Magnet

Hello Scott, Not sure what part of the UK you are located, but over here in S.Wales the rain has pinched the sunshine and it's just plain humid. So it's a day when a good rant makes you feel better! - and I must say I like your style of rant. Without wanting to appear patronising, I think Steve comments has this boxed up and put to bed, and it would be very difficult for me to disagree with any of points he raises - which of course concurs with most of your views. A good rant does you good, as as we say in this part of the UK - fair do s you've got that out of your hair. As a casual observation Scott I get vibes of ' How dare you put budget tyres on a car that everyone must look after and up to, if they can afford to buy one'? That's tantamount to letting our side down! When I am tempted to have such a rant, our daughter just says 'Chill Dad'. Sound advice, soundly given, and I must say a new set of cheap Autogrips are better than a set of once factory Pirelli Kojaks! Great , its just stopped raining. Kind regards, Gareth.

Blinking heck Ralph - doing a c250 mile? round trip with a suspicion that the oil level was low!! Not that this is going to help you at all, but hopefully a sobering experience to other owners to realise the importance of regularly checking oil and coolant levels. Good luck in finding a new home for it. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jay, Sorry to hear of your issues. Of course, fortunately your car is still under warranty and you simply do not have to concern yourself about what causes what fault, but just leave that to the Audi dealership to diagnose and repair free of charge. In fact, I think there is a general and understandable dislike on their part if owners try to inform them of causes rather than simply and clearly outlining the symptoms. Re. the site being a pain to post on :- I must say in my experience, the administrators and moderators work extremely hard to ensure the site runs to the benefit of all those who post on here, and as I understand it and appreciate, the revenue from advertising is essential to allow that to happen - i.e. posters can post on here without charge, and are able to benefit from free advice, so it cannot be all that bad! Good luck with Audi sorting out your problems, Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ralph, I really can see what taking the sump off and cleaning it is going to do ( and of course spending on sump gasket and oil). I would spend my money on getting the oil pressure checked first. If the oil pressure is indeed low, then its highly unlikely cleaning the sump is going to improve things unless this car has never been serviced! How long have you had it, and do you know anything about its service history? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gnaneswar, This will be a 'main dealer part only', so just take or e-mail your photo to your local dealer. There won't be any need to have the part name since you have the photo. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ralph, Sorry to hear of your issues. My first point would be - don't add oil to this engine unless the current level is low. Overfilling causes problems. Don't assume the oil pressure warning light indicates a low oil level. Apologies if all of this is obvious, but this light means the oil is not being pumped around the engine under pressure - serious consequences. Again, apologies if this is obvious, but on kick-down, the revs increase rapidly over a short burst and it seems this is when your problem occurred. If it were mine, I would not be starting this engine until I ascertain whether the oil pressure is indeed low (via. garage test, but do not drive it there!) or if the pressure warning sensor is at fault. You really are in a situation where this symptom requires the utmost respect if you are to avoid wrecking the engine. Good luck in sorting it out - perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Matt, Sounds great, but personally, I would want to see all the paperwork to substantiate the claims. I really don't want to spoilt any excitement with this, and I am not forming any judgement on any side, but it might be worth looking up the reviews on the dealer and indeed what is believed to be their previous trading name of Zone Cars and possibly something else before that. Please let me repeat Matt that I am not saying any of these reviews are meaningful, but have a look and form your own conclusion . Again with apologies for repeating, but if you don't fully (in capitals) understand the ins and outs of vehicle inspection and this particular model, then I would strongly advise you to 'buy in' some assistance with its inspection. However much it costs in the short term, it could save you much more in the longer term. Good luck with whatever you decide. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. It might pay dividends to contact said doctor's surgery and ask if it is possible to get message to him. The true story lies there.

