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what great posts Frank and Gareth, love them :) i kinda got blindsided on this car, the amount of MOT checks iv done on various Q8s over last few weeks and ringing around lots of garages private sellers etc, but this one somehow slipped by me. Lesson learned for me. I'm always one for doing an independent check on vehicles too , even at the lower end of the budget. Like you said Gareth , what's a couple hundred pounds 🙂 in the grand scheme of 1000s I also use "totalcarcheck" as well, which actually threw up finance taken out on this vehicle in June this year, seems Audi had used there own VW/Audi finance to buy this vehicle, the sales "executive" called it "unit stocking". Didn't know about the DVLA check neither Gareth, so will use that in future for sure, thanks 🙂 Frank, i'm definitely going to take my time, knowing there are good owners out there is very very reassuring 🙂 one last point, Shropshire is a beautiful place Gareth 🙂 all the best gentlemen kind regards Harv

Some good experience there Harv, and many thanks Frank for sharing it for the benefit of others. Sounds a good motoring career Frank. I hope we are at a turning point with the forum, and shared experiences will become more of a norm. I guess we’ve all had disappointments when realising vehicles may not be all they look to be, but I think it usually works out in the end. Yes please Harv - keep in touch. I have an affinity for Shropshire - my great grandfather’s family hailed from Wem. Good luck and kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Frank, don’t boast (only joking) about being a youngster!

Thanks for coming back Zahir, All of this can only be guesstimates, but it’s quite possible that the parts bill might be halved by buying quality aftermarket parts. Further, I would be surprised if your London Audi dealer’s labour rates are less than £140 + VAT/ hr..Again, this might be halved at a local garage, so you can do the maths, and adjusting by the £140 (+ VAT?) for inspection, plus the transport costs ( if currently disabled) to get it to another small garage. I have to say this as I think ( in caps) it might be:-you must be knowledgeable of the added cost of engaging main dealers in looking after this 13 year old car, so larger than average bills must be the norm to you. If so, it might be a case of ‘carry on then’ with this job, rather than perhaps shopping around in the future to get better value for money. Perhaps you could let us know what you think. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hi Harv and Gareth Firstly Gareth can I just say what a great piece of advice and info you wrote there regarding Harvs potential purchase. You are a much more technical bloke than I and it would have taken me days to come up with something not quite as good ! I think the point he made on tyres is a good one and is a clear factor in how a 6 year old car might drive. Before I bought my firts Q8, I was tye very proud owner of 2 VW Phaetons. Both purchased new. I ran them for nearly 14 years , one after another, with a combined mileage of 140,000 miles. And might fine bits of automotive engineering they were. Someone might correct me here but I believe the Phaetonplus the Toureg and the early versions of the Golf R were VW's firts foray into 4 wheel drive vehicles. They called it " 4 Motion ".....not so sexy as Quattro I think. I used to take both cars back to the Glasernemanufaktur in Dresden, where they were made, to get them serviced each year. Please dont ask how I swung that with my old Missus ! The technicians at the Factory were absolutely adamant that tyres on the same axle had to have a very minimum tread depth. Otherwise they insisted that the drive chain and steering geometry could be serious ly affected and could invalidate the new car warranty. So I think Gareth is correct in questioning the validity of the tyres on the same axle and also asking if you have tyres of the same manufacturer with the same profile on the rear axle. All that coukd seriously affect the " feel " of how the car drives. Also Harv, we both know you are a good guy because you responded to both our posts with thanks. I think Gareth alluded to it that in previous enquiries and requests for help, Gareth has gone out of his way to post good stuff in various Audi model forums including the Q8 Forum.....me not so much.....and he rarely gets an acknowledgement let alone a thankyou And in response to your decision to pull out. If you arent convinced by the records and the history of ths car ten it's clearly a wise decision. It's a lot of dosh to spend and then find out you have made a mistake. Isnt a shame that there isnt a process where private buyers and sellers cannot somehow find away to contact each other and make away with the Audi franchise network. I am an old school bloke of 76 years. I love 3 things. My missus, my cat and my car.....but not necessarily in that order sometimes ! One year ago I exchanged my previous Q8 for my current one. It was a 20 plate 55 TFSI and it was in perfect order I believe. I had had it serviced 5 times in its 38,000 miles.It had not s emblance of a scratch or a ding or any curb rash. I had had 2 ceramic coats ut on it in it's 3 years by a profeesional installer and the car had been wrapped. I also sold it with a Blackvue dash cam system with a seperate Celllink battery system and it was prefessionally installed by TTW systems in Nottingham. I decided to leav it in as it was completely hard wired and I thought it best to have an identical system fitted by the same company in my new car. Please be patient....I am coming to my point ! I exchanged that car for £41,000. Not too much more than you are looking at. Mine was a 3 year old car and yours was a 6 year old car. I'm not sure what price the Dealership sold it for but it clearly was alot more than the 41 grand that I recieved. It went in days .My point is that there's a lot of good stuff out there. Genuine cars that have had genuine caring owners. So, take your time dear Harv and I'm sure you will find something that you will like. And perhaps the 3 of us can then meet up for a chat and a beer and discuss all things Audi ! Good luck and please keep us in the loop. Frank

