scarlett

Gareth, Thank you so much for replying to my post. Your advice was really useful. The battery was changed as it wouldn't hold a charge. The car hadn't been used for months. Julia

Hi, Can anyone advise? As the battery was dead on my Audi A3, we isolated it to charge it up. This seemed to work and the charger indicated that it had charged. However, though the car seemed at first to respond (the dashboard lights etc came on) after a few second suddenly an alarm went off. The ignition then would not respond. I searched through the manual and it is not obvious what to do to get the car to start or why this happened. Can anyone give me some advice? Thanks.

Hi Trevor, Not ready to scrap this car so must make a decision. I think I will have to accept the huge fitting cost in the French Audi garage, as with no other Audi garages for miles I am a bit cornered. However, if I am going to go for a repro or breakage and have crossed referenced the part number with Audi (waiting for their reply) have you any advice on what to look for? (I had been told that ACS repro parts are good, but there's one listed on eBay for over £9,000, which surely must be an error!) Julia

Hello, What do you estimate this will cost me if I find a skoda or VW part? I don't think I am ready to scrap the car. Best

Hi again, Will get a quote from Audi. That's a good starting point, thanks. I've looked at the images of steering racks on europarts etc, but it's hard to get an idea of the length and size of the part. I'll take it as outsized baggage on ryanair if allowed, but do you have a rough idea how big/heavy this part will be? The car is in Lot, north of Figeac. I was told that because of the electronics involved it has to be done by an Audi garage, but is that correct? I'd love to avoid the £600 for labour. Also do you think that a reconditioned or repro part would be better than a breakage part? (Just a little worried that the garage may not want to work with breakage part.) Thx

Thanks Trevor, Have multiple challenges here and not least a local garage in France who are reluctant to do anything other than an Audi part. I'll try to find a skoda or VW part, but where do I find the part references I'll need? Thx, Scarlett

Hi, I have a 2004 Audi A3 that went wrong last year in France and needs a power steering rack. Horrified by the cost at the local Audi, I parked it up with friends and did some research here only to find that the cost of the part and fitting was pretty much the same -£1,800. It's 2004 reg and was bought in 2015 for £2,800, having got an mechanic to look over it, so I think it is in pretty good nick. I am going round in circles; I love this car, but just can't face spending so much to repair it. I looked into doing a reconditioned part, but that came out pretty expensive too and now wonder if the only way forward is to buy the part from a breaker and gamble on it being ok. The fitting will cost about £600, so it still involves a big bill, but I can't face ditching the car and my friends are getting a little tired of looking at it. Has anyone any advice?