Magnet

Hello Raith, Our 2006 1.6 Limited Edition (base) has been in the family from new and has now covered a mileage of over 160K, and I’m happy to share my experiences of this particular car. Before that, perhaps I should point out that your mileage limits may restrict your choice if I understand it correctly - a 15 year old car up to 120k, or an 8 year old one up to 60K. I can only speak for the older end of your range, but they seem to be well built and can stand the test of time, but with all secondhand cars, issues can arise with individual examples. To me, service history, whilst being important, is never the be all and end al of the judge of the car’s condition, and certainly no judge of how the car has been cared for. Simple pointers for cars with caring owners may include same make tyres on the same axle and ideally all round, MOT history in terms of failures and advisories, invoices for work done, and brands of aftermarket parts - if non VAG parts are used. Personally, I would try to avoid buying at an unrealistic distance from home, since you can kiss good bye to warranties due to the practicalities of returning the car for repairs. Old fashioned? Probably yes! Having said all that, I can return to our 1.6, which bless it, has done all that has been asked of it, and has only required a replacement clutch (due to the usual slave cylinder issues which apply to most marques) at around 130k. The car has always had Audi parts at servicing, and was main dealer serviced until c60K, but by ourselves since that. We have treated it with respect, and it has with us! Schedule for belt and water pump changes every 5 years. Hope some of this helps. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Kevin, I believe (in caps) that 505 is the longer life variant of 502, and is suitable for diesels as well as petrol, so 505 should be a better alternative, but...... the true answer lies with Castrol, not me. If it were mine, I would be looking up the phone contact for Castrol technical Dept and giving them a ring with your query and concern, and they will give you the definitive answer. Perhaps you would be kind enough to come back and let the forum know the outcome Kevin. As a matter of interest, how often to you change the oil and filter? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Brenda from the Homeland. Thanks for being in touch. I wonder if you could let us know whether you bought the car from an Audi dealership or not. If not a main dealer, is there any particular reason why you returned to the seller for servicing? First, it needs to be established whether the car is fitted with a timing belt or a chain, but if fitted with a belt, then the seller will (quite rightly?) claim that renewing the timing belt is a service item which is chargeable to the owner, and they are likely to have a complete disregard to the fact that you have to (again quite rightly?) pay for this service item. Apologies for being the devil’s advocate, but service history and what has been done, and what will be required to be done in terms of service items in the near future will be seen as the responsibility of the buyer - i.e. doing the homework. Having said all that Brenda, If it were mine, I would be nipping the car down to your nearest main dealer, and checking what has been done, checking if your engine is belt or chain driven, and if a belt, checking when it should be renewed. Belts are almost always scheduled for renewal at x years or x miles - whichever comes first. x years is usually 5 years, irrespective of mileage. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Um ! Perhaps another free plug Christopher?

Possibly your business James? Would need to be looking up the Director to be sure.

Even bespoke ones to your own design/colouring are removable in the same way as off the shelf ones would be Derek. Kind regards, Gareth.

Sorry Derek, at my age, thoughts come in dribs and drabs! You might not fancy this, but a practical alternative to add some contrast, might be to consider adding the same outline in stick on ‘decals’. As I understand it these can easily be printed off on a computer, by sign writing specialists. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Derek, I can better understand now. They do look good. Don’t give up! Still worth registering with Partsfinder etc? Percy Verance often comes to your aid! Just had another thought:- We hear a fair amount about 3D printers and making plastic components. You have a drawing from Audi, so worth looking into this and seeing how much more detail you would need? Kind regards, Gareth.

