Roderick

Thanks for your interest. However, the sump was leaking and was replaced two months ago.

I just spoke to them again, and they told me that the sump (maybe they said the sealant) goes porous and they see it a great deal on these cars.

It's actually 8 years old, but I take your point.

I strongly suspect that when the sealant fails, it's impractical or unreliable to get a clean and smooth enough surface to take new adhesive reliably. My cynical mind sees this as a nice money-making wheeze. However, I understand that if the garage is told by VW to proceed in a particular way, they would want to do so. Roderick

Thank you all for all your thoughts and advice. The outcome is that, yes, they do now use a sealant rather than a gasket. I understand that the leaking seals are a fairly common problem. They kept the car in overnight as it's recommended to check for leaks the following day. Apparently, they have to put fresh oil in the system, and the cost of that is now around £100, which accounts for a fair bit of the price. This has been a learning curve, but I think everyone was playing fair. Bring back gaskets – at least when a gasket fails, you don't have to replace the whole part!

Hi Gareth, Thank you for your reply – I appreciate your thoughts, and of course, I understand what you say. It was, in part, a guide to the job length. The car was losing oil – I was told there was a leak, and the only option was to replace the sump. I don't know whether this is the whole sump or part. If they're using Audi parts, then that could be £179 + £228 for lower and upper, so I suspect they're either not OEM parts or not the whole unit. Due to the urgency of an impending holiday, I've had to go ahead. I have no reason to doubt the garage, which I've known for many years, but I was rather shocked at the cost. They may be using much cheaper equivalent parts which, with a hourly rate of c. £65/80 (last year) might make some sense. It all rather depends on the parts they use. However, your guide on this being around a 2-hour job is very helpful as I can then get a better idea of what's going on. At the end of the day, I just have their word as to what was causing the loss of oil! Thanks for your time. Kind regards, Roderick

My local (non-Audi) UK garage is quoting £428 + vat (just over £500) to fit a new sump on my Audi A3 1.4 2017. I'm no expert, but my understanding is that the work takes around 1.5-2 hours. If that's so, this makes for a very expensive sump. If anyone has knowledge of the realistic costs involved, I would be most grateful.

Many thanks. I may have to come back on this as I'm away from home at present, without the car. I know it was 2009, B7, A4 Avant 1.0 TDI.

Hi Jason, thanks. The bulb-out sign is showing; everything else seems normal. What I'm not clear about is whether this is a simple bulb replacement or whether the bulb is integral to the whole curved light unit.

Ha – I don't know what else to call them!

The small orange indicator repeater lamp is not working on my driver's side wing mirror. Am I correct in assuming this is an led? Any thoughts on replacement/access would be greatly appreciated. I realise that this may not be a bulb issue, but it seems reasonable to investigate this option to start with.