Magnet

Hello Richard, 23K would have been a reasonable expectation in my book, and the 30/40K would have been considered salesman’s speak. Of course, tyre wear will vary according to driving style and the type of journeys undertaken. Most garages recommend tyre changes once the tread wears below 3mm - leaving 1.4 mm of tread wear before the legal limit is reached. Of course, you can run tyres to as near to the legal limit as you can get away with, but adverse affects on grip and handling in varying conditions will be the trade off, and only you can judge whether that compromise is worth it with your large and expensive vehicle. Could you enlighten us on what the £375 actually refers to? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Brian, Thanks for being in touch with the forum. There has been previous debate about the significance of the last letter, and I believe it can be rightly claimed that the last letter only signifies a later edition of the same part. This isn’t going to answer your question, ‘later edition’ may mean yes it’s identical, or yes it’s the same part, but there are subtle modifications - which may or may not matter. On the ‘may matter’ front, you could find electrical connections have changed etc. (just an example). There is another school of thought that indicates that the basic long part number is the generic number for all such components - e.g. cambelt kits - and the last letter is indeed meaningful, and signifies different kits for different engines. Apologies for not answering your question, but it may mean you have to suck it and see, if you have the option to return it at you cost, if it turns out not to be a suitable fit. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Derek, Sorry, don’t know about it’s removal, but someone may be along to offer advice. Are you going to replace the alternator with a Euro Car Parts or similar best offer one? If so, I wouldn’t, in preference to getting a new bearing put into yours. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, Thanks for being in touch with the forum. These faults can be typical of a below par battery - even though it starts the car OK. That would be my first port of call if it were mine. It would be best to get as sophisticated a test as possible carried out. Not sure if Halfords testing kits would be adequate, but might be a good place to start. If it is found to be below par, would I replace it with a Halfords battery ?? How old is the battery, and what make is it? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello James, Thanks for being in touch with the forum. I’m not sure about the smell syndrome, but in terms of the pitfalls of not steering well clear of Audi’s recalls, the experiences are listed and complained about on here, and cover multiple pages. Well worth a forum search and read. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks Michael, So you have Mannol giving you a significant saving over Castrol, and just c£12 less for 10 litres if you buy the Castrol derivative - Quantum. I suppose it depends how important that £12 saving is over a year’s motoring. Obviously if you are buying in bulk of 20 litres to save a little more, then of course you have to invest more than that £12 up front for longer term savings. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Stuart, Many thanks for being in touch with the forum. It seems as if the car could indeed be suffering from a parasitic drain, and if this were mine, I would be getting that checked by an autoelectrician (rather than a local garage). Be aware, that the draining current, should be assessed at least a couple of minutes after the car has been locked down and the alarm has fully set. Drains of around 50mA would be expected - anything much more is undesirable. Having said that, battery condition is king with these modern cars, as is of course the alternator output, to ensure it’s kept fully charged. New battery? - absolutely the correct AGM type for the car?? Make as a matter of interest. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Michael, I can well understand the need to save the pennies, but in reality, your logic is flawed in terms of covering low mileages, so the oil ‘quality’ isn’t so important. Short journeys represent slow warm up, more stops and starts, more rev variations than a car travelling much greater distances under optimum operating conditions on the motorway. You will be more dependent on oil quality than most. You looked at Castrol, since Audi stamp Castrol on the oil filler. OK, as I understand it, Quantum (recommended by VAG) is a brand name under the Castrol empire - so you peace of mind there? Cheaper than your Castrol price? I paid around £30 for 5ltrs of Quantum so £60 buys you 10 ltrs for your 8.2 litr need. Mannol? Price of that for 5 litres? I don’t know but I’m sure you do, so you can do your maths and equate it a a saving of x Costa coffees over a year of motoring. As asked - let us know the difference. On the plus side, I think I recall Stevey on here using Mannol in his taxi - a good test bed. Personally, I think you are armed with enough information to make a decision on this, but pardon the comment - you appear to be procrastinating, and in danger of disappearing up a certain orifice! Just work out your cost savings and decide if those savings are worth the x cups of coffee which will no doubt be bought with the price difference. Bear in mind that your labour costs are free, so invest the savings in the best materials. Apologies Michael, but……. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Michael, Why do you want to scrimp a few? £s on oil? I really don’t know what this oil is like, but I do know that Quantum has done me well over many many years. I now simply search EBay for the best price from a reliable supplier. Simple hassle free route. Apologies, its probably me, but why to you want to ‘pickle your head’ with this? Perhaps you could let us know the price of this, and the best price you have found on Quantum, so we can better understand exactly how much you are going to save over your annual mileage. If you are set on this oil, then it will probably do what you want it to do, and you make your own choice - which is absolutely fine- rather than taking advice from the forum - which i think is where you came in. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Yvonne, Have you searched EBay, and advertised your ‘want’ on the car breakerlink websites such as Partsfinder - there are more? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, As you guessed, I was being politely critical. No doubt this forum is no different from many others, where the I-want-you-sort, principles apply - with often zero feedback, leave alone any thanks. Since I’ve now got my critical hat on and in gear, my pet hate is where we take time to construct a helpful reply, which is met with ‘tried that’. It’s great when posters actually post all details of what they have eliminated, to compliment the enquiry of ‘where is my noise coming from?’ Grizzle over, and apologies Abinhav, if you have genuinely been totally absorbed elsewhere since you posted your plea for help. Kind regards, Gareth.

