Magnet

Hello Beany, If you are buying your diesel at £1.70 a litre ( that’s really cheap Steve - close on, and above £1.80 here) then you are buying 2.6 gallons for your £20. If so, your mpg works out at about 38.5 mpg. If your diesel costs you more, then you are obviously getting a better mpg than that. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello John, Thanks for being in touch. Is it your intention to patch the existing headlining? If so, I think you are going to struggle, apart from finding a scrap one and cutting a piece out of that. It might well be better to buy a complete headlining from a scrapped car. You can advertise your ‘want’ on a number of on-line breaker link sites, where you list what you want and breakers respond to you directly. Perhaps you could come back to us and colour in a bit more detail. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jimmy, From what information you have been given - and apologies for how I (in caps) see it - the car has been subjected to a glorious lack of (recorded) servicing. It was first registered in ? month 2015, yet did not have a service until Aug. 2017 by which time it had covered c38k miles - so at best it had ‘lost’ one service. Then the car ran for a further 2 years, and an extra 20k miles and then had a basic Inspection Service. That brings it up to 2019, and it seems it’s not been serviced during the last c3 years. If a service plan was taken out in Aug 2018, then it seems the previous owner ‘ couldn’t even be bothered’ to return it to be serviced! If I’m right, then that effectively equates to 3/4 of nothing of a service history. Servicing it now under the service plan? Yes OK, but has the horse already bolted? And indeed, is the plan transferable? Of course, it could be claimed that the servicing has been done ‘away from the main dealer’, but why would anyone do that if they were paying for a maintenance schedule?? This would indeed put a dampener on it if I was interested, and would come under the heading of ‘nice looker, shame about the holes in the knickers’! Well at least you are now armed with most of what you need to know to make a considered opinion. Pardon my ignorance with this, but have you check if this is a belted or chain engine? If belt then every 5 years is a good safeguard, so should have been done in 2020. Apologies again for my slant on it. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jimmy, Sounds nice. Can we take it you have done an on-line MOT history on the car? Also an on-line ‘DVLA Vehicle check’ which will tell you the date the last V5 was issued. If fairly recent, then some degree of alarm ringing will dictate further investigation, since the last owner may have bought it recently. Not a good sign. Not wishing to put a dampener on anything, but prior homework is king! You should also be able (essential) to do a servicing search via. any Audi dealer, by giving them the registration number. They will usually e-Mail you a copy of that service record. In addition to Steve’s very sound advice about equal tread depths, I would also check on ‘same brand’ tyres. A matching set of tyre brands on a car is a good sign. Good luck with it. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Mohammed, I can see AGM on the old Varta, but I seem to be missing it on the new Bosch. Kind regards, Gareth.

Worth having a check Phil? Kind regards, Gareth.

