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You're welcome and thanks Gareth, she certainly will be! She's a Christmas present that came early

Wishing all forum members and their families a very enjoyable Christmas, and I hope 2024 will be kind to you all. Kind regards, Gareth.

In the end I took it to an Audi specialist in Harrow who said the rattle is normal for VAG petrols,it's the fuel injectors. Seem like a professional outfit so will be going back there for services etc. https://audivwsc.co.uk

Many thanks indeed Steve. I’m sure your new addition will be the centre of attraction with everybody. Should be a well deserved great Christmas for you all. Best wishes, Gareth & Family.

Like Gareth, I am uneasy about ignoring a time limit. It is known that rubber (any rubber) degrades over time, so even if the car does zero miles the rubber will eventually lose its strength and flexibility over time. Consequently I would change the belt at about 70000 miles assuming a typical usage. That limit is admittedly rather arbitrary, but failure of the belt is unpredictable and will happen without warning so a line has to be drawn somewhere.

Thank you Gareth, hope you and your family have a merry Christmas and happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

Hey there Gareth, I am after more MPG, as on average, once a fortnight I will be making a trip from Falmouth to Staffordshire so an increase in MPG is desirable

Thank you, and likewise. Hope it’s a lovely time for all.

We've advised him the best we can. Buying from auction is the biggest gamble but where the cheapest cars are.

Merry Christmas Dave 🙂 and happy new year to you and your family. Thanks for all your input this year 🙂

The cambelt waterpump and thermostat are all changed along with all the various pulleys and adjusters. You dont really need the special tools if you carefully mark all the pulleys with tipex or similar. I also did the valve cover gaskets which were leaking badly and changed the o rings in the radiator top and bottom hose. You do need to lock the fuel pump pulley but that is easy to do with something that fits in the hole like a drill or parallel punch. The engine was filthy from all the oil leaks and that took a time to clean. I also checked the camshaft oil seals but they were fine and didnt need changed. I got most of the spares from Autodoc who have been super and l cant recommend them highly enough. Its quite a big job but if you work away steadily you will get there l am 73 and a retired mechanic my non mechanic mate is 75 but we managed fine it took a few days in my garage but the end result is really good. My non mechanic mate is !Removed! good at bodywork so he did some great work on a couple of dents and scratches. Wisshing you all a happy Christmas and great New Year and thanks for your help so far. Capt Dave

Just an update. Finally managed to open the door. We disconnected the wiring plug on the locking mechanism and then pulled the cable inside the door and it popped open. Swapped over the mechanism for an new one and now works perfectly inside and out.

You're welcome, keep us posted on how you get on