Magnet

Hello Craig. 235/55 on old model = 129mm of tyre wall height. 255/45 on current model = 115 mm. So you have 14mm less tyre ‘height’. Significant? Would not have thought so. Tyre brands and sidewall flexibility? Others maybe more experienced on this, but I would have thought that the main tyre contributing factors to ride quality would be XL (extra load) - where the sidewalks are less flexible, and of course run-flats for the same reason. Are you still confident that neither of these apply to your current tyres - particularly the run-flat aspect? Not always apparent, so worth visiting your local tyre retailer? Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks Hugo, Great. 20€/hr! Wow. Pardon my ignorance - particularly since I used to enjoy Geography - but where is Almancil? Save me looking it up! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Sumeet, Thanks for coming back. Maintained Mercedes petrol or diesel should see 100k miles, sigh, and cover the next 100k with the same effort. Ones which have previously suffered from a lack of maintenance will, like any other marque, soon let you know. Some will put all (in caps) their faith in the ‘quality’ of a vehicle, based on its service history. SH is important, but may just equate to a vehicle having spent half a day at a dealer every 18 months or so, and might not give any indication of the way it’s actually been cared for in daily use. We have a local executive hire company near to us, and his vehicles can cover around well over 200k in under 3 years. His drivers are queuing up to buy them because they know they have actually had a good and active life. I’m not saying low mileage is the reciprocal of this, but they can take a bit of a mechanical hammering via. constant short distance journeys, and of course, the interiors, doors etc., have to withstand a far higher than normal amount of getting in and out. Anyway, Sumeet, good luck in finding what you want. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Sumeet, I’m sure other will give you the pros and cons or should that be the other way around!?) of these gearboxes. On the more general principles, you are looking to buy an eleven year old car and have set your maximum mileage requirement to an example which has covered between 4 to a maximum of 6,000 miles/a. Not very realistic in my book, and very restrictive in terms of choice. It obviously follows that such low mileage examples will have been subjected to numerous stop/ starts, more not-up-to-temperature use , and a much higher clutch operation - i.e. not the best of operating conditions. Clutch (release bearings) will certainly suffer over time. Cambelt and water pump schedules are not strictly in accordance to mileage, but also to time periods, irrespective of mileage - generally every 5 years. Hope some of this might help pending more in depth comment. Kind regards, Gareth.

Tried swopping back wheels to front Craig, to see if that makes any difference? As said, 55 profile are generous, but were the satisfactory 19 inch fitted with say 60? Suspension specs between the two any different? e.g. Sport vs non Sport. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks Craig. That profile is very generous for 20 inch wheels, and should give you good ‘insulation’ from varying road surfaces, so nothing there to point you to a cause, I’m afraid. Just to confirm:- tyres are matching in terms of brands and amount of tread? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello James, Warning lights often work by picking up circuit resistances outside of the norm, so the bulbs may still illuminate, but might have higher than expected contact resistance. If this were mine, I would be investing in a spray can of contact cleaner, removing the offending bulbs, giving everything a good spray, then refitting and wiggling the bulbs in their holders. See if that does anything. If not, let us know, and there is one more area you could check, but the car would not really be old enough to expect to have that issue. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Craig, Could you let us know the width and profile of your 20 inch tyres and whether they are run flats or perhaps extra load (XL) ? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Hugo, and welcome to the forum. You raise a good question and hopefully someone with access to a trade system should be able to help you out, by letting you know the scheduled time for these jobs. Personally, I wouldn’t use a mechanic who won’t give you a price for the job, since he either doesn’t know the work involved - so hasn’t done it before, or he might just be working out how much money he can get from you. Worth trying to find another mechanic. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jack, Many thanks for being in touch. I wondered how long you’ve had the car, and whether you inherited the issue with the car. To me, this looks like a previous owner has ‘deliberately’ modified the spot and fog light system so it’s permanently on. It was a fad a couple or so years ago - maybe still is?- to have fog lights on all the time ( not in bad weather as should be). Something to do with attention seeking, and look at me, I’ve got spit lights on my Audi! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jonny, Hopefully Kev’s link will help. If not, have you actually visited, or phoned you local Audi dealer? I guess you must have since you say you have tried everywhere, but I’m not certain of that, from your reply. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ian again, If your main dealer fails to help you, then I would be resorting to checking EBay for an original brochure for the car. This brochure will answer your question. Always a nice addition to a collectible car’s portfolio. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ian, Although there had always been a vast aftermarket for hoses, resulting in them being in plentiful supply, I think that it was around the time your car was registered, that hoses generally became main dealer parts only. My first port of call would be to pay a visit to the Parts Dept. of your dealer - armed with a photo and VIN and Reg. no. ( if not able to take the car. They will be able to advise you whether this part is still available or not, and if it isn’t, should help you out with a part number. I would not attempt to do this over the phone or by text. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jonny, Thanks for being in touch. Are you saying Audi are no longer able to supply this part for your 13 year old car? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Peter, Thanks for being in touch. It seems you have got yourself into (potentially expensive) problems by wanting to fit tyres which are a meagre 10mm wider than the manufacturer’s specification. I would have thought that now attempting to fit these on the fronts is just compounding an already confused situation, and one you would not want to get involved with. In addition, I guess you would have already considered the possible affect on your insurance premium by fitting non standard tyres. Kind regards, Gareth,

