spartacus 68

As you say Stuart, very difficult to gauge a price. If it was something like a B6 S4 Avant in Imola Yellow then it would be different and treated as a classic. Reality is it’s a B6 3.0 litre petrol, 23 years old with 109k on the clock with crusty wings. Going to break your heart here, but it’s worth more to you than it’s physically worth. On positive, belts done, year’s MOT, tow bar, and leather. That’s cheap motoring for someone. Start at £1,200 and see if you get any interest. Try Gumtree. You could swap out wings, but I’m not sure that makes it more saleable. There’s a private B7 (2008) 3.0TDI Avant on Autotrader, badged as S4 but it isn’t, lowered, 160k miles, service history, paint immaculate for £2k.

Check exhaust clamps, and flexi (if one is fitted) these can corrode and what you’re smelling is fumes from engine bay. Also auxilliary drive belt, a seized clutch drive pulley, etc.

Look at Darkside Developments, personally I wouldn't but car parts, especially critical ones from Ebay.

Keep on top of servicing is half the battle. That said, things can go wrong. I think your SOS button is bit of an anomaly and hopefully a one off, but that said I was reading about the light bar on a 2022 Q8 delaminating, and that was a £1,500+ repair, luckily under warranty. If it gives you peace of mind, take out the warranty. Just double-check conditions. I had a non Audi 2 year warranty on my 2017 B9 Avant, and it stipulated services every 6 months which is unrealistic. I now service the car myself and had the Tiptronic gearbox serviced too, Audi would have said leave it.

Could be an exhaust temperature sensor. Ideally you need to read soot levels and the temperature for that bank. If it’s not getting temperature it’s clogging again.

Like a lot of warranties, they act as insurance policies, so basically weighted in favour of the issuer, in this case Audi. You have two options, save the money, actually setting it aside for a potential issue down the road or take out the warranty. Decision would be based on history of the car and maintenance, and overall condition now.

The £600 road tax is probably related to the car being worth over £40k new, plus of course it's a diesel. From what I can see the 2.0TDI quattro (204PS) on a new A5 is somewhere in the region of 140-137 g/km CO2. Not sure if that tax eventually reduces? Oil, this is a pretty new car, so I'd expect that oil figure to stabilise. Not even sure if it has a dipstick. Audi like to have this on the MMI. Keep an eye on it, but as the engine beds in, then in my experience, it won't drink at all. Not sure if your car came with a services thrown in (usually if you buy on finance), but typical Audi - then they'll be changing your oil at approximately 18k miles which is fine of you plan to keep the car for 3 years or so, but if it's a keeper, then this will eventually kill the engine with premature wear. Personally, I'd be doing oil and filter changes every 8-10k miles. Battery should be in the boot. Active lane assist - to switch off, there should be a button at the end of the indicator stalk, hold for 5 seconds and the assist green lane disappear on the dash.

Glad you got it fixed. No reason you can't put another 100k miles on it.

Sounds auxilliary drive belt related, alternator clutch pulley, tensioner pulley, etc.

As mentioned. If the engine is out, then there's other work that should take place given access. That's Audi main dealer prices for you, so £180+ an hour. Would be worth checking out independent garages that specialise in this type of work, or even consider selling it. You'll never recover the money otherwise. Depends if you plan to keep it for a few years, ultimately its only 2019. 50TDI is 3 litre (286hp). If it was me, then I would get chains replaced to future-proof it. The plastic guides can wear and its an engine out job to replace anyway. Get a quote from VAG Technic (Dudley). They are on YouTube and only use genuine parts.

To go back to the original post, 11.7v is a dead battery. It should be sitting around 12.4v - 12.6v, and running over 14.0v. Seems unusual to use it, then nothing. I would definately factor in a new AGM battery which is around £200+, needs coded, and go from there.

£2k, what are they doing, booking you an overnight stay and dinner at the Savoy? Granted 55TFSI is 340hp, but my suggestion is shop around. You should be able to get decent parts and a full brake inspection for less. Worth doing brake fluid change too, due every 2 years.

