Sooo....  I loaned my A3 Cabriolet to my son as he needed a car for his family over Christmas.  On arrival with in-laws he stowed the hood with 'something on the parcel shelf' and the back window exploded into a thousand pieces.  It seems that the window is not a separately replaceable item and I'm looking at replacement hood... 😒

So I have choices ranging from £250 (replacement from scrapper fitted myself) to £2150 (new OEM-spec hood fitted for me).   In between I could get a new aftermarket hood and self-fit for about £1118.  

So here's the question for you forum types.  Can anyone point me at any information about doing this myself? I expected someone would have put up a YouTube showing how it was done but I haven't found anything.

In my youth I pulled engines out of Minis and stripped them down so I should be able to do it but I've got rather lazy and timid these days.   Any help gratefully received (and if I do it I may make a YouTube...).

Being equally lazy I would take the easy way and have a new hood fitted professionally...

and give the bill to person responsible for the damage.

Welcome Brian, and thanks for joining. 
I think there are probably quite a number of forum members who have taken a few engines out in their time, and I maybe different, but with countless engine removals over decades, would I upholster our 3 piece suite? No I wouldn’t. 
With reference to 1000 pieces, can we take it the rear window was glass rather than Perspex? 
If it were mine:- I would be approaching one of the local ‘all makes’ classic car clubs and seeking advice on a recommended localish car trimmers, and asking them for a quote to replace the window. 
DIY hood swopping on modern cars can turn out to be one of those jobs where you wish you hadn’t started, but you can’t go backwards - consider numerous linkages and micro switches to say the least. 
Hope some of this helps,

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

14 hours ago, Magnet said:

With reference to 1000 pieces, can we take it the rear window was glass rather than Perspex?

consider numerous linkages and micro switches to say the least. 
Hope some of this helps,

Thanks for the help guys!

Firstly this was indeed the toughened glass heated rear window.  Also to be clear there is no way I would attempt to do anything with the fiendishly complex folding mechanism!  I'm assuming the cloth cover attaches to the mechanism at multiple points.  Waiting to get the car back to see what I can discover!

Thanks Brian,

You should be able to buy a secondhand rear window - place your wanted ad. with Partsfinder and other on-line breaker link sites. 
Any link through to classic car trimmers should be worth a go. 
Kind regards,

Gareth.