Magnet

Hello Stephen, If it were mine, I would be getting the battery checked as the first port of call, if only to eliminate it from a list of suspected components. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Richard, Yes, lasted about 10 years, but of course they were bought some 13 years ago. Quite possible that marketing and sales may now influence quality! I like trials and reviews, but being an old (very!) cynical being, I tend to think who is sponsoring the trials - a little akin to sugar producers claiming sugar is good for you. I would not claim any bias here, but does advertising possibly, just possibly have any influence on the outcome. For me, I generally take more interest in reviews by users. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Kevin, and I too feel for your plight in this economically difficult time. Repeating ( because I think it’s a worthwhile route) - try your local classic car club/s. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Richard, Sorry to hear of your issue. I’m sure you will understand that it can be an almost impossible task to correctly ‘guess’ what the actual problem is without examining the car. The car is obviously trying to tell you something, so my recommendation would be to return it to the seller for investigation and repair. If you are unable to do that for any reason, then you would need to depend on your trusted local garage to identify the cause. Apologies, that this may not be that helpful, but I fear any responses on here can only be via. guesswork, and in effect, a car that makes any noise over bumps would warrant inspecting for your own safety. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Richard, Interesting that the OE lights are still considered not to be that bright on the later A3s. We had similar discontents back in 2006, and replaced them with Night Breakers - to good effect - a couple of years later. These lasted well, until one failed a couple of years ago, so they would come with my recommendation. I could be wrong, but I think I recall it written that there could well have been fakes about in more recent times, so I guess you will need to be careful where you buy them. Kind regards, Gareth.m

Hello Kevin, I think the forum now has a better idea of what your limitations and expectations are, and from your searches for the cambelt alone, it’s clear that whoever carries out this work for you, the total bill is going to be quite substantial - it would be worth seeking an idea for the labour charge for the clutch alone. I don’t want this to come over as being unhelpful, but the labour time is soon going to mount up, and even at ‘mate’s rates’, I think you I’ll need to brace yourself for spending a fair amount of money. Yes there will be enthusiasts who do ‘hobbles’ but even they will expect around half of what your local garage would charge you. I just wonder if you feel all these jobs are totally outside your capabilities - since obviously, this is your cheapest option. I you feel they are, then another cheapest-option route would be to join a local classic car club ( your car is 20 years old) and there, you usually find enthusiasts who actively work on older vehicles, and may be prepared to take these jobs on to supplement an income, and provide some funds for their restoration. This could be a positive route. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Pete, In this day and age of buying cars remotely rather than in your locality, it becomes increasing important that whatever warranty comes with the car, allows work to be carried out in your locality, rather than having to return it to the seller - which of course in impractical if the car was bought some miles away. I’m sure you will get to grips with finding ‘leaks’ in any warranty. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Pete, Interesting that Audi are retailing even a few 15 plate vehicles. I guess these will have mileages beyond your limits -? I can well understand your logic of wanting a low mileage example, so apologies for the pessimistic outlook, but it does restrict the number that are likely to come along at main dealers. Sounds reasonable to want an ‘approved’ example, but I would be carefully checking the small print on the warranty to find the exclusions, which of course will influence whether you pay a premium or not to get what you think you may be getting. In the end, the actual extent of the warranty cover may be very much the same in real terms. Worth asking for a copy at your local dealer. Boring, but important reading! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Pete, By ‘Approved used’ , are you talking buying from an Audi main dealer? If so, I thought the rule of thumb was that main dealers seldom retail cars in excess of 5 years old, and your 15/65 cars would now be 6 years old. Of course, things might have changed, or be different in your area. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks for letting the forum know Minesh - that may well help others. As far as I was aware ( with petrol engines only?) , Audi did not specify any recommended service interval changes for fuel filters. I would certainly advise to change at around 40 K intervals. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Garry, I’d probably have more concerns re. cambelt changes, clutch operation etc. etc. release bearing assemblies usually fail well before the clutch wears out. Matching tyres on each axle indicates an interest in maintaining the car properly. Of course, there are many more things. Re. body panel rectification:- if damage is beyond the scope of the ‘dent removal’ boys, then you would need to consider around £300/ panel, but it would not be reasonable to expect the seller to meet such costs on an aged vehicle, where some minor scuffs would be expected. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gary, I really don’t have any worries about the advice given, or the possibility of any comebacks. As with all forums, advice and assistance is given freely where asked for, and of course, may or may not be the best of advice - but it’s free! Well fair do s as we say here, it seems the seller is initially funding the inspection, and the transportation cost, and when it’s delivered to your door, you have the option of saying ‘no thanks’. Sounds a nothing-to-lose deal from your side. I’m sure it will all work out well for you. Kind regards, Gareth.

You are a braver man than me Gary! So you are prepared to actually buy this sight unseen? Now that is brave. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. I don’t recall advising you to give him a ring.

