Magnet

Hello Martha (& Paul?), The OP’s problem seemed to have been solved by charging the battery. The battery condition would have been my first consideration. In your case:- Does the car get regular daily reasonably long runs? If not, I would not discount battery condition in your case as well. Although the car is relatively new, it could well be that the car sat around for months ( awaiting vital components) with a flattening battery - before dispatch, and the battery is now passed its best. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Kevin, Have you checked if Haynes did a manual for your car? Have you searched EBay? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Anthony, So the upshot is that it doesn’t have (full - did they list or tell you -full?) service history, and it barely has any service history. A vehicle covering such a small annual mileage should have been serviced annually, so in reality, it should have had at least two Audi-recognised- and recorded services during its warranty period. What you do about that as far as the seller is concerned, is obviously for you to decide, but from your previous posts, it would appear the car was incorrectly described. Saying it as I see it - and apologies for being direct - you appear to have had a ‘lack of interest or concern’ about what you were told/saw, and you are possibly only now finding the only service invoice that has sat in the glove box since you bought it! I raise the above, since the seller may counter your late claim. Anyway, moving forward:- pleased to note that you now intend to treat the earlier service as if it never happened - as advised - and having the car serviced properly. If it helps, I would suggest you have the air and pollen filters renewed as well as the obvious oil filter and oil. Not sure who you are going to entrust this to, but quality of (aftermarket?) filters is important, if genuine VAG aren’t going to be used, so worth checking -? Low mileage vehicles get a hammering in comparison with high mileage ones where they cover large mileages under optimum operating conditions, so I if this were mine, I would be getting this car serviced annually. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tony, Thanks for joining and posting your plea. May sound daft, but it could be well worth getting the battery efficiency check. Cheap and simple exercise which at least will eliminate it if it’s found to be serviceable. Just as well get the alternator output checked as well. Let us know how you get on Tony. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Anthony, Are Cardiff Audi telling you they (in caps) haven’t serviced the car throughout its life, or are they telling you that the National Audi service database does not show any service history record for the car? Subtle, but highly important difference. Blackest case:- you could have bought a car with zero-ish service history, even though your seller stated it had (full?) service history, and you never sought, or had any evidence, to support that before concluding the purchase. Yes, you can take it up with the seller, but I sense you will receive some defence via. that route. If indeed the (full?) service history cannot be substantiated, then the vehicle has been miss represented and miss sold, and as such you should have redress if you have supporting evidence. When you said you didn’t buy this just-out-of-warranty car from a main dealer, then that was a little surprising since stocks would have been low, and main dealers should have been retaining stock, rather than trading it. Why did they trade it?? The ‘who did you buy it off’ question remains unanswered, and it is understandable that you would not wish to disclose this, but small local trader or large retailer? - may help to point you in the direction of a sound approach from here. Again, it would be interesting to know if the car was bought locally and if so, if it carries a local Cxx………registration number. Final question, did Cardiff Audi also check for a servicing record via. a VIN as well as the registration number? Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Anthony, ’…all on the Key..? Sorry does not make sense to me. If this were mine, I would certainly be seeking a print out of its service history with some urgency. Service history is a major influencer on the car’s (re) saleability and price. Going forward:- again if it were mine - action as already suggested. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Norman, As with your local garage, I wouldn’t be too sure the test was meaningful, and it really depends on what ‘his meter’ was Anyway, yes, the battery could be the aggravator here, hence the importance of eliminating it as a possibility. Kind regards, Gareth.

When you say the battery is good - by what test?

Perhaps you could let us know how you get on Anthony.

Hello Anthony, Many thanks, So you have no idea whether the car has any service history or not then. If this is the case, this is rather out of the ordinary, since purchasers are usually tuned in to enquiring about this requirement. If you don’t know anything of its previous history, then I would suggest you contact say Mon Motors ( Cardiff Audi) and ask them if they can e-Mail you copy of the service record for the car. It would be advisable to have the VIN ( shown on V5) incase the car may have previously been on a private plate. Since you didn’t buy it from a franchised dealer, I would be tempted to treat their service as if it never existed, and start again from scratch ( unless you find your seller did record it on the Audi service database). A service at an Audi independent may be a cheaper alternative to the main dealer, or indeed entrust your servicing to good local garage. Seller a smaller car sales, or one of the large retail outlets? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, Many thanks for joining and posting your ‘advert’. It would seem to be a great shame to scrap the car from what you tell us. Could you please add what would be an acceptable price to you for the car. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Anthony from the Homeland. Can we take it you bought the car from an Audi main dealer? If not, the following may be different, but…. Am I right in thinking that you were told in May that the car had service history, yet you didn’t check that this was correct, via. a copy of the recorded service detail on the Audi database, and you knew that service books and stamps no longer applied? If I’ve got it right, you are now concerned that the ‘service indicator’ is informing you it needs servicing again, despite your son only covering 200 miles since last May. Are you sure its saying ‘Oil change’ rather than ‘service due’? If ‘service due’ then it could be for say a brake fluid change, or indeed the Service Indicator may not have been reset. Apologies for all the questions, but the extra detail would help. Many thanks and kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, Thanks for joining and posting. I will leave it to the forum administrators to decide on the way forward with this post, but it may be that although we would all sympathise with such an experience, and do take on board your name-and-shame posting, it could be said that any such reporting doesn’t allow Audi Bristol to post any contra view, and that could be considered not to be a fair situation. Anyway, meanwhile thanks for your post. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, Buy yourself a cheap ‘code saver ‘ device and cadge an old spare battery and charge that overnight. Connect the code saver to the spare battery and the other end into the cigarette lighter. You should then be able to disconnect your existing battery, and the car will remain powered by the slave battery, so no need for any code worries. Kind regards, Gareth.

