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I've just had this on my A4. The non return valve (apparently a spring and ball bearing)was leaking very slowly and released pressure on the timing tensioner. Local garage drained oil to do another job involving oil cooler, left it standing over weekend and when they started it up after completion, the timing jumped 3 notches and the subsequent repair (for which they deny all liability) was in excess of £2k. This can apparently happen if the car is not started for a while, allowing oil to leak and de-pressurize the valve. Of course, there's no way of knowing if you have a worn valve, so imagine parking at an airport for a couple of weeks, turning your engine over and immediately needing a rebuild. Hope this makes sense...I'm not a mechanic.

The answer is far more mundane Steve, it was a matter of simple economics. My wife found the A3 uncomfortable so all journeys together were in her Yeti. That left me running a moderately powerful 5 seater with me as the only occupant, doing individual journeys of less than 50 miles that totalled less than 2000 miles per year. With a possibly expensive gearbox repair in the offing it made no sense to retain it any longer. So I now drive what I call a Noddy car (Smart EQ). It's not very comfortable and it looks ludicrous, but it's great fun to drive. No road tax, insurance is two thirds of the A3, and only 3 pence per mile fuel cost if recharged overnight on cheap rate electricity. In the light of recent events in Ukraine it looks to have been a good choice.