Hello Matt, Thanks for being in touch. Others may be able to advise you on whether you should buy this particular car or not from the detail you have given, but for me, I would need to know much more:- Service history - full or part, when last serviced. Number of owners, how long has the last one owned it. Is it a garage sale or private. Full extent of warranty offered if garage sale. Part exchange deal or not. All of this is so important before even inspecting the car itself. Re. the all important inspection, are you sufficiently knowledgeable to assess the car's condition yourself? If not, If it were me, I would not entertain buying any car without professional advice. Perhaps you could fill in some of the gaps or us Matt. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Peter, It's really refreshing to hear of owners having respect for the way these mechanical devices are best treated to give them a good start in life and ensure they continue to give good service for many years to come. If it were mine, but owning up to having been motoring since Adam was a babe in arms, I have always found gentle treatment for the first 1000 miles pays dividends, and Audi's 3000 rpm would appear good advice. Occasional bursts to 5000rpm within this period?? - 120mph in top gear? Wouldn't be for me. Yes occasional burst, but to a max. of 4K would seem more than adequate. Good point in not labouring - very detrimental. Gradually stretching its performance legs after the first 1K miles sounds good. It might be worth bearing in mind that ....'as long as the engine is warmed up' ........ is usually thought of as being up to 'normal' on the coolant temperature gauge. However, the engine does not reach its optimum operating conditions until the oil is also up to temperature, and this generally does not happen until about 10 miles have been covered on a journey. Enjoy the car Peter. Treat it well, and with respect - as you would do with the lady in your life (am I allowed to say that theses days!?) and it will then look after you well for years to come. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Stuart, Can we take it Audi are still going to replace the gearbox, irrespective of the outcome of tests on the oil? Kind regards, Gareth.

It would be worth checking what make the battery is Sebastian, to see if it's original of some replacement/ used -substituted-for-sale battery. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Sebastian, Not saying this is going to solve your issues, but such problems can be caused/aggravated by poor battery condition. Attack the simple things first. I notice the car is now 7 years old, so I would be starting by getting the battery checked - if only to eliminate it as a source of your problems. Make sure you take the car on at least a 10 mile run before getting the battery condition checked. An independent auto electrician (not a battery retailer ) would be best, but if you cannot find one locally then Halfords can do this, but they do sell batteries. If you take it there, and they say it's below par, you might like to consider if you are prepared to pay a premium over the general on-line specialist battery retailers. Also worth getting the alternator output checked at the same time. It would be good if you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steven, Sorry to hear of the issue. If it were mine, I would not (should be in capitals) be plugging in anything to the OBD point, since it could be taken that you have been fiddling with it, and the supplying garage may then argue their way out of this. I'm really not sure what you would intend to get out of it anyway since your rightful concern should only be that the fault is fixed - you should not need to have any involvement in finding its cause. I'm sure they will attend to this for you, but it might be worth realistically bearing in mind that it is highly unlikely that any 7 year old car will be free from faults or issues. Good luck with getting it sorted. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Praveen, I'm very much with Cliff on this.This would appear to be bordering on the too cheap to believe side. Secondhand panels? It would be worth registering your wants with the on-line parts finding agencies into which the scrap yards link - Parts Finder (I think) etc. Although it sounds great if you can find panels of the correct colour, it is realistic to keep in mind that even if you do find the correct colour ones, they are unlikely to be free from minor storage/transit marks and so its possible they will need some refinishing. If it were me - and sorry to continue to be pessimistic - I would still be wary of the moped rider being advised (been involved in in accidents Sir? type salesmen) to claim against you at some point. It would be a great shame if you had then spent your money only to find a claim materialised, and you lose out both ways. Let's hope not. Worth holding fire for a little while? Good luck. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Daniel, Really sorry to hear of your problem. Belt or a chain on this engine? Kind regards, Gareth.

PHello Praveen, Sorry to hear of your problem, and it is likely that what I am suggesting you think about may not be to your best advantage. From your description, it would seem you were pulling out of a side road into the road on which the collision occurred, and despite the bus driver calling you out, I think you will find it is your responsibility to ensure the road you are pulling out into is clear. In this case it wasn't, and the the moped rider collided with your car when he was (seemingly) correctly overtaking the bus. In other words, as unfortunate as it is for you, the accident appears to have been caused by you, and the moped rider has little to lose by claiming against you. If he does, then there is no point in you repairing the car yourself since your premium will be affected irrespective of the total value of the claim' so you just as well have your car repaired by a body shop. Now of course, you may well have other relevant information which points to the moped rider definitely (should be in capitals) not claiming against you for some reason. Good luck with sorting this out. Kind regards, Gareth,

Hello our new member from Torquay. I am not sure on what panel this defect is, but I am guessing the lower part of a door, but to me, the depth of the chipped area suggests this panel has been repainted. It has become increasingly rare for main dealers to retain their own body shops, and more often than not, paintwork is subcontracted out to local paint shops. If this car was mine, I would be taking it to a well established body shop (not too near the dealer) and asking them for advice on how best to correct this (I don't think this is rust, but a localised associated low paint adhesion defect) and asking them to measure the paint thickness on this and surrounding panels, to establish the extent of repainting. There is a simple rest-on-paintwork 'gauge' which measures the current thickness in relation to the manufacturer's original thickness. Armed with this independent information, you can then return to the dealer as soon as possible and discuss the findings of the specialist body shop. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. To Steve and Paul - it appears that recent new members are either not recording their names, or if they are, the name is not being shown.

