Magnet

Hello Peter, Not sure if this is going to help or hinder your decision, but I'm with Brad, and an appreciation that this car is 14 years old and X miles and reasonable oil leaks are likely to be a matter of fair wear and tear. I would guess the main problem is probably the rear crankshaft seal and this entails removing the gearbox to replace it. Since the gearbox has to be removed, I would expect a call to the effect "your clutch is fairly worn sir, and it it would be wise to replace it now the gearbox is out" and all of a sudden your £1200 bill has escalated to a value which approaches/exceeds the value of the car. Pessimistic perhaps, but might be worth bearing in mind. If it were mine, would I spend this amount of money? No I wouldn't, but... Two temporary actions. Simply clean down (get it cleaned down) so at least you have a window of time to actually assess how bad this is. Add an oil leak additive to the oil. I don't like this method since it causes the seals (all of them) to expand and minimise the leaks, but as an alternative to spending a minimum of £1200 plus the likely cost of a clutch ( if manual) ?? A lot of money for a bit of oil from an old car. Kind regards, Gareth.

Well it seems you are already on the right line of action. All I think anyone would recommend meanwhile is not flooring it in 3rd and fourth!

Hello Gav, It's the weekend, and the instant reply department is closed! Only joking. Question:- Is the whining noise audible when the car is at rest and the engine rev. ed slightly? If not then my stab at this would be that it is unlikely to be the cambelt - but I could be wrong. As a I see it, if you suspect the the belt is too tight, and the garage who fitted it contests this then the only option open to you is to have it inspected and adjusted (without delay) by another reputable garage or ideally an Audi independent. You would of course need to inform the dealer who did this that this is what you are going to do. The arguement of who pays (reimburses you) will be open for debate once things are sorted or agreed were OK in the first place. I would think that whatever information you get from the forum isn't actually going to resolve this "on the ground", and you do need independent hands-on advice. Good luck, Gareth. p.s. Genuine VAG kit (including water pump) used?

Hello, As with all spurious electrical faults, it is always worth eliminating the battery as being the source of any issues. Take the car on a good 20 mike run to ensure the battery is charged, before getting the battery serviceability checked by a trusted auto electrician. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gary, Thanks for the extra detail. I would most certainly refer this to the Audi dealership (possibly the one/s who servived it). OK, it's 2 months out of warranty, but you might find that Audi may be prepared to make some contribution towards any costs, due to the low mileage/ service history and the short elapse of time since the warranty has expired. Can I ask if you bought this from an Audi dealership, another car sales dealer, or privately? If not privately, it would certainly be worth contacting the last registered owner to enquire whether there is any history of this problem. It is just possible that if so, this may have been reported as a fault ( within the warranty period) but not rectified. If this is the case, this would be an important string to your bow in any discussions with Audi. If purchased from a dealer then it should be possible to get this problem rectified - without cost to yourself? Kind regards, Gareth.

Point taken, but I think I possibly did not explain my suggestion correctly? :- If these tensioners can be problematic, then it is quite possible that this work has already been carried out and then recorded as work -done. I wasn't suggesting that they formed part of the normal servicing items. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Caroline, I don't think I am going to be of much help, but it might be worth fostering relations with a regional classic car club coveting your area, since members often know of specialists in this sort of thing. You might just get a contact from there. Personally, I'm not sure if I would go down the route of replacing the whole hood ( unless it is in poor condition) simply to get the glass to bond with the existing hood. Seems a complicated route to me, when there must be suitable adhesive systems to deal with this. Not that it helps at all, but if you lived closer (or were prepared to travel) to S. Wales then there is a specialist hood maker/fitter in this area. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Piotr. So Chris should be looking closely through the service history to ensure something has already been done regarding the chain tensioners then? Chris:- Gearbox oil changed - OK for a few months. I thought Audi don't actually specify gearbox oil changes, so if it's been changed then that is a bonus, and should not need doing again for years. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gary, I'm afraid I'm just going to be asking for a bit more information which might help others in giving you helpful advice. Can we take it this is an automatic? I notice the car is a 2014. Is this still under warranty, or if not, how many months is it out.? Does the car have service history, since I would assume that despite its low mileage, it should have been serviced on an age basis? Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Mods:- is it worth moving this (and others under this section) to the correct section?

