Magnet

I agree with you Olgert. These are indeed usually changed in pairs, and I would say particularly since this is a performance car. You can bet that if this wasn't under warranty, you would struggle to get any main dealer to change just one shock absorber. Having said that, this is the manufacturer's warrantee we are talking here, and I wouldn't be surprised if VAG simply change the faulty one. I would suggest seeing what they actually propose to do, and if just the one then use your sound logic. My feeling is it will end up with them fitting a pair if you are prepared to part fund the second one. Good luck with getting it sorted. Kind regards, Gareth.

Experience shows that staying with the same company for too long may not be in your premium's best interest. Certainly automatic renewals are a recipe for getting away with increased premiums. OK, if you are disorganised with insurance renewals then yes this method prevents you from being in an uninsured situation, but it will cost you. Extra 10 or 15% off sounds attractive, but off what? We had a local builder's merchant who had an annual 33% off sale. Great! until you realised that on the Friday before the sale started, he simply inflated prices by 1/3 ! Comparison websites seem to be a good way of sifting through the basic quotes and is always a good starting point, but I have found that if you want the once-norm legal protection and courtesy car etc. then you have to pay extra, so cheap may not always be cheap. Alianz no longer doing car insurance? Found out about a year ago that they no longer do household insurance either. It may be interesting to note that during the 60s and 70s average car insurance premiums were into the £200plus bracket in our comparatively in the sticks locality. Equivalent to well, well over £1000 in today's money? I am still able to insure what you would call a luxury car for less less than £300, so I guess it has to be admitted that whatever the hike in premiums, we are better off premium wise than we were. Kind regards, Gareth.

Oh dear, how many more? To be fair we don't hear about the recalls that go well, but I guess nether do we know the full extent of the problems following these recalls. What amazes me is where are the media here? They were quick enough to swoop on VAG's ill doings with this whole debarkle, but seem conspicuous in their absence about the public's bad, and sometimes expensive, experiences. Is it that car owners aren't notifying the press about such issues, or are the media now closing their eyes to these problems? Food for thought and comment I feel. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jamie, Two possible ways of reducing the risk of buying the wrong car:- If you view a car and are serious enough to proceed towards buying it, then arrange to get it inspected by a local independent (need to do your research on who this will be in that area first). OK it will cost you possibly a couple of hours labour charge, but well worth that investment in their expertise. If this cannot be done on the day of viewing then no doubt it can be arranged prior to a final decision. If the buyer isn't too happy with this ( and you can check in advance) then don't bother to look at the car. If not buying from the actual owner, then always obtain their contact details from the V5 and talk with them. No one is likely to know the car better than they do. When you think you have found the car you want to buy, you will fall on love with it - for better or worse. Now you know what they say about love - it's blind- so just disappear into a dark room for a couple of hours of thinking rationally. Good luck with finding the right car. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, Good move. The local used car sales boys are always the first port of call, since they will certainly know the best sources of local refurbishers. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Lloyd, Sorry to hear of your problem. One thing I wouldn't do is to claim on - or even notify - your insurers. Am I being daft in thinking that if you did claim, the chances are they would declare this beyond economical repair due to its age. And, even no fault accidents will result in a significant hike of premiums at renewal. No worries since bonus protected? Um, it means just that, and not that the premium will not escilate. Back to the problem :- I too agree with Dan's advice, and it's quite easy to weld the plastic back using a good soldering iron for example. You will be surprised how it will work out, particularly if you can introduce an additional bit of supporting bracketry. Of course, Steve has a very good idea about trying to find a replacement which I guess will cost you less than your excess, but worth having a go at plastic welding it back in place first - nothing lost. Good luck with it. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Greg, Obviously you are geting sound comment from Darren. Not wishing to appear critical but I wonder if you are in danger of concentrating your concerns that this may be a DMF issue - having read or listened to dome comments that they are expensive to sort out. As Darren says, it could be something completely different that you should be worried about! If it is indeed the DmF then I would question whether the warranty would cover it since it might be classed as a consumable component. If I was in your situation, I would definitely be having this car inspected ( by a local independent) before buying. If the seller is not happy with this then simply walk away. Good luck with whatever you decide, but don't depend on good luck. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, Check the brake flexible hoses for ballooning when an assistant presses hard on the pedal. Inspect carefully for any slight increase in diameter. Worth checking the simple things first! Kind regards, Gareth.