Many thanks for letting us know Harv. Homework is king, and if you treat any claim for any good points as being fictitious until the evidence is shown, then it should minimise your risks. First port of call for me is always MOT history, followed by DVLA vehicle check to see when the last V5 was issued. Good clue to how long the last owner has had it, but can be misleading if the new V5 was issued due to cherished number sorting. Ask the seller to e-mail you a copy of the service history, then contact the servicing dealer/s and confirm/ get additional info there. Enquiries via. VIN might be necessary if it’s been on cherished numbers. Ask the seller to let you have remaining tread levels on all 4 wheels, and tyre brands would be good to know. All of this homework, and more, can now be carried out from the comfort of your arm chair, before viewing. Viewing without having first done this homework can be dangerous, due to falling in love with it - and what does love do to your eyesight? Last thing:- If I was buying in that price range then I would invest in an independent inspection before agreeing to buy. It’s a small amount of extra funds to pay for reassurance. Check out local independents around the area the vehicle is for sale in. Perhaps you could keep in touch as things develop Harv, and please come back to us anyway if you think we can help. Good luck and kind regards, Gareth.

Gavin. PCV valves are nothing to do with oil pressure. They are involved in crankcase ventilation. Having renewed the oil pump and pressure switch it is beginning to look like wear in the engine bearings, so the low pressure warning needs to be confirmed as Magnet suggested, before embarking on what could be an expensive repair.

Sorry, I have replied to this post elsewhere. I stopped to think about what we had done. We changed all the associated parts and still the same. I thought, well the car learns about things and the cam chain has worn over time so the ECU was happy with that. Now it had a new chain the ECU does not understand the cam advance. Although the mechanic reset whatever he had to by software it didn’t help I crossed everything and pulled the ECU fuse, went and had a cup of tea and came back put tje fuse back snd no EM light since (3 weeks now)

Hi, Thanks for your answer. Went to the local VW/Audi bodyshop and they quoted me a sensible price, so the car's going in there in a couple of weeks. They said it's a two day job - ideally overnight for the bonding to cure. We'll see. Thanks again.

Big thank you to Gareth and big Dave , I have a far better idea of what to do now because of your respective help. Many thanks for your patience and advice . Kind regards Neil

Hello Harv, Many thanks for thanking the forum for the comments made. It doesn’t always happen. Anyway, back to the matter in hand:- Let’s say it’s less common for a main dealer to retail a 6 year old car, but it is what it is. Have you checked the dealer price against say, Parker’s Guide values to ensure the price isn’t inflated. It might be well worth comparing with some of the other 230 Frank mentions. Number of owners:- Most have been owned by the Service Manager or someone very close to them! Buyers have to like salt - if you see what I mean! The fact from the service print-out:- Change of owner on 29/7/19 , and most worrying (in caps) on 26 June of this year. They will probably inform you that the MPC on that date was carried out prior to putting on the forecourt where you have seen it, but how do you know that it isn’t a vehicle which has been rejected under the 30 day return policy. Be assured, that you will be assured that that isn’t the story! Service history:- Some artistic licence there - oil service (minor service) at 17K; no service again in the next 23k - and again only a minor oil service then; next at 50k, then recent. - all marked as oil services. My take would be, that it has a partial history of oil changes. Disappearing reference to discs/pads and bushes? Possibly a try-on with the previous owner, but inspection of the front brake discs should reveal whether they have been renewed in the recent past. Brakes heating up, to the extent of hearing contraction of metal noises, points to issues - as mentioned - unless your test driving included a tendency on your part to leave braking until the last moment before standing on them. Last bit to consider:- 4 wheel drive tyres should have near matching tread on both axles, so new on front and not much tread on back isn’t good news. Make of tyres they have fitted to the front? Well Harv, that is a bit of warts and all assessment, but should allow you to stand back, do your homework, believe or disbelieve the answers given, and simply give it a good couple of coats of thinking about. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

