Magnet

Hello Chris, No offence meant, and indeed I guess we have all been there at different times, but it is possible to get too tuned in to a certain issue, and simply get bugged by something which might just not be as significant as we worry it is. A clue could be ..." on level ground the car don't look like its leaning...." I define a 'problem' as the worse thing that is happening at any one time, and very often that problem/issue disappears from the worrying state when something more major comes along! Perhaps we have been too critical of the supplying garage, who have probably inspected the car and cannot find a significant issue, but simply kept the door open by saying, 'if you can source the issue then we will put it right' . Perhaps very fair in hindsight. I think you are now doing the correct thing and getting this car inspected locally. As Cliff says, springs can break within the spring seat even, and can be difficult to spot. In a way, I hope they do find something wrong and you will have peace of mind. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Chris, Apologies for labouring this, but there some significant points about which we are not clear of here, and which may dictate the course of action you need to take from this point on. Can we take it you did not buy this car direct from an Audi main dealer? Car is 5 year old so probably not. How long have you owned it? Did you have a HPI type search done on the vehicle before purchase to establish if it had been accident damaged or not? Probably hasn't been, but.... Was the car bought with this issue, or has the problem arisen since you bought it? If the car came with the issue, did it come to you with a recent MOT at which it would have been spotted? Appreciating Cliff's opinion that 1/2 inch difference is significant, all other things being serviceable, this may not be considered to be a significant 'claimable' issue with a 5 year old secondhand car. If it were mine and it bothered me, then I would be informing the supplying used car dealer that you are going to have this car inspected with an aim of locating the reason for the issue - getting their permission to do so. Try to find a reputable independent in your area, since trying to diagnose the problem via. a forum ( although a good start) is rather hit and miss, when anyone would need to see the actual animal to offer meaningful explanations. Again from the school of the bleeding obvious, but we take it you are checking this on absolutely level ground. The drive here has multiple minor ( and I mean minor) differences in flatness, and you wouldn't believe how lopsided vehicles can look when parked on certain parts of it. Good luck in getting it sorted. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Shock absorber associated issue? Unlikely in my opinion.

Hello Prav. Have you posted this under the 'For Sale' section as well? Kind regards, Gareth.