You should not use Copperslip on the shims Dan. Others will correct, but I think you now use a thin sliver of silicone grease. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dan, 'Like a stone stuck in the tyre'. Wondered if you have actually had the tyres inspected for picked- up debris such as a screw or bolt. I find that it is always worth eliminating the possible simple causes before moving on to more complex reasons. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Darell, If there isn't a dipstick - and I would certainly be checking in your handbook to confirm this, and/or Googling/reference to local main dealer to confirm - then you are in possible grave danger of overfilling this engine IF the oil level sensor is faulty - and it may well be. As Dan says, with that oil consumption (if it is indeed consuming it as opposed to you overfilling it!) then I would believe you are going to see excessive blue smoke or oil leaks or both. If you don't have a dipstick then one solution to start would be to renew (only with VAG part) the oil level sensor. Then drain the oil and measure the quantity removed and compare it with the recommended refill quantity to see if it is over or under filled. Add the correct quantity of oil and road test for 150 miles and see if the light comes on again. If it idoes, you and the selling garage are in the smelly stuff. Good luck with it. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mathew, Was the coolant temperature sensor a main dealer part? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Darell, I would advise being careful here, and you may well have been, but can I confirm that you have a dip stick as well as the oil level warning light? If so, just ingnore the instruction about how much oil to add - you say 1litre- but add just enough to bring the level to the full mark when cold. Do another 150 miles and top up (if necessary) when cold, with oil back to the full mark, measuring carefully how much you add. You can then calculate the oil consumption per 1000 miles. Beware here that you don't simply add a litre when the level light comes on, since the level indicator may be at fault. What grade of oil are use using as a matter of interest? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Chris, Despite your independent not being able to find anything wrong via. an inspection, I wonder what sort of inspection they carried out - perhaps just a brief look at!? There is obviuosly something wrong here, and the car is letting you know that, and you are wise to make further enquiries. If it were mine, I would be giving the rear brakes a good coat of looking at, and particularly the brake bake plates ( shields) which are prone to rusting and bits distorting and possibly touching where they shouldn't be touching, Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Darell, Sorry to hear of your concerns. I would have thought that around 250 miles to a pint ( sorry about the old language!) is not what I would consider acceptable for a 69K engine, but I do take Dan's point about what the oil level was when you took delivery. Very important, since it might just have been an oversight and filled to just above the minimum level, and obviously any oil usage is likely to throw up the low oil level light. Of course, you may have checked it when you first had it and know the level as at full. Taking Dan's recommendation, you must return this level to the full mark with the correct grade oil (5/30 ?? - you would be to check) and monitor the consumption say per 500 miles to return to the same level. Kind regards, Gareth.

You would have to find a fitted distributor first Derek. Long gone I'm afraid and now you find coil packs - not to be confused with coil overs I guess. Simplicity was not a bad thing and you could tinker with such mechanical contrivances rather than shoving an instrument up your computer plug hole! They even got from A to B. Amazing! Kind regards, Gareth.

Love the old fashioned bit! I actually recall the days of pre steering locks and Krooklock - hooking the clutch pedal to the steering wheel to prevent the clutch pedal being depressed. I ran Morris 1000s for many years, after their production run time, and my favourite contribution to security was to fit a hidden switch in line with the electric fuel pump. This ensured the car could be found within a few hundred yards of where you parked it - having effectively run out of fuel! I frequently forgot to switch it back on, only to find the car almost coming to a standstill until I remembered to switch it back on. Not beyond the bounds of some thought to fit something similar and covert to today's vehicles? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello, does your car have built in mounting points for roof bars? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hi Steve, Just as a matter of interest to me - are Mercedes seats still rather uncomfortably hard after a long ( well anything other than local use) run, compared with the Audi? Perhaps they have changed now. Hi Shane, This certainly is not meant to put a damper on anything or appear critical, and I'm sure you will choose the right one for you, but it goes to show that car designers have it absolutely right, and we are attracted to buying what we see and think is attractive as the first option, rather than any other consideration. Driving them becomes the second consideration - but appeal to us and our views on the appeal to others is always important. Enjoy Shane. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Stuart, Well, that's something new and interesting! Is it a trike or a bike? Anyway, as you say - a difficult one, but this could be from the period when they ran on an actual separate ignition coil, and electronic ignition via. a module in the distributor. These modules could break down and give symptoms such as you have. Now, I could be wrong, but worth some homework, or I'm sure someone on here might come up with some more meaningful help. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Shay, So we know it's OK starting from cold but shudders for a couple of seconds when started from hot. Now if it's only a couple of seconds of shudder then I guess the car has barely been put into Drive and this shudder must simply be when the engine ticks over for those seconds. Is this right? If so, is there any associated smoke? - you will probably need an assistant to check this. A stab at this while you come back with some more detail ( and depending if I'm understanding it correctly) would be to think about having the injectors checked. Perhaps the simple leak back test to start. Kind regards, Gareth.

Well Tom, Fair do s as they say around these parts. You've just jumped in and done it! No messing about with checking and all that nonsense, you've just married it - come what may. Buying a speedometer reading is fine I guess! How do I check service history??! Just enjoy it Tom. Good luck and kind regards, Gareth.

No problem at all, if you dismiss the possibility of holes in the roof in wrong places, holes in headlining where you didn't think you would have them. Um? Now what are we going to do?

Hello Marcin, Possibly not going to help us too much, but will this engine rev. freely above 2200 rpm while not under load? I'm have one of these 1.6 and I must say its not the most spritely of engines under the best of circumstances, and seems to lack a bit of get up and go between gears until the revs pick up. Ok now over 140K on mine, but always been the same. Having said that there is onbviously something wrong with yours. Kind regards, Gareth.

Personally I would be ordering a new filter and putting it in myself as part of the treatment. You will know it's been done then. Kind regards, Gareth.