Magnet

A good result Moria. Many thanks for letting the forum know. Kind regards, Gareth.

Could be a number of issues Delano, so if your mechanic says it’s the alternator then....... Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mike, Tried TPS? Or registering with online breaker links, such as Partsfinder? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, Thanks for being in touch. You don’t tell us where you have tried to buy one. Could you let us have some more detail to minimise the risk of suggesting what you have already tried? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dean, Sounds like you need to have the alternator output checked then, to confirm or refute his diagnosis, before investigating any other possible causes. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gaynor, To offer warranties which cover ‘wear and tear’ is rare, and personally I would be suspicious of this, but..... ’Higher prices’ ludicrous? Well even at the cheaper end you quoted, you would be paying £920 over two years for this ‘insurance’. When you consider what you pay annually in comparison to insure the vehicle, with the insurer taking a risk on you writing the car off and have to pay out a total loss claim, these policies would not appear to be good value for money in comparison. You don’t tell us what warranty you are getting from the seller, or what pre sales servicing you are getting. One thing I would bear in mind is that if you are buying this vehicle outside your locality ( some buyers now travel hundreds of miles - round trips, to buy) then you might have to effectively (practically) kiss good bye to using this warranty, unless it includes a facility to get the vehicle repaired in your area. Is the seller able to offer you any competitive extended warranty? Kind regards, Gareth.

OK Alan, Try Googling Audi Parts Direct at Cardiff - Wales - UK ( Part of Mon Motors which were Cardiff Audi). They do offer discount on some parts, but whether they would be prepared to ship to Peru?? As you might know TPS (Trade Parts Supply) are a national U.K. supplier of VAG parts, and often supply at discount. You could try there as well. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Alan, Many thanks for being in touch with the forum. Although I could suggest one Audi dealer who will possibly give you some (possibly 10%?) discount, I’m sure you will appreciate that any saving will soon be absorbed by the shipping costs. I would guess you have some evidence that prices in the U.K. are cheaper than in Peru. - is this correct? Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks for coming back with some helpful additions Gaynor. So if you want to take out a warranty to cover (exactly what?) for two years, you will be paying between £920 and £2400 over those two years. Blinking heck! What level, and length of warranty are the sellers giving you anyway? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gaynor, Many thanks for being in touch. Extended warranties can of course, be a well worthwhile insurance against unforeseen problems, but they can be a minefield. If this were me, I would be far more interested studying the small print exclusion clauses to find out what isn’t covered, rather than what is. Small print is indeed small, but the consequences are big. I guess this vehicle isn’t being sold by a main dealer (despite its low mileage). Perhaps you could let us know. If it is, then I would expect the standard secondhand sale warranty you will get will be more comprehensive (and extended?) than that which you would get at a normal car sales site. Current, as well as future economics come into play here, since if you are buying the car at a reasonable price, and considering spending £x on a warranty, then you could ask yourself - would I buy it at this combined price anyway? If the answer is yes, then in your book, you are getting your extended warranty for ‘free’ - so it’s worth having. You don’t tell us how long you intend extending the warranty for and what the cost range is, but another consideration might be to simply put this money one side to part finance any repairs. Re 21K mikes in 6 years miles and FSH? How many services has the car had, when was the last one, and are the sellers going to service the car for you before purchase, and if so - to what level i.e. exactly what are they going to do? - to some, a service will be changing the oil and filter. Good luck with the homework! Kind regards, Gareth. To me, it seems you (understandably) want to buy peace of mind, and there’s nothing wrong with that, so it’s back to my original suggestion of carefully studying the small print. Re.

Hello Lawrence, Thanks for being in touch. As a starter, I just wonder what your Audi friend recommends - ?? Anyway - fault with left rear sensor:- This could be a poor connection onto that sensor, or some debris on the sensor thrown up by the snow, so the first port of call would be to check there. If all appears reasonably sound, then the sensor may have failed - obviously necessitating renewing it. If so, I would only use Bosch if not using genuine VAG. They can be very difficult to remove. This may solve the problem permanently, but if the problem reoccurs then the signal to the sensor may be weak. This signal is generally generated by a weak magnet built into the hub, and if this is substandard then that’s where ‘replacing the wheel bearing’ arises. In reality, it’s not the bearing which is at fault and needs replacing, but the hub, which houses the bearing, so it’s a question of replacing the whole hub, complete with the bearing. If this ‘worse possible case’ turns out to be the problem, then I have used reasonably price Febi hubs to good effect - much cheaper than VAG, and seem to be OK. Have a look at the disc back plate if you need to change the hub - these can rust quite quickly, and may warrant replacing while you are in there. Kind regards, Gareth.

