says.

However, Brittany says in her TikTok she didn’t see anything online about the plan only applying to used vehicles.

“It's just unethical and it's shady, no matter what way you dice it,” she says.

Brittany says her advisor offered to see if the Audi dealership can still cover it since she was only 3,000 miles over her 50,000 miles warranty.

"As a good faith gesture to her, we contacted Audi, and, as an advocate for her, got 66% of her bill covered—no charge to her," Jacovides said. "Not our responsibility to do it, but she is our client, and we like to take care of our clients."

In her TikTok, Brittany says companies screw people who don't have time over.

“I'm a mom of two," she says. "I work part time, you know, I'm at home with my kids throughout the day; I don't have the time to sit here and fight with this stuff. ...They rely on stuff like that, and people don't have the time and energy to keep putting in to these matters. That's what's so messed up about it. So instead of just being ethical and good, it's greed.”

Several viewers commented in solidarity with Brittany. 

“They trying to screw you,” one viewer wrote.

However, Jacovides said Brittany was "very aware" of everything she signed when she purchased her vehicle.

"We've been in business since 1969," he said. "We don't do things that way. We're very clear. We do things correctly, right up front."

Audi Clearwater has a Google rating of 4.8 stars, based on over 2,600 customer reviews.

@britsbustingbusinesses #badbusiness #business #audi #carreview #reviews #fyu #advice #florida ♬ original sound - Brittany’s busting businesses

"We gave her a huge customer benefit by getting her the additional money for her repair," Jacovides said. "Her car was out of warranty, and she had forgone any other warranty. She had no warranty. She was completely on her own, and we went to bat for her. So it's disappointing."

Brittany did not respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comments.

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