Magnet

Hello Lee, Not been able to read all of your post - in a rush at the momen. As I see it , red light on = air con. off. Might be worth consulting the handbook. Kind regards, Gareth.

Good clue towards the end of the week:- Three initials with last one as BMW, and almost giving it away - first one not that far from B,

Hello Bradley, To jump to the point, I would suggest that with little or zero car knowledge you should not be allowed to view any cars when you have a wallet in your pocket! It may sound a it harsh, and it's really meant to be as light hearted as I can, yet a serous comment. It is a fact that most buyers fall in love with a car, and from that point reason and logic go out through the window. What I would think about Bradley is to foster some good relations with a local garage and 'hire opinion' there on anything you may be interested in, and get them to check it over before buying, so you have a sound opinion on its condition. There are so many things to look at on any make or model that it would take a book to list them, and trying to assess the condition of a 12 to 15 year old car will be a minefield. I would recommend that you don't consider buying without having an independent inspection - OK it's going to cost, but it is likely to save you money in the end. Of course, AA or RAC offer comprehensive inspections. The only other general thing I can add Bradley is beware about paying deposits since technically they are non refundable.

Hello Scott, Sorry to hear of your issue, and it might be easier to stand back and look at the logic of this:- This issue was not present at the time of first registration, so cannot be considered to be a 'design' fault. The fact that the issue has occurred at some point in time after this, suggests that something has 'gone wrong', and whatever the cause, it should be investigated and corrected (it should not be your, or anyone else's responsibility to resolve it). Do not accept the fact that the dealer's other car does the same thing - yours didn't at one time, so.......!? If it were mine I should be writing ( the old fashioned letter by Recorded Delivery) to the head of the dealership and registering a formal complaint about this issue and requesting they resolve it within a reasonable ( say 28 days) time. I would copy the Head of VAG Customer Services and if the car is on any finance agreement - copy them as well. Citizens Advise should help with a letter if necessary. One (possibly daft?) thing I would check is whether this noise is associated within water having found its way into the boot/hatch lid. Good luck in sorting this Scott, and could we ask if you would keep us posted on your progress. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Rachael, I'm not sure I can really advise you as such on this, but perhaps the following comments may be valid:- It seems you have added 4 X 1litres of oil to this car during 10,000 miles of use. This obviously equates to 2.5K miles/litre. Some may say they don't add any or little over the same usage, and others might be pleased if theirs 'only' used this amount. I think it is a positive move to have the oil consumption assessed, but I may be pessimistic in thinking that VAG will consider 2.5k/little is so called acceptable - indeed you are experiencing only a quarter of the oil consumption they appear to classify as the limit. I see you bought it from a main dealer and It seems it was 5 years old when purchased which (unless things have changed) is generally the maximum age vehicles they retail due to the increased potentental for issues. Possibly of no consequence here, but....... Engines are now built to close tolerances, and owners of new cars are told that they don't need to run them in, and indeed it isn't unusual to run engines for close to 20K before changing the oil! . I my old book, the time taken to treat an engine respectfully in its initial use and to change the oil within 10k miles reaps rewards, but like most if us, we tend to buy secondhand, and are at the mercy of those who have owned the vehicle in its early days. Good luck in getting this clarified Rachael, Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello John, Can we take it you have renewed the battery which as on the car during its 2 year + period of disuse? In my experience, automatics do not take too well to long periods of lack of use, and I think you will find it could well improve further the more you use it. If it does, it might well be worthwhile thinking longer term to get the fluid and filter renewed anyway, but perhaps see how it goes for the next few hundred miles at least. Electrical curcuits:- Fuses and fuse holders can suffer from a form of white corrosion due to condensation in long term storage, and if it were mine, I would be removing all the fuses one at a time, giving them and the holder a squirt of WD40 or similar, and refitting them with a wiggle! This should ensure you don't have any high contact resistance which can lead to problems. Not sure it will fix your cluster issue but at last you will have eliminated that possibility. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Kris, 'Removing bumper' - not so daft as it sounds these days unfortunately. One point I can make is, not so on the comparable age A3, but A4 ?? If it were mine, I would be nipping the car around to Halfords and asking what the correct number bulb is and what is is the cost for fitting. This will provide you with the answers to both questions, and you can decide what you want yo do from there. What I would say is that even if the bumper doesn't have to come off (and I guess you can assss this yourself on the car) it is sometimes worth the fitting fee unless you like having the skin taken off the back of your hands due to poor access. Let us know how you get on Kris. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tom, I think Steve and Paul's replies are spot on. It's generally down to a character inadequacy which we used to refer to a small-appendage-fast-car syndrome issue. We problaby all experience a dose of get out of my way, no respect driving, from drivers who behave in a way in the enclosed confines of their vehicles which they would not do if their were behind you in the queue in Tesco! Poor folks, you have to feel sorry for their inadequacies! An aggravator now is that there seems to be a great access to available funds to buy these vehicles than there ever was, so there is a tendancy to acquire the vehicle before acquiring an ability to behave in a respectful manner! Old chap's rant over! Kind regards, Gareth.

Not Auto Union by name, but continue along those lines.

Um. Not Poundland prices then, to see if the current ones are OK or not.

Not produced as a race car. You haven't been far off the mark with your answers in the past Steve, so might be worth continuing along the same lines. Kind regards, Gareth.

