Magnet

Hello Valerie, The answer may(in caps) be within your last paragraph. Corroded valve seats are not uncommon, and various warning lights appearing can be a classic symptom of a failing battery. How old is your battery, and have you had it’s efficiency checked? Since you are having TPMS warnings, what are your actual tyre pressures as measured on garage or tyre retailer’s air pumps? Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Steve, Re. Material for cambelts having improved over time:- I think we had a poster a couple of weeks ago where the cambelt failed on his just over 5 year old low mileage vehicle, and I’ve got a feeling there was someone else with a similar failure. Of course, we now have the engineering averse stop/ start system that puts regular and sustained increased stresses on belts, so I’m really surprised that Audi don’t /no longer do, put a time limit on belt changes. I know what I’m going to do. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello, I’m sure you’ve got the logic in the right place with this, and there is one thing for certain- Sports suspension coupled with ‘fancy big wheels’, dictating low profile tyres, with the ‘extra load’ specification, all adds up to an uncomfortable ride. I haven’t used the wheel size calculator - preferring my old maths! - but it all boils down to using the smallest diameter wheel that was available on your model at the time - the important bit being that the rolling diameter is maintained, by increasing the profile by the correct amount as the wheel diameter decreases. To enhance ride quality, it would be advisable to stay away from XL tyres unless you are carrying heavy loads in this estate car. If at any time you are carrying such loads then obviously you will need XL. OK, pessimistic, but having increased tyre profile via. smaller wheels, you will still be left with the inherent stiffer suspension of the S Line, but…… Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks Steve for this very informative information. This document really brings it home to me that that panacea for many, of the importance of ‘Full Service History’, really boils down to very little in terms of looking after a vehicle in a way in which it has the best mechanical attention. If you want the least maintenance requirement (cheapest in time spent in the workshop), then this is great news, and great news it will be for fleet operators, and indeed private owners who are enticed to pay monthly premiums for maintenance contracts - where most of the charges are for high labour rates, rather than parts used. Best in terms of looking after the moving parts ?? Most frightening:- Cambelt not until 131k miles with no time limit! So, someone doing 7K/a ( with fitted aggravating stop/start) can follow Audi recommendation and not have the belt renewed until the vehicle is 18 years old. Crazy! I will continue my regime and recommendation of ‘…or every 5 years, whichever comes first’. Air filters running to 56K miles irrespective of age? Sorry, not for me, where mine gets changed every 2 years. Strange that they put a time limit of 2 years service for pollen filters, when that’s the one filter that has little adverse affect on mechanicals. Diesel oils running to 18K or 2 years. OK, but with oil dilutions on modern diesels, I would still be doing an annual oil and filter change. Never renewing fuel filters on petrol engines?? Gearbox oil changes not mentioned -? ‘Full main dealer Service History’ vs enthusiastic owner maintenance - I know what I would choose! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello John, Have you tried listing your ‘want’ with the on-line car breaker link sites? Partsfinder is just one of them. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Denis, Are you concerned that simply the ‘unknown’ cable is there, or the fact that you don’t know what it’s for? If it’s that concerning, why not request the dealer to ask the previous owner to get in touch with you to discuss its previous use - or at least explain to them what it was for, so that they can tell you? Kind regards, Gareth.

Great Kev. I too always go to EBay as the first port of call for secondhand bits wanted - but many don’t. Kind regards, Gareth.

Homework and evidence is always king -A! Car sales? Best procedure is to always treat everything they say as if it never exists, until you actually see copies of the evidence they claim to be true. Have you checked the on line DVLA history to see when the last V5 was issued? Can sometimes give an indication of short term ownership (discontent?) with the last owner. Not being unkind, but you seem to be hung up with a water pump and ignoring the remaining pedigree - or lack of it. Trust all of this is taken in good spirit, and will hopefully be reassuring rather than negative. Let us know how you get on. Good luck and kind regards, Gareth.

If you haven’t seen copy of the service history then I would certainly be marking your pre-purchase homework well down - with a comment ‘ Could do very much better’! All in good humour. This would have been my first port of call, since it’s surprisingly common for FSH to get seriously diluted when copy is requested! The 20/21 MOT ‘gap’ is probably accounted for by the Covid extension whereby vehicle MOTs could be as long as 18 months. The virtually zero usage between MOTs is questionable, and may mean the car sat unused at a dealer during that period - not really good news. With concern over new water pump/ no new water pump, it does surprise me that you haven’t requested/seen the service history print out. This would have been my main query. Just nip into your nearest Audi dealer armed with the reg. no. and they should be able to give you a print out. Perhaps you can let us know what materialises. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jordon, Thanks for joining. My first port of call would be to inspect the wires within the flexible harness section twixt body and tailgate. It’s quite common for wires to fracture within this, particularly in cold weather, due to years of flexing. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Point I overlooked asking:- Is this car being retailed at a main dealership? It can be borderline for 5 year old cars to be sold by main dealers. If not, has the current seller changed the cambelt, and is that change recorded against on the Audi service history? Have you actually had copy of the on-line service history of the car, and have you checked it’s 2 year on-line MOT history? ‘Water pumps prone to failure’ - this is where you might be lucky, since in my experience, original main- dealer pumps tend to last, whereas aftermarket pumps can be prone to failure. So if the cambelt wasn’t changed at a main dealer or independent, then you might have been at greater risk of a premature water pump failure if indeed they had changed the water pump. Kind regards, Gareth.

