Magnet

Hello Jon, Sorry but my experience of diesels is rather limited, but personally I would be tempted to discount glow plugs since I understand they generally don’t come into the equation until the temperature drops below c 5 degrees. Relays, associated with the fuel pump/s may be worth investigating. Very often, it is much easier with these tings to invest in an hour’s services of a diesel specialist, but I would seek some local recommendations before choosing one. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Leigh, Simple things first:- I would be getting the battery efficiency checked, together with the alternator output. Appreciating the car is only 3 years old, but these batteries get a hammering with stop/start systems. Recently experienced a total battery failure on an 18 month old Fiesta belonging to a friend. Such things were previously unheard of. ‘Christmas tree’ warning lights can often be as a result of low battery efficiency. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mario, Sorry to hear of your problem. Can I ask if you experience any feeling of ‘pulsing’ or roughness at the clutch pedal when you start to depress it? I would support Dan’s view that this could be associated with the release bearing, but hopefully not the flywheel, but.... Where you bought it, and how it was described in the advert is important, even if it was a private sale. This why it is not so uncommon to see vehicles advertised as simply:- ‘Starts, stops, drives’. It is always difficult to diagnose faults without examining the car, and if it were mine, I would be first seeking advice from a trusted local garage. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ken, It sounds like you deserve to be proud of this car, and feel reluctant to let it go. Well done car! - and well done you for looking after it. I think you are looking for advice on whether to keep it or not. If so, it depends how much sentimental value you (understandably) have in it, and whether that is greater than the potential short term future value increase. The hard commercial fact is that the cost, and responsibility to retain the car is unlikely to be covered by the potential increase in its value, so it is back to the cost of sentiment. I would say the car would need to be undercover, and if you are able to do that without cost, then you are half way there. Of course, road tax will ( might) have to to be factored in, as will MOT charges and insurance, although the car will qualify for relatively low cost classic car cover if you are prepared to seriously restrict its annual mileage. Hope some of this helps Ken, and if you do decide to keep it and want more specific advice then please come back to us. Kind regards, Gareth.

Apologies for being direct Simon, but since you ask where you should focus your attention, I can only reinforce the suggestion of readdresing this with well trusted diesel specialists - or carry a set of ramps around with you and continually run it up on these. Good luck in sorting it out. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, I’m sure your motor factors is right - this is likely to be a main dealer part only. Kind regards, Gareth

I don’t think you can beat personal experience, and all comments are worth studying and following on to form opinions from there. Currently, the Audi A3 and the non Audi, are running on Continentals. My experiences might not be worth much though, since our motoring is not based on trying to get around corners on two wheels, but...... Dunlop? Personally never did much to tempt me into considering buying them, but again, but.... Good luck with your considered decision, and if you base it on buy once and wisely, you shouldn’t go too too far wrong. Having chosen, keep a regular eye on the tyre pressures. Now that is good advice! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Phil, I think you have to ask yourself the question of why this technology has been developed ( although it’s concept does go back over 80 years!). Yes, the answer is environment friendliness - not engine friendliness. The maximum wear tends to occur on start up, where oil pressure has dropped to zero, that is why some low mileage cars can be as worn as much as high mileage motorway-driven cars. I think the answer is that stop/start technology is not in the best interest of the vehicle - engine, starter motor, battery etc. ,but is in the best interest of the environment. How long do you intend to keep the car? The answer to this, and of course your views on the environment and what other polluters are doing about it - might aid a decision on which way to go forward. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Wayne, Glad there is a simple resolution. A bleeding obvious statement, but tyres are the only thing to grip the road and react to the driver turning the steering wheel. Checking tyre pressures?? Well it can sometimes be the last thing the owner does. My standard always points me to have at the least the same make and pattern of tyres on the same axle, and preferably a matched set of four. All other things being equal, I tend to avoid cars with a mix of tyres - it can point to general lack of respect by the previous owner Hope you don’t mind me mentioning Wayne, but you are having good fortune with the seller funding a new set of tyres. If this were mine, I would be adding some money into the pot and ensuring the new tyres to be fitted are the best ones for the car - Dan has offered you a recommendation. If you don’t, then you are likely to end up with a set of budget tyres, or at best - mid range. I would be doing this once and wisely, to minimise the risk of longer term dissatisfaction. Good luck and kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Simon, Sorry to hear your problems are continuing, and indications are that the work carried out, might not have been as thorough as you would have hoped for. I’m not too familiar with diesels, but I believe one of the basic tests normally carried out is a leak-back test ( I believe it’s called ) which takes in the serviceability of the injectors. Did they carryout this test? If this was mine then I would be going forward from here by following my earlier advice , and seeking recommendations from your local taxi chaps - ask a few. These folks need reliable and competitively priced service, and their recommendations are generally sound. It’s time to worry If they come up with the same place you have tried! I had the same issue with a BMW engined Freelander, and this turned out to be a couple of injectors. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mike, I’m very sorry to hear of your problem. I’m certainly not qualified to advise you how to proceed from here, but if I were in your situation I would quickly set the ball rolling by seeking the necessary legal advice to formally reject this vehicle as not being fit for purpose, and with no organised resolution for the fault. I would anticipate the legal advice would be directed to formally notifying the supplying dealer, Audi UK, and the finance company of that fact, and directing them to make a full refund without delay - on return of the car. Personally, however inconvenient, I would not use it, since it’s continued use might dilute the claim that it is unfit for purpose, so time is of the essence, and I would not be prepared to accept any piggy in the middle responsibility, or delaying tactics. Good luck in getting this sorted quickly, Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, I guess you are talking wheel size here?? If so, what is the current (original?) diameter? Kind regards, Gareth.

