2.0 TFSI Audi A4 Oil Consumption Issue

[FiveStarSAMz]

Hello. I have an 2011 Audi A4 2.0 TFSI with the dreaded excessive oil consumption issue. I am aware that Audi would fix the car for free as a gesture of goodwill. My car has mileage less than 50k. I fill up a litre of oil around every 250 miles. 

Can anyone recommend a dealer around the south east / east london or west kent area that has fixed the problem for free? I don't mind travelling a bit to places like crawley or brighton aswell but closer to south east london, the better. 

I emailed Audi UK to kick start things off telling them about the issue and that I was aware that it was a design fault. I am a recent graduate so funds aren't exactly available right now for me. 

They replied: 

Quote

Thank you for your email regarding your Audi A4.

I am really sorry to hear that it is using a lot of oil. Audi did have a policy in place to fix certain vehicle with high oil consumption. Unfortunately this ended last year.

I am really sorry that this was not a more positive outcome. The only advise I can offer is to speak to your local Audi centre regarding this problem.

If there is anything further I can help you with, please contact me on the details below.

Kind regards

Am I done for? 

 

Thank you in advance.

Edited January 27, 2022 by FiveStarSAMz

[Brizzle]

Play up like !Removed! mate 

Its an issue they know about and where fixing them, to say they stopped doing it last year is out of order 

 

[FiveStarSAMz]

5 hours ago, Brizzle said:

Play up like !Removed! mate 

Its an issue they know about and where fixing them, to say they stopped doing it last year is out of order 

 

Play up like what? i believe theres supposed to be an emoji there but i cant see it?

 

Yeah it sucks. Might write this for a reply. I don't know if i should take a polite approach or a more stern approach. 

 

Hello,

Thank you for you reply. This is definitely not the reply I was hoping and definitely not what I was expecting from Audi. Since you had a policy to fix cars with high consumption, I find it bewildering to have got a reply to say that this was stopped last year. The issue is very well known as you have implied and the issue still remains with your cars this year like it did last year. 

I would like to kindly ask you to consider taking an approach that you have been taking previously as I am unable to afford the expensive fix.

I look forward to your reply. 

Thanks. 

 

Maybe I can execute it more better? More stern or more polite? Idk I want to make sure I execute it properly as I do love the car. 

[Magnet]

Hello Sam,

Thanks for being in touch and sorry to hear of your issue.

Apologies for a contra opinion, but I certainly wouldn’t be adopting the approach suggest by Karl in his ‘expletives removed’ post. It will simply generate a tone of animosity, and whatever you think or shout about,  they hold the key to the resolution. 
Diplomatic, factual firm and reasoned, would be my chosen approach. 
If you would like an opinion on the content of your reply, then I think it is essentially good, with the following ‘comments for you to think about’ :- 

Personally, I wouldn’t make any reference to being unable to afford the necessary repairs - that fact is not Audi’s fault, and the comment generally undermines your situation and standing. 
The key fact is that there is precedent here, which means that Audi has previously accepted they are at fault with this issue and have compensated owners - so they are blameworthy. I think you can reasonably maintain that fault and consequent liability does not cease at a certain point time, but ceases when there aren’t anymore cases where liability applies. 
I trust some of the above maybe of help, and wish you well for a favourable outcome. 
As an (important) aside - how long have you owned this car Sam, and when were you first aware of the undue (as opposed to excessive) oil consumption? If this is some period of time, then this may dilute your case, if it can be proved that you have procrastinated. 
Perhaps you could keep us informed on how things develop. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Jonno S3]

Hi, did you get a response from Audi UK yet? 

I have the same issue with my 2008 S3, oil consumption has always been bad but I knew this was an issue when buying the car as I have had the same issue with a previous S3 however whilst my previous car was 1000 miles per litre this one is reducing very rapidly from approximately 1000 miles to less than 500.  My car is with my local Audi dealer in March, I am hoping for a positive outcome. 

Gareth, I will take the approach you suggest above.

Do you know if they have been repairing the existing engine or replacing the entire unit?

[FiveStarSAMz]

On 1/29/2022 at 9:31 AM, Magnet said:

Hello Sam,

Thanks for being in touch and sorry to hear of your issue.

