Magnet

Hello Leigh, I’m loosing this a bit! So an independent quotes you ‘just over £1000’ . ‘Audi’ quote you a bit under £950 - cheaper than the independent, and you want to cry. We suggested you tried an Audi dealer - and guess what? They are indeed cheaper? Yes, a lot of money, but cheaper. Now I did suggest you try other out-of-city dealers, because they may be cheaper than your ‘Audi’ quote. Have you tried that ring around yet? Of course, you can also try out-of-city independents if wish. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks for sharing your contentment with your main dealer Ian. We are so used to hearing tales of (justifiable) discontents, that your post really does make refreshing reading. Enjoy the car. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Michael, Many thanks for the additional information. Private or trade purchase? Test drives of say 5 miles should be sufficient for the coolant temperature to reach its normal operating temperature. If your test drive was shorter than that, or if it didn’t get up to temperature in that distance, then you are indeed in unknown territory. Has the car been transported to you then, since you don’t seem to mention anything of the ‘drive home’? Oil temperature -as already said - assess after a 10 mile run. It’s certainly not unheard of for new owners to find the oil light comes on part way home, when the oil gets up to temperature, so short test drives are always a chance. In your case Michael, it’s simply a case of test driving on that length of journey and reporting back with your findings. MGF?? Who have you upset then? - bless you. I guess someone has to own one! So that makes two of us now then, if you count in our TF! You should be well qualified to judge oil temperature gauges by now then. Just report back when you’ve done your test drive, but it would be interesting to have the rest of the background meanwhile. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello James, I would certainly not assume that any wiring should be there. Those days seem to have gone, where vehicles are now built to order specification, and ‘options’ wiring is unlikely to be built in. It would be plan for the worse and hope for the best. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello again Michael, I’ve always called them senders since their primary (and indeed only) function is to control the gauge. Others may call them ‘coolant temperature sensors’, but I reserve that description for such sensors that signal the correct fuel mixture etc. Gauge senders often have just 2 wire connectors, whereas the sensors have more - all a rule of thumb though! Oil temperature:- Some people assume that a car is up to operating temperature once the coolant temperature has reached normal i.e. with 2 to 3 miles. Not so, by that time, the oil is barely warm, and you need about a 10 mile run for the oil to be up to its optimum temperature. Definitely forget about idling! This will obviously be affected by outside temperature, but I would think about 110 in this sort of weather. Perhaps interesting that you suspect your oil temp. gauge maybe reading low as well, and there might (just might) be a connection between this and a low reading coolant temp gauge. However, your 19 year old car maybe too modern for this possible connection! - older cars were fitted with a voltage stabiliser that dropped the gauge operating voltage to around 9 to 10v to damp the gauge from fluctuations. These units used to cause issues, but probably not on yours. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Leigh, Don’t knock yourself about -you are not on your own! I don’t think it’s uncommon for owners to change their vehicles just before some large expenditure is due, but they too get ‘caught out’ with massive outlays on the ‘cost to change’ economics. I too would have thought c£750 sounds nearer to it, but as I say, just shop around until you have a reasonable figure from a source you have confidence in. You might find out-of-city dealers will offer you lower prices due to lower overheads. Perhaps you could let us know where you get to with this. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. There have been Cambelt ‘deals’ where they offer you free MOTs for life! Personally, I’d avoid these like the plague, since they can do serious damage to your wallet in the longer run.

Hello Michael, Many thanks for joining and posting your plea. Are you confident that the car is actually getting up to its proper operating temperature, even though the gauge isn’t indicating it is? If so, I would suspect the coolant temperature sender linked to the gauge, the resistance of which should change as the temperature increases. Try to obtain a reasonable quality one such as Bosch, although I have used Febi to good avail. Kind regards, Gareth,