Simple eliminations first Norman - get the battery checked. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Joshua, I think you will find that there won’t be any cure for this, with your current engine. The warranty company may dictate an ‘official assessment’ of the oil consumption via a main dealer - and this will cost. Make sure you don’t end up with the tab! This requirement will of course erode into your warranty period, and you end up in running out of time. I’m not sure if the seller’s responsibility is for 30 days only, or if it is the 3 months you talk about, so you will need to take legal advice on this - CAB should help. It’s essential that all your dealing - past and going forward - are recorded in writing ( e-Mail should do) with the seller. In my opinion, you should seriously consider rejecting the vehicle and getting your money back, since I would not see a way forward where a quick and convenient resolution would be practical. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on Joshua. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello John, I wouldn’t automatically discount Chinese copy ones from EBay. I’ve recently bought a full set for our ‘non-Audi’, and all I can say is that if I had bought the set I received - from the main dealer for about 3 times the price - I would not have been disappointed with them in any respect. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Joshua, Thanks for joining and posting your plea, and sorry to hear about your issue. Excessive ( to the point of being unacceptable) oil consumption is not uncommon with some engines within the period of your car. Others with more in-depth knowledge of the engine involved should be able to colour in the detail for you. The first question is - did you buy it from a trader a month ago? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, Youngster! Just think of it as having a lifetime guarantee! - says he awaiting test results, but… Take care Steve. Kind regards, Gareth.

In line with other forums, may I be allowed to mark the passing of our Queen, and offer condolences, as we would with any other family who have just lost a loved one. Having experienced my childhood before the start of her reign, and lived and worked throughout it, I firmly believe that we have enjoyed the best decades so far. With all the bad news surrounding the immediate future, let’s hope that things will turn out to be not as bad as forecast, yet perhaps we should respect that we cannot continue to take tomorrow for granted. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Bill, Many thanks for joining and posting your plea. Sorry to hear of your issue. Two things come to mind:- The car has indeed covered a very low mileage, and as such, in many respects, certain components will have had a far greater hammering than a same aged 150k plus example where components are operating at optimum conditions over an extended mileage. Belts in particular, will suffer to a much greater extent due to short runs and restarts. Not sure if your eleven year old car has stop/start ( probably not) but if it has, then the stresses will obviously be significantly increased. London and traffic! Major aggravation. Easy to say, but if this car was mine, the belt would have been changed every 5 years. Second thing that comes to mind - with apologies for being pointed - anyone who uses a main dealer to service an 11 year old, small annual mileage vehicle demonstrates an unwarranted disrespect for their wallet. Apologies Bill, but that’s how it is in my book. The debate about ‘scheduled or not scheduled’ is now rather academic, since the component has failed, and your dealership seems to have missed out on their ‘advise belt change - money gathering’ option. Way forward:- Get the car removed to a trusted local garage and get them to carryout the necessary work, and entrust your servicing to them. It would seem from your posting that the you have sufficient mechanical awareness to ask and understand the answers, so perhaps you could have asked the dealer about such things as the years went by, rather than ‘leaving it all in their capable hands’. Anyway, you seem to have got away with your belt issue quite lightly, so offer thanks for that, and move on to your trusted local garage who will have a reputation to uphold. Hope some of this helps, and good luck with it. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks Paul. Petrol or diesel?

Hello Paul, What are your discontents with the car, that send you down this possible route? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jon, It’s not that unusual for DVLA recorded information to be incorrect, particularly since it now depends on dealer entries - possibly by the borderline experienced. Well worth asking the supplying dealer for a copy of the build record via. the VIN. Kind regards, Gareth.

Rail locos still diesel !? Still,it sounds great that we are returning to the 50s and 60s mode of moving goods about - in greatest bulk by rail, rather than a large number of lorries. Nothing new here- just different. Kind regards, Gareth.