Apologies for a contra opinion, but I certainly wouldn’t be adopting the approach suggest by Karl in his ‘expletives removed’ post. It will simply generate a tone of animosity, and whatever you think or shout about,  they hold the key to the resolution. 
Diplomatic, factual firm and reasoned, would be my chosen approach. 
If you would like an opinion on the content of your reply, then I think it is essentially good, with the following ‘comments for you to think about’ :- 

Personally, I wouldn’t make any reference to being unable to afford the necessary repairs - that fact is not Audi’s fault, and the comment generally undermines your situation and standing. 
The key fact is that there is precedent here, which means that Audi has previously accepted they are at fault with this issue and have compensated owners - so they are blameworthy. I think you can reasonably maintain that fault and consequent liability does not cease at a certain point time, but ceases when there aren’t anymore cases where liability applies. 
I trust some of the above maybe of help, and wish you well for a favourable outcome. 
As an (important) aside - how long have you owned this car Sam, and when were you first aware of the undue (as opposed to excessive) oil consumption? If this is some period of time, then this may dilute your case, if it can be proved that you have procrastinated. 
Perhaps you could keep us informed on how things develop. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

Hello Gareth, 

Thank you for your reply. I do appreciate the help. I have not sent a reply to them yet. However, this morning I dropped off the car to my local-ish Audi dealer to get the oil consumption test. When I was called and questioned about the price, I asked if this was going to be covered by Audi as it is a common fault and well-known issue. They replied saying that this policy is only for cars that are less than 10 years old. My car was registered in July 2011 so that makes it 6 months late roughly. So far, I have agreed to take the bill of the oil consumption test for £280 roughly, but any advice on the approach to take from here on out as I know it will definitely fail the oil consumption test. 

I am aiming to take the polite route and will use the liability still remains argument but any help I get would be appreciated. 

Thanks

[Magnet]

Thanks Sam,

I think it’s fair to expect the oil consumption test will confirm there is an issue, so if this were me, I would now be commencing to set up my case. 
Let me go back to my yet unanswered question:- How long have you owned this car, and when were you first aware of its oil consumption issue? 
Who was the ‘they’ at your Audi dealer who informed you ‘…..less than 10 years…’? 
My feeling is that you are going to need some professional legal assistance if Audi’s argument continues ( which I believe it will). CAB may be able to advise, and would be a useful first port of call, but I feel you will need to tap into paid-for legal assistance. 
Questions you will now need to ask yourself:- If you fail ( or even partially fail, i.e. you have to make a not insubstantial contribution) do you think it will be a worthwhile expenditure to make to rectify the issue on your 10.5 year old car? 
Personally, I don’t think it is, but…. 
So what do you do? Just keep adding cheap oil? Part with the car and buy something else?  Answers to these will be influenced by the answer to the question - when did you buy it, and how much funds you ‘invested’ in it, and when? 
I think that’s enough to think about for now Sam.

Dealing with Audi:- polite is good and essential, but this needs to be coupled with a necessary degree of firmness and reasoned argument - and that’s where the professionals come in. 
Perhaps you could let the forum know how you get on.

Kind regards,

Gareth. 
p.s. What is the Audi service history like with the car? 
Although my argument about liability should not be influenced by a point in time, realistically, we are all subjected to such time limits with grantees, so….. Difference with this case? Was the owner (you) made aware of this constraint within the timespan of the liability period? 

[Jonno S3]

Sorry to chime in here, my comments might not be welcome.

As a owner of a car with identical issues I am watching this thread very carefully.

If indeed we had a 10 year window and my car is out of that timeframe its easier to offload the car to one of the big car buying websites.

Gareth, have you heard this 10 year window mentioned before?

[Magnet]

Hello Jonathan,

No I haven’t heard of the 10 year limit before. 
To cut to the chase for both of you:- it could be challengeable, but the challenge is likely to be costly (uneconomically so?) 

Yes, I have already mentioned the consideration of getting rid of the car, and yes, the car buying sites would certainly be an option, but they (and the buyers at their follow on auctions) are highly likely to be aware of this issue and will value the car accordingly. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Jonno S3]

Thanks for your valuable input Gareth. 