Right then Chris, The answer isn't there then! If it were mine, I would now be monitoring the life of these new bulbs and see how they last. Now, did I read somewhere where quality makes (such as Osram?) were being faked, and were available on the Interweb at supposedly cheap and attractive prices? Might be worth simply getting any other ones direct from VAG dealer? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Chris, I'm very much with Paul on this. It would be the sellers responsibility to diagnose the problem, and your responsibility simply to identify there is/maybe an issue. Having said that, let's first get some measure on what we are talking about here. 'Bleeding obvious' this might be (but never ignore the obvious) - take a note of the exact sizes of the tyres on the rear and confirm they are a match, particularly the profile part, e.g. the middle figure, say 50 , 55 etc. You say the height difference is around 10mm, but I wonder how you are measuring this. If from the ground to say the underside of the arch, then this isn't the way to measure it. Measurements should be taken from the underside of the arch to the wheel centre to ensure the tyres are not influencing your measurements. 10mm? OK, a difference, but perhaps borderline significant. Might be accounted for by the higher side having had a new spring fitted at some time ( not uncommon for springs to break in this cost cutting design change situation), leaving the opposite side with its original (settled) spring. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Chris, There are a couple of things to go through here:- Have you had the actual operating voltage checked in this car? It should charge at around 14volts, but may just be putting in a higher voltage if the alternator/regulator is at fault. Of course, voltage much higher than 12v will adversely affect the bulb life. When you replace the bulbs, what quality replacements are you using? Some can be of very dubious quality and just don't last long. If the voltage is within reasonable limits then it might be worth investing a bit more by buying bulbs from VAG dealers. Fuses would really only be worth looking at if the lights don't work when the bulbs are known to be serviceable. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David, Are we talking manual or automatic here? Good point, but ever since handbrakes incorporated warning lights, those lights only gave you indication that the handbrake had been applied, so perhaps it's a case of ensuring the warning light is on before switching off. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dale, I think you are very ( should be in capitals) wise to question this before proceeding to buy. OK, free website checks, but you will be investing a fair amount of money in this purchase, so you will need to be sure - by possibly investing a little more in a paid for check - what this car is. Inform the checking company of your area concern, but I'm sure they will need the VIN number (in addition to the registration number ) in order to give you the full information. If it were me, I would be contacting the dealer you are buying it off and asking them to e-mail you both the reg. no. and the VIN. E-mail rather than taking it over the phone so you have this in writing. I would then be ringing another dealer and asking them to check it on their system, before having a full paid for and printed-out check on this vehicle. This is personal opinion only Dale, but would I buy any car on the basis of simply only seeing photos on a website anyway? No, I wouldn't - but that's me. I think you will find that if this vehicle is transported to where you are buying it and you don't then like something about it and don't buy it, then you have to pay the transport costs (both ways?). Investing that money in petrol to go and see it may be another non-committing option, or simply waiting for something more local to turn up. Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide, but I wouldn't leave too much to luck! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Prav, Sorty to hear of your problem. Not uncommon that these are stolen - by those who tend to find things before you know you have lost them! Yes, I guess you can buy cheap? aftermarket catalytic converters ( but you may find not all cars are catered for). If these are available then you will probably find that although they are cheaper, they can sometime barely satisfy the emission requirements and at the next MoT maybe unlikely to do that - so I would be beware. One possible aftermarket source would be Fuel Parts Ltd., and if you look them up, I'm sure they will advise whether they do these for your model. A better? source would be car breakers - in the hope that you would find originals rather than aftermarket, but make sure it's OE you are buying not aftermarket. There are websites which cover breaker's yards and will search for what you want. Partsfinder? may be the name of one, but there will be more if you search. Good luck with sorting it out. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Chiz, Dont think you will go far wrong with a Varta- usually more expensive than your average ,but... Incase it helps, I have just bought one for an MG, from Plymouth Batteries (Eurobatt on EBay) at a very good price ( no connection). I believe you save by buying via EBay rather than direct - how that can be I don't know! Could see how they compare with Tayna. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Phil, Effectively you are looking at very (very?) low annual mileage vehicle here in your quest - 26k for a 4 year old from a dealer equates to just over 6K/a, or 15k on a 6 year old ( 2.5K/a) if a private seller. You might be 'lucky' and find some, but it might be worth bearing in mind that if you had owned these cars from new, then the vehicle you would be looking at would have covered at least 60k at 4 years old. Low mileage is fine, but will almost invariably have been used on short trips where the engine is seldom up to temterature, and will have been subjected to a high percentage of its use during its maximum wear periods - many more gear changes than average, etc.etc. So, good question - is a 4 year old 26K car any better than it would have been if you had owned it and covered 60k in it in the same time ? Subject of course to the vehicles having been servived as necessary. Apologies for this somewhat negative reply, but it might just assist in consentrating the mind. Don't think this is going to help you, but I have a good pal who has spent his 60 years plus motoring only buying low mileage cars - as I call it 'buying speedometers' . Some have been nice, others not very nice. Many of them been free from the normal things that go wrong with average mileage cars? No, I don't think so. Good luck with your quest. Kind regards, Gareth.

