Magnet

Hello Stuart, Many thanks for being in touch with the forum. It seems as if the car could indeed be suffering from a parasitic drain, and if this were mine, I would be getting that checked by an autoelectrician (rather than a local garage). Be aware, that the draining current, should be assessed at least a couple of minutes after the car has been locked down and the alarm has fully set. Drains of around 50mA would be expected - anything much more is undesirable. Having said that, battery condition is king with these modern cars, as is of course the alternator output, to ensure it’s kept fully charged. New battery? - absolutely the correct AGM type for the car?? Make as a matter of interest. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Michael, I can well understand the need to save the pennies, but in reality, your logic is flawed in terms of covering low mileages, so the oil ‘quality’ isn’t so important. Short journeys represent slow warm up, more stops and starts, more rev variations than a car travelling much greater distances under optimum operating conditions on the motorway. You will be more dependent on oil quality than most. You looked at Castrol, since Audi stamp Castrol on the oil filler. OK, as I understand it, Quantum (recommended by VAG) is a brand name under the Castrol empire - so you peace of mind there? Cheaper than your Castrol price? I paid around £30 for 5ltrs of Quantum so £60 buys you 10 ltrs for your 8.2 litr need. Mannol? Price of that for 5 litres? I don’t know but I’m sure you do, so you can do your maths and equate it a a saving of x Costa coffees over a year of motoring. As asked - let us know the difference. On the plus side, I think I recall Stevey on here using Mannol in his taxi - a good test bed. Personally, I think you are armed with enough information to make a decision on this, but pardon the comment - you appear to be procrastinating, and in danger of disappearing up a certain orifice! Just work out your cost savings and decide if those savings are worth the x cups of coffee which will no doubt be bought with the price difference. Bear in mind that your labour costs are free, so invest the savings in the best materials. Apologies Michael, but……. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Michael, Why do you want to scrimp a few? £s on oil? I really don’t know what this oil is like, but I do know that Quantum has done me well over many many years. I now simply search EBay for the best price from a reliable supplier. Simple hassle free route. Apologies, its probably me, but why to you want to ‘pickle your head’ with this? Perhaps you could let us know the price of this, and the best price you have found on Quantum, so we can better understand exactly how much you are going to save over your annual mileage. If you are set on this oil, then it will probably do what you want it to do, and you make your own choice - which is absolutely fine- rather than taking advice from the forum - which i think is where you came in. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Yvonne, Have you searched EBay, and advertised your ‘want’ on the car breakerlink websites such as Partsfinder - there are more? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, As you guessed, I was being politely critical. No doubt this forum is no different from many others, where the I-want-you-sort, principles apply - with often zero feedback, leave alone any thanks. Since I’ve now got my critical hat on and in gear, my pet hate is where we take time to construct a helpful reply, which is met with ‘tried that’. It’s great when posters actually post all details of what they have eliminated, to compliment the enquiry of ‘where is my noise coming from?’ Grizzle over, and apologies Abinhav, if you have genuinely been totally absorbed elsewhere since you posted your plea for help. Kind regards, Gareth.

He’s a busy chap Cliff. Hasn’t been back to the forum since posting a plea for help. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Luke, To try to keep this as brief as possible. Was the engine oil up to operating temperature when the oil pressure was checked? I.e. after a run of at least 5 miles. If not, all the readings are really meaningless. Pressures will drop as the oil heats up - that is normal, but as said, the readings will only be meaningful if carried out on an oil-is-hot engine. Get them to take the car on at least a 5 mile run then do the pressure test again. Please do not assume that the engine oil is up to temperature once the coolant reaches normal - this is a totally incorrect assumption. Perhaps you would let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

How old is the battery Abhinav? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hi Tony, Let me know if you are coming again. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tony, I think Nathanial Cars has more than their fair share of new MGs down here, not far from me. Compounds full of them! Kind regards, Gareth.

Great. So you, or preferably an auto electrician now has to find the source of the short circuit. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, Just an opinion, but will the market indeed crash?? Or will the manufacturers now set the prices for the new vehicles ( when available) - inline with the current inflated prices? I know what I would do if I was at the business end of car manufacturing! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, We take it you immediately removed the fuse you put in?? Suspect some bodged wiring associated with the defunct radio as the first port of call. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Michael from the Homeland, I have a humble 2006 1.6 A3 with a couple of thousand more miles under its belt than your car. I have always used Quantum Longlife 3 ( recommended by VAG) and change it every year despite its now lower annual mileage. I only use VAG, Mann, or Bosch for all filters. I have no reason to use any other oil than the Longlife 3 - available at competitive prices, delivered to your door by a number of EBay sellers. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andy, As Cliff suggests - particularly in respect of tyres. My first, and urgent action would be to take the car to a trusted local tyre retailer and ask them to thoroughly inspect all tyres - ideally with wheels removed. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks for posting this Russell, and for the detail and video. Only thing that potential buyers now need to know, is the price you are asking for the car. Wondered if you could add that to your advert. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mark, Appreciate that which you made clear in your early post, and repeating - I would strongly stick with my original advice. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. ‘Full service history’ can mean it’s spent half a day in a workshop once a year ( at most), and who knows how it’s been driven for the other 364 1/2 days?