These are performance engines, so go into this with your eyes open. Fundamentally this is about servicing and maintenance, if this has been on long service schedule, walk away. This is all about history. It’s chain drive, and plastic guides are known to wear. How many previous owners, did they keep it stock or throw on engine maps and other modifications. For me that would be no-no, but each to their own. Oil and filter needs to have been changed religiously every 5-8k with receipts to prove. Ideally you want to scan the car with VCDS, what reoccurring faults keep coming back? Check everything works as it should, from air con to audio. Gearbox, probably Tiptronic, then would benefit form oil change now. Check out VAGTechnic. They had a S5 in with more faults than you can shake a stick at. Not sure if 2011 models suffer rocker arm needle bearing issues, pretty sure it was younger vehicles. Like all performance cars, and I’ve no idea of your budget, keep £2-3k back. Tyres, brakes and so on aren’t cheap, plus any engine issues are a ball ache. The engine under-tray should be bone dry. Oil leaks could be anything, from oil coolers to turbo. I wouldn’t expect major suspension issues yet, but again factor in a refresh if this is going to be a keeper.

You need to get the car scanned with VCDS. There are multiple flap/motor doors on the B9 related to air con/heating. If one of these modules is fault it could be restricting airflow as you’ve suggested. VCDS will pinpoint the module. Easy one you can do yourself, has pollen filter been changed. These are often bypassed in services, and if it’s original it will be clogged up. Just to rule out other issues, does engine temperature sit bang on 90 degrees? If that fluctuates there is a different fault.

No they didn’t. People buy these types products all the time in the hope it will sort the underlying problem.

Potentially from valve cover gaskets, but it’s worth deeper dive to trace it. The gaskets themselves (one each bank) are inexpensive, but you need to strip down fuel pipes and electrics to access, plus you need to remove injectors. Remember their order as they are coded. In addition, renew copper washers on injectors and use new bolts on injector clamps as they are stretch bolts. Not done the job myself, but my understanding is from general reading. Valve cover torqued in sequence. https://www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk/products/rocker-cover-gasket-for-3-0-cr-tdi-engines-cyl-1-3.html?srsltid=AfmBOopikyFKN487f_WcL4QJGeZxZM9pDYQHCoLHoFmXSz5b692zDhgB Lower sump uses silicone sealant. Difficulty here is once sump is off, it needs to be absolutely spotless, remove any gasket material, make sure dry. Sump would need to be washed, remove all trace of oil, apply sealant to sump and mate them together, then torque down in sequence. If I was doing it, I would get access to ErWin to see torque settings. You probably need a car lift, but anything is possible. If sump itself was suspect (bear in mind they are plastic), they are around £300 GBP. Search on LLL Parts.

Audi will charge you north of £180 a hour. Suspension, you’re probably talking minimum of 6 hours. Which bushes are you talking about? I’d be wary of sticking on things like Powerflex or similar and change the ride completely. Assuming it’s lower arms or even upper arms, then Meyle HD or Lemforder. Parts will be expensive, but it is what it is. After work is done you’ll need a tracking alignment check. See parts diagrams on LLL Parts here (double check against engine code): https://www.lllparts.co.uk/catalogs/audi/RDW/AQ7/859/4/407/407000 Most independent garages won’t fit if you buy parts, but will order on your behalf. Can’t help on garage on North West. I follow Decimal Tenths (North East), and seem dedicated.

There's no point posting these types of videos as the background noise makes it difficult to isolate anything untoward. If it's a rattle, then nine times out ten it's a heat shield under the car. The fasteners corrode and the heat shield rattles. Also check brake dust shields, but this would be unusual on a 2019 B9. Lastly check the main exhaust straight pipe where it joins after the catalytic convertor. The exhaust clamps eventually corrode. Mikalor stainless clamps are the best you can fit. If you can trace and localise the sound, that's different, as you will be able to get a more detailed video.

