I must be stupid

[Si Slater]

Hello all 

Its my first post so I will give you a little background .

As the title says I must be stupid 

July 2016 I went out to buy a little fun and stumbled on a A3 3.2 sline Quattro.

As soon as I test drove it I fell head over heels in love and quickly made an offer which was snapped up.

2 days later eml was on so I took it back to dealer who without hesitation offered me my money back.

I done a little homework and discovered that the problem was due to the chains 

but I still loved the car so made a deal with the dealer to take it off his hands.

I now knew I had to get chains done and set about finding someone to take engine out and replace them 

well that was easier said than done as no one wanted to touch it but I did find a nice guy from a garage in Lincolnshire who would have a go

so it was now September and off to Lincolnshire it went.

£2000 later and in December the car was ready 

great my baby is ready so off I went to get it 

It drove back without missing a beat and the smile on my face said it all 

It was now jan 2017 and the car developed a shudder again so back to local garage to find the front drivers driveshaft had self destructed so another £600 was spent 

now between the driveshaft and now the list just keeps getting bigger so here goes 

aircon pipes replaced £300

gearbox oil and haldex oil changed £350

front engine mounts £350

front pipe needed to be mended £500

battery drain which took £400 to find it was head unit 

cv joint £200

refurb alloys £200

rear wiper £100

new battery £100

water pump housing £150

instrument cluster repair £125

and now I need a new can gateway £?

Problem is I still love the car and it makes me smile every time I slip it into sport and slam my foot down 

So back to original question

Am I stupid ? 

Simon 

 

 

 

[Adbro]

Hi Simon and welcome.

 Sounds like an eye watering experience you've had so far. I don't think your stupid though. You have one hell of a machine on your hands. As with all old cars running costs with wear and tear can be extreme and this will be higher with high performance motors. Running an Audi is expensive, old or new, in one way or another. Lucky you found a local garage that's able and trustworthy. 

 So what are you getting for the money? You have a rare 3.2 model, the car has desirability, it is putting a smile on your face when it works and the parts replaced will last for years.  The drawback here sounds like the car has been used but isn't that what a car is for? 

 Funny enough I've got one eye on a 3.2 myself though tax and insurance is an issue for me. 

[Si Slater]

Hi Adbro 

Thanks for reassuring me.

I wouldn’t worry  about tax and insurance 

ive had it down to 4 miles to the gallon when my foot gets to heavy 

So the local shell garage is doing great business with that high octane I’m munching through.

[Steve Q]

Welcome to the forum Simon, you'll find the members on here are a friendly and helpful bunch :) 

I can fully relate with what you're saying as my 2002 a6 does the same to me! As does my old Ford escort. Bills are expensive!!

Now there are 2 ways of looking at this: 

1. With your head. Is it time to get rid as it's caused too much grief.  Or can you now not afford to sell in light of how money has been spent and you're now stuck with it.

2. With your heart. In my opinion if it puts a smile on your face every time you drive it then is the expense worth it. I tell you now, despite how much money my Ford escort costs me. I'd never get rid of it due to it putting a smile on my face! Hope that makes sense. 

It sounds like to me too many owners have neglected servicing and maintenance on the car and now you're the one putting it right. Once it's sorted you'll have a cracking car. And if you love it then I'd say persevere. I've found that expensive bills get more common the older the Audi gets. But this is the same case with any car. And I love my a6 and wouldn't part with it. 

Cheers

Steve 

[Joe Cott]

hey Simon, sounds like you enjoy a "project". Still, it's a hell of a car so why not?

I had a similar time with an old 1990 MX5 for 10 years before defecting to Audi so I know what it's like to love a car at any cost. (only sold it because being of a certain age, we had a job getting out of it eventually )

happy motoring