Hello Mark, I would most definitely be seeking the opinion of another mechanic. Apologies for being pedantic but the noise has now changed from a clunk to a rattle. It could be me, but I interpreted the originally described symptom as a clunk on take up of the drive. A rattle on acceleration would need to be clarified to the inspecting mechanic as being a noise when the engine is revved when stationary, or only when the car is on the move. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on Mark. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gary, Before any interest in terms of inspection:- The briefest or description by seller. Just as well state - Starts, drives, stops! Last V5 activity was Dec. 2019 which suggests ownership since then. No that long in my book. MOT history shows fairly regular comments for tyres near the limit. Not a good indication of careful maintenance. I don’t think I would be rushing off to look at this one, and it’s comparatively on my doorstep! Apologies Gary if you’ve already looked up the above detail. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gary, I’m not sure whether any of this is going to be of any help to you but....., We have a 2006 1.6 A3 Sportback, which has been in the family from new and has covered close on 165k, and no doubt if I was to offer it to you, it would be a little/no interest due to the mileage. This car has been (over?) maintained and I really hope it will continue to give good service, since we have no intention of parting with it. All this has been mentioned, with a view of not blinkering your search to maximum mileages, and main dealer service histories. Dealers and dodgy? Good question, but the answer is that dealers only retail vehicles which dodgy owners have put in part exchange without declaring known faults! Dealers don’t generally set out to be dodgy. If I were in your situation, I would be attempting to buy privately from an owner who has owned the car for some time (important). In this situation, you will actually be talking to the person who knows the car, and can tell you what work has, and hadn’t been done on it. If you find something which appeals, then spend wisely on an independent inspection. My view is that nice cars should be bought from nice people, over a nice cup of tea. Remember, full service history can equate to the car spending half a day in a workshop every 18 months or so, and any maintenance being totally ignored and the car ill treated for the rest of its life. Good luck with your quest. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Mark, So a clearer picture now emerges, and as well as a new clutch master cylinder being most recently fitted, the car was fitted with a replacement clutch assembly in recent times - including a dual mass flywheel? So the issue you have doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s anything to do with the fitting of the master cylinder, but could equally be to do with the clutch assembly itself, or indeed something totally different. Can you let us know why the master cylinder was changed? I’m sure you will appreciate Mark, that it would be extremely difficult to pinpoint a cause of this issue without actually inspecting and testing the car, so the answer is more likely to be found at your trusted local garage, otherwise it becomes a guessing game on here. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mark, ’.....clutch master cylinder changed’ . Sure it was the master cylinder and not the slave cylinder/ release bearing assembly? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Anne, I’m obviously very much with Richard on this, and if this were mine, I would be very much dissatisfied with this particular car, and would be eventually considering rejecting it. As Richard says, the first action is to get your Audi dealer to carryout an oil consumption test on the car. If (in caps?) the AA are correct in their calculations, then the oil warning light has come on far too late for the car to require 4 litres of oil to return to the correct level, and indeed, if this is fact, then running the car on only 1.5 litres of oil in the sump, will not have done the engine any good at all - putting it mildly! If the AA’s calculation is incorrect, then it might be found that the engine now has a high (excessively so?) oil level, due to adding too much. Whatever, the dealer will need to drain the sump, and replenish with the specified quantity. As Richard says, you will then be asked to drive the car over a set mileage, and the car’s consumption gauged from the quantity needed to return the level to the original. Not wishing to delve into your personal circumstances, but there is any element of finance involved with the car, then I would be notifying them that the car has suspected high oil consumption, and you will notify them again once the necessary tests have been carried out. Perhaps you could keep us posted on how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Anne, If I’m reading your post correctly, then this is crazy, and simply unacceptable. My maths on your figures concludes that the car has used 4litres of oil in the first c4000 miles. i.e. it’s doing 1000 miles/litre, or in old English, less than 600 miles/pint - I have a couple of 80+ year old cars which can match that! Richard provides some useful statistics:-......up to 0.5l /1000km, which is of course 1 ltr per 2000 km, (1250 miles). It seems yours has averaged a consumption in excess of this - 1 ltr/1000 miles, and it has to be appreciated that its consumption should have reduced over the last couple of thousand miles as it beds in. Question:- Does anyone expect this engine’s oil consumption to suddenly, or even gradually decrease in the next couple of thousand miles? One point that confuses Anne:- Your posts reads that it was necessary to add 4 litres of oil in one go, at one time, since the remaining volume in the sump was only 1.5 litres. If this is so, then something is wrong/ignored with the oil level sensor, which usually warns to top up the oil when the level drops by c 1 to 1.5 litres. Running this engine with only 1.5 litres in the sump would be bad news. Kind regards, Gareth.

Well done Paul. Kind regards, Gareth.

And your money back Paul? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gregg, You are obviously familiar with the classic car policy world, so depending on what your usage will be for this 19 year old car, then classic car brokers would be my first port of call. Appreciate the car is not quite 20 years old, but...... It your usage is not suitable for classic car cover then you could try Adrian Flux on here, who I’m sure they will be able to advise in any case. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Philip, Sorry to hear of your issue, but please do not rush out and buy a new starter motor for this car without further investigation. The car is 5 year old, and it’s not unusual for the battery to be sub standard at this age, if the stop/start function has been in frequent use. This would be my first port of call, and I would be getting the battery efficiency measured before doing anything else. If it does prove to be sub standard then it’s worth buying once and wisely, and investing in a Varta/Bosch replacement with at least a 4 year guarantee. You can buy mail order on line at very competitive prices. EBay is my preferred starting point, where you will find sellers such as Battery Megastore, Tayna, Plymouth Batteries etc. If you are eventually forced to renew the starter motor then beware - cheap is usually cheap, and personally, I would not be buying one made made too far east of the Thames estuary from ECP and the likes. You are likely to get what you pay for. Kind regards, Gareth.

Seems the OP hasn’t visited the forum for almost a month. Apologies, I missed the date of the original post. Kind regards, Gareth.