If you're paying out of pocket, go to a indy mechanic.

R.K.

 

Ive seen you ask multiple times along this journey if Fidelity will cover these things you've sequentially brought up - do you have a contact person you can talk with at Fidelity? You are the owner of this warranty and you have a right to know if they will cover this. Nobody here can do anything more than educated speculation based on only what you are providing in terms of data.

this dealer is all over the place so far but it seems like they *think* they may have a solution but are not definitive on it's efficacy. Who is interfacing with Fidelity at the dealer to determine your coverage?

what is the quote for repairs? You said "insane" why don't you share the actual number it'll get you better advice

 

They want $1000 to replace the spark plugs and $2500 to replace the air intake boot which I find ridiculous. The reason I’m asking if it’s covered and not contacting them and asking is because I don’t want to waste more time having it sit and the dealer until fidelity sends out an inspector, and just save time and get it towed elsewhere.

 

no one will know the fidelity answers (unless they represent fidelity) on this forum. If they claim they do, it's speculation and they do not have access to actual repair documents and findings of the investigation and access to your fidelity contract with the fine print. They also don't have access to the internal algorithms that Fidelity likely uses to determine coverage. Anything that somebody may use in the basis of giving you speculation about whether or not Fidelity would cover this Repair will simply be anecdotal from a personal experience or from reading something online or hearing about something.

you have time invested in this dealer tearing through the car and potentially actually finding the issue.

- you can leave it there and let them fix it and see what the fidelity inspector says - I suspect they will be more inclined to cover a Benz dealer vs an independent repair shop. This is the process you signed onto when you bought a warranty for this used car. The dealer checks out the broken car, the service technician determines what the problem is, they report the cost of repair and the detail of the repairs to you and Fidelity, and Fidelity pays for the repairs and then you receive the car back in appropriate driving shape. What was your understanding of the warranty/reoair process when you bought the warranty on this used car?

- you can take it to an independent shop now without even knowing if fidelity would cover the Benz dealer repairs simply to waste less time and risk a different diagnosis and repeat work and you are paying for all this dealer work and the independent mechanic work, minus potentially what fidelity would possibly cover. The independent may want to run his own diagnostics instead of just replacing items the Benz dealer discovered is broken.

- the cost of the dealer invariably will be more expensive than an independent, sure. If it's covered by fidelity then the cost doesn't matter and I would prefer the Benz dealer and their repair warranty goes on the fix as well and you have possibly some backing now with MBUSA.

- is this is simply about saving time then you should consider just continuing to wait. Likely you have alternative transportation currently. And risking more time waiting may net you fidelity coverage for the required repairs.

- you say the costs, $1000 and $2500 are ridiculous, what did your independent quote you for the same repairs?

- also all the independents by me are weeks out from any major repair work - they are so busy. What's the availability of your trusted independent mechanic? Can he start work immediately?

$0.02

 

1000 to replace the spark plugs is the same I was charged for my GLC63s.
If fidelity extended warranty is a joke, I believe you have 30 days to cancel your policy and get your money back. Apply that money to the actual repair.

R.K.

 

I think your post is way more valuable than $0.02 cents.

Everything you said is on point. It illustrates the larger problem is that peole don't take the time to understand what thy're getting with an ELW. The process is just as important as the product, and nobody thinks about this ahead of time. I once dealt with a warranty company that flew out an inspector to independently validate the diagnosis before they agreed to pay for the repairs. It was a hefty repair job so I understood. Plus it wasn't my daily driver so I didn't care as much about time as I did about the work being done correctly.

There are so many posts where people ask if buying an ELW is a good idea or not. The list of variables that go into that decision is a mile long. And even something as basic as when the coverage begins can be important, like it is in this case. The OP needs to go thoroughly read every sentence in the warranty documents, then invite someone who understand legal language to help him understand the parts that don't make sense. Then take those finding and riveiw them with his favorite indy mechanic. That way he will know what to expect if something happens in the future. I had a friend who used to sell ELW's, and it was not a reputable company. Their coverage normally began 30-90 days after purchase date, even when buying from the dealer. The OP is lucky his kicked in immedeately. I still think problem arising in 3 days of ownership should be taken care of by the dealer. Not sure how much time has passed at this point, but if I financed any portion I'd call the bank and tell them what happened. The dealer risks losing his ability to do business with that bank. Just my $0.02 cents

 

well said

 

I've been following this thread as a Fidelity retailer as well, and there was a BIG RED FLAG the dealer told the customer when the customer confronted the dealership about the sudden issues on his recently purchased vehicle.... "The Audi dealership I bought it from are scumbags and refused to do anything all they said was well at least you got extended warranty on it.". - @HamzaE63S

The dealership knows this is not how it works, but dealership sales staff with tell you just about anything to get a vehicle sold in a slower market than they experienced during COVID. Pre-exising condition when purchasing an extended warranty on a vehicle means that the breakage has to make sense under the timeline of the warranty coverage. Given the short 3 day period under ownership/Fidelity contract, it is safe to say that yes, the issue was present while the vehicle was in inventory at the Audi dealership. Did the dealer know? I'm not sure, depends on whether the techs would say it was obvious or showing signs of clear long term wear.

Well how would Fidelity know when it started, some may be asking. Simple, independent inspection called, consultation with the service advisor and tech, and the pulling of all previous codes and warning lights documented in the ECU.

One of many stories, I had a customer 3 weeks after purchasing the a 68K mile car/contract, take his vehicle to the BMW dealership for new suspension components. The customer was very aggressive when I told him how the verdict was probably going to come back... sure enough in the email from the service advisor at the BMW dealership to the warranty company, "the tech estimates at least 6 months of fluid leaked and dried onto the suspension components", Pre-Existing.

I think the suggested course of action by this forum member with the E63 means that some sort of suggestion by the service advisor was made the issue was pre-existing to his purchase of the vehicle, I'd say then it is on the Audi dealership to make it right. I'd also let the Fidelity inspector come out and create their report, if anything, to bring attention to Fidelity they a dealership is selling broken vehicles with pre-exisitng repair items that they're applying warranty coverage to in attempts to pass the responsibility of repair.

Trenton O. Gibson
tgibson@highline-autos.com
Highline Autos
Direct: 602.909.9216
Office: 480.348.0777

 

Hey man did you ever get this fixed and what was the solution??

 

I had a similar issue. Not as many codes but started with one cylinder misfiring then 2. Soon it was 4 and finally all 8. I took to the dealership when it was just one cylinder. They said I needed a new injector. Replaced and then there were two. I then took to two shops one wanted to replace all the coils when replacing one did no good. The other said replace all the spark plugs. That did not help. Then noticed fuel was accumulating inside the motor. The service manager at one of the shops took pity on me and offered to test my injectors as he personally owned an injector test bed. He noticed that the fuel still in the injectors had black contaminants.
Finally realized I got bad gas and seven of my eight injectors failed testing. My nightmare was far from over , including 1 m Mercedes-Benz dealership telling me my engine was washed out and it could not be repaired. I too paid for 3 separate compression and bleed down tests a 3 different shops. Even had a MB dealership shop tell me the rings were washed out and the motor was unrepairable. Lying to my face, just to get my problem repair out of their hair. There will be a reckoning assuming anyone cares. I asked for 30 minutes of the GM's time to review the disrespect and unethical treatment I received and he did not respond. Skipping forward to the end, after replacing the injectors that got mucked up by contaminants, the motor M278 seems no worse for the wear just had to take it to a shop that knew what they were doing.