I have been offered approx. £2000 under market value, when they inspect the car its unlikely they will notice unless they take it for a drive and accelerate hard.  

Car still seems to perform as it should but in my opinion its a ticking time bomb. 

[FiveStarSAMz]

1 hour ago, Magnet said:

Thanks Sam,

I think it’s fair to expect the oil consumption test will confirm there is an issue, so if this were me, I would now be commencing to set up my case. 
Let me go back to my yet unanswered question:- How long have you owned this car, and when were you first aware of its oil consumption issue? 
Who was the ‘they’ at your Audi dealer who informed you ‘…..less than 10 years…’? 
My feeling is that you are going to need some professional legal assistance if Audi’s argument continues ( which I believe it will). CAB may be able to advise, and would be a useful first port of call, but I feel you will need to tap into paid-for legal assistance. 
Questions you will now need to ask yourself:- If you fail ( or even partially fail, i.e. you have to make a not insubstantial contribution) do you think it will be a worthwhile expenditure to make to rectify the issue on your 10.5 year old car? 
Personally, I don’t think it is, but…. 
So what do you do? Just keep adding cheap oil? Part with the car and buy something else?  Answers to these will be influenced by the answer to the question - when did you buy it, and how much funds you ‘invested’ in it, and when? 
I think that’s enough to think about for now Sam.

Dealing with Audi:- polite is good and essential, but this needs to be coupled with a necessary degree of firmness and reasoned argument - and that’s where the professionals come in. 
Perhaps you could let the forum know how you get on.

Kind regards,

Gareth. 
p.s. What is the Audi service history like with the car? 
Although my argument about liability should not be influenced by a point in time, realistically, we are all subjected to such time limits with grantees, so….. Difference with this case? Was the owner (you) made aware of this constraint within the timespan of the liability period? 

Hello Gareth and to all those concerned, 

 

Okay so a little update. Audi Dealer did not do the oil consumption test because of the resistance to pay for the oil consumption test. They informed me that they can still do the oil consumption test but if it was to go for the the new engine repair, Audi warranty department are confident that they won’t be able to do anything and that I will have to pay the large sum of money to get it repaired. So the person I was talking to from the Audi Dealer told me it would be better if I spoke to Audi UK myself before I go ahead and get the test done. So I agreed and I’m literally at the dealership to pick up my car. I guess my target is to get Audi UK to approve the test first and then go back To dealership to proceed. Audi dealer told me that it’s in the technicians opinion that it will fail the oil consumption test. 
 

To answer your questions:

So I have owned this car for 2 years and I must admit that it was consuming oil before but not nearly as much as it is now. I’d say about every 1200-1400 miles it would have to be topped up a litre. I had booked an oil consumption test with a different Audi dealer but cancelled it with the knowledge that it could still pass the test after I found out how low Audis threshold is to fail it. But then about 3-4 months ago it all of sudden starting drinking a lot more about 600 miles for a litre and it just rapidly got worse and now it’s burning a litre every 250-300 miles.

So the person at the Audi dealer, I didn’t get what his job role is but I know his name (I guess I can call him the service advisor?), informed me that diagnostic technician informed him of the 10 years limit and then he confirmed it when he contacted the warranty department. Although this may not be entirely true, as I have seen on other forums that Audi have done it with cars that are older than 10 years old  

I will look into CAB and seeking some legal advice regarding this issue. Maybe I could go to the ombudsman or citizen advice?
 

I do understand your point in your question. Financially it makes no sense to it for building a new engine but I guess I’m struggling to accept that due to the sentimental memories with the car.  It is my first car that I worked hard to buy too. It does only have 45k miles on it so pretty low for the age. I’ve paid around £10k for this car and although it may not seem much, that is a lot for me. 
 

So it has full service history but the last two were done by Audi specialist. During the previous 2 ownerships, the car has been stood for a while and not been driven for longer than 3 years and there’s no service record during this time. And it is due for another interim service which I would ideally like to do after the engines been sorted. What’s the point of servicing a faulty engine? And no I was not aware of any time constraints for liability. 

I guess my next action is to send the polite reply to that email Audi UK and try to get them to authorise it. 
 

