Magnet

Thanks Karl, Back to your reply explaining how you bought it:- whatever you say, you still have a guarantee (for a minimum of 30 days I believe), so my earlier suggestion to seek professional legal advice is paramount - and urgent. Meanwhile, at a minimum, you would be advised to notify the seller by e-mail what your issue is - not using too many words. A silly point perhaps, but why do you feel inclined to ‘floor’ this car as you call it? Is that a driving style you like to adopt from time to time? Sounds as if you bought the car some distance from home - is this correct? Sorry to generate pressure Karl, but you really do need to be assertive with this (in a hurry), or be prepared to damage your wallet - whichever best suits. Perhaps you could let us know what you decide. Kind regards, Gareth.

OK Henry. So you bought like for like against a non original battery then? As said, it would now be progressive if can confirm you have the correct specification against the original equipment battery. Well worth going through this process of elimination first. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Henry, Sorry to be pedantic, but was defunct battery on the car, the original battery when the car was built? It sounds as if you matched the new Bosch battery to that which you found on the car, which isn’t necessarily good news, since people can put any old battery on a car when trading it in. All of this may be meaningless, but I always eliminate the basic things first, so if it were mine, I would be double checking the original specification for the car’s battery, to ensure you have the correct one. This doesn’t cost anything! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Karl, Although the dealer can initially refuse to take it back, he cannot refuse to put into ‘fit for purpose’ condition at his expense. When you say it was your fault for not getting a proper warranty, what exactly do you mean Karl - by being your fault? Did you by any chance haggle and get a discount, and then your haggle price was accepted on a trade basis - condition as seen, tried and accepted - without warranty? Sorry for more questions, but was this bought outside your locality, and did you test it before agreeing to buy it? Sounds like you are going to need legal advice in a hurry. CAB should be able to assist. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Henry, I guess it would be a daft question to ask if you made sure the replacement battery was an exact specification replacement for the original supplied new with the car, rather than a like for like replacement for the one that you just replaced - assuming of course that the battery you just replaced was not the original? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Karl, I guess you have this on hold while you debate about the issue with the car. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Henry, Many thanks for being in touch, and apologies, since I’m not sure I can answer your question with a convincing explanation, but since no one else has been able to help so far, perhaps the following may be worth considering as a first point of searching:- I have concerns that your car is too old for this to apply, but certainly with later cars, the new battery has to be coded to the car, to ensure it recognises it is new, and does not treat it as it did with the old one. Long shot, but worth investigating? Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello John, As Richard says, it’s been pretty well documented, and it’s unlikely that the dealership would have involved you in downside the potential for additional delays when they took your order - they just want your order! I would be interested in the guarantee in respect to actual price you will be expected to pay at the point of the (delayed) delivery. Also, if your current car is going in part exchange, was the value agreed (and future guaranteed) at the point of order? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Carl, Sorry to hear this. As Kev says - take it back, without further delay. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks for coming back Clancy. You will be able to find your annual mileage from the MOT history, and then just calculate your average monthly mileage, to work out how far 3 ltr. takes you would not seem far by what you describe. Still, as you say, you like the car, so continue to enjoy it, and not worry too much about the additional cost of 3 ltrs of oil over a month- particularly when we work out how much petrol has gone up recently. As a matter of interest, what engine do you have, and what grade of oil is specified, and what grade do you use? For all that, I would just continue to enjoy it. Good luck and kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Clancy, Thanks for being in touch with the forum. To try to boil this down, it seems the consequence of the issue with the car when you bought it 2 years ago was never successfully addressed, if addressed at all, and the recommendation at the time you received it back, would have been to monitor its oil consumption, and reject the car if it was excessive. Too late now obviously. What mileage do you cover in a month Clancy, to try to calculate your oil consumption? Whatever, in my book, fully ‘reconditioning’ the engine to reduce the oil consumption on a 15 year old car, would simply not make any economic sense, so it sounds like your only option is to continue to do what you are doing, and just keeping your fingers crossed that it will satisfy the MOT emission requirements. In a nutshell ‘ any advice on where to start ….’ would really boil down to …don’t start. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Karl, The grade you need will be specified in the handbook. Brand? I’ve used Quantum (their Longlife) for many years in the humble A3 - once/still is? recommended by VAG. Try searching EBay for good deals with this. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David, Certainly as Steve says in my experience. One tip which may be useful, is to mask very carefully, but remove the masking tape immediately you have done a reasonably small section. Don’t leave the masking tape any longer than you have to once you have a nice smooth and even surface, otherwise removing the tape tends to lift the edges of the Tiger Seal. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello George, Thanks for being in touch with the forum. You mention EBay, but I take it you have searched there, since you say ‘the only……are at Audi Parts Direct…’. An alternative (cheaper and as good??) source could be via. a local ‘printer’ who makes up computer generated graphics for signwriting vans etc. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on via. this route. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Nath, Thanks for being in touch with the forum. Were the Audi dealership able to confirm that the windscreen in the car, is the one originally fitted when new - and in fact did they check for that? I seem to recall that some replacement screens have been criticised for being far more prone to marking than the original build ones were. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ron, The answer to your in-bold question is a qualified yes. Qualified, since by the mileage you were doing, the service indicator should be set at an annual service. The alternative (if it’s still the same) is based on a higher annual mileage and is/was termed a Longlife service schedule, which often ran to 18k miles, or c18 months, whichever came first. If you swapped to this schedule, you would obviously save one service in 3 years. I would ask the question - why do you want to be governed by having this 6 year old car serviced at a main dealer, and if that is so important, why would you want to save the cost of one service in that 3 year period - by which time the car will be 9 years old? Short journeys are not good for vehicles, since they are seldom operating under optimum conditions, so getting the oil changed once a year is a sort of investment. If this were mine, I would be untrusting future servicing to a local trusted garage and insisting they use good quality parts. This should be cheaper than operating via. an 18 month schedule at Audi, and give you the same level of servicing as you have now. Some will insist that main dealer service history enhances the future value, but at 6 year old and more, the respective values will not cover your servicing costs. Perhaps you would let us know what you decide to do going forward. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Graeme, So independent professional -technical, and separately legal - advice is now essential. Everything will need to be recorded in writing. Kind regards, Gareth,

