tonydalton

Morning Gareth. Yes, all fixed!
Following my last update I did more research, emailed more with Andy, and then spoke to the garage again. I shared all the great feedback and advice I've had from various sources with them and we discussed. Upshot was that they stuck with their original diagnosis:
Leak in the accumulator tank was the main problem - replace tank Both rear shocks were blown as they had been leaking oil - ideally replace but could potentially wait a bit longer They reassured me (as much as you can) that their plan would resolve the issue. I do appreciate all of the advice I've been given but end of the day the garage have actually seen the issue in the flesh, were very confident in their diagnosis, and I've learnt to trust them over the years (trust but verify!) so I went with their recommendation.
As painful as it was to use Audi parts I didn't want to risk no recourse with parts from another supplier so I swallowed the cost.
It took just over a week to get the parts in, and then they had the car for a couple of days. I got it back Friday, did a load of tip runs Saturday (garden waste, heavy-ish loads) and a 200 mile round trip to see family yesterday. No issues at all, drives very nicely, I can raise/lower without issues.
So all in all an expensive issue to resolve but I'm happy with the outcome and still love this car.
Thanks for the advice and for being a sounding board, much appreciated.