Magnet

Hello Steve, As you are probably aware, you will first need to obtain a Retention certificate for the number and this costs around £110 (or did) and will entitle you or someone who buys it from you to transfer it onto another car without cost, but the cost will be down to you to start. You will of course then need to buy another set of number plates which will return your current car back to what it was originally, but for £110 plus the cost of the replacement plates, you will have a number to sell. Registration Transfers (and there are far more) will value the number for you and my experience is that that valuation will be "encouraging" and they will advertise it for you without charge and offer you the agreed 'price back to you' price. Fast forward some time (and in my case it was almost 10 years before I gave up!) and it is possible you will be asked whether you want to bump it up and pay an advertising cost or perhaps reduce your 'back to you price'. You may get - as I did- a discussion about a rock bottom offer from which they deduct the cost of the retention cert ( for which I held and had paid for!) - experienced sales person turned out to be inexperienced and that info.was wrong in my case, and at which point the interested purchaser disappeared! Now it's possible to have them advertise the number while it remains on your car and a prospective buyer then pays for the transfer. Sounds fine, but I think you will, find there would be very little left in the pot for you when all is said and done - to a not worth the bother level. If it were mine, I would be looking on the DVLA website for similar format/layout numbers which can be bought straight from them at a price which includes the transfer fee and it would not surprise me if around £250 might be the buying price. So if it goes to Reg. Transfers, taking the £110 transfer fee, plus repalcement plate costs for your car plus Reg.mTransfers commission it could leave you with enough to buy a packet of !Removed!! I really would look at what DVLA are selling similar ones (including transfer costs ) for and go from there. I appreciate this is all very pessimistic and Reg. Transfers valuation may appear to make it seem attractive to follow up, but.... Possibly worth thinking about why the previous owner didn't sell it. I guess you didn't pay a premium for the car because of the number (hope not) so I would take it as valueless (in real terms) and move on buying your replacemnt number. Having said all of that, it is just possible at someone may fancy it and be prepared to cover the cost of transfer plus some added funds. You could be lucky Steve. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Allan, I would go with Steve's suggestion for a starter. I would advise that you remove the inner panel and indeed this may give up some clues of where this water is getting in (via evidence of stains etc.), and thoroughly dry the inside of the tailgate. You could then tape over the top outside paintwork to glass area, overlapping from paintwork to glass. I would just do the top join to start and test with a hose. If this does not eliminate the problem then add additional tape to each side join (one at a time) and finally the bottom glass to paintwork. The idea of doing this one section at a time is that you will know which one solves it - if it does. Another possible source could be where the flexible electrical wiring harness runs from the main body into the tailgate frame. Possibly some of this might help. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tom, Thanks for filling in some of the detail. It's now fair to expect that you need a specific answer whether you should/when you should change this cambelt and its associated components. Perhaps someone can come up with the official recommendation for you which will be x years or x miles whichever comes first. Say 8 years or 80k miles could be taken as a guide, but from my side, a guide only it would be, while we wait for a more informed reply. Of course, you could contact your local dealer and they will definitely advise you, and they often have offers on these sort of critical jobs. My concern would be that although you may still be within the change limits, you are uncertain of what quality of components were used, and water pumps in particular are known to be of highly variable quality from aftermarket suppliers, and form a critical link in this application. My advice:- contact a couple of the nearest dealers and ask for the recommended change information and see if there are any offers on at the moment. As I said in my original reply, I think you are wise to fact find this. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tom, This is always going to be a critical issue since failure is likely to result in catastrophic engine problems. If this has been correctly dealt with in your ownership then you should have confidence that 4 years and 50k miles should still be within an acceptable service period. However, if let's say the 'cambelt was changed' - i.e. just the belt was changed, then things may not be as serviceable as they should be. Probably the bill will reveal the important detail. Perhaps you could let us know and I'm sure help will be at hand. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Chris, I also add to the welcoming comments and interest in your car's arrival after the long wait - a wait which I'm sure will be well worth enduring. One thing I would possibly add to as comment is that if I had had to wait for 5 months, then I would be inclined to wait for an extra 3 weeks to ensure it as registered under the new 67 plate registration rather that the outgoing 17 plate, which finishes on 31st August. Despite what they may tell you, a 67 plate 2017 car will have a greater value than a 17 plate 2017, and this is why August tends to be a quieter month for new car registrations, and they really welcome those who are prepared to have new cars registered under the old outgoing registration rather than wait to have the new plate. Anyway Chris - enjoy the car. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tom, Good to hear you are concerned to do the right thing in respect of cambelt changes. A couple of questions:- What date (year) was the belt changed when the mileage was 75K? What make parts were used at the last change- Audi, or aftermarket (what make if so?) and was the water pump changed at the same time, and if so, again what make? Kind regards, Gareth.

