Magnet

Hello Callum, Halfords - £129 - not surprised. If this were mine, I would be Googling my area for specialists who do this - its a relatively quick and routine job. Obviously things may be different in your area, but I’ve never paid anything close to £100 in recent times - much less actually. Kind regards, Gareth.

Actually bought it, got it Ian, or a promise to supply at this price when it will be available at some point in in future? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Pippy, Very sorry to hear of your issue, and I must say, your case sounds complex, and as Steve points out, your legal standing will be governed by the EU I guess - which might be to your benefit? Academic point in your case, but the all important caveat to Steve’s quote on cambelt change intervals of 5 years or 75K miles, is ‘whichever comes first’ - most important. In your case - it doesn’t matter, since the original belt is only 3 and a third years old, and the car has only covered approx. 30K miles, so it would not be scheduled for change for another year and 8 months - so this must be considered to be premature failure. Personally, I see this as a very complex case, and one where I’m sure you are going to need professional legal advice. To better understand the your chances of a satisfactory outcome:- Has the car been maintained by a main dealer, at the recommended intervals, and hasn’t been presented for service at any point when its actually been overdue - even slightly? Could you let us know on this? Have you at any point been advised that the cambelt assembly needs changing? Unlikely, but let’s ask anyway. Do you have written copies of all the service invoices? If not, I would be now asking for copies from the servicing dealer. Was the car bought on any form of PCP (plan) or any other finance arrangement? If so, over how many years? If PCP, over a fixed time plan, and that period has now been passed, have you been given a new extended contract to sign? I think that’s enough questions for now Pippy, and perhaps you could come back to us with the answers, and we should be able to suggest the next steps to take. Evidence will be king here, and personally, I wouldn’t suggest any ‘guns blazing’ approaches until you have all your evidence in front of you. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello whoever you are -? Can you please take a little time to complete your profile - thanks. Anyway, Did you renew the cap with your replacement expansion tank? Can we take it the replacement tank was new rather than secondhand? Did you thoroughly bleed the system after replacing the above? How much coolant is being used in say 100 miles? In addition to answering the above, I would suggest you take the car on a run of at least a few miles, and immediately get an assistant to rev the car to 2,000 rpm and hold it steady at those revs. for 2 minutes, while you observe the exhaust for any evidence of white smoke - or undue smoke. Perhaps you would come back to us with some answers. Kind regards, Gareth.

Sorry but cannot answer your question Callum, but no doubt others with similar aged vehicles will come along for you. All I can say is that £150 to regass a system seems very high to me, even if the the system is correctly emptied, tested for holding pressure/vacuum, and then regassed. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mick, So you’ve had two different modes of failure on two pipes - very odd. I would say the latest failure is typical of stress fracturing - which could be excessive movement between the two fixing points. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, Are you using this car on track regularly? I not, I think I’m just missing the logic of spending over £2,00O on uprating brakes on a 13 year old vehicle. Kind regards. Gareth.

Thanks Mick, Sorry to be pedantic, but in one of the two ‘grooves’ of the three ‘peaks’, or on the ‘peaks’ themselves? Failure point of the replacement, exactly the same point as the original? Kind regards, Gareth.

Sorry Ian, but am I right in thinking the days of anything off are gone, and it’s now more a case of avoiding anything on!? - as you wait 12 months (plus?) for your new vehicle. Certainly the days of ‘what’s the price for cash’ have long gone, as the commission on finance becomes all important to the seller. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Lyndon, Just one point:- I think if you follow advice regarding ‘getting it back to your nearest Audi dealer’ - (but you haven’t said you are going to) then you really need to foster good relationships with them, since you will certainly need them on your side with this investigation. Yes, main dealers, are main dealers, are expensive, but in this case you must engage with them as if they are your best friend - that ‘friendship’ will be essential to you. We are talking Bridgend Audi here - aren’t we? Any chance you can tell us exactly what you are now going to do - going forward - Lyndon? Good luck and kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mick, Exactly where in the middle has the pipe cracked. Can you highlight it on the photo? Radial or along the length of the pipe? I think I know where you mean, but want to be sure on exactly where. Was this replacement pipe new? - it looks rather secondhand for only 1000 miles of use. Dependent on this location - it could be a too-much- movement issue, but…. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks Lyndon, I guess you now have the service print out, so it will state on there whether the belt was changed by Audi before you bought it - or not. The term ‘full service history’ is a much misused term, and often just means that the vehicle has been serviced on occasions - the degree (in caps) of servicing always needs to be questioned. Yes, Audi may tell you that the belt needs changing at 75K miles, but the all important caveat is ‘or X years whichever comes first’ - and X is usually 5 years. I stand by my original advice of getting the car back to an Audi dealer, and obtaining a report to pass to your seller, and inform the seller that that is what you are going to do. To let the car go straight back the seller, runs the risk that they have the all the evidence, and can interpret it as they will! A specialist’s evidence is a must. I really wish you well with this, and yes, please keep us updated. Advice on here is free, and hopefully some of it is meaningful and helpful. Good luck and kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Since ‘full service history” is often recommended on here as a ‘must-have’, then to me, evidence ( in terms of a print out) is of vital importance before entering into any purchase agreement. As always, pre- purchase homework is king. Simply falling in love with it can be dangerous and costly.

