Magnet

Many thanks Anthony, Shame the original poster hasn’t returned to read any of the responses to date. Posted and not heard of since - go isn’t it!? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Keith, Brav…. tyres?? Manufactured well east of the Thames estuary? Could be a contributory factor. What are the load rating of these tyres compared with the handbook specification? We take it you have set the tyre pressures at the recommended level of the load. Can you confirm. Kind regards, Gareth.

Great Mike, No disrespects, but your clarification puts this into a completely different light, and yes we now under that the guarantee ‘extra’ above the cost of the jobs is relatively small, so indeed - why not. Being a cynical old so and so, it wouldn’t surprise me that the AA breakdown cover may only be Roadside Assistance, and not a ‘get you and the car home’ cover, but worth clarifying, and if Roadside only, can you upgrade it? Couldn’t agree with you more about dipping out of their kind offer! of the free MOTs for life. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Brian, Thanks for the post. Apologies for being a little confused but:- Your Audi dealer are quoting you £719 for the same 2 year plan as the original poster’s dealer is offering him for £1,800? Your £719 cost includes (in caps) renewing the cambelt - which would cost you £509 to get done as an individual item?? They are indeed still doing their ‘free MOT for life’ offer with cambelt changes then. Personally, I would avoid that like the plague. They will find things ‘wrong’! Somewhere back in time on here, you will find a post about someone with reported expensive resultant ‘headlight issue’ and a big bill. Can you come back to us on the above points? Many thanks and kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mike, I do understand your dilemma, and it’s probably just me, but an instant off-put to me is the ‘including MOT’. I think Audi did have a promotion some time back where they ‘gave’ a free MOT with cambelt renewals. Sounds good, but they have the opportunity to recoupe funds via. ‘ your brake pads need changing sir’ etc. I wouldn’t be for me, but we are all different. If £1,800 buys you peace of mind (and you can afford it) then peace of mind is priceless. If, like most of us, you are from the school of ‘exactly what do I get for my £1,800’, then unfortunately you will need to read the small print, since the devil is in the detail there - with phrases such as ‘wear and tear’ etc. etc. My feeling is you are hankering towards the ‘peace of mind’ option - simply because that’s what it provides. The experienced downside is that it may not provide what you think it will when needed, so just be prepared that it may not. Also, will it put you in total reliance with main dealers? Apologies Mike, since I don’t think this will help. The car is now 6 years old and ageing, and if it were mine, I would be concentrating my efforts on trying to find a trusted garage who can carry on doing the necessary work on your car and putting the £1,800 away for a rainy day - but I could be wrong. It might be worth asking for a take -away-to-study copy of the warranty agreement and see what reaction you get to that request. That may turn out to be a decider for you. Good luck and kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Rory, Does the ABS light also come on with the Traction control light? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Sarah, I believe you seen suffering from a combination of S Line sports suspension and the ‘big wheels syndrome’ ,and maybe more. Although this combination has a visual appeal to many owners and potential owners, the trade off is the resultant hard ride - particularly where larger wheels are used. As I’ve said before, ‘visual appeal’ is fine - from the outside! - which the driver cannot see when driving - but it’s the driver’s comfort which is compromised. 35 profile tyres equates more to solid tyres - or as we say in Wales, gambo tyres, so whatever you do with shock absorbers, you still have skinny tyres on large wheels, so how much better?? As an important additional contributor - do you have XL ( extra load) tyres fitted? If so, the additional side wall reinforcement will simply aggravate the harsh ride on skinny profile tyres. Perhaps you could le us know. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Abu again, Although I firmly stand by my original advice, I did later think that I should have listened to your video - so I did that - and thought, it’s a diesel on a cold morning, so nothing more ( to my poor hearing) than would be expected. I noted that you didn’t say it was a diesel, but posters seldom post anything like a comprehensive description. Now of course we known it isn’t a diesel! I yet again find myself potentially apologising for repeating my original advice, so I’m not going to. ’…and I am just overthinking…’. No I really don’t think so Abu. Repeating, I think you ideally want someone to tell you it’s fine - and I really can’t see that happening. I’m prattling on, but you don’t tell us anything about the mileage, verified- at- Audi-dealer service history, MOT history , any history of ownership, all of which I guess you will have researched before even viewing the vehicle. I guess you could say it’s not my business, but if you are acting as an ‘recommender’ for a family member, then anything short of in-depth mechanical experience could end in tears. If I were in your situation, I would simply act as the initial sorter-outer, having done all the homework as above, and looked over the vehicle ( which may be exactly what you are doing, but the enquiry in this case would raise concerns). Once you have done all your homework, and think the vehicle is worthy of having a professional inspection, then you hand that responsibility over to the likes of the AA. For the final time on this post - I wish you all the good luck you might need Abu. Appreciating all of this is pessimistic, but it could well save you from any family issues in the future! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Abu, Apologies, but you are just re-asking the question I have just answered! It could be me, but to repeat - do you really think that Audi would market a knocking/tapping engined new car? Is there any chance you have already fallen in love with this car, and are hoping someone will come along and confirm a knocking/tapping car is fine to buy, and you can go along with what you want to do? Apologies and kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Al, Thanks for joining and sorry to hear you are in difficulties too. Unfortunately, the original poster never returned and contributed further to the forum, even to acknowledge Steve’s helpful recommendation. I would suggest you send him a PM in the hope that he may respond. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Abu, Thanks for joining and posting your plea. The only question you need to ask yourself is whether Audi would have manufactured a car that would have had a knocking/tapping noise when new -? The answer to that should firmly direct you to just walk away. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. I haven’t listened to the noise.