Difficult to tell, ideally you want some sort of engine clean to determine what's going on. Oil sweat just now could be related to earlier issue with EGR or oil cooler that was subsequently fixed. Any mention of this in the history? Find someone with VCDS to run a scan. Which 3.0 litre model TDI, the 218bhp (S tronic box) or 272bhp (Tiptronic)? If S tronic, then the gearbox oil is due every 38k miles. Tiptronic although Audi will say is sealed for life, can be serviced at 60-80k miles as ZF have a maintenance kit. If you do buy it, get the engine degreased, steam cleaned and check again. That oil sweat shouldn't continue. For longevity on these engines, get into habit of changing oil every 5k miles. If engine tray is dry - I wouldn't worry unnecessarily, but it would be better if the engine and sump were bone dry. If dealer (probably not Audi on a 2017 model), then see where you stand in terms of supported warranty. Norway will have their own rules to protect consumers. In UK you have up to 30 days.

Did the electrical clear all the errors, or is that VCDS list after it's been cleared? That's a huge list of electrical faults. I see there's errors for the radio and sound system. Any recent work?

Get the car scanned with VCDS. There will be hydraulic pump or electric motors for the roof potentially failing depending on model year. Should show up with a scan. Tends to be more of a specialist job. See who’s local to you and go on positive reviews. Goes without saying, don’t go near the main dealer unless this is within a warranty period.

Warped brake discs are a bit of an anomaly. That’s not to say it can’t happen. In my experience, it’s sometimes not the brakes at all, but potentially worn wheel bearing, suspension component such as deteriorating suspension bush or a sticky brake piston. Older cars, then you get into top mounts, etc. You can also get brake pad transfer. The brake discs may have heat spots or dark areas on an otherwise clean brake disc. That’s a sure sign of excessive heat, possibly the brake caliper sticking. Sometimes seized brake sliders, or corrosion on the dust sleeve on the caliper itself. One way to rule out sticky piston(s), is to run car then coast to a stop. Brake discs may be warm, but defiantly not hot. Check for lip on brake disc, scoring on the brake disc or different disc material widths remaining, easy to spot on ventilated brake discs.

Car is coming up for 14 years old, so financially it’s probably worth more to you than it’s actually worth. If you traded in, it’s not likely to be a retail car, and would probably go to auction. The advisories are related to multi link suspension arm or bushes. If you’re replacing one on one side side, then it makes sense to do the other side too. This includes front and rear arms. Audi use Lemforder or Meyle HD, anything else will wear prematurely in my opinion. Decent arms can be anywhere from £50-£150 each plus fitting. In addition you’ll need a tracking check, say £80-£100. Audi are known for subframe issues. The subframe is powder coated, so road dirt, salt and water start to corrode on damaged surfaces. You can’t fully sort it unless you remove the subframe and get it powder coated, that’s unrealistic. What you can do, is get the underside of the car jet washed, and dried, wire brush bad areas, potentially apply rust converter then apply wax-oil or Lanoguard. That should keep corrosion at bay for another 2-3 years before you need to reapply. Expect to pay £300-400.

Must be a single turbo, I think the BiTDI was 2011 on on C7. On glow plug IMRC error, do your system checks before tackling the glow plugs. They are notorious to break if you go in with power tools. Get up to operating temperature before attempting, use spray PlusGas on it 2-3 days before extraction, and use a 3/8” ratchet on it, so at least you’re feeling if it’s seized. The rattle could be heat or dust shields. The brake dust shields rot around the Torx screws and any heat shields fasteners are prone to same thing. Enjoy your project.

Solid cars, but at 200k miles, then it’s just run in! Is it bi-turbo or single turbo? If you’re renovating Land Cruisers, then suspension will be a piece of cake on this. Although airbags, there will be some multi-arms in there to check, especially bushes, ARB, etc. My suggestion is to get VCDS if this is going to be long term ownership. Very useful bit of kit.