Some people know how to treat the ladies! Very useful though.

Hello Paul, I'm not sure if I'm reading this correctly, but has the centre come out of the actual jet surround and left a hole where it should have been? If so, I think the basic holder is "clipped in" from the outside with the normal expanding/contracting lugs, and once in position, cannot be extracted from the outside. If so, you will guess what that leads to! Kind regards, Gareth.

T'riffic! Now there's something else I've got to worry about not knowing!

Hello Thomas, I'm with Steve on this, or you could try some leather dressing ( Autoglym or others ) on the surfaces which touch. Might be just worth a try. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Paul, What the heck is a URL!? - no don't tell me, I'm just too old! When I first started working the technology to drive a now simple pocket calculator would have taken a 12ft. X 12ft room with computer hardware in cabinets from floor to ceiling and 2ft deep. No room for URLs in there! Try Googling the exact search I mentioned and you will find it under Images. Good luck, Gareth.

Hello Piotr, This reply is probably not going to be of much use, and but it would appear from the photos that the rust is not perforated (through) rust, but more likely to have started as surface rust which has just got worse with time. As I understand it, the warranty applies to perforated rust , so it's possible (likely?) that they will not consider it under guarantee, but good luck, and well worth an assessment. If it turns out you cannot claim, then I assume you will attempt to deal with this yourself, and I'm sure you will know how to do that, and follow the repair with a good wax treatment of the area with something like Waxoyl. I hope your claim goes well. Kind regards, Gareth.

OK Alan. I really can't point you in any other direction apart from the one most troublesome point for boot electrics issues, so I guess that's me done. As a matter of interest, I've just Googled "Audi A4 cabriolet boot lock wiring diagram" and came up with a few examples on there - some with the colour codes as well, but I guess you've been there. Good luck, Gareth.

Hello Alan, Did you check the wiring for breaks/shorts where it does through the flexible harness visible when you open the boot? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Stuart, Many thanks for the helpful reply, and we can now (unfortunately!) eliminate the dealer from any involvement with this since it hasn't been in their hands for servicing - and therefore cleaning. Taking your point about using a jet washer to rince to car, I wonder if you could let us know your exact procedure and products used for cleaning the car from scratch when you do it. So we take it you have never had it cleaned by anyone else? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gordon, I would tend treat this as you would with an old property which is showing signs of damp. The first port of call must always be the condition of the roof, and this should be attended to first. I'm not sure whether this car is relatively new to you, or whether you have had it some time. If you have had it some time, then you will obviously know when the roof was last treated - if not, you of course won't. I would start with weatherproofing the roof with something like Fabsil or similar, or indeed one if the appropriate Autoglym products. Start along the edge above the door and work your way towards the middle, then from the middle to the other side, to avoid a dry edge by starting in the middle and working to one side. Even if this doesn't solve your leak problem, you will find it to be a good insurance for the future, and then you can look elsewhere. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ken, I'm with Steve on this, and favour the possibility that this is a "broken off" plug for something like a fog or spot light if fitted. It would be worth checking that all the lights are working. Other possibly is that it's a dislodged horn connector. Should be two horns? - and perhaps only one working, I think it's great you are encouraging you son to take a responsible attitude to his motoring, and introducing good thoughts of whether it is safe to drive or not. On that topic I would say it's always difficult to judge things at a distance with forum replies, so if there is any doubt on a car being safe to drive it should always be checked out for assurance at a local garage as soon as possible. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Stuart, Thanks for coming back. Are you confident that this car has never been cleaned with a jet wash while in your keeping - never? Honest - never? Can I take it an Audi dealer has serviced the car while in your ownership (the same dealer currently in question)? If yes, did they return the car to you, having cleaned it? See my drift!? I would certainly agree with Steve and I would persue this. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Alan, Sirty to hear of your troubles. A couple of questions:- when you say you have charged and checked the battery and found it to be OK, does that mean you have charged the battery and had it tested and evaluated its % efficiency? If yes, then obviously you can discount the battery. If you haven't actually had its efficiency checked then you will need to. You say the battery will discharge (if left connected on the car?) in 24 hours. Assuming you have had the battery checked snd it is serviceable then something is still "running" when the car is switched off, and that current draw will be in excess of 2amps, and that would equate to some part of the curcuit demanding over 24 watts of power - high! - to say the least. If this is truely the case ( and personally I would disconnect the battery for 24 hours and confirm it then holds it charge) the you will need to establish which curcuit is at fault. You won't do this with your average multi meter since they generally will only accommodate mA of DC current. If you have a meter which will hands say 5 amps DC then you will need to take the earth lead off and connect the meter between the battery earth terminal and the earth lead and measure the current. You then remove each fuse in turn until the current draw reduces to next to nothing. Obviously the removed fuse points you towards the curcuit which is at fault. Such faults can sometimes be associated with broken wires where the cabling goes into the boot via. the flexible sheathing. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Courtesy lights would need to be isolated if you have the door open.