Hello Mark, Have you sought advice/had on inspection of the car, carried out by a diesel specialist, rather than an ‘ordinary’ garage? If not, that would be my first route. Can we take it the ‘on start up’ smoke is whitish and smells of diesel? If so, possible injector issues? Hopefully the car doesn’t consume any coolant -? Perhaps you could come back to us. Cliff does raise a point - no one really goes to the expense of getting a car mapped unless they drive ‘enthusiastically’ ! - being polite - so whoever buys such a car must be attracted to it for a similar reason, otherwise they are likely to move on to another original example. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Kev, Thanks for being in touch and sorry to hear of your issue. I’m sure you will appreciate that it would be extremely difficult/impossible to diagnose the exact cause of the noise, without access to the car, and so it would only be possible to suggest possibilities. Obviously you need to get the car thoroughly inspected at your trusted local garage, but my first stab at it sight-unseen, would be wheel bearing (again). Where and if it’s safe to do so, try turning the steering a little when you hear the noise, and obverse whether the noise alters or not. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jack, I think it would be highly unlikely that both old and new batteries are unserviceable, but to assume a battery is OK because it reads 12v on a simple multimeter is incorrect. When you measure using a simple meter. you are measuring under ‘no load’ conditions, and batteries must be tested under load. If this were mine, I would be checking all associated battery connected leads, the main engine earth, and the connections onto the starter motor (with care). If all is proved to be well, and you have a sound 12v supply onto the smaller lead on the starter motor, then you can begin to suspect the starter, but it sounds as if you do need the services of an auto electrician, otherwise you will end up spending unwisely. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Steve, Yes, I’ve got a ‘Genuine VAG’ kit here that has a Gates belt in the Audi box. Haven’t looked at the tensioner. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andy, It may just be me, but I would run a mile from any ‘free MOT for life’ deal. Chances are you will be met with ‘ your brake pads and discs need renewing Sir’ etc., etc. And if you decide not to let them renew them - at inflated prices - then the free MOT may suddenly not be free anymore - and you pay the privilege for a failure certificate. I would divorce the two requirements and simply obtain quotes without the ‘free’ MOT. As I say, this might be on isolated opinion, but…… Kind regards, Gareth.

Apologies Steve, I could indeed have added the caveat .’….or quality aftermarket products such as Gates……’. The reason for not adding that, was that I wanted to make sure the original poster was obtaining absolute like for like comparisons with the quotation he had from his Audi dealer. Of course, if he choose to get this done away from Audi or an independent, then my response will have allowed him to ask questions about what he was getting for his alternative quotes. The back and front of it is to allow him (in caps) to decide what is important to him, and not really what we may think. Many thanks again and kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, The car is still under guarantee, so first port of call must be to book it in with your main dealer. Apologies for the obvious, but you don’t need to worry about why - just about getting it rectified. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andy, Thanks for being in touch with the forum. Price comparisons can be difficult due to the potential for regional variations. Can we take it the dealer who quoted you £900 is an Audi main dealer? If so, try another main dealer within say a 30 mile radius and get another quote. May be the same, maybe negotiable, but worth a try. You could also look up any VAG independents in your area, and get quotes there, but confirm they will be using genuine VAG parts to ensure your price comparison is like for like. Sometimes the independents can be cheaper, but not always. Main dealers sometimes have package offers for combined belt and services - again worth asking. I’m sure you will appreciate that this isn’t a price-is-king job, but is a critical application job. Apologies for adding extra concerns/potential expense, but it’s good policy to also have the auxiliary belt (fan belt in very old terms) and it’s tensioner changed at the same time, since subsequent failure of this belt assembly can result in wrapping itself around the crank pulley, and causing the timing belt to jump some teeth, so it’s worth adding this to the quote. The car is now 8 years old, and I would have thought the belt should have been done previously - at around 5 years old. Do you know if it was or not? If it was, then no need to do it now. If it wasn’t then it’s obviously overdue. Kind regards, Gareth.