Autohaus Edinburgh - not trustworthy!

Vavavoom

Member
A word of caution about entrusting your car/van to Autohaus Edinburgh. I am afraid I have just had a pretty bad experience with them.

I had an AdBlue fault caused by a faulty NOx sensor - very common apparently. I put in a new genuine VW NOx sensor but then found out using my VCDS system and support of ChatGPT (go figure...didn't believe it could actually do that!!) that VW has implemented an anti-tempering lock for the ECU that shuts down any communication to the NOx sensor once it has detected a fault ( in this case of the previous faulty sensor). That lock can only be cleared using the VW ODIS system, VCDS cannot do it.

I explained all of this 3 times (2x on the phone and once at drop off) to the team at Autohaus Edinburgh and the first response was "No, there is no ECU lock - once you put a new sensor in it will just work".(not true)
When dropping the van off I explained it yet again and they were simply very dismissive of what I told them.
After they had a first look they phoned me and it was clear they did not know what to do as they asked me if I had filled any AdBlue into the tank or if I had reset any fault codes. It was apparent to me that they at that point were clueless of how to clear the AdBlue countdown and get the NOx sensor to work.
I then actually sent them an email with the exact details of what I had done AND the ChatGPT printout that then gave them and detailed information of what was wrong and how to solve it - and exactly what I had told them 3 times before.
Low and behold, a couple of hours later they phoned again and said they would need to clear the ECU lock and reset the NOx lock and test drive the van to solve the problem - again exactly as I had told them. I then made the mistake - and i could kick myself for it - to authorize their repair work for the prize of £270 under the assumption that they also had to do some extra repair work or other tasks that justifies that prize (surely they wouldn't charge me that amount for a simple button press in ODIS and a test run...surely!!).
When I picked up the van it turns out they had simply exactly done what i had told them to do in the first place, but it took them 2 1/2 hours to 1) connect the van to the ODIS system and clear the ECU lock and 2) test drive the van to re-initiate the now unlocked NOx sensor.

In summary:
  • They were clueless of what to do
  • They gave false information about the NOx sensor needing no reset (kinda follows point 1)
  • They were very dismissive about what I had found out regarding the needed steps to solve it even though I was very respectful of their profession and kind in my approach. I did not want to tell them how to do their job and I tend to approach garages with a level of trust that they will only do and charge for what is necessary...(silly me)...in this case a misplaced trust!!
  • They eventually carried out the exact steps I had told them were necessary to solve the issue - so basically I taught them what to to!
  • They did not do any other remedial repair work at all as none was needed
  • They then charged me for 2 1/2 hours of labor for a task that should at most have taken them 30mins! Task: Plug into ODIS and clear ECU lock (10mins), test drive to initiate new NOx sensor 10-15 mins, park up and walk back to the garage (5mins...) - I would have even accepted an hour labor altogether, but not 2 1/2 hours!!
When I challenged them about all of the above they maintained with a pretty dismissive and arrogant attitude that this was absolutely a fair charge and btw...I had authorized it.

Make of the above what you need, but I can only advise caution of dealing with Autohaus Edinburgh !
 
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I'm guessing you couldn't be arsed to make a formal complaint? Personally, I'd find out what the official book time for the job is and then complain if they've significantly overcharged... but then I'm retired and have all the time in world to use their processes against them.

Perhaps - purely to piss them off - consider invoicing them your "consultation fee".
 
I'm guessing you couldn't be arsed to make a formal complaint? Personally, I'd find out what the official book time for the job is and then complain if they've significantly overcharged... but then I'm retired and have all the time in world to use their processes against them.

Perhaps - purely to piss them off - consider invoicing them your "consultation fee".
Hi Bav. Thanks for connecting! No, I didn't consider taking this any further than this review to alert others to be careful and very specific with Autohaus Edinburgh. It's just always very frustrating to be taken for a fool and being over-charged. It's simply difficult to find trustworthy garages that are open and honest of what needed done and only charge for that. One of the main reasons I have been fixing my vehicles myself for the last 35years.
 
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I put in a new genuine VW NOx sensor
Code:
 NOx Sensor part number is 04L907805AR
 Great — 04L 907 805 AR is the correct new-generation NOx sensor for your CXEB T6.
Was the sensor actually from VW dealer? I would have expected them to sell part 04L 907 807 DT for your MY18 CXEB engine.
 
