Audi Albany — Local services in Town of Colonie

Do not buy an Audi here. Or get a job here. They are worse than a junkyard used car dealer in their business practices. If you care about Audis, this is not the place for you.

They sold me a car that needed an alignment. I brought it up on the test drive and the sales woman told me that Audis don't need alignments (crazy, I know). I called service about it a few weeks after I bought it because it still didn't feel right. They said they would look it over on the first service and fix it if need be.

On my first service they said it needed an alignment (surprise!) and all new tires because of it (actually surprise!) and it would cost me $2,000. I asked them to split the cost with me. This seemed fair because the car was clearly out of alignment when I bought it, causing the tires to wear at lightning speed, but also I had driven it for four months, so I was probably responsible for some of the wear.

After hours of waiting at the dealership for a response, the GM said he was not interested in doing anything for me because he had "no reason to believe that it needed an alignment," but that he would certainly be dealing with the sales rep that gave me wrong information to make sure she didn't mess up again. (Cool, cool, you're very into punishing your employee for your own failure to train her, but not so much into taking care of the customer. What??) When I pointed out that his own service department stated that it had needed an alignment, he offered to split the alignment with me, saving me $250 (yes, they charge $500 for an alignment). I said no thank you. I can get an alignment by a mechanic well-known for the superior quality of his Audi alignments for $109, so that doesn't help me.

When I called again the next day to see if he had changed his mind, he said that he was "under no obligation" to do anything for me, but that he would buy one tire. Honestly, the whole thing was insulting and rude and it's very clear that customer service and representing the Audi brand with pride are not a priority for this particular dealership. The service rep said this "happens all the time" that cars are sold in poor condition and that the service department has to take the brunt of the anger from customers. I told the GM that and he said that wasn't a reasonable thing to say. I mean, I'm not the one that said it. One of his employees did.

That said, my experience with the service department rep was delightful. But let's face it, it's only worth paying dealer prices for the relationship and for the convenience. Since this dealer does not value the relationship and is not interested in making it convenient, I will take my business to the well-known independent Audi mechanic that has an impeccable reputation. Sure it's a long drive, but my car will get fixed and no one will treat me like a cash cow.

I have never written a negative review for a business and I hope I never have to again. I don't take it lightly. I did give the GM a heads up that I would be writing a review and he said if I did he would rescind his offer. So I guess this review cost me (checks notes) $0. Dang.

UPDATE: In the time between my review and the GM's response, I read through the other reviews for this dealership and, lo and behold, I found one describing an experience eerily similar to mine, posted about a week earlier. That reviewer received the same treatment that I did with regard to her alignment on a pre-owned car. So when the GM says that every vehicle is "thoroughly inspected" and that he had no reason to believe the car was out of alignment, I have to wonder how. He had just dealt with the exact same issue a week before. So, one might reasonably form one of two opinions to explain this coincidence. Either the GM is content to ignore a clear pattern of incomplete inspections related to alignments, of which he was well aware since he responded to both, or that he is selling cars that are out of alignment because he can charge customers for the "wear item" repairs at their first service. Either way, it's not a great look for a luxury...

The sales department at this dealership engages in misleading practices and consistently deflects responsibility. Whether due to poorly trained staff or a top-down culture that tolerates sexist stereotypes and dismissive service, the burden for mistakes and gaps in their process, whether related to time, cost, or inconvenience, is placed on the customer to an unacceptable degree.

They avoid providing key details when requested, give inaccurate answers to important questions, and then turn reasonable follow-ups into additional charges or prolonged back-and-forth, once the truth comes to light. In my case, I purchased a pre-owned but rare Audi that had not been properly inspected, despite repeated assurances that it had been. This was a primary condition of my purchase. I was told the alignment had been verified, but the dealership initially failed to provide documentation while assuring me the car was in alignment, and claimed it would be sent later. They also agreed to correct several repairs needed on the car. After the sale was complete and the car didn’t seem to drive correctly, they refused to do an alignment check, something they had done for me in the past, including just a month earlier with my previous vehicle. They also refused to cover repairs, outside of one.