Sorry, missed the ‘post’ trade in bit, so it’s understandable that the dealer wasn’t going to spend ‘unnecessary’ on it, but at least they have done the cambelt for you. I honestly cannot see why you are hesitant about it, if ( in caps) you were seriously interested in it before you knew they hadn’t renewed the water pump. If the car meets your expectations in all other respects, then beware of the ‘finding a reason not to commit to buy’ ( with any car) syndrome. Bottom line:- get the dealer to renew the water pump before you buy it - would that give you the confidence to commit? Personally, I think you are throwing the baby out with the bath water, but It’s not my money. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. You should be able to amend your name on your Profile.

Worth getting the battery efficiency checked, together with the alternator output, as a process of cost effective elimination. Kind regards, Gareth.

OK, ? - what is your name please? So the best estimate we can get of the total mileage in 5 years time ( when the belt will need changing again) is 30k + your estimated <50K = max. of 80k service life from your water pump - not frightening in my book. Obviously your call A. if you want to dismiss this car on that account. My more positive slant on it would be that it seems the previous owner spent out to get the cambelt assembly changed prior to trading the car in. That’s unusual, and does suggest a respectful owner. Perhaps you could let us know what you intend to do. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Sheena, Many thanks for joining, and sorry to hear of your discontent. I think the fact that you are asking how to reject this car, possibly has some bearing on why they aren’t actually doing that. As I see it you urgently need to employ professional legal assistance with this - it seems it’s not a DIY procedure for you. I could be wrong, but I was under the impression at the USA were streets ahead in sorting out legal fairness. Perhaps you would let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello ‘A’ (can you please fill in your proper name on your Profile). It really depends on what your anticipated annual mileage is going to be, so you/we can estimate the total service miles this pump will have done, to add to the 30K it’s already covered over the period of the next 5 years. It sounds as if you have reservations about buying this car, and this can be the situation with any used vehicle. Was the belt changed by a main dealer - and therefore shown on the computerised service history? If it was, then I don’t think it’s unreasonable not to have changed the pump at 30K, and this decision may have been made on the assumption that by the time it’s changed again, it will only have covered 60K miles. You now need to let us know what your annual mileage is going to be. Pardon my ignorance of the layout of this particular engine, but is the water pump actually driven by the cambelt on this? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Rebekah, Thanks for being in touch. Have you studied the various other threads on similar problems, and eliminated the suggestions made? Kind regards, Gareth.

So OK Ruben, have you had the battery tested on a sophisticated tester to eliminate it as a possible culprit? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Keiran, Many thanks for joining. First thing to eliminate would be the battery (and alternator) efficiency. Such issues can be aggravated by the battery condition, especially on later models. Perhaps you can let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dominique, Original poster hasn’t returned since he last posted. Suggest you PM him as last resort. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Splig, Stainless steel exhaust fabricators in Devon include:- Double S Exhausts. Phoenix Performance Exhausts. Powerflow Exhausts. I don’t have any connection of any of them, or indeed knowledge of how good they are, but they might be a good starting point for you. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth. Oo

Hello Joe, Isn’t your 2020 vehicle still under warranty then? If so, don’t mess about with it, just take it to the Audi dealer to sort. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steven, As you probably know, even tyre tread and wear is a must on the Quattro system. Yes, this does sound like an alignment/ suspension issue and needs to be checked. If it were mine, I simply wouldn’t be getting the rear wheel alignment altered without first confirming all suspension components are free from wear. Modern equipment can often be more sophisticated than the operators! , and I only use one local tyre retailer - one where you can actually talk with the operators. Hankook tyres? My limited ( non Audi) experience with them has shown they wear quickly. This could just be my non-typical experience, but I would not buy them again, despite the likes of Mercedes fitting them to new vehicles. Michelin? With one exception, our just under 170K A3 has run on Michelins throughout its life, and I’ve found that they give a good mileage/£. Yes, of course you can buy cheaper, but you can end up buying more often. That’s not to say that other brands not yet tried will be just as good. Michelin Cross Climate? Our non-Audi came with a matching set of these a year ago, and they seem fine, but we haven’t covered that much mileage to judge their rate of wear. Hope some of this might help Steven. Kind regards, Gareth.

Surely you aren’t intending to use second hand schlock absorbers Gavin ? Can’t think of any other reason why you would ask. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, All heated seats I’ve come across have always heated the back of the seats as well. You don’t tell us whether or not yours do too, so please let us know. Kind regards, Gareth.