Sounds good that you will be doing most of this yourself Jon. The correct grade, and reputable brand of oil is important, but equally important is good quality filtration, otherwise it's a bit like putting your best suit on and having holes in your underpants! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jonathan, I will of course bow to Steve's greater experience with these things, but as I understand it, there is such a thing as a Longlife service schedule where superior oils are used and the vehicle then becomes capable of greater mileages between services. It might be worthwhile checking what service schedule this car has been on up until now. Again Steve will correct if I am wrong, but I believe the service light will also come on at the intervals of 2 years from the date of first registration to advise you to have the brake fluid changed, and I wonder if this may be the service light you are seeing. I'm probanly out of date with the detail here, but does the message actually say oil change as opposed to service required? Yes, if you are OK with the spanners, then there is a lot that can be done to save money, but I would return some of this savings by buying only quality parts. You can get discounts at some Audi dealers ( one in your geographical area I think - let me know if you are going down the DIY route) and I always go down that route rather than factor parts. OK Euro CP can supply you all you need, and do supply filters branded with a name of a once respected UK filter manufacturer. Personally, just not for me, but.... Oil? VAG were recommending the use of Quantum oils - available from the same discount dealer or other internet suppliers. Branded Quantum Longlife 3 - or was. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Belt rather than chain on this engine? Need to check and deal with as necessary.

Well, never too old to learn as they say Nigel. I believed that the majority of manufacturers had now moved away from putting any recommendation for an interval for changing automatic transmission fluid. Seems VAG treat this requirement differently then, and are stipulating a very low mileage change. Talking with the owner of a local executive hire/ drive business on the weekend. He uses Audis and Mercecdes with annual mileages of c80K. Seems he would be needing to change the Audi transmission oil twice within one year then. Not a cheap job I guess. For James, Daft, but I guess you have tried waggling the control knob around the R position. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steven, Without a doubt, the only place you should get this from (unless you really know your way are tensile steels and bolts) is an Audi dealer. They should be able to get this for you within 24hours. OK rather more costly, but I'm sure you will appreciate that it will be no more expensive than running around B&Q and other DIY outlets to try to find a mild steel bolt (and there will be varying thread pitches for M14 anyway) and end up with a bolt which might simply shear under load. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. We've all lost bolts etc., but it's important to double check that this has not got itself cobbled up somewhere where it might jam something which is supposed to turn/move.

Hello folks, The family A3 (ordinary 1.6) will be needing tyres shortly and I was interested in the recommendations of the Uniroyal Rainsport 3 on here. Had Uniroyals on a BMW in the past and was very happy with them. Looked them up, and they seem to be a lot cheaper than some of the premium makes - so good news there - but there are quite a number of reviews which point to them not lasting well wear-wise. Wondered what the experience was on here regarding wear rates. This owned-from-new car was always run on Michelins until the last pair when I put a pair of Cinturato s on due to the Michelins being noisy (no other reason). Current indications are that these are not going to give the service life of the Michelins. Perhaps I should point out that we are now at the driving style where a high emphasis on roadholding during enthusiastic driving is not important. Would be very grateful for any been there done it experiences. Many thanks and kind regards, Gareth.