Did you search under ‘servicing plans’ etc.?

Hello Lyndon, Really sorry to hear of your plight so far away from the Homeland. I and everyone else will totally agree with Steve, but you now say that your seller claims to have correctly renewed the whole assembly (inc. water pump?), and not simply the now-shredded belt. So confusion here. If (in caps) that replacement was correctly carried out 4K miles ago then there is something seriously wrong - unless the belt turns out to be the original now 7 year old one - and thereby hangs the evidence, which will vital to your case. You have a written (in caps) 2 year warranty on this timing belt replacement? It would be interesting to see whether this warranty covers the cost of replacing the assembly, but not the consequence of its failure ( warranties can be very restrictive when it comes to paying out). If this were mine:- get the car transported back to Bridgend via your breakdown cover, and inform the seller in writing that you are going to get the car assessed at the main dealer - Bridgend Audi? Armed with their report, you can then move forward. This 2015, 58k car with supposed ‘full’ service history would have evidence of the timing belt assembly having been changed In around 2020. Did you see/do you have documented evidence of this change to uphold the seller’s description of ‘full’ service history? Personally, I wouldn’t be attempting to sort this out on foreign soil. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Garet Perhaps you could

Hello Paul, In my book - You cannot just read the reviews and simply act on those. If I was in your situation, I would use these reviews to select say the 3 that you think would most interest you, and request copies of the ‘agreements’ and go through these with a tooth comb. Laborious task? Yes, but it’s a lot a money to spend and be disappointed. Reviews might be a good starting point, but not a finishing point. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Joe, In my experience, most now have sophisticated equipment - great! Experience and interest to use it properly?? How many times do you hear of people driving away after getting alignment adjusted, and find the steering wheel is off centre? Yes, they clamped it in the straight ahead position, but…. The objective is to get it done once and properly. I trust my local (In caps) ATS tyre outlet, but I wouldn’t take that across the board. Cheaper can be good, but no more often that expensive not guaranteeing better! I would be asking about for recommendations of your ‘Audi Approved’ and use them if (in caps) you are led to believe they are good. Kind regards, Gareth.

OK James, Are you going to look at my suggestions?

Hello James, Some parasitic drain to discharge the battery in such a short time! Possible suspects are obviously numerous, and it may be time to ‘invest’ in an hour’s time with a trusted local auto electrician. Possible ‘worth a try’ ? Remove the alternator fuse Incase you have a fault there. Also worth checking the flexible harness twixt body and tailgate Incase you have fractured wires and partial shorts there - same for driver door harness. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, The small print exclusions is where your homework needs to be done with warranties. A lot of money to spend to find ‘ wear and tear’ etc. isn’t covered. Perhaps someone will come along with some recommendations for you. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dennis, Thanks for joining and posting your request. I don’t know how the R8 high level brake light is held in place, but Incase it helps, with the A3 you have to ease back/remove the plastic trim in the interior behind the light unit. You may then find a number of sprung white tapered fixings - each of which need to be compressed with a long nose pliers to release them- the springs will ensure they remain released. The unit can then be removed and replaced. Watch the rubber gasket. Using Chinese ones ?? How long will the LEDs last? Might be worth looking on You Tube to see if there is a listed procedure for the R8. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Graham, OK F1. I guess it takes daft amounts of marketing funds to ‘establish’ a brand. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Gavin, but I’m still favouring the reconditioning of your original shaft by a specialist. Kind regards, Gareth.

Your Audi dealer will tell you Ben - but that’s probably not going to be the source of your supply -? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Simon, I think the simplest, but most comprehensive outcome is to search the forum over the last month, and you will find a post about the ‘previously confusing data ‘ relating to Audi’s servicing plans. This has been sorted out by the poster, and you will find his information is very comprehensive - best reading source to provide the answers for you. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gavin, Do I understand you are paying £1800 for a propshaft for your 12 year old car. You don’t tell us what the symptoms are, so I guess you have confidence in the garage who say you will need a new, one to cure your issues. Of course Steve is right when he in effect says you don’t have to worry about part numbers etc. and whether it’s the right one or not - the dealer’s responsibility to provide you with the correct one. Your worry is to arrange the mortgage! Apologies for one of these ‘Purple Bricks’ moments, but you could have tried searching for propshaft reconditioning services (possibly even in your area) before committing to buying a new one? Still, deed done now. Kind regards, Gareth.