Magnet

Hello Mark, Sorry to hear of your plight. Simple things first:- Is the car deemed to be illegal since it is possibly ‘too old’ to recorded on a system which actually monitors its emissions values? Daft question perhaps, but if it’s emission levels at the MOT test are ‘x’ - where x is well within the limits of a much larger scale, then is there room for appeal against its rejection? I really don’t know, but someone must, and it could be well worth making further enquiries before accepting the verdict. Gas conversion? Perhaps not such a daft question, but if you did go down that route, would the car still be rejected because it’s still a 1994...V6.. ? Possibly it would?? Second point re gas conversions:- very expensive and has to be certified. Would that be cost effective against perhaps buying a scooter or a cheap acceptable banger? Perhaps you could keep us informed on how things pan out. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Darren, The forum will surely need at least some detail, and ideally full details and photos before anyone has a chance to help you. Sorry, but don’t understand your thread title - it could just be me- but why not ‘Help required with 1997 S6 valuation’. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Chris, Hopefully you will get some additional responses to supplement that of an aged mind! Your logic sounds good to me. I guess you’ve shopped around for best prices - always worth doing in my book- and I then approach my local trusted tyre supplier who usually matches the best on-line prices. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Chris, I’m afraid I don’t have any experience of using Goodyear tyres, but it’s one of the premium brand tyres which have never seemed to appeal. We have used Michelin (OE on our car) and had what we called reasonable wear rates when the car was covering mostly motorway miles - reasonable being around 15 to 18k from memory. The downside was the noise levels, particularly as the tyres became more worn. We are now trying Continental contact 5 (I think) and I’m estimating 12k will be about it with local mileage and sedate driving. In effect, I would not be too disappointed with your 14k (use and driving style?) using Goodyear, and if this brand satisfies your requirements then you might just find that mileage is not going to increase much if you move to another premium brand. As an aside, I had an interesting chat with the owner of a small local private hire fleet who covers motorway mileage in mainly Mercedes and a couple of Audi s, and he tells me he gets considerably more mileage out of (mainly Contis) due to the cars covering motorway mileages. Nor sure if any of this helps. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello George, This is one of these imponderables I’m afraid. Belt change schedules are always on the basis of ....’x miles or x years - whichever comes first’. So just for example - let’s say that schedule states 100k miles or 5 years, the belt should be scheduled for change at 5 years even though the car had not covered that 100k. There will always be strong opinion and debate about low mileage vehicles and the need to change belts ( and associated components) at the ‘age limit’ scheduled time. Some will say not to bother, some will agree with the recommended change. My view - for what it’s worth - is that low mileage cars generally suffer more than cars which cover the same mileage in a short space of time, since the latter operate at optimum conditions for most of the time, and the low mileage ones are subjected to far more frequent stop starts - which is not good. OK - current stop start systems!! You first need to recheck what the schedule states by contacting other main dealers and independents - but expect varying answers! You then decide to gamble on extra time or not. This is a critical component. It’s as simple as that. If you do decide to ‘get the belt changed’ then there will be decisions to be made regarding exactly what to change and what not to, in terms of the associated assembly. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dave, Not quite sure why you are replacing the battery if it has simply discharged and had not previously given any symptoms - of course, you may well have had previous issues and knew it was not very serviceable. Also, as long as you ensure you connect the battery charger wires to the correct polarity then it isn’t essential to disconnect the battery before charging. After all, you certainly cannot disconnect the battery if you jump start it, and under those circumstances you are inputting comparatively high currents. If it were mine, I would just charge the battery in situ. If/when you actually change the battery, you would be wise to do so using a ‘code saver’ device which ensures 12v is continuously supplied to the car ( general via. a slave battery) so that radio codes etc.are not lost. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dave, Welcome to the forum. I have recently renewed the thermostat on our 2006 1.6 due to the car failing to consistently reach 90 - although it would sometimes get there. Touching wood, I have not experienced any issues similar to what you have experienced. Couple of questions:- How long had you been experiencing low coolant temperatures, and how low was the then-normal running temp? How many miles has the car now done since you renewed the thermostat? It is possible that the car is now ‘learning’ it’s newly corrected running temperatures, and if it were mine, I would be treating it to some Redex additive and giving it a good ‘Italian tune’, and see if that improves the general running. If not, then you would need to start to look at other possibilities. You have the bonus of no coolant loss and no engine management light on, so some positives there. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jose, Wondered if your A8 has similar issues to those of the original poster’s A4. If so, it may be well worth setting this up as a new thread, since the question is being asked of someone who has not returned to the forum for over 3 years. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Luke, Very distressing news. Why not post the registration number on here incase anyone comes across it? ‘... not going to get it back..’ Keep an open and optimistic mind - it sometimes reaps benefits. I wish you good luck and a good result. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jose, Appreciate it’s alway extremely beneficial to have feedback on problems posted, but unfortunately the norm is that it seldom happens- regrettably. This has obviously been the case here since the OP has not visited this forum for nigh on 18 months! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Weyni, Very interesting and hopefully of help to other who may be unfortunate enough to experience the same misfortune. Always difficult to establish a root cause without seeing the actual car, but judging from the photo, it would appear that there was a specific stress site from which the fracture occurred, and radiated out. I could be wrong, but it is not untypical of similar fractures in windscreens which have suffered ‘stress point’ damage from a stone etc. I would guess that if this had been a more straightforward body- flexing induced fracture, then it would have been more likely to have fractures radiating out from some point on an edge of the glass. Whatever, it has now been sorted, and that is the main think. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Just wonder if panoramic roofs come under the same insurance repair/replacement as windscreens, or do you lose your NCB if you claim.

