RedCarJohn

Thanks, I will do. I did a 85 mile journey today, mainly on motorway (@ 65/70 mph), and it did 71.8 mpg - it's remarkable. However, on our last touring holiday in France in May/June, I got 51.6 mpg with the A4 3 litre TDI Quattro, ironically the best it ever achieved. John

Hi Steve, Yes, the A3 is great and so economical (72 mpg on a 25 mile journey this morning). The A4 problem is now resolved, at least from my point of view. I agreed with the garage owner to let him have it if he would waive an outstanding bill and on the understanding he will make a good effort to get the car back on the road, which I would be very pleased to see. Scrapping such a great car would be a travesty! We have completed the V5C ownership transfer form this morning, so all done. Hi Magnet, Thanks to everyone for their helpful contributions. Please close the thread now. John

Thanks for your comments, Steve. The A3 is great and seems just as fast as my old 3.0 TDI A4 despite having only 148 bhp. It's automatic and S-Line, so sharper, flatter handling but still a pleasant ride (at least with the Comfort setting). Very quiet, relaxed and economical: it did 67 mpg on a 200 mile trip last week. Nice to have SatNav at last and also good to have my 2231 MP3 tracks on a tiny flash drive which sticks out only an inch from the USB-C socket. Not missing the Quattro so far but probably a different story when we get snow. ___________________________________________ Magnet, please keep the thread open until I advise sale or disposal of the car. Thanks, John

Many thanks for this clever suggestion but I understand from the garage owner that there is very limited space, hence the convoluted shape of the hose (photos attached). I am sick of the problem now and just want rid of the car, so I can maximize my road tax refund. In any event I have bought a used A3 2.0 TDI saloon in the meantime so I am no longer stuck and not polluting anything like the A4 was doing.

Re the Latvian hose order, it was confirmed as “Standard Delivery by post from outside UK, untracked”. I have thought all along that this was suspicious. I messaged the supplier via eBay yesterday, asking precisely when the hose was despatched and how much longer they think I should wait. I got a quick response (not the one I wanted!) as follows: “Thank you for contacting us! Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience caused. Since the item was sent without tracking options we may not file an official claim to post, unfortunately. The full amount will be refunded to your card. It may take a few business days for it to appear on your statement. If it takes longer than 5 business days, please contact your card issuer directly. Please feel free to contact us at any time in the future if you need our assistance, we will be happy to help you.” They didn’t answer my questions so I sent a further message, asking them to do so. However, in the meantime I received an email advising that a full refund was on the way and I should get it in 3/5 days. In fact 15 minutes later the money was refunded, via eBay, to my linked bank account. So I can now assume I will get no further reply from the supplier. Interestingly their relevant eBay page now states “ENDED” in red and no stock is shown; until recently it was showing 6. I suspect that, just like the London one which let me down, this is another trader showing stock that doesn’t exist and getting caught out by the recent Audi delisting of the part when they tried to order it. To save face, they probably advised it was despatched, knowing full well they would have to refund me in due course. I looked at "Viper Performance" but noted the following: “ONE OFF CUSTOM SILICONE HOSES - PRIVATE USE: One off silicone hoses and custom made silicone hoses are generally not cost effective for private clients, personal cars, classic period cars or re-making obsolete hoses. This is because stainless steel tooling is required for each hose. Tooling per hose can easily cost in excess of £350+.” I have posted a request on www.breakeryard.com to see if that produces anything. However, I suspect I have nearly reached the end of the road and the car will probably go to a charity (free collection, then auction) but perhaps not be scrapped. I’ll be glad to reach the end of this sorry saga!

Many thanks, everyone, for your helpful and supportive input. I contacted the Latvian supplier today and got a quick reply, which was encouraging. Based on this, positive assurances from 3 friends, who are experienced eBay users and who reviewed the Latvian option, and the garage's confirmation that I can leave the car with them for as long as it takes, I ordered the part 10 minutes ago. Fingers crossed! Thanks again.

Many thanks. I'll contact them on Monday.

Reply to Steve Q: Thanks for your further comment. I clicked "Latest Club Discounts (See All Discounts)" but got "Sorry, you cannot view this discount code or offer details because you are not a premium member."

Thanks for your interesting comments. I have bought very little on eBay and never from a foreign supplier, so I am very wary of doing so. However, I'll investigate further and probably contact the supplier to see if I get a professional response. I'll also have to check on Monday how long the garage is willing to hold the car.

Many thanks for your rapid response. I had seen those eBay items, both in Latvia. However, the owner of a local Audi/VW specialist garage warned me off them as he knows several customers who ordered in Latvia, who never received the parts and lost their money. Bespoke manufacturing might be my only option but probably very expensive. However, I am loathe to scrap a perfectly good car. Another possible issue is how long the garage is prepared to keep it while I am searching.

I have an A4 3.0TDI Quattro (VIN: WAUZZZ8E25A456940) acquired new in February 2005. It’s a superb car, still in fantastic condition (at 184000 miles) and in perfect working order other than the following problem. A coolant hose at the rear of the engine, part no. 8E2819371AD, has split and the car cannot now be driven. It’s at a local garage where a pressure test was conducted to seek a minor leak. I presume that the pressure caused the hose to rupture. The part was declared obsolete only last month (!) by TPS (official VAG parts supplier). My garage can’t spend any more time searching and has passed the problem to me. On Thursday I ordered the part from LLL Parts, whose website initially showed it in stock but yesterday I got an email, saying only that it isn’t available; no indication if they can get one; no response to my email and I can’t reach them by phone as their automated answering system keeps cutting me off. I am now having enormous difficulty finding the part on the Internet, other than from a few expensive, probably dodgy Eastern European sellers on eBay, which I am not willing to risk. If the part can't be found, it seems that I would have to have the car scrapped, which is crazy, given how good it is, and would be emotionally difficult for me. Can anyone please help?