The sensor was from a dealer in Germany that had taken it out of a demo vehicle for some reason - it looked brand new and was advertised as new. Still £400 + £95 stupid Brexit Tax on delivery!! (still better than £780 from VW) I chose it because it had the exact part number as the old damaged one I took out: 04L907805AR with all of the other numbering on it also exactly the same and a genuine VW branding. The two sensors were identical in marking and QR code...all the exact same. So I am pretty sure it is the correct one. It now also works fine.
 
Please tell me the price they quoted you INCLUDED VAT?

None of this illegal EX VAT quoting nonsense we still get from garages, builders, trades and the like?

This is my pet peeve. I have 40 years plus experience in retail and it drives me mad.

Always ask if it includes VAT and reject it if not. Ask them to come back with the Inc VAT price.

( assuming of course you are a retail consumer and not a VAT registered trader i.e. B2B?)
 
A word of caution about entrusting your car/van to Autohaus Edinburgh. I am afraid I have just had a pretty bad experience with them.

I had an AdBlue fault caused by a faulty NOx sensor - very common apparently. I put in a new genuine VW NOx sensor but then found out using my VCDS system and support of ChatGPT (go figure...didn't believe it could actually do that!!) that VW has implemented an anti-tempering lock for the ECU that shuts down any communication to the NOx sensor once it has detected a fault ( in this case of the previous faulty sensor). That lock can only be cleared using the VW ODIS system, VCDS cannot do it.

I explained all of this 3 times (2x on the phone and once at drop off) to the team at Autohaus Edinburgh and the first response was "No, there is no ECU lock - once you put a new sensor in it will just work".(not true)
When dropping the van off I explained it yet again and they were simply very dismissive of what I told them.
After they had a first look they phoned me and it was clear they did not know what to do as they asked me if I had filled any AdBlue into the tank or if I had reset any fault codes. It was apparent to me that they at that point were clueless of how to clear the AdBlue countdown and get the NOx sensor to work.
I then actually sent them an email with the exact details of what I had done AND the ChatGPT printout that then gave them and detailed information of what was wrong and how to solve it - and exactly what I had told them 3 times before.
Low and behold, a couple of hours later they phoned again and said they would need to clear the ECU lock and reset the NOx lock and test drive the van to solve the problem - again exactly as I had told them. I then made the mistake - and i could kick myself for it - to authorize their repair work for the prize of £270 under the assumption that they also had to do some extra repair work or other tasks that justifies that prize (surely they wouldn't charge me that amount for a simple button press in ODIS and a test run...surely!!).
When I picked up the van it turns out they had simply exactly done what i had told them to do in the first place, but it took them 2 1/2 hours to 1) connect the van to the ODIS system and clear the ECU lock and 2) test drive the van to re-initiate the now unlocked NOx sensor.

In summary:
  • They were clueless of what to do
  • They gave false information about the NOx sensor needing no reset (kinda follows point 1)
  • They were very dismissive about what I had found out regarding the needed steps to solve it even though I was very respectful of their profession and kind in my approach. I did not want to tell them how to do their job and I tend to approach garages with a level of trust that they will only do and charge for what is necessary...(silly me)...in this case a misplaced trust!!
  • They eventually carried out the exact steps I had told them were necessary to solve the issue - so basically I taught them what to to!
  • They did not do any other remedial repair work at all as none was needed
  • They then charged me for 2 1/2 hours of labor for a task that should at most have taken them 30mins! Task: Plug into ODIS and clear ECU lock (10mins), test drive to initiate new NOx sensor 10-15 mins, park up and walk back to the garage (5mins...) - I would have even accepted an hour labor altogether, but not 2 1/2 hours!!
When I challenged them about all of the above they maintained with a pretty dismissive and arrogant attitude that this was absolutely a fair charge and btw...I had authorized it.

Make of the above what you need, but I can only advise caution of dealing with Autohaus Edinburgh !
Sorry to hear about your experience.

I have been using Autohaus for both car and T6.1 for a couple of years and have been very happy with the service / experience to date. Hopefully this will continue.
 
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