Good question Kev. I’m never sure why some new members simply don’t take a couple of minutes to fill in their profile. Mind, with the number of cars you list Kev, it would take more than a couple of minutes! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Kevin, You ask what spec. oil should be used, and my recommendation in all these cases is the consult your owner’s handbook. In there, you will find both grade (sometimes according to climate) and specification, and personally, I would not deviate from there. Re. an EBay seller advising spec.A is the same as spec.B? Well, possibly - if you add a pinch of salt! Re. brands - I stick to Quantum Longlife 3 (also available on EBay) for our humble A3 - using the handbook grade of 5w/30. Quantum is/was VAG recommended. Another possible source of information would be the variety of specifications available under the Shell Helix Ultra Professional banner -making sure it’s the Ultra Professional. I’m sure some Audi specs. were available, but which ones? I recently got some of this for a non Audi, from Car Parts for Less, who were doing a good deal. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Oliver, I really don’t want to put undue influence on your quest for recommendations for side-to-side roof bars, but if it were me, I just wouldn’t go there - irrespective of the potential damage to paintwork - which to me (although important) - would be secondary to safety, particularly if intending to fit a roof box. Again for me, the only sure way would be to first fit the front to back roof rails, then buy the proper across-roof bars which secure to these rails. Yes, I appreciate drilling the roof (I decided not to go there and never bothered with the roof rack idea), but I think if I had been serious in this quest, then I would be looking around for A3s which have had these fitted, and doing my homework from there. Let’s hope someone on here has direct experience of retro fitting these. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Derek, Pardon my ignorance, but are you looking at this part to replace a damaged one on your car, or is it that your car isn’t actually fitted with them, and you have taken a fancy to having them on your car? If the latter, then pessimistically? - it’s quite possible you are going to struggle to to find secondhand ones, if they weren’t fitted to all the vehicles at point of build. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Oliver, Thanks for being in touch and raising a good question. Strange but Audi seemed to ignore the need for these cars (well our 2006, and I guess your 2009) to be subsequently fitted with roof rails, since there are no pre-drilled-and-covered holes. I looked at this and decided that I really did not want to drill the roof/mess up the headlining? etc. so called it a day. Perhaps, if you are looking to buy a pair of second hand ones, then you may find they are rare - for the same reason. Perhaps you could explain exactly what you are now looking for - front to back roof rails, or some form of across-car food bars? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello James, I haven’t checked actual book figures, but to me, it would appear to be very good value for money, and well presented and described in the advert. Everything will sell at a give away price, but successfully selling at a reasonable price does come with a little patience. Perhaps you could let us know where you have advertised it so far. Whereas it’s always worth advertising on this forum, I think it’s fair to say that it is an owners forum - which might equate to members actually owning Audis rather than looking to buy one. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mark and thanks for being in touch. Could you let us know (apart from price) what is the single characteristic of tyre performance that is most important to you - e.g. road holding (wet and dry); noise, longest tyre life/mileage, etc. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Daryl and Cliff, I know you are not a fan of WD40 Cliff, but it could be used to advantage in establishing if the inlet manifold joint is letting air in, by spraying around the gasket while holding the revs at around 1500 to 2000rpm. If this gasket is leaking then you are likely to see the exhaust smoke becoming blue in colour as the WD40 gets sucked in and burnt. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gareth, It’s 2013 - as under the poster’s profile. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks for coming back Tony. Not sure about your previous experience, and why you would be asking what brand brake pads they would be using. I can understand they would be rather evasive since the simple answer is they would only fit Audi branded parts. Perhaps it might be to do with asking the wrong question, and I would be surprised if they cannot help you with this, but if you fail, then I would suggest trying another wheel refinisher in your area. Secondhand car dealers are often a good source for wheel refinishing recommendations. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Parm, No disrespects, but if you are asking this question, then please apply social distancing! from all car electric checking. Your vehicle and yourself could potentially be at risk. Best advice is to entrust your boot light issue to a local auto electrician. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tony, Thanks for being in touch. Have you actually tried at your local Audi dealer and failed, or are you depending on the information you were given by the person you approached? Were these people specialist wheel refinishers, or a general bodywork business? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Derek, I guess you don’t want to walk into your nearest dealer and pay an Audi price the part, otherwise it would be simple. If you don’t, then I think you may be in difficulty (as you are finding) since breakers are unlikely to remove such door trim pieces - although, of course, they do tend to strip doors as much as practically possible and sell those separately. Possible avenue incase they would remove this trim from a door, would be to list your ‘want’ on car breaker link systems such as Partsfinder (there are more). These websites inform all breakers linked to their system, and they respond directly to you if they have the part. It wouldn’t surprise me if their site (or other such sites) may include a facility to add a photo. Kind regards, Gareth

As said - Way forward - worth getting it checked with professional equipment. If you don’t, then you are struggling. If this doesn’t show up anything, then you are struggling anyway. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Sam, I’m not claiming this is definitely the issue here, but inefficient batteries can result in spurious warning lights - particularly when the car is not in constant use. If it were mine, I would take it for a run of at least 20 miles in daylight to charge the battery up, and then get the battery efficiency checked, if only to eliminate this as a cause. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Rob, Thanks for coming back. Yes, 3 hrs away sounds simply impractical to benefit from any warranty. Its unlikely that you will find any over 5 year old model for sale at a main dealer. Air suspension? The main problem area is generally the compressor (at least with non-Audi’s) and is seldom difficult to sort out. I’m probably suggesting keeping an open mind and doing some homework, rather than being too frightened - full stop. Good luck with whatever you decide to buy, but my (old fashioned) approach is to attempt to spend your money in your locality, and only part with your hard-earned to nice people. Kind regards, Gareth.

But surely, good diagnostic equipment will detect which is the offending wheel, and save you removing all (in caps) the sensors - with a high risk of breakage.