I’m really not sure about the impolite comments, which I guess you interpreted from my post some 5 days later to yours, and at a point where you hadn’t returned to the forum to view any responses. I saw my comments as factual, rather than aimed at being impolite. Not that it should matter, but I’m knocking the door of 80 years of age, and have always attempted to deal with people in a polite manner, and always end my posts in that vein. Of course, during that span of years, there has no doubt been occasions where that philosophy has failed, and offence has been caused - as in this case, and my style has been to tender apologies - which I do in this case. In defence of the forum, I would claim that there are a number of stallwood responders her who give a considerable amount of their time in an attempt to hopefully help others, and with a recent spate of non responses from people who post for the first time, this has (understandably in my opinion) resulted in a some criticism. Having said that, there has been an aim towards politeness, and that will continue in my posts, and I’m sure with other responders. To end this on a more lighthearted note:- one of the Marcs brothers said ‘ I wouldn’t want to belong to any club that would have me as a member. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mohammed, One basic question - is the new Bosch battery an AGM type? Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Phil, So the service schedule indicator has now been changed by your Audi dealer? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Phil, It sounds like your car needs to be on an annual service schedule, based on the mileage you are doing. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ian, You could also buy a ‘code saver’ device which plugs into the cigarette lighter and is connected to a spare 12v battery - if you have one. This is the best recognised way of doing it. Re. Removal of corrosion on terminal connector - the least destructive way is to pour a small (in caps) amount of boiling water on the terminal - do one at a time and dry water off between dealing with the other one. Thoroughly dry each one before applying a light covering of Vaseline. Re. Eventually replacing the battery? The new battery will need to be coded to the car, so best resolution is to buy yourself a good brand battery ( I use Varta - usually original supplier to VAG, or Bosch - same in reality) with a 5 year warranty bought from specialist on- line suppliers such as Battery Megastore, Tayna etc - no connection with either and there are more. Then find yourself a local VAG independent, and get them to swop it over and code it. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks Mike, It seems the original poster joined, posted his plea for help via. his first and only post, returned to the forum some hours later and has not bothered to return to view any help offered, leave alone answer a couple of questions raised. Strange that the topic of just such instances was only raised last week. Still there you go eh!? Many thanks again Mike, Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Steve, Appreciate vehicle prices have escalated in recent times, but I just wonder how competitively priced this example is compared with other similar models, year and mileage. I still have my (serious) doubts, but I could be wrong. Shame the OP hasn’t returned to the forum. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks fo joining the forum. Rather confusing,and more detail required:- When you say you get a clunk from the - steering- are you sure it’s the steering (anything felt through the steering wheel?). You think you are hearing something at the near side - are you sure this is steering noise, rather than a drive/ take up transmission noise? Have you had an assistant standing at the side of the car to better isolate where the noise is coming from? Does the noise alter if you put the car on full lock either side before starting to reverse? Perhaps you could come back to us Alan. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Michael, Thanks for joining the forum and advising that you have the roof bars for sale. If these were mine, I would be listing them on EBay to ensure a wide audience of potential buyers. You can also post them on this forum and list the price you want for them. Kind regards, Gareth.

I guess I’m out of touch with prices of these vehicles, but are these 18 year old cars really selling for £8,500? Sorry to put a dampener on its pedigree ( which may indeed be better than it appears at first glance) but a swift look at the MOT history shows repeated advisories for tyres near the limit. Good sign of maintenance? Apologies Michael if I’ve got this all wrong. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tony, Wonder if you would be kind enough to respond. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Martin, The original poster joined and last visited the forum within 3 days of joining, and never returned to advise on any fix. You could try sending him a PM to see if he replies to you. As with the OP, it is often far more cost effective give to buy an half hour with an autoelectrician, than it is to buy parts in the assumption a particular component is at fault -in your case it could be the switch is faulty. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on Martin. Hello Edward, Sorry, not understanding the need for your post. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Edward, I understand your dilemma, but if it were mine I still would pull it apart without a good run under its belt. Talk nicely with one of your local cars sales -armed with a £20 note and ask them if they would take it for you on trade plates? A 10 mile run should do it it has to. Kind regards, Gareth.

Sorry, but I’m lost with this!

Hello Edward, I don’t think I would be pulling this engine apart simply based on this test and evidence. I would be taking the car on a 20 mile run and getting an assistant to rev the engine to a steady 2000rpm and then (in caps) observing the exhaust smoke. If it smokes to the same extent then - yes you are likely to have trouble. If not, it could be simply condensation. Coolant loss? How much over what mileage? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mark, Manual or automatic? I think you would be wise in investing in a proper diagnostics at an Audi independent, since you do seem to be throwing parts at this ( at guesswork?) in the hope of curing it. Kind regards, Gareth.

The OP says he has had the car for 7 weeks Steve, so 30 days rejection ( is it still 30 days) wouldn’t apply, but surely if it was bought from a dealer then the 90? warranty should apply. Kind regards, Gareth.

Halfords and alert for intermittent fault - on which wheel Aaron? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dan, Thanks for being g in touch with the forum. Genuine wheels are aimed such that their load bearing is through the centre of the hub bearing. Displacing that loading by using spacers can be bad news for bearings. Kind regards, Gareth.