Magnet

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.

Hello Simon, I certainly don't want to put you off buying this car, but simply to stand back a little and give it a coat of thinking about. The 'odd tyre issue' might be a bit of an understatement when this car has had a number of MOT failures for tyre cords exposed! Now Michelin Kojaks is one thing, running tyres until the cords are exposed really does smack of a glorious lack of maintenance! If the owner has been prepared to run tyres beyond the legal limit then personally, I would be questioning the level of care and maintenance this car has enjoyed. I'm sure you will make the decision that best suits your requirements Simon. Good luck with this, Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. No apologies about Metros - I have a 18k from new one here.

Hello Adrian, Yes, you should take this apart and reassemble it correctly. Mintex ?? Were once a well respected make, but regrettably now just a bought out brand name to add some supposed credence to their manufacture. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Phil, That's about it for locating the washer reservoir. UndeI the wheel arch, so the liner etc. has to come out to get at it - pain in the posterior! Might be worth mixing say a 25% strength mixture in a jar and leaving it there for a month or two ( I don't buy the ready mixed since the wallet gets upset at buying water). You will probably find by then it stinks and will start to coagulate. Kind regards, Gareth.

It's all useless information Adam! , but hopefully adds to the interest. I like your reference to the Discovery. Another useless piece of information but topical for this forum:- At the time VW took over Skoda (yes, I remember all the Skoda jokes) we started supplying steel into Skoda and I was involved on the quality advising side, and VW sent their inspectors into Skoda to train them. Such was Skoda's commitment that within a year they were sending Skoda inspectors back into VW to update VW's quality systems. I guess that is why in my area anyway, you have a predominance of Skoda taxis - good value for money. Kind regards, Gareth.

Good question David, but of course, tyres are indeed not just categorised under 'budget' or 'premium'. Throughout my motoring life, the tyre trade has also used the term 'mid range' into which I would have categorised the two brands you mention. Manufacturers can and do use, what the aftermarket tyre retailers, would refer to as mid range, but my understanding is that they place specifications ( for volume purchases) on the tyre manufacturers which may exceed that of their aftermarket equivalent. In other words, your like for like purchased-from-tyre-retailer tyre may not perform as well as the tyres originally fitted. A similar situation applies to batteries fitted at manufacture (say Varta) where the original may well last for 10 years, but you would be very lucky to get the same service life from an 'aftermarket' battery to the same characteristics from the same manufacturer. Kind regards, Gareth.

From personal experience, and possibly not shared as an opinion by others but, I have long since given up filling the washer reservoir to full - particularly in the lower useage summer months- due to the mixed solution 'going off'. I now just add about 2litres from empty since. Irrespective of the concentration, this fluid (or the water content anyway) has a tendancy to coagulate when left standing, and smells and tends to clog the pump filter and jets after time. In effect, in summer in particular, keep the volume in the tank to a minimum and top up frequently. Kind regards, Gareth.