Magnet

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.

Hello Wayne, Sorry to hear of your concerns, and I think you are right in expressing any concerns about steering issues. If this was my car I would be contacting the seller without delay and notifying them of the issue, and asking for the car to be thoroughly inspected as soon as possible. I certainly would not have any alignment or balancing assessment carried out, since quite rightly, the seller could claim that your adjustments have contributed to the issue. All I would be doing prior to the sellers inspection, would be to note the tyre makes, how they are wearing across the treads (taking photos would be good) and to ensure the all round tyre pressures are as the handbook lists for your tyre size. Perhaps you could let us know what you find, and how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, Well I guess it at least gives you an avenue to ensure these tyres are inspected at the manufacturer. I can only repeat (which would be vitally important to me) to retain one typical example for future independent assessment/evidence should you be dissatisfied with Dunlop’s findings. Probably stating the obvious, but you would need to advise them that you are retaining one typical example, but you wish this tyre to be considered along with the others. Perhaps you would be kind enough to let us known how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello James, I fear this isn’t going to be of much help, but in the absence of any other replies, could it be a matter of recalibrating the roof rather than replacing any components? Kind regards, Gareth.

Many of these lights (from different car manufacturers) are simple LED strips, and the fine links connecting the individual elements are quite flimsy and can suffer from corrosion, and one link can break and the light then doesn’t work at all. It might be worth checking that there hasn’t been any water/moisture ingress - which would be a definite aggravator. LEDs are fine, but the quoted life expectancy can be way out. Just as a comparison, I renewed all my strip lights in the garage with LED tubes. One tube was not working as received in its individual cardboard tube, and another one has failed well within 1years infrequent use. Kind regards, Gareth.