Hello Zoe, Re. "It can't be the battery I'm told" , I would be tempted to renew it as an insurance - but not with a £ shop one! In my view, the batteries (inc. spare fob) should be routinely renewed. I'm with Steve on this, and I'm sure you will find that everything is controlled from the driver's door mechanism. It might be worth injecting some WD40 or similar down the door frame towards the area below the lock barrel ( you sometimes see some sort of nozzle access point below the lock mechanism when the door is open). Possibly won't sort it but worth a try? There are varied suggestions for recync- ing key fobs, but I've never had any luck with them, but again you could try. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Daniel, Could you explain "doesn't work when stationary" since as far as I'm aware, this is the only situation it normally works under -so I am wondering if it doesn't work at all. Can see the car is 6 years old, and as they say, you live and learn, and this must be quite early? for this system. You would normally expect the original battery to have a service life beyond this age, but I'm not sure what can be expected where this stop/start system applies, since it obviously puts a far higher demand on the battery and indeed the starter motor. Since this "intelligent " system depends on monitoring the battery charge/condition level I would think it is worth getting a good auto electrician to measure the serviceability of the battery, after a good run to ensure it is fully charged. If it is found it does need renewing then you need to ensure the battery is of the correct (modern) type which deals with intelligent charging systems. Good luck in getting it sorted. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Chris, I echo the sentiments - looks a nice car. My first port of call would be to try to obtain service print outs from the the main dealers who have been servicing the car. This should tell you what has been done and when, since you certainly don't want to be repeating work (particularly expensive work) which has been already carried out. Continuing main dealer servicing for a car of this age and mileage will probably prove to be an uneconomical route, and I would go along with the idea of using a local garage who you have either gathered respect for, or comes with a good recommendation. An alternative would be to use an Audi independent in your area. Perhaps someone could recommend. Others more familiar with this engine than I will advise whether this is a belt or chain camshaft driven engine and I think it would be wise to search the service history associated with these critical components as a good starting point. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Natasha, I notice you refer to the car having recently been serviced, and indicating that it's strange that the car is giving trouble so soon afterwards. Unfortunately, servicing is just that, and is no guarantee of any component being trouble free after that - really no different to a light bulb blowing - could be at any time. I would agree with your mechanic's (and Mark's) advice on getting the automatic gearbox fluid and filter changed as a worth- a-try operation first, although I think you will find this is not going to be that cheap a servive item. Automatic boxes can be relatively long lived, and manufacturers generally don't state fluid change intervals, but after 11 years, it would seem well worth while having done - problem or no problem. Your situation may be aggravated by the low mileage the car has covered, since auto boxes seem to cope less well with frequent short journeys. Good luck with getting it sorted, Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello John, I feel my comments are not going to help, since it appears that you have very much narrowed your options down to (only?)(understandably) the best for the least cost. I fear in reality that you may be asking too much, unless you are very lucky and someone may just have a good pair kicking around and are prepared to sell them at a reasonable price. Tall order? I notice you are intending to sell the car, and option (1) would have been to have sold the car on a basis that the wings need repair/replacement. Unfortunately, this option is no longer viable since you have removed the wings prior to finding acceptable replacements, so in effect you have reduced the value of the car. Not prepared to accept some from a scrap car due to rust? Well John, it might be a question of needs must, and rusty repairable ones are better than none at all. Easy in hindsight, but it really is safer to ensure you have the necessary parts to replace anything you take off before you remove what you have. If it were mine, I would now be lowering my sights and be prepared to accept something better than you had, and go from there, and really all I can hope is that someone does come to your assistance. Would probably be worth moving this post to Sales and Wants. Good luck, Gareth. ,

I feel far more information would be needed Dame, on the background to this headgasket failure, and the general condition and mileage of the car before any meaningful advice could be given. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, Thanks for coming back on this, and yes I believe it (only) costs £80 to get the existing number replaced with the original number, but I believe that if you then want to retain the current number then you will need to get that onto a Retention Certificate and this costs a further £30. Without that additional expenditure you will not have any claim to the current number - and of course it will not have any value to you! Please check this though to confirm/refute what I say. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Darren, Just wanted to say I'm really sorry to hear about your job. It probably isn't going to be of of much reassurance but this happened to me twice in close succession, and both times I was fortunate to be remployed (within the same organisistion in my case) and my career took a turn for the best - as has been said. Every good luck to you Darren, and I too am sure it will work out for you. Can now understand you being off the air. Not that it matters, but things have been a little touch and go here health scare wise, but all has now been declared well. Yippee! Keeping involved here and with other things has kept the mind occupied, so keep your hand in. Sorry I can't assist with your car problem - I would have turned to you for guidance with such things!! Take care Darren, and sincere good luck. Kind regards, Gareth.