Hello James, Sorry to hear of your problem, and I wonder whether the answer lies in ..'last year the alternator failed so I replaced it....' It might depend on what the origin of the replacement was. If it was ex motor factors or internet, then it's not out of the question at it is at fault - some electrical components made well east of the Thames estuary are notorious for being short lived. We take it the alternator was bought new and if it was fitted last year then it's almost certain that it is still within guarantee. If I was in your situation I would not be assuming that the current fault is due to some other cause, so I would first be getting a simple test done on the alternator output - virtually any garage would be able to do this for you in minutes. Only when/if you have confirmed the alternator is serviceable, would I be looking for other causes. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gerard again, Right, correct quality battery correctly installed seems to have solved part of the issue. Being cynical, the helpful Audi guy is the plant to get you signed up to bring the car into the dealer - bit as old as the hills is that one. Anyway, some will call it an overkill, but I always renew fob batteries with a car I don't know, since remotes are such hard working components and are often/ always overlooked even with FSH. Back to your remaining problem. Before spending money, have you tried the WD 40 squirting in the region of the lock yet? Fully open the window and stick the nozzle down the side of the glass and give it a good dowsing. Might not do anything, but might just too! Lock and unlock the door with the key afterwards. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Wullie, I wonder if you have made contact with the last registered keeper - how long has he owned it by the way? - the story behind the history of screen leak is probably known to him. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, I'm very sorry to hear of your ongoing saga and particularly problem of getting your money back. E-mails are normally fine, but where they don't respond then, as you say, a Recorded Delivery letter is by far the best. If it were me, I would be stating a deadline date for them to respond, ( say 2 weeks from receipt) so if they don't, then you can take up an option of going through the Small Claims Court procedure if you want. I can see you have had what appears to be a reasonable quote from Audi. I have bought parts on discount from one Northern dealer and would be happy to pass on the contact if needed incase they may be able to beat your quote. Just pm me if you need to. Good luck with sorting it out Paul. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andy, Sorry to hear of your problem. This may well be frowned upon, but have you tried a few drops of WD 40 down the key slot to see if it makes any difference? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gerard, Can we take it you only have the one remote rather than the two that were originally supplied with the car, and if you do have the second one that that isn't working either? As you are now probably aware, there are documented procedures to be found on the Internet which guide you through the principles of supposedly re programming, and if you read enough of them then you will find there are subtle differences around a basic theme. My second remote doesn't open the doors anymore and I tried all of these without success, but you might be lucky if you study them all. All things being equal, these remotes do not have to be reprogrammed at a routine battery change, but might need doing so if the fob battery remains low for an extended period of time, so the recommendation of regularly changing these batteries still stands. Back to your issue Gerard - positive suggestions:- Try to find out if there is an Audi independent close to you ( someone on here might know), and/or pay a visit to your local smaller scale car sales sites and ask there. These boys often have the knowledge of who does what with such things. Good luck with getting it sorted. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gerard, I'm very much with Steve, and not meaning this to be a personal criticism, I'm not surprised the fob batteries have not been changed - they are a very much taken-for-granted/ignored item. When you think these remotes save us the minor effort of putting a key in a lock many times a day yet we expect them to continue doing that year after year, and our only action when they get a rather lethargic is to press the button harder!! I'm from the school of simple thoughts and with anything like this, changing the of battery would be the first port of call, then changing them annually from there - but not with batteries from the pound shop! The car's battery may be its original, and if so, it is likely to have done the best of its serviceable life after some 9/10 years, so I would take the car for an hour's run to ensure its charged then getting it tested. Halfords do this, and of course sell batteries, but it depends how much you respect your wallet. If the battery does need replacing, then personally I wouldn't buy a battery with less than 4 years warranty. It is possible that the original battery was by Varta or Bosch and there are some good deals going on the Internet on Varta batteries at the moment. I'm just about to buy one for a non-Audi and can let you know where I will be buying mine at a good price if it helps. I believe the locking is controlled by the driver's door mechanism, and it might be worth squirting some WD40 down into the area around the lock - it might help. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Rhys, It could be the temperature sensor which controls the fuel/air mixture to allow the car to start easily at all temperatures - but a "could be" it is. I believe you can buy these as aftermarket parts, but beware that the reliability of replica electrical components is often not that good - and this is a 'running' critical part. I would have thought that it it would be worth plugging it in to see what fault codes you have before spending. Not sure if you have managed to start it yet, but as the temperature increases then you could find it will limp into life even it this is at fault. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Chizy, It is quite possible that the battery on the car may be the original - about the average lifespan of the original. If it were mine, I would be charging it overnight then getting it (and the alternator output) tested. Halfords can do this. If it proves to be suspect then of course you will need to replace it. Halfords sell them but it depends how much respect you have for your wallet! I tend to buy batteries which have more than a 3 year guarantee, since in my experience they last just over the 3 years! If you pay a little more then you seem to get a lot more for your money. It is quite possible that original battery would have been by Varta and I don't think you will go far wrong with one of these, or possibly Bosch, but if you do go with Varta check on the colour of the top, since I think ( and it's only a belief) that they are now producing a more budget battery with a black top - could be wrong it this assumption. Possible on line suppliers :- Tayna, Battery Megastore etc. ( no connection or recommendation and there are others). Hope some if this helps. Kind regards, Gareth.