Hello Stuart, Sorry to hear of your unexpected issue. I'm just wondering if you have owned the car from new. Perhaps you could let us know.At least it sounds like it's been bucket and water cleaning during your ownership, and that's great. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Lauren, I like Steve's idea of wandering into you local Audi dealer and asking them to search their database for cars that fit your requirements. This might mean some travelling to see what you want (personally I would not buy from photos) but at least it might give you a choice. Good luck, Gareth.

Hello Matt, Not sure if I can help you. Last sentence - sorry, it doesn't make sense to me, but it could be me. Could I start by just clarifying that this noise is not there when you rev. the engine at standstill, but only there when the car is moving? If only there when on the move, have you tried (under safe conditions) to deviate off a straight line - to the left and right - when this noise is present to see if the noise gets better or worse? Does the noise vary on cornering? Warped discs? I would not have thought so, since you would be more likely to feel a pulsing of the brake pedal. You seem to have eliminated the tyres, which is always the first port of call, and this may narrow it down to a wheel bearing, or if not that, possibly a drive shaft issue. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tim, Sorry to hear of your problem. I note you say ......."before I picked it up..." and wonder if you mean you have only recently acquired it. If so, it may be worth having a read of the posts in the Recalls section towards the top of the forum headings, and checking with Audi if this car has indeed been subjected to a recall. This may be useful information for you, should (and we hope not) the light come back on. Kind regards, Gareth.

My money would now be on Trevor's opinion of the near side wheel bearing, suggesting the wrong one has been changed. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Omar, Thanks for coming back on this. Causation - medical eh, and there's me believing that the term originated with the legal profession, which I still think it does, but it seems one is never too late to learn something new. Still, back to your issue. Sorry to say it as it appears to me Omar, but we now understand:- This issue originates back (well?) in excess of 3 months ( since it has been with the ombudsman for that time) , and despite taking the case to them, it appears that you are not yet in receipt of a report from the dealer - because up to this time, and on advice- you possibly have not asked for one. Pessimistic possibly, realistic probably, but I 'm not sure how the ombudsman is going to judge on that without such basic evidence to digest. You would obviously know better than I, but would this be a little like taking a case to the BMA without an independent consultant's report? Again, this will come over as being pessimistic, but a friend of mine took a classic car insurer case to the ombudsman, having failed ( over many, many months ) to get satisfaction from the insurer. He eventually won the case after a further 18 months of deliberation! I would ask, where is you car now, how long it has been there, how is it stored, what would have been its current market value (in pre engine failure condition ) and what would you estimate its value will be in say possibly 18 months of sitting around waiting for a decision? Being in your unfortunate position, all of these questions are reasonable to ask and answer - before you add the hassle factor - since yes, life can be difficult, but sometimes it boils down to biting bullets. I still think it would be useful to know what the background is with this car ( as was mentioned in an earlier post). e.g. how long you had owned it before the engine issue, service history, any evidence of earlier issues from service history information or information from previous keepers etc.? I'm sure this is likely to be of interest to the ombudsman as well. Anyway, Omar, I think all I can do is to genuinely wish you good luck in sorting this out with Audi - which I guess is where your claim rests. Kind regards, Gareth.