Oh come on Trevor, don’t be nasty about MG Rover (only joking!) About on a par with most others of the period I guess. Keep up the good work. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gavin, My advice would be to first have the alternator output checked - yes I know it has been replaced, but replaced does not always equal fully serviceable. Well worth confirming the output value. Other port-of-call check would be checking the battery condition and serviceability. HRW not working? Worth checking the above first, before moving on to diagnose the cause. Kind regards, Gareth.

OK Nathaniel, So the advice has moved you on a stage. Personally, I prefer making a phone call rather than depending on e-mails, since e-mailed replies may not give you the full details you require. However, actual contact phone numbers can sometimes be difficult to find. As I see it, they are referring to XL tyres which in my book equates to ‘extra load’ - the meaning being obvious, but the possible effect on ride quality may not. I’m old fashioned, but 40 profile tyres are at best a little ‘backside on the ground’ ride inducing, so a XL variant of this (where we assume the sidewalls will be less flexible) will give an even stiffer ride. Unless your current tyres are marked XL and you know and are happy with the ride comfort, then personally I would be avoiding an XL tyre. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Nathaniel, I'm afraid I cannot help you with the differences between these two Continental tyres, although I have been running our non-Audi on Contact 2 (I think), and now the A3 on Contact 5. My best suggestion would be to contact Continental (UK) and ask there - where you should be guaranteed getting the differences explained. Perhaps you can let the forum know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David, I would consider your car would warrant advertising in the mainstream classic car publications. There is now a magazine called ‘Modern Classics’ (or something similar), and this could be worth a look at. There are others. Re. advice on pricing/value :- I feel you have an idea of the car’s worth, since you mention several of the offers received to date are lower than your expectations. You could be right with your view, and if you can afford the space and time to hang onto it, then you might well achieve the price you think it is worth. Selling even nice examples of cars is sometimes not straightforward, and I recall putting a 8,000 mile from new Morris 1000 into a classic car auction, and asking the auctioneer’s advice on its valuation. The reply was ‘ It’s worth what someone is prepared to write a cheque for on the day, and that might be very much different in value to tomorrow’s cheque!’ Anticipated offer from dealer? This could be attractive, but logic would suggest that he will be expecting to make a healthy and worthwhile profit beyond your anticipated valuation. His msark-up is likely to be considerable, since understandably his net profit will be eroded by 25% VAT together with an additional approx. 20% going in tax. I could be wrong, but I’m with Steve’s suggestion which recommends you advertise an asking price. Simply stating ‘offers’ is likely to render you open to unwanted lower-than-expected offers, or putting others off on the basis that their approaches may be a waste of their/your time. Good luck in finding the car a good home. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hi Simon, Are Patkins diesel specialists? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Simon, If this was my car, I would be taking it to a trusted local diesel specialist (taxi drivers are usually a good source of such recommendations). They normally carry out a fairly simple ‘leak back’ test, (and others) which could be helpful judging by your symptoms. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Nigel, Sounds good, but personally I would not replace the spark plugs. It would be interesting to know what service schedule this car was set on when new. Not sure what the current situation is, but there was a choice of Longlife (based on mileage and usage) service, or (I think) a set time interval routine. It might be useful to check on this, since in your Dad’s case, a fixed timescale schedule would be more appropriate. Irrespective, I think you will find that servicing alerts will show up at ‘anniversary’ intervals to advise on brake fluid changes etc. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Nigel, It has to be appreciated that unfortunately this car is having a rather hard life, unless a part of the annual mileage is done in spaced one off reasonable length trips. I think you are wise to consider an appropriate servicing routine for the car. It will now be approaching 5 years old, and just considering the brake fluid situation alone, it should already have had one brake fluid change on an age basis, due to the fluid absorbing moisture. If that hasn’t been attended to, then it is now overdue. The oil and filter changes are fairly easy to contend with, and if this were mine, I would be changing these every two years, irrespective of mileage. The cost spread over this period will be minimal. Again, gearbox fluid will be a consideration at 5 years old, and although automatic boxes are capable of providing reliable service over hundreds of thousands of miles of regular use, they can however take some strain on very low journey miles. I would be seeking specialist opinion on this - it could be said to be safe to continue to run it in this regime for another few years before changing the fluid, but.... Not sure if this engine runs on a belt or chain, but if a belt, then these have recommended change intervals based on time as well as mileage. The change interval may be as low as 5 years, but the dealer will advise. Low mileage, stop start, seldom-up-to-temperature use can take its toll on belts. Finally Nigel, it’s worth considering the tyre serviceability aspects, since although the tread wear will obviously be minimal, it is likely that they will have spent long periods of time sat in one position, so it would be worth getting the sidewalls inspected. I would think that in summary, I would be tempted to entrust this car to be looked after on a regular two year servicing basis by a trusted local garage, rather than leave it effectively not-serviced for longer periods due to its low mileage use. Not sure if any of this helps. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Stephen, The easy bit has now now been, the difficult bit of reading the small print exclusions is the time consuming bit! That, in my opinion, is more important than the actually premium to be paid. I think you are wise in seeking viewpoints on this and any other insurance backed warranties you are considering signing up to. Hopefully someone on here will give you the benefit of their experience, but it might be worth widening the net to searches on other forums and reviews as well. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. There has just been another thread on the same subject, so it might be worth keeping an eye on other replies against that one as well.

Hello Tom, Difficult one, since you are rightly looking for advice on not only a comparison of the VAG extended warranty compared with other commercially available ones , but more importantly, the success rate/hassle factor in the event of a claim. To me, it’s the latter consideration which becomes the all important bit, since the cover extent detail is the stumbling block. As is said, the devil is in the detail, and personally, I would be more interested in what is excluded from cover rather than what is included. VAG extended warranties? Probably more expensive ( partly due to dealer commission from their sale to you?), and probably ties you in to a greater extent into servicing at the dealer. Not to say, you cannot get the car serviced at an independent, but I guess this will aggravate the potential hassle factor if you do have to claim. Of course, there is another consideration which suggests you simply put funds one side incase issues arise. Sorry this isn’t of much help, and hoping someone may come up with a sound recommendation based on a claim experience. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Nick, Sorry to hear of your problem. I too would follow Dan’s logic and question differential vs. prop. shaft etc. Issues, since the symptoms you suggest do not appear to be typical of diff. problems. OK, it has been checked, but my guess is that the differential is the suspect because they cannot find any other issue - not to say there isn’t - just to say they can’t find anything. Difficult one. Any vibration? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Sorin and Otto, Otto - Not sure if you managed to sort out any evidence of an earlier belt change, or if not, if you are going to get it changed. Hello Sorin, Of course, all opinions represent a personal viewpoint, and fair enough, you may disagree with your local dealer’s advice, and believe you can significantly extend the recommended mileage change point. You could be right, and yes, people gamble, and in this case, you gamble a wrecked engine, but.... I take it your dealer would also have stated....’ 60K miles or (say) 5 years - whichever come first’ Time intervals are also important, particularly in the context of low mileage vehicles which have been subjected to regular stop/start short runs. Kind regards, Gareth.