Expertise invited

[Chase27]

Evening all,

 

I have been driving a 2010 Audi A4 Avant S-Line for  coming up 4 years with few problems. Had a sensor go mad a few months back which cost a bit to sort out but apart from that it has been perfect. Drove the family to Naples and back a couple of years ago and it didn't miss a beat. Great car.

Alas, the spring for the flap for the lamp washer didn't pull the flap back to sit completely flush one day and I managed to rip it off parking. Photo attached.

My local dealership says that a small plastic lug, built into the bumper, has snapped off and the only solution is to fit a new bumper. Cost £1,200.

so my question is, has anyone else had this experience and, if so, what did they do? Second, what would anyone suggest? I have seen that Car Parts sell front A4 bumpers for about £75. Are these the real deal or too cheap by far? If I can get a new bumper with the lug intact then I should save myself a packet.

Any advice from those in the know would be very much appreciated. Thanks in anticipation.  

[Steve Q]

I'd say go for aftermarket bumper. £1200 is a lot! Sounds like they don't want the job to be honest. 

Cheers

Steve

[Magnet]

Hello Charles,

Am I right in thinking the paintwork is chipped around the hole where the flap sits? 

Personal view:- £75 for an aftermarket just sounds too cheap, and OK, pessimistic, but you could find its fit and finish is not what you would want - and that’s before you will be spending a significant amount of money to it painted. I would be giving this route a good couple of coats of thinking about before following that. 

My time would be spent on thinking about an alternative method of securing the flap back into your existing bumper. This should be well within the scope of a bit of head scratching. An absolute economical, and relatively hassle free way to get back where you were. Bare aftermarket bumper would certainly not be for me in this case. 

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Chase27]

Thanks gareth

 

What I didnt say above is that I already had a good bodge job done for a coupe of hundred quid but the problem happened again! My bad. The flap has gone, too.

Its all a bit of a bugger because the car is only worth 4-5 grand in top nick and with this minor fault it will reduce the trqde in value probably by half. Really irritating. It may actulally be worth paying what Audi want...

 

Thanks for your input and thanks Steve

[Magnet]

Hello Charles,

Thanks for coming back on this, but honestly, I’m still not altogether clear, but do understand that someone has already attempted to do a reasonable ‘bodge’. 

Considering spending £1,200 at Audi to improve its trade in value? Personally, I think you can knock that idea on the head. I just cannot see any chance of the economics working out in your favour. 

So OK, you have a nicely shaped aperture and as I understand it, you no longer have the ‘cover’ for that hole. Want to effect a reasonable alternative repair? Why not fabricate a slightly larger cover plate and simply attach it with small removable self tapping screws, and get the areas sprayed! I could even think of neater ways to solve this on a DIY basis, but even that one is better than spending £1200 or buying a cheap aftermarket one. 

Kind regards,

Gareth.