Magnet

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.

Hello Sherif, If you fail to find a replacement, then it should be possible to effect a repair by sleeving between the cylinder and the off take pipe, and bonding them together with quality 2-part Araldite glue. These clips are known as hog ring clips and are single use, having been compressed with a special pliers which crimps the clip by creating the ‘loop’. They are removed destructively - by cutting or hacksawing through the loop. Replace with new like for like ( by buying the special pliers) if originality is meaningful. If not, replace with conventional jubilee clips. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, OK, re retaining and not being able to claim for that tyre. So, does one pass all the hard evidence over for judgement - and seldom or ever get any reimbursement anyway, or keep one typical affected tyre as evidence for independent assessment? Obviously, no tyre, no evidence, no claim, no independent assessment. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, I can understand their request to have the tyres back for inspection. However, if it were mine, I would still retain one as evidence of the issue. Kind regards, Gareth.

Post is over 2 years old Zak! How did you chance on this one to reply to?

Hello Pete, In my book, you must inform the seller of the Audi dealer’s findings and seek their advice regarding payment. They may reasonably request you return the car to them for their examination - believe this has been discussed and the distance involved renders this impractical. Engine mount leaking?? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jamie, Apologies, but I’m not sure exactly what you are referring to within your circled area. Since whatever it is, sounds like it will be a VAG only fixing, may I suggest you take the car along to the Parts section of your local dealer for them to help you with the fixings you need. Kind regards, Gareth,

Welcome to the forum Randolph. Answer obvious? - unless you can prove the image is wrong. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Maroua, Thanks for posting, but I wouldn’t hold your breath on getting a reply from this 2.5 year old thread. The poster joined, and last visited the forum 3 days later - over two years ago. We’ll ignore the fact that he was in the U.K. and you are in Canada! Kind regards, Gareth.