Hello Leigh, Before we start, yours does have a belt rather than a change - doesn’t it?? Prices at independents can, and often are cheaper, but certainly not always. 1k would seem expensive to me, but I might be out of touch with the current ride in prices. Cambelts may be one such example, since main dealers often have offers on this, so it’s well worth ringing around and seeing what you come up with. For me, this critical application should not be treated as a price-is-king job, and I favour using reasonably price dealerships who you get a feel from. If it were mine, I would also consider getting the auxiliary belt and tensioner changed at the same time. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Colin, As far as I’m aware it equates to 5w 30 and not 5w 40, but hopefully someone else will be along to confirm or refute this. You say you be buying ‘fully synthetic’, but I would advise that ‘synthetic’ has become rather confused, and you now might encounter descriptions such as ‘synthetic technology’. Incase it helps, I have been using VAG’s recommended Quantum brand for many years - using their Longlife 3 variant, even though covering less than 10k per annum, and changing it annually. This is normally available at competitive prices from a number of EBay sellers. As well as investing in the correct specification and grade of oil, it is equally important to choose good filters. Your choice of course, but I stay well away from sellers who normally sell their products at high discounts off so called retail prices! Kind regards, Gareth.

Welcome Graham. What is C and S by the way? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Martin, Are you saying you have the across-roof, cross bars available for sale, for vehicles already fitted with the front to rear roof side rails? If this isn’t correct, could you please describe exactly what you have. Photos would be great. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Rob, Many thanks for joining, and sorry to hear of your understandable discontents. Apologies, and it could just be me, but you have a less than 2 month old very expensive vehicle that has proved to be unreliable within the first week, and the interest now lies in whether anyone else has had a similar problem. This really is an irrelevant consideration - you (in caps) have, and it should be sorted to your satisfaction - forget about anyone else. If this were mine:- I would be contacting Audi U.K. and e-mailing the facts (on a timeline) clearly outlining discontents and dealer actions, or lack of them. Copy in the dealer principal ( not the service manager). Up to you, but you could state that you are about to start procedures to reject the vehicle, but this has less clout than it used to due to vehicle shortages. I would then be contacting another Audi dealer in your area and booking the car in with them for investigation and rectification of issues. Perhaps you can keep us informed as things progress Rob. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks David, and returned best wishes. Still making best attempts to keep ticking over! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Rich, If your intended purchase is indeed belt driven, have you checked the service history to ensure it was change in 2021 (at 5 years old) as is taken to be the normal convention for belt changes. No doubt you have already obtained copy of the computer recorded service history for the car. Your car is probably slightly too old to be retailed by a main dealer-? Unless things have changed as prices escalate. It sounds as if David’s main dealer may be worth a look at if yay intend to have yours serviced at a main dealer. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Rich again, I think most of us have bought secondhand cars, and have have had disappointment that they haven’t had all the toys that a previous car had. I was in your situation earlier in the year when we changed our non-Audi, so I can offer some points to consider that applied to me, but perhaps not to Audi. It is quite possible - likely even - that the necessary harness and connectors are not in place. Yes, I guess you can get a harness made up , but…… The sensors themselves can be bought very cheaply as I’ve just found with the Audi rears - Audi £160 each (yes!), aftermarket ( with the actual Audi part number embossed on them cost £12 odd each). Try Parkingsensorsonline and they might do a full aftermarket kit for yours. You will probably/likely to need a parking sensor module - don’t ask the Audi price! With my non-Audi, the desire to have front parking sensors subsided over a number of weeks, so it might be well worth putting it to the back of the mind and just giving it a couple of coats of thinking about. Incase it matters colour coding simply means a little DIY with an aerosol. Hope some of this might help. Kind regards, Gareth.