How much are xenons Piotr? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Phil, This problem can sometimes be associated with a poor earth, so might be worth checking that first. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ati, Welcome to the forum. When first reading your post, dislodging silencer baffles first came to mind, but then I noticed your car is only about 6 years old, so unlikely, but not totally out of the question. I'm sure you will appreciate that it is always difficult to diagnose such noises without actually hearing them, and I think you are wise to question something which appears to have changed, and indeed someone on here may come up with an answer. If it were mine, I would be seeking out a recommended local diesel specialist and asking them to listen to it and advise you. An Audi dealer or independent would not be my first port of call in this case. Local diesel specialists? Ask around your local taxi drivers - there should be sound advice there on who to go to, or more importantly, not to go to! Kind regards, Gareth.

New question for w/e. 21 April :- NO GOOGLING! What was the make of the first front wheel drive and transversely mounted engine car ? Clues:- No, it wasn't the Mini in 1959 - it preceded this by quite way, and the company was to have significant associations with Audi. Good luck, Gareth.

Many thanks for the update Dan, and to me, that is completely understandable, and hopefully could be a useful principle for anyone who has an imported vehicle 'on UK soil', and needs to progress its registration. I'm left a little in the dark about this particular vehicle, but perhaps I've missed something with regard to Polish vehicles, the UK, and a Malaga location. Apologies if I have Stuart. Anyway, many thanks Dan for explaining what is acceptable and what isn't. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jason, Thanks for asking the question, but the reason for asking does confuse a bit in relation to being asked about with this within-warranty car. As I understand it, you can have the car serviced independent of an Audi dealer, if the garage uses parts recognised by Audi (Audi parts to minimise and risk) service it to the recommended schedule, and the servicing garage is VAT registered. To remain within warranty, Audi does not allow DIY servicing. Of course, there may be something we don't know, but the 'best' filter would have to be the appropriate Audi one. For my well out of warranty A3, I still use an Audi filter or a Mann one as he only alternative. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ross, As I understand it, if the car is fitted with Xenon lights then it must have headlight washers, and if these don't work then it justifies an MOT fail. It would be interesting to have more experienced views on this to either conform or refute it. Again, as I understand it, the headlight washers can be on a 'operation cycle' and may not work every time the screen washers are operated i.e. The headlight washers may only work every X operations of the screen washers rather than every time. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Logan, I guess my passing reference to GAP insurance has taken your original question off topic. Apologies for this. Not sure what your plan will be regarding the tyre and alloy cover. Will probably be useful to others who might be considering this. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Logan, Congratulations on your new car - I'm sure you will enjoy it. With regard to your question, is the car going to be purchased on a PCP? If so, then the final agreed value, although agreed now, can be influenced by the actual condition the car is handed back in, and such things as alloy wheel damage can result in charges to rectify this (common) problem, so an insurance may - just may, be worthwhile. If its not on PCP then of course this is not so important. Similarly with tyres, but beware, check what the insurance actually covers, or very much more important - what it doesn't cover! The selling of these insurances are along the line of salesman/dealer commission perks, and they are often keen to get you signed up to them. There could and often are, cheaper independent alternatives which provide similar cover, so it really does depend on PCP final figure adjustments at time of hardback - if this applies - an the least hassle route. Irrespective of PCP, one insurance I would consider looking at is GAP cover, which covers you in the event of a total loss for the full or invoice price, which of course insurance companies won't generally meet - and beware, not all do, even within the first year. Again dealers are keen to sign you up for this, and again there are cheeper independent options available for the same cover via. Google searches etc. Hope some of this helps, Enjoy the car, Kind regards, Gareth.

Um?? Are MOT testers that daft as to not to ensure that the car was up to temperature before failing it on emissions? Maybe some are! I suppose if they are daft enough to do that, they may just make a mistake on retest and plug the probe into the wrong car! Might be worth confirming the MOT comes with an emissions print out - these sometime go missing. Enjoy the car. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Sian from Wales, Not sure about the reason for your question, but having had a 2006 A3 Special Edition in the family since new ( supplied new by Cardiff Audi, who no doubt you will know of) I can assure you there is nothing 'special' about a Special Edition - in fact it is a posh name for a 'Basic'! Many manufacturers used the prefix SE for their upgraded models, but the clever marketing guys at Audi had other ideas for its use - depicting 'basic'. Piotr is probably right in saying the V5 will state model as say 'A3 Special Edition' (ours does) but I would certainly not guarantee the V5 would state this even if it was or wasn't - to me, it would depend on the dealer who compiles the initial registration information for the DVLA entering this information or not. How do you know if it is a basic model it it doesn't say so on the V5, since it will not be badged as such? Take the VIN number and contact a dealer who should provide you with a build record. No doubt there are on line checking systems available as well, but accuracy? Hope some of this helps, Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ross, Can't help you with a been there done that on this, but mine has also gone on the 2006 A3, and I I'm sure I posted before on this topic of the catch not being available without buying the whole top (£70 ish). By what I can see, this seems to be a 'newly available' item and it would not surprise me if you might just have to be the guinea pig on this, and perhaps the rest of the A3 owners will benefit from you experience. Would it be worth getting some more detail from the sender from which you might better judge the end result before 'investing'. Incase it helps, I intend ( an ongoing intention!) to use a couple of small stick on magnets on mine as a substitute for this rather flimsy catch. Could we be cheeky and ask you to let us know how you get on if you do decide to buy one. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ollie, Not saying this is going to be the answer to your problem, but I recently spent half a day trying to resolve the exact same issue on a non Audi car. Original fuse was fine so was replaced, but when I removed it again at a point of exhausting all other possibilities, I found there was a bit of white corrosion on the spades. A squirt of WD 40 into the fuse position and a new fuse, and hey presto all was well. Sometimes the simple things are worth a go before delving deeper. Good luck in getting it sorted. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello John, Was the car taken for the MOT with the remnants of 2 year old fuel in the tank, or did you pump out/drain the old fuel and add new? Kind regards, Gareth.