VVT Top tight - breaking tools at Audi specialist garage

[Cam09]

Hi all,

Apologies in advance for a long message...

Purchased a 2009 Audi A3 1.8 TFSI, but engine light came on after about 15 mins whilst driving back on the motorway. Had test driven the car and paid for a pre-purchase inspection from ClickMechanic, neither of which threw up any warnings.

Code reader told me the problem was "Camshaft A timing sensor - over advanced", which was a surprise given the car had been both serviced and fitted with a new timing chain kit in the last month, and so I took the car to a VAG specialist garage. They charged £120 to tell me what I already knew, and then have charged £160 for a further diagnostic assessment which I was told would take just an hour and they would ring me back later that afternoon.

The following day - having not heard anymore information - I rang the garage to be told they'd broken a tool whilst trying to open the VVT and that they'd ordered a new tool set to arrive the next day.

The new tool still hadn't arrived two days later (Thursday last week), so I got a call asking if I wanted to take the car back over the weekend and bring it back on the Monday (they don't open on Fridays), as the part still hadn't arrived. Given it would potentially do more damage to drive the car I told them to keep it over the weekend. I was then told to expect a phone call on Monday as the tool would definitely have arrived by then.

After no call on Monday, I've rung them this morning to be told the new tool has also broken, and they've asked someone to come in and weld a new tool to strengthen it, but this would be either tomorrow or the day after. 

What I would like people's thoughts on is:

A) What are other people's experiences with this issue? Is there usually this much fuss?

B) Am I being mucked around by the VAG specialist?

C) What should my next steps be if the welded tool can't open the VVT?

 

Thanks in advance!