Hello David, Thanks for being in touch. There could be a variety of reasons, from programming to actual faults, but fortunately you don’t have to worry about it, or the reasons why, but simply return it to the dealer for them to sort it out for you under the warranty. Kind regards, Gareth. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Robin, The 2005 1.6 seems very much overpriced to me for a 15 year old car - albeit with low mileage ( not always a good thing in terms of having down short journeys). The fact that they are automatics makes them generally less attractive to the average buyer, and should be reflected in a lower than normal price, but..... Automatics don’t generally like short journeys - as you would expect - and are likely to need (expensive?) oil changes. We have a 2006 1.6 A3 and this certainly has a cambelt, but you will need to check if your 1.6 does. If so, they should be replaced every 5 years irrespective of mileage, so would be due now at 15 years old. The 1.4? Don’t know, but believe chain, but someone on here will be specific. I wouldn’t assume chain = trouble free, since tensioners can give issues. On a more general note, are both these cars for sale in your locality? If not, I would be vary wary since you have to consider the (im) practicalities of returning the car to the seller for any warranty work. Personally, I wouldn’t buy any car outside of my area if a warranty is important. If you are prepared to forgo any warranty issues then of course it’s fine to travel - where you are allowed. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Neil, Many thanks for sharing your helpful information regarding the RAC tyre insurance. I wonder if you would be kind enough to let the forum know what the cost of the breakdown cover was, and the add-on cost for the tyre insurance. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Chris, Thanks for being in touch. All relatively recent vehicles are highly dependent on battery condition, and unlike older generation cars, you cannot judge the effect of its condition by waiting for starting difficulties. If this were mine, the last job I would be involving myself in at this stage would be removing the dashboard cluster, and my first port of call would be eliminating the battery efficiency as a likely culprit. The likes of Halfords check/used to check this, and of course, if found to be faulty, can supply you a new one. Personally, I buy on line from specialist battery suppliers and only buy Varta/Bosch with a minimum of a 4 year warranty. Obviously, if the battery tests fine, then it’s off to stage 2 of thinking process. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks Richard, Your cleaning regime is text book how to do it, and a mile from the £5 jet wash with potentially harmful chemicals - which are the normal offenders. Warning to others - just don’t go there. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Pete, I feel for your plight, and if anything good come from this, then your situation may spell out to others, the totally impractical implications of buying vehicles (on line) at a considerable distance from your home. Effectively, you can kiss goodbye to a guarantee - in practical terms. Having said that, this is where I see you are:- You have an Audi dealer who wants you to spend a lot of money to perhaps (in caps) minimise the oil usage, and to confirm its oil consumption. You have a very vague hope that Audi UK may (in caps) part fund the potentially high cost of any rectification work. You don’t have any knowledge of whether the previous owner had attempted to make a similar claim from Audi UK, and either had given up on the idea, or indeed had failed. This needs to be investigated. You have a seller who understandably wants the car back to evaluate it, and presumably attempt to repair it, and it is legal requirement that you allow him that option, before formally rejecting the car, (if he fails) and then claiming your money back. Practically, he has you over a barrel, since that option is not really viable due to the distance involved - and of course, you know you will be at his mercy if you do. Sorry to put this bluntly, but despite no fault on your part, you are effectively stuck with a vehicle which is not fit for purpose, but legal redress is going to be dependent on you handing the car back to the seller with all the impractical implications that follow. It isn’t on your doorstep, and progress chasing will be severely hampered. Options going forward:- Check with Audi UK as to whether there is any history of claim of high oil consumption with this vehicle. Contact a recommended local Audi independent and seek their specialist advice on how to proceed, and how to gather and present the necessary evidence to the seller. Get a price from We Buy Any Car. If it were mine, I would not be throwing good money after bad, unless I had some positive proof that the oil consumption was going to be significantly reduced as a result. My eventual bottom line would be to take the hit and part with it, if you don’t get any positive vibes from an independent. Good luck and kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Zak, Thanks for coming back on this, but the point I was trying to make was that (unfortunately) whatever you now advise will be just too late, and the decision would have been made more than 2 years ago! Sorry, but I’m still at a loss to understand why you resurrected this, and indeed how you found the post. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Wayne, ‘No change in cleaning products....’ Wondering how you regularly clean the car. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Sherif, Sorry I don’t know what the part is called, but there are two ways around this:- if driveable by some botch repair, then simply take the car to the parts department of your local main dealer and seek their advice. Be aware, the part may not actually be available due to the age of the car. Second option if not drirveable, woot be to take your photo along, together with reg. and VIN details and enquire at the main dealer. I both cases, I would not be attempting to try to do this via. phone or e-mail. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello James, I don’t see an issue in getting your mechanic mate to agree to rectify this - as he has agreed to do that. Two points I see moving forward are:- when is he actually going to rectify this for you? Have a agreed a start and importantly, a finish time for this to be carried out? It seems the car isn’t useable - or at least, you simply shouldn’t use it until it’s fixed. Second point:- since he knew he damaged the oil seal, why on earth didn’t he simply replace it then? How much confidence would the average person be expected to have in relation to this person’s ability to carry out such work? Kind regards, Gareth.