3 hours ago, Telsown said:

Yes, sorry I’ve picked up on an old post, it so happens however it is very relevant to my making a  decision on purchasing a used Audi A3.

 

Which is why so much emphasis was put on service history in your other topic.

On 7/30/2023 at 9:57 AM, Magnet said:

This is illogical to me, and I believe it is engineeringly unsafe, and wouldn’t be for me.

While noting David’s - Itspointless- comments, I’m afraid I would have to counter the view that …’so age isn’t an issue’. It can, and is indeed an issue. 
The ongoing serviceability of a completely unstressed belt stored in a box for say 5 years, cannot be compared with a fitted belt which has been subjected to hundreds of highly stressed stop/ starts every week, sometimes in sub zero temperatures. If (in caps) Audi U.K. and I then guess Audi Global  ( rather than a dealer) are saying there is now only a mileage limit, then how many of us doing short but regular low mileage trips around town etc. would be prepared to chance our engines ,when running on a 20 + year vehicle? 
Darren’s dealer’s phone call is interesting, and I’m not sure whether it was an out-of-the-blue call, or it was as a result of Darren having made a prior enquiry -? 
Audi economics??
Profit is made by the Audi dealer when fitting new belts and VAG make a profit on resale of the belt kits manufactured for them. However, if a belt fails, the potential for revenue is considerably higher where the vehicle is declared beyond economical repair and has to be replaced, or a very expensive engine replacement arranged - potential for far more profit! Now   the Audi Economics makes logical sense - to Audi!! Sorry folks but it still doesn’t to my pocket. 
Additional point to consider - renewing the auxiliary belt -? 
I can see this timing belt scenario becoming an ‘inherited issue’ for buyers in the future, as the baby is passed on as the purchaser’s responsibility. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

Your prediction of inherited issue for buyers may unfortunately be true for me, time will tell, and I will keep the forum posted on my situation. Appreciate the insights I've gained from the audiownersclub.com forum, thanks to the staff for replies I've had so far.

Hi just for information I got the timing belt and water pump replaced by local garage in South Wales £525 this summer. 

Please with job they took a few days but so far all good.