Hello all

Has anyone gone down the route of total refurbishment and have any idea of the costs involved? I’ve had this blue A4 2.6 since Jan 2002 and it still my daily drive. This old girl has notched up 315000 miles without any rebuilds, just the normal servicing, suspension and bushes. She is tired, looks great but has lost a lot of power, has a leak at the engine/grearbox interface, gear changes are getting clunky but still plods on. The engine uses very little oil and the only rot is a blister at the top of the windscreen possibly from a stone chip. I bought a second car 4 years ago but couldn’t part with the old faithful. I’d love to get her back to up to to decent power and generally have a good freshen up. I’m in the UK, Crewe area and wandered if there’s any specialist or enthusiasts that would have any thoughts of starting points and what can be achieved with part availabilies. Appreciate any advice or help. 

Hello Kevin,

To cut to the chase, unless you have an overriding ( in caps) sentimental attraction to this car, any restoration will wreck your bank balance, and probably break your heart - and the bank balance bit would be assuming you are DIYing it rather than getting specialists to do the work. 
Harsh, but believe me it’s true - been there done it with a couple of classic cars. 
An alternative:- keep searching for a low mileage example and buy that oven-ready, much cheaper than you could renovate your for. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

Hi Gareth

Thank you. It is just a thought, maybe a dream so I was interested to hear from people who’ve actually done a renovation. Maybe I’ve been watching too much “Wheeler Deeler” 😂. I’ve been running around in it this week and unbelievably it’s still a strong car. I’ll keep it ticking along and maybe peck away at some bits whilst keeping a watch on the purse strings. 
was it an Audi that you’ve restored previously? Thank you for your thoughts. 
 

Kev

Thanks Kevin,

Sounds a good idea to keep giving it a coat of thinking about! 
No, wasn’t an Audi. 
If you Google ‘Winterbourne’s Austin Sixteen’ it will give you a flavour of the major one of a few over the many decades. 
Good luck with whatever you decide with the Audi  - for me, it would be look after it, attempt to maintain its current condition, and enjoy it for what it is.
Kind regards,

Gareth.