Thank you Jason - yes, that is exactly why I am asking the question - and no, although I would love to do the maintenance myself, I don’t know how
I have had the car for 14 years and bought it with 80,000 miles on it so I know it well and I had it serviced and maintained at Audi until 6 years ago when I moved home to the north of Scotland - all the miles are “motorway miles” from years of long distance commuting and the first time it failed it’s MOT was in 2019 - on a tyre.
It’s MOT and service history has been really good and looking back through it, the suspension has been an advisory since 2019 with the words “worn but not excessive play”
The other reason I have asked the question is because of the size of the car. It is really practical because I can put the dogs in it and fit the whole family in if I need to.
That is the other part of the dilemma - but of course, you are right. It has been beyond economic repair for several years - I have always worked on the basis that I know it’s a good car, this is the first time it has needed anything other than wear and tear items and a newer car would cost me more to buy, and I wouldn’t know it.
Thank you for your reply - it is really helpful to get the thoughts of someone else who isn’t (ridiculously) emotionally attached to the car 😊