I think I have possibly answered my own question having found mention of height adjustment on page 249 of an owners manual online. Would be great to get confirmation on it being on the Technik trim level though.

Welcome Harv, and thanks for joining. Can we take it this 6 year old vehicle isn’t being sold by an Audi main dealer? If it is, this would be slightly unusual due to age. Apologies for the questions. Was the latest MOT ( how recent?) done at the same MOT station as last year, where the advisories were listed? Have you actually seen evidence of the computerised ‘full service history”? It is surprising how this can be claimed to exist, but disappears into the ether when sight of it is asked for. How many main dealer services has it had, and at what mileages? Does that record point to new discs and pads being fitted after last year’s MOT, along with the bushes? How many owners has it had, and how long has the last owner owned it? Short term ownership triggers suspicion. Lastly, is the tyre brand the same on all four wheels? But more importantly, is the remaining tyre thread fairly well matched on all four wheels? Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Clicking sounds from wheel area :- are you sure it is from the wheels and not associated with exhaust pipes - which would not be unusual? Such cooling-down noises from brakes would however be unusual, and might point to sticky calipers or similar.

Ok I have tested the battery using my Launch CRP123E code reader. The battery resting voltage was 11.8v so that confirms it needs replacing. I have cleared all the codes for now but they will come back and I have ordered an Exide 096 EFB battery which is the direct replacement for the EFB battery which is fitted but I do have Battery reset on my code reader so I can code it to the A3 if need be. Thanks Cliff for your help. Regards Colin

UPDATE: Yesterday I fitted a new DPF pressure sensor, adapted it then took it for a drive, attempting to do a forced regen. At first, it appeared to work. THe DPF load coeficient came down from 20% to around 6% but at this point the load coeficient went back to 20% and didnt budge. The pressure senor differential seems happy enought, fluctuating between 2mbar and 6mbar which is supposedly withing spec for a cleaned/new/unproblematic dpf. During the drive, the exhaust temps never ecxceeded 550 degrees C, which as I believe, during a forced regen, the ECU will adjust fuel/timing etc so maintain exhaust temps of over 700 degreees C. this did not happen so I can only assume that forcing a regin, while VCDS accepted the command, the ECU did not start the regen process. I can only summise that this is for two reasons: 1) the dpf has been mapped out/removed. The tail pipes are very black and sooty which I've been led to believe is a telltale sign of a DPF delete/removal. 2) there is something else that is preventing the DPF from regening. However, given that the DPF load is static at 20%, and this value has not changed since i purchased the car in March, I would believe that this is not the case. The car still drives fine. VCDS shows that the specified/actual boost is correct and once the turbo comes on song, it pulls hard. It is just this hesitation between 1400-2000rpm that still persists. I have today taken the manifold off, as I sal the swirlflap hole for the actuator is leakiing, so I've sealed that up, and I have also fitted a restrictor plate (I used an egr blank and drilled a 10mm hole in the middle) to restrict the exhasu gas flow into the intake. I've seen a number of people use an OEm Seat Ibiza egr gasket that from VW has a 9mm hole instead of the normal 25mm hole and they have all had good results. If anyone has any additional insights into the above I would appreeciete the feedback. I will report back on the jobs I've done today.

Sorry my bad mate must of been a autocorrect or something sorry yes I don’t have reverse lights I will get the multimeter and check I will also check the fuse sorry for any misunderstanding I will get back to you once I have done these things and let yoU know if I find the issue thank you again for your time it’s very much appreciated guys kind regards joe

Chris. I looked into doing exactly that a few years ago, but eventually did not order anything because all of what was available at the time required me to cut and join wires without clear instructions.