He’s a busy chap Cliff. Hasn’t been back to the forum since posting a plea for help. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Luke, To try to keep this as brief as possible. Was the engine oil up to operating temperature when the oil pressure was checked? I.e. after a run of at least 5 miles. If not, all the readings are really meaningless. Pressures will drop as the oil heats up - that is normal, but as said, the readings will only be meaningful if carried out on an oil-is-hot engine. Get them to take the car on at least a 5 mile run then do the pressure test again. Please do not assume that the engine oil is up to temperature once the coolant reaches normal - this is a totally incorrect assumption. Perhaps you would let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

How old is the battery Abhinav? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hi Tony, Let me know if you are coming again. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tony, I think Nathanial Cars has more than their fair share of new MGs down here, not far from me. Compounds full of them! Kind regards, Gareth.

Great. So you, or preferably an auto electrician now has to find the source of the short circuit. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, Just an opinion, but will the market indeed crash?? Or will the manufacturers now set the prices for the new vehicles ( when available) - inline with the current inflated prices? I know what I would do if I was at the business end of car manufacturing! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, We take it you immediately removed the fuse you put in?? Suspect some bodged wiring associated with the defunct radio as the first port of call. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Michael from the Homeland, I have a humble 2006 1.6 A3 with a couple of thousand more miles under its belt than your car. I have always used Quantum Longlife 3 ( recommended by VAG) and change it every year despite its now lower annual mileage. I only use VAG, Mann, or Bosch for all filters. I have no reason to use any other oil than the Longlife 3 - available at competitive prices, delivered to your door by a number of EBay sellers. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andy, As Cliff suggests - particularly in respect of tyres. My first, and urgent action would be to take the car to a trusted local tyre retailer and ask them to thoroughly inspect all tyres - ideally with wheels removed. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks for posting this Russell, and for the detail and video. Only thing that potential buyers now need to know, is the price you are asking for the car. Wondered if you could add that to your advert. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mark, Appreciate that which you made clear in your early post, and repeating - I would strongly stick with my original advice. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. ‘Full service history’ can mean it’s spent half a day in a workshop once a year ( at most), and who knows how it’s been driven for the other 364 1/2 days?

Hello Mark, Have you sought advice/had on inspection of the car, carried out by a diesel specialist, rather than an ‘ordinary’ garage? If not, that would be my first route. Can we take it the ‘on start up’ smoke is whitish and smells of diesel? If so, possible injector issues? Hopefully the car doesn’t consume any coolant -? Perhaps you could come back to us. Cliff does raise a point - no one really goes to the expense of getting a car mapped unless they drive ‘enthusiastically’ ! - being polite - so whoever buys such a car must be attracted to it for a similar reason, otherwise they are likely to move on to another original example. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Kev, Thanks for being in touch and sorry to hear of your issue. I’m sure you will appreciate that it would be extremely difficult/impossible to diagnose the exact cause of the noise, without access to the car, and so it would only be possible to suggest possibilities. Obviously you need to get the car thoroughly inspected at your trusted local garage, but my first stab at it sight-unseen, would be wheel bearing (again). Where and if it’s safe to do so, try turning the steering a little when you hear the noise, and obverse whether the noise alters or not. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.