Instead, they tried to say vehicle alignment is indicated by tire wear (not machine based data) and did nothing in this key area, while of course warranty areas where Audi is paying them directly were done without issue. They insisted I pay for a full alignment service just to verify their own claims, and left the car sitting for a week without progress on this. It felt like they were stalling, likely already aware that the inspection had not been properly done. Backed into a corner trying to get my car back, I agreed to split the cost. The result? The vehicle was found to be significantly out of alignment, to an unsafe degree.

Negotiation is minimal at this dealership, they act as if it never happens at a car dealership, and any small concession is presented as if they are doing you a favor. There is little sense of accountability or authentic customer care. And they DO NOT like a knowledgeable customer. When concerns are raised, the default response is to dismiss, deflect, rather than resolve. They don’t even engage in upselling or offering solutions in this manner.

When I first test drove the car, it had not been through a single round of cleaning or detailing after being on the lot for two weeks, neither interior or exterior. The console was smeared and dirty, with crumbs and grime in the interior. The exterior was covered in dirt and pollen. This made it difficult to fully inspect the car and certainly did not reflect the experience expected from a luxury dealership. I had to specifically request that it be cleaned.

I strongly recommend purchasing a pre-owned or any vehicle elsewhere. While there may be kind and competent individuals in the sales department, the leadership and general management of this branch are deeply unprofessional, and rude, and not aligned with the principles of true customer service. Even when staff try to do the right thing, they are not empowered to follow through.

The service department is just as bad. They agree to repairs, recognize the need for repair, and let your car sit in the shop with zero action, only to give your car back with additional gaslighting saying items where repairs were requested, don’t need repair. They let you arrive thinking your car is ready only to have no one at the service department that knows the status of your vehicle. They also lose parts for your car and take no responsibility for the loss.

Update: the dealership’s response to this complaint, is a perfect example of the gaslighting and dismissiveness experienced in this transaction, and after, versus actually resolving the issue and taking accountability. This is the exact person who intentionally directed his staff against doing the right thing. Don’t be fooled by this...

Very poor experience having a back up camera replaced! My vehicle was 100% functional and safe upon drop off. After waiting 33 days for a camera replacement my vehicle was returned unsafe, illegal to drive in NY, and had two faults not previously present. One fault 1) break light 2) air suspension. Initially the service rep told me that she would not contact my extended warranty company because there was water damage to the camera. The dealership had already ordered the camera so I asked the rep to cancel the repair completely so I would not have to pay out of pocket. After five days I did not hear from the rep so I called for a status. While the rep was out sick the camera was in fact installed! Appears to be a large lack of communication. The night I picked up my vehicle I had to pay the cashier. The cashier incorrectly charged my credit card $1034 despite the bill stating $250. I spent hours on the phone with my credit card company to resolve the $1034 because my credit card has a chip reader. It gets even better, the next night I was pulled over by police because my rear left brake light was out. So for the next two nights I paid Uber for transportation until my bf had time to repair the light. After removing the panel we immediately saw the connection for the light was disconnected! How in the world did the service techs not see this? The service techs would have been in the exact same area of my vehicle to replace the camera! We also noticed paint scratches from where the techs removed the panel. So we applied a sealant to prevent rusting. When I spoke to the service manager regarding the unsafe condition my vehicle was returned to me and asked if Audi would run diagnostics for the faults, he invited me to pay for an $180 diagnostic fee. He failed to apologize. He also claimed zero responsibility for the faults claiming there was no way of verifying the faults were caused while my car was in Audi's care for 33 days. Right, that makes a lot of sense...the faults magically appeared after the service techs reprogrammed my vehicle. I decided to bring my vehicle to Audi Rochester for the major 115K service because I do not have faith in the service technicians, representative or manager at...