The original poster hasn’t visited this forum for almost a year Jose. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks for letting us know Nigel. Glad it is sorted. It is a bit of a catch-you-out with two bulbs per side. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, I could well be wrong, but it wouldn’t surprise that the glass isn’t available as a separate item. If it is, I’m not sure what difference fitting a genuine Audi one would make as opposed to the already fitted aftermarket? - if aftermarket. You don’t say what your actual issue is - not being able to adjust it properly? Field of vision etc? If field of vision, then indeed that could be something to do with whether the current glass is flat or convex. A call to your Audi dealer should clear up your concerns. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Nigel, I would have thought the light should reset itself, but I could be wrong. You say the brake lights are all working, but have you double checked the intensity of each side to ensure they are exactly the same? High level light has uniform illumination? Not unheard of that there might be two bulbs per side, or there could be a high contact resistance at the bulb holders, or within the bulb/s. Worth a double check, since this warning does not come on without reason. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ranga, The coolant will probably be OAT. Readily available here, but Sri Lanka? Kind regards, Gareth.

That’s called sophistication Thomas! I’m from the school of simple things first, and in my book, that would be assessing the efficiency of the battery - then move on to the more complicated aspects, once you have eliminated that. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Having the headlights on is fairly simple way of gauging the battery’s ability to act under high current demands. If the lights dim considerably on attempts to start then all is not well.

Hello Thomas, Did you try the headlights after charging the battery? If so were they bright? If yes, did you try to start the car with the lights on, and if so, did they go out/dim? My next move would be to again charge the battery overnight - or preferably for 24 hours- and then getting the battery’s efficiency checked (Halfords, for example, can do that). Whether you buy a new battery from them if it does prove to be substandard would be your choice. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mark. It’s always obviously more difficult to detect leaks with cabriolets than it is with saloons. Three things to suggest:- Is this roof associated or not? Cover the dashboard to top of seat level with a dry clean light coloured sheet and see it this gets wet/damp. Mirrors can often be another source of water ingress. If both of these fail, it would be worth lifting the carpet on the driver’s side and looking for where the water comes. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, I most certainly agree with you Paul regarding main dealer prices vs. aftermarket. The ‘unjustified in loading the price so heavily’ must take into consideration all the (very substantial) overheads in terms of commercial rates, employment, and general running costs associated with such a commercial undertaking. If it was so simple as selling price equals vast profits then I guess we would be all running dealerships. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, Can we take it you are attempting to order aftermarket shock absorbers rather than VAG parts? If so, you are unfortunately going to continue this confusion since aftermarket supplier’s websites can lead you to alternatives - as you are finding. Spending extra on VAG parts may not be considered justifiable, but you are likely to gain better service life - and the correct parts. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mike, Apologies in advance, but are you really ordering a new car following ‘a real problem’ on a test drive example? If so, I guess Audi could be entitled to dismiss a claim for ‘unsuitable for purpose’ - as Wooks63 was considering to do- since you knew it’s pitfalls before ordering. Ref. fitting a box of tricks to overcome this issue, straight away brings to mind invalidating the warranty. None of this is where I would want to be spending my money, in anticipation of discontents. Good luck if you do go ahead. Kind regards, Gareth.

I don’t think it boils down to the frequency of breakdown, but all to do with the ‘quality’ of service when you need it, and above all, ensuring the level of service you buy is adequate for your needs - irrespective of cost. Cheaper ones using local garages - don’t see anything wrong with that, and at least they are unlikely to have sales targets to meet with such items as batteries etc. as some of the major players do! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Lee, Business or private sale? This isn’t really going to help you at all, but in the absence of any other replies to date, as you probably know, these roof systems incorporate often flimsy micro switches - which fail. Sometimes you can actually see a broken switch, but I guess you’ve been there done that bit. Pardon my ignorance, but fabric roof or hard top sections? If fabric, there is a one man band company in Swansea ( not too far away) who fit replacement hoods, and I’m pretty sure he is clued up on most things that go wrong with these. Alternative is the dreaded (unreliable?) plugging it in to the computer. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Debbie, As far as I can see, breakdown cover (which is in fact an insurance based cover) understandably varies as much as quotations for your normal car insurance - even when you compare apparent like for like cover. Personally, I would give up trying to understand why, and simply follow Trevor’s advice and first decide the level of cover which suits your needs. Basic cover would say simply cover you for roadside assistance, then you move on to recovery add-on options - which I’m sure you are aware of. To my mind, it’s the limitations of recovery option which is all important.Some will just transport the vehicle to the nearest garage, leaving it at the mercy of trying to control its repair from afar. Others will transport you and the vehicle to a place of your choice - usually your trusted local garage. One other point I would make is to beware of ‘cheaper entry’ offers which usually come with an automatic renewal. That’s where the sting cuts in! I know RAC do that, and all their business is based on an automatic renewal system. If it were me, I would decide the level of cover you want, and just go with the best deal that comprehensively provides that - having read the all important small print exclusions. Don’t bother to try to work out why A is cheaper than B. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Hello Graham. Not sure how long you have been with Autoaid, but as you say, it was based on paying for your breakdown assistance and then claiming the money back. I could be wrong, but I have a feeling you don’t now have to pay and reclaim - they now operate as others do, and sort out and pay for the assistance.