Really sorry to hear that Gavo. Tyres? I have learnt to never ignore the simple things, so it would be well worth putting the spare on the offending side and see what happens. Good luck, Gareth.

Great Matej, but a little confused as to why this wasn't your first option then. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gavo, The only problem I would find by replacing the brake pads and CV joints at the same time is you will not know which was causing the noise if it is cured. I think I would replace the pads first (as the cheapest option by far) and if this does not solve it, then change the CV joints. Good luck, Gareth.

Hello Matej, It seems you are looking to buy an aftermarket filter (I consider Mann to be a good alternstive) rather than a VAG one. Slightly cheaper? If you buy via. a main dealer, then they should have the information to provide you with the correct one. Worth saving a little by buying aftermarket and having doubts?? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello ?, Having read your post, I think your Audi chaps are offering sound advice by suggesting you use a diesel specialist to further the investigations. My first stab at this would be to get a leak-back test done on the injectors to test their efficiency, and I would expect a diesel specialist would go down that line and others to solve your problem. If you enter your location then it's possible that someone on here may be able to recommend someone in your area. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello John, May be a bit modern for these folks, but might be worth having a word with Thorntons (at Welshpool). Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tony and Steve, Tony - Can we take it that the handbrake does actually engage, and indeed disengage properly when the car is at rest, and the only problem is that it disengages similar to how a fly-off handbrake would, rather than a gradual release when starting on a hill? Although I can ask the question, I cannot answer it without knowledge of whether it should or shouldn't release gradually on a manual gearbox car. Steve- is yours manual or auto? If manual then it obviously points to something being wrong with Tony's. If auto then it is of course an automatic hold and release on any gradient. If Tony's is as it should be then it's a bit like driving the manual Mercedes with the foot-hand-brake. Clutch control at its best, and not very entertaining! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, As you are probably aware, you will first need to obtain a Retention certificate for the number and this costs around £110 (or did) and will entitle you or someone who buys it from you to transfer it onto another car without cost, but the cost will be down to you to start. You will of course then need to buy another set of number plates which will return your current car back to what it was originally, but for £110 plus the cost of the replacement plates, you will have a number to sell. Registration Transfers (and there are far more) will value the number for you and my experience is that that valuation will be "encouraging" and they will advertise it for you without charge and offer you the agreed 'price back to you' price. Fast forward some time (and in my case it was almost 10 years before I gave up!) and it is possible you will be asked whether you want to bump it up and pay an advertising cost or perhaps reduce your 'back to you price'. You may get - as I did- a discussion about a rock bottom offer from which they deduct the cost of the retention cert ( for which I held and had paid for!) - experienced sales person turned out to be inexperienced and that info.was wrong in my case, and at which point the interested purchaser disappeared! Now it's possible to have them advertise the number while it remains on your car and a prospective buyer then pays for the transfer. Sounds fine, but I think you will, find there would be very little left in the pot for you when all is said and done - to a not worth the bother level. If it were mine, I would be looking on the DVLA website for similar format/layout numbers which can be bought straight from them at a price which includes the transfer fee and it would not surprise me if around £250 might be the buying price. So if it goes to Reg. Transfers, taking the £110 transfer fee, plus repalcement plate costs for your car plus Reg.mTransfers commission it could leave you with enough to buy a packet of !Removed!! I really would look at what DVLA are selling similar ones (including transfer costs ) for and go from there. I appreciate this is all very pessimistic and Reg. Transfers valuation may appear to make it seem attractive to follow up, but.... Possibly worth thinking about why the previous owner didn't sell it. I guess you didn't pay a premium for the car because of the number (hope not) so I would take it as valueless (in real terms) and move on buying your replacemnt number. Having said all of that, it is just possible at someone may fancy it and be prepared to cover the cost of transfer plus some added funds. You could be lucky Steve. Kind regards, Gareth.