No problem at all Gary. I’m not averse to high mileage, if all things add up, and the price makes the deal worthwhile. I’m a bit out of touch with month by month prices, but let’s say the price doesn’t seem cheap! Not wishing to blow trumpets, but if you write a list of what Steve and I have suggested you check (before even expressing and interest) and follow this homework through, then it should enable you to assess whether the car is attractive enough to invest further time and interest in it. Incase it help:- Start with MOT history and the DVLA check, then ask the seller to e-Mail copy of the ‘full service history’ ( much of which should now be on the Audi database). Armed with the reg. no. ring up your nearest Audi dealer and ask them to confirm ( and hopefully copy you) the service history you have been told. Ask the dealer to tell you the number of previous owners, and most importantly how long the last owner has owned it. You have now gone part way through your homework, and should then be sufficiently armed to decide whether said vehicle is of interest or not. Good luck with your quest, and please come back to us if we can help further. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks for joining Rich. Very nice to see someone else from the Homeland. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Garry, Just to add a couple of comments to Steve’s comprehensive homework list:- Have you checked the online MOT history? DVLA vehicle check to see when last V5 was issued? Short ownership can equal issues. Have you actually seen sight of the ‘full service history’. It’s surprising how it can melt into thin air, or get seriously diluted once asked for sight of the evidence. The extent of repairs ( as opposed to servicing) is crucial with high mileages, as many components wear and should have been replaced e.g. suspension components, shock absorbers etc. Important to find out with high mileage:- has this mileage been covered mainly with one or two owners, hopefully on motorway type use. Has it had a low mileage use of late? If so, this can be a disadvantage. The MOT history check should help here. You are placing quite an expectation on this vehicle, with adding a minimum of another 70K miles to it, so homework and verification is going to be your best friend here. Worth doing it well and exhaustively. Good luck with whatever you decide. Oh, and you are not too savvy with inspection vehicles, then a professional inspection would be a good investment. You don’t tell us the price of this Gary - all important, since prices are now more influenced by mileage than they were pre-price-escalation. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks Sophie, Of course, it’s not my business, or car, or wallet, but it’s an individual choice whether anyone pursues an issue or not. Some are prepared to just pay up and move on, or perhaps try and get a dismissive response from Audi and their dealers, and accept it. Others justifiably keep at it until they get some sort of recognition of an issue. It’s just a mix of what is an isn’t acceptable. If you are unsure what to do next Sophie, then it sounds as if you have had an initial try, and now feel you just accept what you are told - and that’s absolutely fine if the issue ends there without further hassle. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Roger, Many thanks for joining. I sounds as if you car is set against a Longlife schedule, and if so, it will usually indicate servicing intervals of around 18K miles or c18 months - whichever comes first. What annual mileage are you covering? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ash, Thanks for joining and posting your plea. Sunroof ? Too late for you now, and apologies for the pessimistic reply, but I would never again buy a car with a sunroof. These can be potential issue pit, and if they don’t actually leak - as yours does - then they become a source of rust issues in yeses to come. Possibly simply blocked drains, and if so, it will possibly keep you involved in on going maintenance. Car misting up inside? Highly likely to be associated with the water ingress. This obviously needs to be brought to the attention of the selling dealer for rectification - hopefully you bought it from a dealer. The other questions relating to traction control:- Ash, can I start by asking you to confirm that you have checked and corrected tyre pressures and inspected the tyres for wear and matching quality brands on both axles? Following comments that unfortunately you are not going to like:- ‘Never owned a car with this power before’. ’Like a swimming pool outside’ ’Flooring it’. ‘Launch control - glides left and right and traction control light goes crazy’. Is this a wind up joke Ash? I ask, because would anyone drive a new-to-them car in such a way on public roads in such appalling weather conditions? If the answer in your case is indeed -Yes - then I’m glad I don’t live anywhere in Cambridgeshire. Probably doesn’t answer you question, but what are your realistic expectations with this car and it’s drivability on public roads. Apologies if these tests were done off road. Kind regards, Gareth.

What is the history of the car James, that may explain the disconnections? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David, A leak maybe a minor issue to sort. New car!? Kind regards, Gareth.

Sounds good Stuart. To me it sounds hassle per ‘small extra mpg’, but. .. I bet your workplace will be chuffed when they find themselves paying for a significant number of commutes, and the eventual scramble to find a plug to plug into, should be great for colleague/colleague relationships! Kind regards, Gareth.

I feel for you Dougie. How much and for how long did this vehicle overheat? That would be my main concern at the moment. Kind regards, Gareth.