Magnet

Hello Omar, CAB = Citizens Advice Bureau. You should find one in your locality via. a Google search. They will no doubt advise you to do everything in writing ( e-mail should do, but check), and equally important, keep a log of all conversations ( record them if possible) you have with seller and finance - Date, time, who spoken to, outcome. Sorry to be pedantic, but ‘Urgently ASAP’ sounds a bit like ‘ - ‘as soon as I can get around to it’. If this was me, it would be a drop-everything-job, and start the ball rolling now. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on.

Hello Gary, OK, sorry, I’ll give up asking if it’s overheating - you told us it was, now you tell us it doesn’t. A new thermostat sounds a good try, but if this were mine, I would be investing in a good make ( probably unlike the one which Halfords apparently fitted). If I’ve got this right, your mechanic is going to supply and fit? - a new thermostat for £75. If so, I would think that would mean fitting a cheap thermostat, and wouldn’t be for me. Buy once and wisely - you are already ‘paying twice’ for the same job! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Omar, If I was in your situation, I would urgently and formally, reject the car - that rejection being made against the seller. your local CAB should be able to assist with this formal procedure. I thought I had read in one of your posts that you had started a rejection with the finance company - but I might have been confused, since can’t spot it now! If you haven’t, then again if it were mine, I would be doing this in tandem without delay. I feel it is totally unacceptable that you are in this situation Omar. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gary, I too am confused when you say the car overheated, yet the temperature gauge stayed at 90. So how do you know it overheated?? Have you got a receipt for the work carried out by Halfords two weeks ago? Was this done at a Halfords near to you? If so, return it there. If not, visit your local Halfords service centre armed with your receipt, and talk with them. My stab at this is that either the fitted thermostat is faulty, and/or the coolant system wasn’t bled properly. Of course, this assumption may be way off the mark, if the car has been used without problem in the two weeks following the thermostat being fitted. How far did you drive this car from where you bought it, to where you live? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Omar, I certainly agree with Steve’s advice in relation to pulling all the stops out to formally reject this vehicle. I would be taking advice from your local CAB on how best to do this. Having said that, it concerns me that you agree to purchase a vehicle in October which you knew ( or could have found out) was overdue a Haldex service by 2 months, and you continue to drive it and presumably have not arranged to get it done during your ownership. I wonder who you bought it from, and if this just out of warranty vehicle has full main dealer service history, and that you checked that before purchase. Perhaps you could colour in a bit more information on this. Kind regards, Gareth.

Who is ‘he’ Gary? Trade or private sale? Did the car overheat (on the gauge) before the coolant disappeared? ‘Thermostat.….can’t be the issue’. I wouldn’t be so sure until you let us know if it overheated or not? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gary, Thanks for being in touch, and sorry to hear of your issue. If this car is emptying its reservoir then there is something (probably seriously) wrong with it. Exactly what? - the car would need inspecting to find out. Any evidence of external leaks? You video is not telling me very much, since the camera is moving about too much! My first port of call would be to get in touch with the seller. Kind regards, Gareth.

Just to get the logic in gear Raynor:- Repeating - you first have to get the battery efficiency checked, then let us know how you get on with that. Again as said, charge the battery for at least overnight before you get it tested. Only worry about one stage at a time! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Raynor, Thanks for being in touch. The first thing you need to do is to charge the battery for at least over night - ideally 24 hours. You then need to get the battery efficiency checked - Halfords (amongst others) can do that. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jemtam, To best advise on necessary servicing going forward, I wonder if you would be kind enough to let us know what the known service history is with the car from new - when serviced and at what mileage, and main dealer or other. Also what the current mileage is, how long you have owned it, and what you normal annual mileage is. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Martin, Sorry to hear of your issue. I’m certainly not trying to excuse the Audi dealer’s unhelpful response, but I would guess it’s the old risk of, if they tell you and you get it wrong, then there might be an element of come back. Normally garages have access to such systems as Autodata. which can give computer information on such things. Kind regards, Gareth,