So let’s look at the positive economics here Steve:- You bought the car at near to scrap value despite it having a potential value of £600/£800. It currently works, so you have a bargain, for as long as it continues to work. If it packs up in the near future then the depreciation you have suffered will be minimal (it seems scrap prices are on the up) - not a bad place to be, since you could obviously have paid a lot more for it than you did. Everything is positive at the moment as far as the car is concerned. A local quotation for replacing the clutch will be at the other end of a phone call, so again you will be armed with all the information you will need to make a decision -but only when you have to. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Neil, Many thanks indeed for the clearly detailed procedure, which I’m sure will be a great help to those carrying out this job. Well done you. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Caroline, Thanks for being in touch. Unfortunately it would be very difficult to detect the cause of the problem without examining in the car. However, It would be worth you searching the forum, and I think you will find that (strangely?) some cars seem to suffer from blocked heater matrixes - and this could be your problem. On the other hand it could be an issue with the actual heater control system. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Leigh, Thanks for being in touch, and sorry to hear of your issues. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to say without inspecting and diagnosing the car, could be anything from an ageing, now substandard battery, ABS sensor or ABS signal from a wheel hub -or indeed a combination of these or other offending components. When you say ‘....it’s going in...’ , is that to an Audi dealer or a local garage? Perhaps you could let the forum know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Aaron, Sorry to hear of your continued issue with the car. The most important thing here is that you inform the selling garage, in writing, (e-mail will do) that the car is still faulty and request they rectify the problem quickly, and at their expense, since the car is unfit for purpose, and indeed potentially unroadworthy. It is not your responsibility to fault-find the issue, or to advise on how it is sorted. Just as a matter of interest, I’m not sure whether your car has electric assisted power steering or hydraulic. If electric, then the switching on and off and the temporary sorting of the problem can be as simply as a poor battery, but.... Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, Well all of this boils down to the car being worth spending on - when funds are available, and when the job becomes essential. Again apologies for appearing to pry, but it’s the detail which you now give us allows forum members to come up with constructive advice - based on your (in caps) circumstances. Good luck for the future. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mark, Many thanks for coming back and sharing your experiences. This will no doubt be of help to others. It would seem your coolant system may not have had a flush out and new coolant in the last 10 years? - and possibly from new? Anyway, it’s had a good bit of attention now, and things are relatively OK. I say relatively, since the operating temperature should be an indicated 90, and you say it’s still below ( by how much?). Two possibilities:- an incorrect gauge reading - possibly as a result of the sender giving an incorrect resistance signal, or the new thermostat (make?) is opening too early. It would be good to have some live readings to assess the actual temperature. Once again, many thanks for the feedback Mark- unfortunately it’s only too rare, so very welcome. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, I apologise if you feel the thread has gone off topic. If you quite simply want a price for replacing the clutch (which to be fair was your original question) then the answer lies in your locality via. actual quotations from local garages, and unlikely from the forum, since rates will differ from area to area, in addition to the ‘quality’ of the parts used. The decision of whether to spend the money you will be quoted, as an add on to the ‘around scrap value’ purchase price, must rest with you, and I would anticipate that you would take into account the fact that this will at least provide you with transport, and the total price may then become irrelevant in comparison with its market value. Of course, only you know the overall condition and serviceability of the car, and this would be my overriding consideration, rather than it’s current market value. i.e. Is the car worth spending the money on - when you have to spend it? Going back to your original post, it seems the clutch is slightly slipping, so would suggest that the car is useable in the short term, so things aren’t that urgent in terms of being forced to repair it now - with respect to your circumstances. Incase it helps, my guess at the labour cost would be around £250/£300 probably plus VAT, but meanwhile, why not use the car respectfully and don’t worry about it for the time being? Hopefully someone on here will have recently had to have their clutch replaced and can give you an idea of what it cost them in their area. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, ‘........more than the car is worth..... ? It’s commercial value - yes - but I would think that is obvious, and I wonder why you would have ‘acquired’ it with a known slipping clutch without knowledge that renewing the clutch was likely to cost more than its ‘worth’. Alternative? Scrap it? But I’m still confused as to why you would bother with acquiring it if that was the case. Your anticipated labour rates are realistic, and without looking into it, I would anticipate that the scheduled time would not be much under 6 hrs. Perhaps you were given it, and just wondering whether there was a potential profit in it, having spent out for a new clutch.

Hello Steve, Thanks for being in touch. Renewing clutches should not be considered only in terms of cost, since the major portion of the bill will be due to labour. Saving money on a new clutch between quotes may be as a result of using the cheapest possible replacement clutch parts, and this can be false economy. I think you will find that Audi clutch parts are very expensive, and likely to force you down the aftermarket parts route. If this is the case, the only aftermarket brand I would use would be LUK. ‘....more than that..’. You are likely to have to factor in changing the dual mass flywheel (expensive part-wise) and I think you will find that most garages will not replace the normal three part clutch without also replacing the flywheel. Total cost? You will need to obtain at least a couple of quotes from garages you know and trust, and ask the relevant questions with regard to the make of parts to be used, then decide what you think is the overall most favourable. Hope some of this helps. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Mileage?

Hello Glenn, Dependent on model - starter isolator, signalling ECU between gear changes. Kind regards, Gareth.

OK then Stephen. Disconnecting the battery was suggested as an additional test, to assess whether you have a battery or a significant discharge issue here. Surely, you will understand this was not suggested as a long term solution to the problem. Once you have carried out this test, and armed yourself with the result, you will need to find yourself an alternative more competent auto electrician who can examine the car and diagnose the cause. I am sure you will appreciate that trying to diagnose the cause without assessing the car i.e. via. the forum will be an impossibility, although we can suggest the procedure of how you go about investigating it yourself, if you are armed with the correct meters and a knowledge of what you are looking for. Perhaps you can update the forum following the battery disconnect. You still haven’t told us the make of the battery/batteries. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Roy, Apologies for suggesting routes you have already been down, but I have also included are a couple of additional ideas. If this were mine, I would be looking up commercial vehicle factors and paying them a visit armed with your defective pipe. They are likely to point you in the direction of hydraulic specialists who can probably remake the pipework for you. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Glen, Just change the two. Kind regards, Gareth.