Hello Brew? (Why aren't new members listing their names?) I could be wrong, but... £80 to transfer the number directly to another vehicle in your ownership. £110 if you want to retain it on a Retention Certificate if you subsequently want to sell it to another person. Kind regards, Gareth.

SHello ? (Sorry, you don't give your name), Sorry to hear of your problem. To be able to have a better chance of offering meaningful advise, a little more detail would be helpful. Did you change the water pump and thermostat after the trouble started? If so, why water pump, since it is highly unusual for these to fail to pump water and cause such issues. Thermostat - did you use a genuine VAG replacement part? - since there is always potential for aftermarket thermostats to be faulty. Similarly, what make water pump did you use. Have you thoroughly bled the coolant system ( with heater set on max. setting) to ensure you don't have any air locks? When the car is up to temperature both heater hoses should be at the same temperature to the touch. It is always good practice to squeeze all hoses (watching hands!) while the system warms up. 2 litres a day is at least 20% of the system's capacity so that is really worrying. Simple test to perform:- Get the car up to temperature, and get an assistant to rev the engine and hold it at a steady 2000rpm for at least 3 to 4 minutes while you observe any smoke from the exhaust. Any? Is so, what colour? Perhaps you can let us have the answers to all the above, at which point it may be possible to suggest a further simple thing to check/replace as a trial. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, I think you are taking a responsible attitude by 'regularly' checking your tyre pressures to ensure they are set at the manufacturer's recommend pressures, since deviation from these pressures can certainly affect the handling and influence wear. Now it probably me, but I am a bit confused by where you are with this, having supposedly checked the pressures. Simplistic approach:- Look on the inside of the fuel filler cap, or handbook for the recommended tyre pressures for the vehicle. Go to another tyre inflator and ensure the machine is set to the value you want for the fronts and add or reduce air until the actual pressure is what you want. Repeat for the required pressure for the rears. Apologies if this is what you have done, but I'm not sure from your write up. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Josh, I can only wish you luck in trying to sell this private (cherished ) number. I could be wrong, but I would think it is barely worth the cost of putting it on retention (c£110) and that is probably why it may have come 'free' ? with the car. Some of the cherished number plate dealers may suggest it had a value-to-you, so could always try registering it with them and sit back for some time. Good luck with finding a buyer. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ian, I'm not really sure anout the A3, but some of these high level brake lights on other marques and models can be linked LED type units and as such the 'bulb' would not be replaceable, and the light unit very often had to be changed as a unit. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Thomas, The idea of removing the auxiliary belt is to test whether the noise is from anything driven by this belt, so obviously if the noise doesn't go away when the belt is removed then you know the problem is with the engine/something driven by it - someone is going to let us know whether this is belt or chain driven - chain? '... Booked in on Friday ...... '... next week' ....... .?? Personally, ( and not having been able to hear this noise) I would have concerns about using this car. If it does indeed have a cam belt, it could , just could be this, and if that goes you can say ta ta to the engine and the car. I really hope you get this sorted quickly and without needing to use the car beforehand. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ade, As Adrian advises. Don't quote me on specifics, but work on a rule of thumb that if the nail is within 1inch of the sidewalk then it's unlikely to be legally repairable. Changing in pairs? Others more knowledgeable than I on these vehicles will advise, but I think tyre depth on all wheels should be reasonably equal. In any case, for me, I dislike uneven tread depths on the same axle and particularly mismatched brands or tread patterns. Good luck with getting it sorted. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Thomas, Sorry to hear (can't hear!) of your problem. Doesn't seem to play on my system but take Steve's opinion on difficulty of picking this up. Two points if it were mine:- If ( and only if) you are handy with the spanners then remove the auxiliary drive belt and check if the noise is still present. Find a recommended local diesel specialist (your local taxi drivers usually have good recommendations) and entrust a diagnosis to them. I think you are wise to be concerned about this since the car is trying to tell you something is wrong! I would treat its solution with some urgency. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on Thomas. Kind regards, Gareth.