I do thank you, Gareth, for your help and appreciate this forum, so far the only forum to actually help me so far. 
 

As always, any advice would benefit!

Kind regards,

Sam

[Jonno S3]

Good luck Sam, please let us know what the CAB advise. 

I have my car booked in, strangely enough they didn't offer an oil consumption test just a health check (£60 plus insurance costs for loan car)

Assuming they put an endoscope down the bore looking for scoring, they are likely to find the same as your Sam so I will keep this thread updated.

I have read on a few forums that being persistent with Audi UK might pay off however I cant recall how old those posts were.

Oh, and 10k for a car with only 45,000 miles and a knackered engine is a lot of money.

[FiveStarSAMz]

4 minutes ago, Jonno S3 said:

Good luck Sam, please let us know what the CAB advise. 

I have my car booked in, strangely enough they didn't offer an oil consumption test just a health check (£60 plus insurance costs for loan car)

Assuming they put an endoscope down the bore looking for scoring, they are likely to find the same as your Sam so I will keep this thread updated.

I have read on a few forums that being persistent with Audi UK might pay off however I cant recall how old those posts were.

Oh, and 10k for a car with only 45,000 miles and a knackered engine is a lot of money.

Thank you! Good luck to you too! Let’s hope we get our cars fixed with minimal inconvenience. I will for sure keep this thread updated. 

Can I ask which dealer you got yourself booked in for? Welcome to private message me aswell. I didn’t really say much when booking. I literally straight asked for a oil consumption test and told them it was consuming a lot of oil. 

[Jonno S3]

I am booked into Audi in Chelmsford but first appointment is the 7th March.   

I had contacted them previously regarding the oil consumption, I was booked in then lockdown happened so I wasn't driving much so pointless doing the consumption test, maybe as I had contacted them before they thought it was unnecessary.

[Magnet]

Hello both, 

Without appearing patronising, I do feel for you and sympathise that you involved yourselves with buying cars which fitted in with the period of subsequent issues. 
Sam - first cars do tug at heart strings, and indeed the thought of paying £10k for a c8 year old car - good or bad - would come with an expectation of something special. Sentimental attraction would however leave me with a feeling that it wasn’t really attractive at all, and best forgotten about. Apologies for rubbing it in, but personally, I feel you are likely to take a massive financial hit if you follow Jonathan’s suggested route of disposing with it. 
The reality of this situation is that even if Audi bend their 10 year limit, they are likely to argue that the car has little or no service history, and that you chose to procrastinate in bringing this complaint to their knowledge. Sorry, but plan for the worse and hope for the best. 
Would I spend a lot of money on legal advice in dealing with Audi in your case?? I honestly don’t thinking I would. Again apologies….

Alternatives :- bite the bullet and take a serious financial hit. Consider an outcome where Audi continue to say no. Would you/are you able to fund four figure sums to finance engine rebuilds? If yes, it would be worth getting estimates from a now-small group of engine rebuilders who undertake such work in the classic car field. Worth asking around the local classic car clubs for recommendations for reboring and fitting new pistons. 

Or keep buying 20 litre barrels of cheap oil and keep topping it up. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Jonno S3]

I read somewhere its something in the region of £5000 to rebuild the engine.  As a former Subaru Impreza owner and the subsequent issues with ringland failure and huge costs to rebuild I switched to Audi. 

Similar rebuild costs I believe. 

So as I see it, take a 2k hit on trade in and potentially purchase another money pit or spend £5k for the rebuild although once rebuilt I am sure it would never let you down again.

I have looked for a company that rebuilds engines, not that many I have seen.

I might message Mike Brewer as Elvis took an engine in for a rebuild although he did it himself.

[Jonno S3]

I have just tweeted Elvis from Wheeler Dealers, if I get a reply I will let you know.

[Stevey Y]

4 hours ago, Jonno S3 said:

I read somewhere its something in the region of £5000 to rebuild the engine.  As a former Subaru Impreza owner and the subsequent issues with ringland failure and huge costs to rebuild I switched to Audi. 

Similar rebuild costs I believe. 