I would have thought it will need coding Arron. What make of AGM battery did you get after? Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks Paul. Fingers crossed it will be a simple bit of software intervention. I wonder if you would be kind enough to keep the forum informed as things progress. Many thanks again and kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Paul, Apologies Paul for suggesting what you have already tried - detail is king to avoid duplicating advice - so it’s not just me failing to reprogramme! The more ‘toys’ there are (and most seem to want as many toys as possible) then the more there is to go wrong! Folks were once content with just shoving a key in a door lock and turning it. Hey presto, the door locked or unlocked. Now we get frustrated when we press a little button and nothing consistently happens, and we need to try a dose of computer software in the hope that that works. Hopefully, someone on here may be able to suggest a ‘quick fix’, but if not, it’s sounds like option 2 in my above post. Sorry I can’t be any more helpful. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, Have you tried the reprogramming sequences found via. a Google search. One of these might work for you, but unfortunately didn’t for me - you could be luckier. If not, you will first need to get the remote checked to find out if it is still signalling, and if so, it sounds as if you will have to get the fob reprogrammed via. the appropriate software. Kind regards, Gareth.

Last (temporary?) resort Ben, when all else fails - get a local graphics printer to design and print the size and outline you require and stick these on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Petrol or diesel Akhi? Can we take it the battery turns the engine over ‘enthusiastically’? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Arron, Just as Cliff says. It’s a bit like having toothache and being told the tooth needs attention, then asking why you have toothache. Apologies if this appears rather harsh, but you know what you have to do. You will obviously find you have choices when you come to renew the battery, and you can buy at the lowest price and be told you have a 3 year guarantee, or you can buy a good battery at the most competitive price - sometimes there isn’t an alarming difference between those two, if you do your homework. For me, I only buy Varta or Bosch, and choose their 5 year guarantee range rather than the slightly cheaper 3 year. On line suppliers with next day delivery include Tayna, Batterymegastore etc. - there are more. Just search EBay and the seller will advise the correct battery when you give them your registration number. Batteries work hard with modern vehicles, so worth buying once and wisely. Kind regards, Gareth.

Well worth a clarifying ask to the seller then Ben. Kind regards, Gareth.

Sorry Nathan, Disco or not, I still cannot follow your logic of why a partially blocked heater matrix ( without any other fault on the heating system) can give you roasting heat on the passenger side, and poor heating on the driver side - unless we have two separate matrixes - one for each side! Kind regards, Gareth.

Sorry Ben, I can’t come up with anything more than I suggested last time. Hopefully others might add some other tips. How are you getting on with progressing those leads? Enjoy the car. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Nathan, Many thanks for being in touch, and sorry to hear of your problem. I would just sit back and give this another logical coat of thinking about - ‘passenger side roasting, driver side poor..’ Have a think about how that would equate to a partially blocked heater matrix - if it was, then the heating on both sides would be poor. I would be thinking about heater flaps/control etc. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Aimee, Many thanks for being in touch. Unfortunately, the original poster hasn’t returned to the forum since joining some three and a half years ago. You could sent him a PM in the hope that he will reply, and that indeed his noise was due to the same cause as yours. l’m sure you will appreciate that it is going to be something of a long shot for anyone to diagnose the cause without road testing and inspecting the car. If this were mine, I would be booking the car in to your trusted local garage, or Audi independent and getting the car checked with the minimum of delay - the car is trying to tell you something, and the origin of the noise should be traceable on inspection. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on Aimee. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Eric, Apologies if this appears to come over as opinionated, but the strong vibe I’m getting here is that you think the seller is charging £500 too much for the car, and you are looking for advice on whether the car is worth the asking price. Unfortunately, I cannot see you are going to get sound advice on this since no one on here has seen the car to appreciate its true condition, and the ‘valve for money’ can only be judged by a thorough inspection. As Steve says, it’s now a seller’s market, so if it is what you want, and you can afford the asking price ( with some in reserve for yet undiscovered issues) then you either choose to buy it, or look for another one for sale at £3,500. Sorry Eric, but it really is as simple as that - unless the seller will offer you something off. To me, guide prices are just that, and for me, a cheap car is just that, and one in superior body and mechanical condition becomes far more attractive and worth a premium. Only you (and/or a paid-for independent inspection) can truly evaluate what the car is worth - to you (in caps). It is worth noting that condition is remembered long after the price has been forgotten! Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. My view with cambelts:- change every 5 years irrespective of mileage.

Hello Karl, Are you saying that the second remote won’t open the car, or the actual second key won’t open the lock? Kind regards, Gareth.