nogaro Posted July 14, 2004 Report Share Posted July 14, 2004 I'm sure this is a stupid question, but... I've seen lots of references to "build weeks" on various threads. Does this start at 1 for 1st January, running upto 52 at the end of the year ? What's the significance of the build week ? How many weeks does it take to build an A4 ? Do they start builing it when the order is placed or do they have chassis prebuilt upto a certain stage waiting for specifications to finish it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_B Posted July 14, 2004 Report Share Posted July 14, 2004 As far as I know, build weeks are usually calendar weeks. Cars often get ordered from the factory by the importer (Audi UK) or dealer chains with a variety of specifications, to act as stock vehicles. Up to a certain point in the production line, the specification can be changed to suit a customer's requirements, but after a certain point it becomes fixed and that's what ends up delivered. Certain customisations (quattro GmbH "Audi exclusive" options) require the part-completed car to be taken to another line where quattri GmbH finish the build by hand, some are just components that can slot into the regular line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Posted July 14, 2004 Report Share Posted July 14, 2004 [ QUOTE ] How many weeks does it take to build an A4 ? Do they start builing it when the order is placed or do they have chassis prebuilt upto a certain stage waiting for specifications to finish it. [/ QUOTE ] It's "built to order" from scratch, i.e. it's built to your specs, and the time it takes prior to building depends how much demand there is, and when your order sheet comes up. The Audi factory doesn't stock cars, but as Chris said, importers/dealers do sometimes pre-order cars with popular spec. The only real significance of a build week *can* be a change in specs, certain parts, engines, gearboxes, and sometimes model changes. More often these are minor changes, if any. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin M Posted July 16, 2004 Report Share Posted July 16, 2004 Yes, build weeks are calendar weeks beginning on a Monday. Week 1 this year actually began Monday 29th December as the week included Jan 1st. Your diary should have week numbers, else switch on "show week numbers" in Outlook or whatever programme you use. Build weeks for Audi are when production starts for stock cars, but when completion is due for any cars with special paint etc. Build usually takes less than a week unless the car is pulled for a quality check when it is stripped and rebuilt by hand adding another week to the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterb Posted July 16, 2004 Report Share Posted July 16, 2004 [ QUOTE ] ...the car is pulled for a quality check when it is stripped and rebuilt by hand... [/ QUOTE ] Oooerrr. Is this meant to be a good thing? I'm not sure that I'd want a car which has already been pulled apart after it was built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Posted July 16, 2004 Report Share Posted July 16, 2004 Hmm, when I was in Ingolstadt I heard about the chassis quality check, where they randomly pull a chassis and laser measure it again. If it's off by a tenth of a millimeter or so (don't recall the exact value but it was a very small margin) it is destroyed. Also about several other tests, like the 'waterproof' test, where certain parts get replaced if there's a problem. I didn't hear about complete cars being stripped and rebuilt though... Sounds rather labour intensive, and it increases the risk of errors imho (robots being more efficient and precise). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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