So as I see it, take a 2k hit on trade in and potentially purchase another money pit or spend £5k for the rebuild although once rebuilt I am sure it would never let you down again.

I have looked for a company that rebuilds engines, not that many I have seen.

I might message Mike Brewer as Elvis took an engine in for a rebuild although he did it himself.

HI Jonno, you live in the same area as me so what about Gosnays,Regal,Robertsons all good companies within spitting distance of us, the problems with these engines are the bores and piston rings as they made them to cut down on friction and reduce emissions, the bores were made slightly bigger but the main problem is the rings which are thinner in width and become coked into the ring channel so they don't seal as well as the milage creeps up, one of my colleagues had his Transit Minibus engine done at Regals and believe me that wasn't even running when it went in and needed a hell of a lot of work including a new head, it all came in at three grand, when you consider that a genuine Ford unit was over five grand

The bit that makes me die is this roll over and give up attitude with some people, if you look at the facts why would they be offering an oil consumption test if the end result was going to be a firm NO, thats classed as gaining money by deception, the Americans were the first to flush out Audi on this problem and do you think  they have thrown in the towel, absolutely not, the other thing I find distasteful is most dealers main or otherwise knew of this problem so when buying for stock why would you not have a list of the affected engines so that you were not going to sell some poor sod a lemon that will most definitely fail in the not to distant future, I suppose that comes under the subheading of [ poor unsuspecting dealer], Audi are very slippery when it comes to addressing customer problems due to bad build quality and even more so since Brexit because their mum told them they can't play any more, my example is I own a eleven year old Alfa Mito which last year I received a recall notice for a piece of wiring and its associated module, all fitted for free, their attitude is if you look after the customer they might buy another Alfa, Audi won't do this because they consider that we will all be queuing to buy their over priced electric models so all the owners of the fossil fuelled vehicles can go find a sharp stick to sit on and swivel.

Steve.

[Magnet]

Hello Steve,

I’m sure both of the posters on this thread will benefit from your advice on a good engine reconditioning facility, and hopefully the chances of an optimistic outcome by contending Audi’s unreasonable conditions. That would indeed be something to hang onto. For what it’s worth I share that sentiment, but I think it’s only fair to point out that any ‘fight’ with an international organisation is going to be costly, and realistically outside the scope of an average owner - however savvy they are. 
Yes contend the dictate, but be realistic in the chances of success - apologies, I appreciate this is coming over as pessimistic, but certainly tempered with a fair degree of realism, and certainly no disappointment after the legal costs have been paid. 
‘Why would Audi conduct an oil consumption test .. if end result will be a firm no..’? I think Sam can answer that one by  having to pay £280 for the test! Business is business, and they are not going to advise the owner not to get it done. 
Yes, what’s good enough for the U.K. is not acceptable to the US of A, but they fight an international organisation on at least a State basis, and not on an individual USA owner level. 
I genuinely hope for a reasonable outcome with both these cases, since liability exists, but I can only wish them well in their attempts, since I guess there isn’t any legal assistance on here that would help and support them with sound and reasoned argument. 
I still think the often-one-man- band classic car engine reconditioners might be a good fall back, which might allow a financially viable outcome. 
Many thanks and kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Jonno S3]

Thanks for both your valuable inputs.

I guess it all boils down to how much effort you are prepared to put in and how long you are prepared to live with a car as is.  I understand Sam has sentimental connection to his car so in this instance worth letting it play out as long as it takes.

I live in a small village and have to rely on my car to get to work, at the moment I am working from home but that's set to change very soon, I have no way to get to the train station without my car.

Also I don't tend to get attached to anything material, I love the car as a driving machine but its just a car to me so just not worth the stress of having to deal with Audi UK if its likely to go back and forth for months and with an unfavourable outcome. 

As for other manufacturer's, I had a 12 year old BMW that was recalled and repaired for free, this was a £200 part and probably 2 hours labour so nothing in the same league and I know Subaru would not have fixed the similar issue on the 2.5 boxter engine for free. 

For the age my car is in great condition, if I spend the money getting the engine fixed I know I have a good car for the next 5-10 years if I wish to keep it however I know I will never get that money back, if I sell and buy something else I have no idea if I have purchased a lemon.  