Hello Allen, What is the actual tread depth on your current tyres - just to clear up the 14mm mystery? Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Nathan, Re. knowledge of a gearbox rebuild on a 30k miles car before you bought it -? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Wes, Even though it was a private sale, it must meet the description of the advert - that is why some people put a description of ‘Starts, Drives, Stops’, or words to that effect, to minimise any comebacks. Kind regards, Gareth.

Dealer or private sale?

Hello Nathan, Many thanks for joining, and sorry to hear of your issue. As I see it, you are assuming ( in caps) that the issues are associated with the selector mechanism, and not the gearbox internals - you could well be right, but ….. Once you start investigating the issue and attempting to rectify it by independent means, you can understandably kiss goodbye to your warranty. If this were mine, then I would be informing the seller in writing ( e-mail will do) of your discontent, and asking them to rectify the problem - it is their responsibility to do so. You will retain your option to reject the car if they don’t rectify it. As a matter of interest Nathan - did you know about the gearbox work before you bought it? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Wes, Thanks for joining. I’m sure you will appreciate that it will be extremely difficult to diagnose the cause from a multitude of possibilities - without examining the car. Since you have only just bought it, it is possible that you could have redress against the seller. This would be my first consideration. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Aigars, You really need a meter to check voltages/continuities rather than just changing bits and pieces ( except perhaps bulbs and fuses). We take it you’ve checked the associated fuse-? , but probably on the same circuit as the side lights, so no need - but consult to handbook for confirmation. It would be worth pulling back the covering off the harness that links the body to the tailgate/ boot, to check for any wire breakages - a common issue point. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jon, Sorry to hear of your issue. Ref. ‘………or are you just here to be condescending …..’ comment. Based on my experience on this forum, no poster has ever previously been questioned of being so, and without ‘taking sides’, I would defend the actions of contributors who give up their valuable time to assist those who are in difficulties and wish to have their issues solved remotely, and without any, or at least minimum expense. As with many forums-? We have a over-riding predominance of posters who wish to tap into free advice, yet it would be difficult to count a handful of folks who regularly try to help out - more often than not, in situations of vague or minimum description of symptoms, so it would be good if this was taken into consideration in your particular case. I’m certain that the need to engage politeness is mentioned in the Forum Rules, so it would be great if any personal slights were avoided. Just as an aside, in my experience, when such comments arise, the ‘accuser’ has already lost the battle so to speak, and puts themselves in a disadvantaged situation going forward. Still. Apologies for having to to take the role of Moderator, but I’m sure you will understand the need in this case Jon. Many thanks and kind regards, Gareth. p.s. On a progressive note, ‘…..the garage…’ Is this garage a diesel specialist? If not, I would be making local enquires to find such a specialist - who should be able to diagnose the issue for you, and you can then decide what you are going to do.

Hello Jay, It sounds as if you are doing a grand job towards problem solving this, and (from the school of my bleeding obvious!) it seems it all boils down to something restricting it’s further movement, rather than a mechanism failure. I’m sure you will discover what, but Sod’s law does point towards it being difficult to free something you can’t get at because the roof doesn’t move enough to actually get at it! Good luck Jay. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Trevor, Just wondering if this post can be flipped to always show the latest page (21 at the moment) rather than Post no.1 first. Many thanks and kind regards, Gareth.

Condition of battery in key fob?

Hello GEM (?). If you klick on the poster’s profile then the answer will be there for you. Sold 2nd June last year. Kind regards, Gareth.

What was your ‘temporary repair road’ method Chris - which has to last you for another year or even c18k miles/ 18 months? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andrew, Thanks for joining and posting you plea. When you say the oil warning light came on, and you talking oil level warning light, or oil pressure warning light? If it was indeed the oil level light, and you put 1 ltr in from half full, then I wouldn’t expect it to now be overfilled. Does it have a dip stick?? - possibly not if it has an electronic level display. Anyway - as Mike says if it has a dip stick, but I would check first thing in the morning before starting the engine - car on level ground. If no stick - same procedure but check the electronic displayed level before starting after its been standing overnight. Apologies for being direct, but are you from the school of total reliance and faith by acting at a point where a warning light appears, rather than regularly checking the level of a morning? Kind regards, Gareth.