The garage that services my Audi also services Bentley and VWs but nothing else. They recently were contacted by Audi regarding their prominent use of  the word Audi in their signage.

this garage now claims to be an independent garage but “authorised “ by Audi. Is this a status that anyone is familiar with?

I owned a garage business specialising in MG Rover (for my sins) and we were an Independent Authorised Repairer which means although we weren't a dealer for new cars we were part of the repair network and also parts supplier.

I do wonder if it is a similar case with the Audi repairer....probably all Audi VW trained Technicians anyway

Oh come on Trevor, don’t be nasty about MG Rover (only joking!) About on a par with most others of the period I guess. 

Keep up the good work.

Kind regards,

Gareth.

You are right Gareth, they were good cars of the period and by the end of their life as a UK Manufacturer they had just about got there in terms of quality and value.
Apart from the K Series Head Gasket debacle and also the inappropriate slating from the media (mainly Top Gear) it went downhill from there really, which was an awful shame.