I will let Audi have a look, will refuse a ridiculously priced oil consumption test and see what happens, if its looking unlikely I will offload it. 

BTW, I contacted Marc "Elvis" Priestly as he had an engine rebuilt on wheeler dealers but the company he used specialise in Mini, good guy and we conversed for a while. 

This kind of leads me into another question.  What second hand buys would you recommend as a good solid car in terms of reliability?  On the list I have the following.

Renault Megan RS 250
Vauxhall Astra VRX
Mazda 3 MPS
Ford Focus ST
Volvo C30 T5

Prior to this S3 I had an A4 with the V6 3.0 litre diesel engine that had all sorts of gremlins so will skip Audi for a while.

[Jonno S3]

Oh forgot, Mini Cooper JCW

[FiveStarSAMz]

19 hours ago, Magnet said:

Hello Steve,

I’m sure both of the posters on this thread will benefit from your advice on a good engine reconditioning facility, and hopefully the chances of an optimistic outcome by contending Audi’s unreasonable conditions. That would indeed be something to hang onto. For what it’s worth I share that sentiment, but I think it’s only fair to point out that any ‘fight’ with an international organisation is going to be costly, and realistically outside the scope of an average owner - however savvy they are. 
Yes contend the dictate, but be realistic in the chances of success - apologies, I appreciate this is coming over as pessimistic, but certainly tempered with a fair degree of realism, and certainly no disappointment after the legal costs have been paid. 
‘Why would Audi conduct an oil consumption test .. if end result will be a firm no..’? I think Sam can answer that one by  having to pay £280 for the test! Business is business, and they are not going to advise the owner not to get it done. 
Yes, what’s good enough for the U.K. is not acceptable to the US of A, but they fight an international organisation on at least a State basis, and not on an individual USA owner level. 
I genuinely hope for a reasonable outcome with both these cases, since liability exists, but I can only wish them well in their attempts, since I guess there isn’t any legal assistance on here that would help and support them with sound and reasoned argument. 
I still think the often-one-man- band classic car engine reconditioners might be a good fall back, which might allow a financially viable outcome. 
Many thanks and kind regards,

Gareth. 

I may have not made it clear but Harold Woods Audi actually did advice that I should not do the oil consumption test until I get Audi UK to sort out what I want which is for them to cover the repair cost. So I haven’t actually done any test yet, and haven’t paid the £280 for the test yet. 

7 hours ago, Jonno S3 said:

Thanks for both your valuable inputs.

I guess it all boils down to how much effort you are prepared to put in and how long you are prepared to live with a car as is.  I understand Sam has sentimental connection to his car so in this instance worth letting it play out as long as it takes.

I live in a small village and have to rely on my car to get to work, at the moment I am working from home but that's set to change very soon, I have no way to get to the train station without my car.

Also I don't tend to get attached to anything material, I love the car as a driving machine but its just a car to me so just not worth the stress of having to deal with Audi UK if its likely to go back and forth for months and with an unfavourable outcome. 

As for other manufacturer's, I had a 12 year old BMW that was recalled and repaired for free, this was a £200 part and probably 2 hours labour so nothing in the same league and I know Subaru would not have fixed the similar issue on the 2.5 boxter engine for free. 

For the age my car is in great condition, if I spend the money getting the engine fixed I know I have a good car for the next 5-10 years if I wish to keep it however I know I will never get that money back, if I sell and buy something else I have no idea if I have purchased a lemon.  

I will let Audi have a look, will refuse a ridiculously priced oil consumption test and see what happens, if its looking unlikely I will offload it. 

BTW, I contacted Marc "Elvis" Priestly as he had an engine rebuilt on wheeler dealers but the company he used specialise in Mini, good guy and we conversed for a while. 

This kind of leads me into another question.  What second hand buys would you recommend as a good solid car in terms of reliability?  On the list I have the following.

Renault Megan RS 250
Vauxhall Astra VRX
Mazda 3 MPS
Ford Focus ST
Volvo C30 T5

Prior to this S3 I had an A4 with the V6 3.0 litre diesel engine that had all sorts of gremlins so will skip Audi for a while.