Hello Milan, If the car restarts instantly by turning the ignition off and back on again, then it would be well worth investigating/ changing the ignition switch. No more than a guess, if comprehensive diagnostics hasn’t shown anything. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Graeme, Many thanks for being in touch with the forum, and sorry to hear of your understandable discontent. If this were mine, I would be formally rejecting the car, after a sensible short time span to allow them to rectify the fault. It sounds like you may have been ‘informally’ attempting to reject it, via. a chat with ‘someone’ at the dealership. You really do need at take professional advice - CAB will assist, and possibly may draft a formal letter for you. This rejection should be initiated in writing to the dealer principal, and anyone else who has a financial interest in the car - without delay. Not meaning to be personal Graeme, but this isn’t a cheap car! It sounds as if you possibly now need to spend some funds on good professional advice, otherwise you will be putting up with living with a super model who has a stroppy attitude! Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.m

The original poster - Noel - hasn’t been on the forum for over 3 years, but it could be well worth sending him a PM. Perhaps you would be kind enough to let the forum know if you do have a positive outcome. Many thanks and kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Saj, It’s alway wise to seek advice, but generally the advice the person who is asking (alway?) wants to hear is that they are doing the right thing, even when they might not be. If convenience warrants the increased premium payable to a main dealer then that’s great, but it’s likely to prove be a long way from the earlier requirement of ‘ideally wishing to spend a lot less’. Peace of mind and minimal hassle may well be worth that premium. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Sajid, I’m sure you realise that you are living in a high labour rate area for any main dealer. To me, the costings seem about ball park, although I thought that with your age A4 the whole front might not have needed to come off as with earlier ones - but I could be wrong. I’m not sure why you would be putting the car in for a health check. Might that be because it’s free? If it were mine, I would be searching a recommended independent and asking for quotes there, but some on here have mentioned that their rates are sometimes not a lot cheaper than the main dealer, but it doesn’t cost anything to ask. In my opinion Sajid the critical application, Cambelt and water pump renewal should never be treated as a cost-is-King job - it’s too important for that. Not wishing to rub salt in, but it’s not uncommon for owners to sell cars just before the point where the expensive service items become necessary. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Philip, Sorry to hear of your issue. In theory, the warranty might hold, but in reality, they have the upper hand, since the car has been modified - although the mapping is unlikely to have had any bearing over these issues. Of course, you could get assistance in arguing the case, but will you win?? If it were mine, I would be having the car back from them as quickly as possible, and getting the work done at a trusted local garage. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks John, Yuasa YBX 2019? You would need to double check that this is the correct specified battery for the car - I haven’t checked. It’s also possible (in caps) that the new battery would need coding to the car, otherwise the battery condition monitor (if fitted back in 2013?) may be treating the battery as it was ‘conditioned’ to do with the old battery. Whether this has anything to do with your loss of power?? - but I would certainly not be wanting to ignore confirmation of both the above. Yuasa battery ?? Would not have been my first choice, but….. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gavin, Many thanks for being in touch. Run flats can, and do, what they were intended to do - save lives in event of serious damage/ blow-out situations. The trade off, as you are suggesting, is that due to the reinforced sidewalls, the ride comfort is compromised, and has to be be ‘suffered’ at all times. Please check my view with your local tyre retailer, but I don’t think you can fit non run flats on run-flat rims. If I’m right, then you don’t have a choice, except via. changing the wheels as well. It seems that fitting run-flats as original equipment has become more of the norm than it was. Of course, if you have low profile tyre sizes as well, then you will have a double whammy adverse ride affect. Kind regards, Gareth.