Magnet

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.

Hello Allan, I would go with Steve's suggestion for a starter. I would advise that you remove the inner panel and indeed this may give up some clues of where this water is getting in (via evidence of stains etc.), and thoroughly dry the inside of the tailgate. You could then tape over the top outside paintwork to glass area, overlapping from paintwork to glass. I would just do the top join to start and test with a hose. If this does not eliminate the problem then add additional tape to each side join (one at a time) and finally the bottom glass to paintwork. The idea of doing this one section at a time is that you will know which one solves it - if it does. Another possible source could be where the flexible electrical wiring harness runs from the main body into the tailgate frame. Possibly some of this might help. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tom, Thanks for filling in some of the detail. It's now fair to expect that you need a specific answer whether you should/when you should change this cambelt and its associated components. Perhaps someone can come up with the official recommendation for you which will be x years or x miles whichever comes first. Say 8 years or 80k miles could be taken as a guide, but from my side, a guide only it would be, while we wait for a more informed reply. Of course, you could contact your local dealer and they will definitely advise you, and they often have offers on these sort of critical jobs. My concern would be that although you may still be within the change limits, you are uncertain of what quality of components were used, and water pumps in particular are known to be of highly variable quality from aftermarket suppliers, and form a critical link in this application. My advice:- contact a couple of the nearest dealers and ask for the recommended change information and see if there are any offers on at the moment. As I said in my original reply, I think you are wise to fact find this. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tom, This is always going to be a critical issue since failure is likely to result in catastrophic engine problems. If this has been correctly dealt with in your ownership then you should have confidence that 4 years and 50k miles should still be within an acceptable service period. However, if let's say the 'cambelt was changed' - i.e. just the belt was changed, then things may not be as serviceable as they should be. Probably the bill will reveal the important detail. Perhaps you could let us know and I'm sure help will be at hand. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Chris, I also add to the welcoming comments and interest in your car's arrival after the long wait - a wait which I'm sure will be well worth enduring. One thing I would possibly add to as comment is that if I had had to wait for 5 months, then I would be inclined to wait for an extra 3 weeks to ensure it as registered under the new 67 plate registration rather that the outgoing 17 plate, which finishes on 31st August. Despite what they may tell you, a 67 plate 2017 car will have a greater value than a 17 plate 2017, and this is why August tends to be a quieter month for new car registrations, and they really welcome those who are prepared to have new cars registered under the old outgoing registration rather than wait to have the new plate. Anyway Chris - enjoy the car. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tom, Good to hear you are concerned to do the right thing in respect of cambelt changes. A couple of questions:- What date (year) was the belt changed when the mileage was 75K? What make parts were used at the last change- Audi, or aftermarket (what make if so?) and was the water pump changed at the same time, and if so, again what make? Kind regards, Gareth.

Some people know how to treat the ladies! Very useful though.

Hello Paul, I'm not sure if I'm reading this correctly, but has the centre come out of the actual jet surround and left a hole where it should have been? If so, I think the basic holder is "clipped in" from the outside with the normal expanding/contracting lugs, and once in position, cannot be extracted from the outside. If so, you will guess what that leads to! Kind regards, Gareth.

T'riffic! Now there's something else I've got to worry about not knowing!

Hello Thomas, I'm with Steve on this, or you could try some leather dressing ( Autoglym or others ) on the surfaces which touch. Might be just worth a try. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Paul, What the heck is a URL!? - no don't tell me, I'm just too old! When I first started working the technology to drive a now simple pocket calculator would have taken a 12ft. X 12ft room with computer hardware in cabinets from floor to ceiling and 2ft deep. No room for URLs in there! Try Googling the exact search I mentioned and you will find it under Images. Good luck, Gareth.

Hello Piotr, This reply is probably not going to be of much use, and but it would appear from the photos that the rust is not perforated (through) rust, but more likely to have started as surface rust which has just got worse with time. As I understand it, the warranty applies to perforated rust , so it's possible (likely?) that they will not consider it under guarantee, but good luck, and well worth an assessment. If it turns out you cannot claim, then I assume you will attempt to deal with this yourself, and I'm sure you will know how to do that, and follow the repair with a good wax treatment of the area with something like Waxoyl. I hope your claim goes well. Kind regards, Gareth.

OK Alan. I really can't point you in any other direction apart from the one most troublesome point for boot electrics issues, so I guess that's me done. As a matter of interest, I've just Googled "Audi A4 cabriolet boot lock wiring diagram" and came up with a few examples on there - some with the colour codes as well, but I guess you've been there. Good luck, Gareth.

Hello Alan, Did you check the wiring for breaks/shorts where it does through the flexible harness visible when you open the boot? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Stuart, Many thanks for the helpful reply, and we can now (unfortunately!) eliminate the dealer from any involvement with this since it hasn't been in their hands for servicing - and therefore cleaning. Taking your point about using a jet washer to rince to car, I wonder if you could let us know your exact procedure and products used for cleaning the car from scratch when you do it. So we take it you have never had it cleaned by anyone else? Kind regards, Gareth.