As for your last question, personally I’ve not heard great things about French cars but I may be wrong. Also, with the Vauxhall Astra VXR, I’m not sure if it was the Astra vxr Or the Corsa vxr engines but they are notorious for their Piston 4 failing. I think it was Corsa VXR 1.6 engines but do your research with it to make sure. 
 

Personally, I’ve not been much a fan of Fords so My biased opinion would be to stay clear. Other than that I don’t know much about the other two. Probably not helpful with this 😂. But in terms of reliability, the Japanese seem to know what they’re doing. 

[Stevey Y]

7 hours ago, Jonno S3 said:

Thanks for both your valuable inputs.

I guess it all boils down to how much effort you are prepared to put in and how long you are prepared to live with a car as is.  I understand Sam has sentimental connection to his car so in this instance worth letting it play out as long as it takes.

I live in a small village and have to rely on my car to get to work, at the moment I am working from home but that's set to change very soon, I have no way to get to the train station without my car.

Also I don't tend to get attached to anything material, I love the car as a driving machine but its just a car to me so just not worth the stress of having to deal with Audi UK if its likely to go back and forth for months and with an unfavourable outcome. 

As for other manufacturer's, I had a 12 year old BMW that was recalled and repaired for free, this was a £200 part and probably 2 hours labour so nothing in the same league and I know Subaru would not have fixed the similar issue on the 2.5 boxter engine for free. 

For the age my car is in great condition, if I spend the money getting the engine fixed I know I have a good car for the next 5-10 years if I wish to keep it however I know I will never get that money back, if I sell and buy something else I have no idea if I have purchased a lemon.  

I will let Audi have a look, will refuse a ridiculously priced oil consumption test and see what happens, if its looking unlikely I will offload it. 

BTW, I contacted Marc "Elvis" Priestly as he had an engine rebuilt on wheeler dealers but the company he used specialise in Mini, good guy and we conversed for a while. 

This kind of leads me into another question.  What second hand buys would you recommend as a good solid car in terms of reliability?  On the list I have the following.

Renault Megan RS 250
Vauxhall Astra VRX
Mazda 3 MPS
Ford Focus ST
Volvo C30 T5

Prior to this S3 I had an A4 with the V6 3.0 litre diesel engine that had all sorts of gremlins so will skip Audi for a while.

Hi as an alternative its a no brainer and has to be the Volvo, it won't set the road alight but its good solid engineering, the Ford and Mazda engines are in the top five of engines to avoid the Vauxhall and Renult I would avoid personally as they are quick but costly to repair and normally ragged within an inch of their lives by the previous owners, unless you can find either of the above that have been previously owned by a vicar or a district nurse.

Steve.

[Jonno S3]

Thanks for the input. I know the Focus and Volvo share the same power plant and renowned for being strong,  it's likely the Volvo driver would be more Conservative than the Ford and more spent on servicing etc, just not many about. 

The problem when you buy a hot hatch is the likelihood it's been ragged as that's exactly what they are designed for, a full service history like I have on my S3 is clearly not good enough.

I have also read the Mini JCW also drinks oil, assume its a BMW engine so they must have done something similar for emissions.  

Mazda make there own engine for the MPS and I haven't been able to find anything negative about them online, again not easy to come by a good example and the early ones are £550 tax, it's the 2011 on I would be looking for.  Think the well documented torque steer put people of buying them.

Do any of you know if the golf gti has the same tfsi engine as my S3 and do they suffer with the same issue?

Sorry, this is detracting from the original post but it's good having car guy's giving me opinions. 

[JRHILL1]

My A4 seemed to be using a bit of oil and I thought that was just normal for the model. I took it in for MOT and service at end of Dec. and they pointed out that there was oil in the coolant, but no water in the oil and suspected the oil cooler leaking. It's worth checking the water in the filler/expansion tank in case that's where your oil is going. The car was still running perfectly with this defect.

On a sour note, the garage could not fix it immediately and I had a journey planned, took it elsewhere and it seems they drained everything down and left it standing over a weekend which de-pressurised the timing and when they finished the job, it ran for seconds before giving up. I am now looking at around £1500 for strip down and re build (garage denied liability) and a battle for compensation.