Magnet

Thanks Andrew, Just to clarify, my EBay suggestion was in relation to the sale of your A3, rather than the purchase of an A1. Disadvantages of buying off EBay or any fairly remote-from-home location:- Have to travel to view. Potential impracticality of having any guarantee work carried out. Obviously, buying locally is the ideal, but you might have to wait for the right car to become available. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andrew, Thanks for joining and posting for advice. Very much a personal view:- You’ve owned the car for 15 years, so it now doesn’t owe you anything more than its scrap value. You are of course absolutely bright in your view that it’s worth far more in its broken down form, but you have to break it and then attempt to sell the individual parts to realise that increase in value. Worth the effort?? WBAC are unlikely to value it at anything more than it’s weight in scrap, so you have a choice of:- Listing it on EBay where it would have the widest audience, sell it to WBAC or it’s scrap value - whichever is highest - break it yourself and sell the bits, or hope someone on here would pay you more than all other options. There would be a school of thought that would suggest, you’ve had your 15 years of service from it, so just let it go to the best EBay bid, and move on to secure the best deal on the best car to replace it. I.e. minimum hassle route. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, As well as posting on here, I would suggest you register your ‘want’ on the on-line car breaker websites such as Partsfinder ( there are more) and search EBay. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gideon, When you say an aftermarket clutch kit isn’t available, have you tried to find out what elements of the 4 pieces aren’t available - flywheel, clutch driver plate, pressure plate, release bearing/ slave cylinder? If not, it would be worth contacting LUK technical and enquiring there. Some of the parts may indeed be available as individual components. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Sarah, Really sorry to hear of your unacceptable experiences. The ‘needs a service’ condition is as old as the hills. The car must be serviced ( of course at your cost) otherwise the remaining warranty will be adversely affected - a catch 22 situation. You would need to check whether it does, and provide evidence that it’s been correctly serviced since you bought it. The good news should be that any fault reported before the end of the 3 year warranty, will be covered outside warranty. Understandably you won’t have any confidence in the car, and the bottom line could be you trade it in. If you decide to do that, you may find the depreciation may not be as much as you would have anticipated. The bad news is the potential next purchase will be more expensive than anticipated. I’m sorry I can’t offer you anything other than sympathy, but what I would suggest is that you record on one sheet, the timeline of faults and the action taken by the dealer. This should aid your case - without it, it will dilute the case. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Keith, It would be unusual for both bulbs to blow at the same time, so unlikely your fault is a simple as that, but always worth a try. As Steve says, unless you know your way around a multi meter. Fairly common problem site can be a fracture in the wiring within the flexible harness section linking body to tailgate/boot, but it could well be something else, but wiring checking and testing should find your fault. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Daisy, For all stuck-down trim sections, the use of a hair dryer often aids they removal. Utmost care and the correct non-metal tools are the only safe way forward - screwdrivers need to be barred from anything to do with this, or your trim removal is likely to end up with paint rectification. I wouldn’t be untrusting this to anyone supposedly doing favours! I appreciate you are not going to DIY this, but I would be asking some questions - based on the above - of anyone you intend to entrust this to. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Rick, As is my want, I ask what price you want for it - as opposed to ‘offers’. Good luck with its sale. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Daisy, I’m really sorry to hear of your issue, and I think you have come to the only really practical conclusion - the affected parts need to be replaced. If I’m understanding it correctly, all affected parts are brightwork , such as ‘polished’ aluminium. If so, is probably anodised and any attempt to polish out the etched area will removed the anodised finish. When you say’…..not by me….’ it wouldn’t have been by someone with a jet wash lance by any chance-? If so, it’s likely that the added chemical could have been some powerful cleaning agent that could well etch most things when blasted under pressure. However, how step plates? That’s worrying . It’s best not to worry about what it has done to the roof. It does indeed sound like the affected parts will have to be replaced. Any chance of compensation from the business who caused the damage? Kind regards, Gareth.

Selling your soul to the engineering devil for a handful of silver Steve! Only joking. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David, I wonder if it would be wise to treat tyre manufacturers claims in the same light as you treat car manufacturer’s fuel consumption figures-? Falkens have been mentioned on other forums as a reasonable alternative to some of the common high end brands, but in reality how much difference are you going to practically enjoy between a 73 and a 70db tyre? I don’t have any personal experience of Falkens, so apologies. SteveY on here is likely to be your best bet since he covers high mileages and is almost certain to have built up more experience than anyone on the relative merits of many brands. Not sure if my limited experience will be of help, but a family member has had far greater mileage than expected - without complaint of road noise- from a set of Pirelli Scorpion Verde ( all season ) tyres on a similar size 4x4, and a only yesterday had an unbelievable good deal ( and fitting service) from National Tyres ( Halfords) on the replacement set. Kind regards, Gareth.

More detail please Chris? , and could you please repost it under a heading of ‘ A6 losing Coolant’. I would also be great if you could fill in your profile. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andy, That would seem to be a reasonable-ish quote. Who has quoted that as a matter of interest? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andy, I take it you haven’t owned the car since new, and don’t have any idea what pads and discs are currently fitted to the car. If that is correct, then it’s fair to say that the chances of you being disappointed with whatever you buy are greatly reduced. You are going to get healthy-debate varying opinion on here, about brands and that is good. Personally, I’ve always stuck with Audi pads, bought at discount, at not much more than other recognised brands, and they have always done me extremely well over 170K miles. I am ‘experimenting’ with Brembo on our non-Audi, and a similar marque family vehicle, and they seem to be as impressive as you would hope for. Discs? Audi discs are daftly priced, so I’ve stuck with Brembo in the past for discs. My search source for competitive prices for Brembo from reputable sellers has been EBay. You could also try Parts in Motion ( no connection, but they seem to get a free plug from me!). If you are DIYing this, then I would recommend you invest some valuable time to ensure the disc to hub mounting face is scrupulously clean - often overlooked. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andy, Are you simply looking to replica the original braking efficiency, or enhance the braking to cater for more ‘enthusiastic’ driving? Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Renewing pads only, rather than discs and pads?

Hello Vic. You will need to Google ‘ Audi excessive oil consumption issue’ or similar. I believe most engines were affected around 2009? to 2012. I had initially thought to 2011, but I seem to recall 2012 may have come into it. Talk with a trusted Audi independent - they should be well clued up on the necessary detail. Safe is better than sorry, but let’s hope your intended purchase post dates the issue, and my concern for you is not justified. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Vic, Thanks for joining. This is not going to be what you want to hear, so apologies for putting spokes in wheels. You need to research Audi’s high oil consumption issues which affected engines up to 2012 ( their attempt at using ‘skinny’ piston rings). Your possible purchase maybe just after the issue, but may also be within it. Long story short, there doesn’t appear to be any economic solution to solve this. I appreciate you have placed your deposit and already fallen in love with it, and probably will have some guarantee with it, but do you really want the hassle?? Basic questions:- how long has the last owner owned it? Short ownership can equal issues. Have you checked the on-line MOT history for earlier points of failure or advisories? As I said Vic. -apologies, but it’s urgent homework time, and even more apologies if it turns out this engine isn’t affected - others on here will probably be far more familiar with a great in-depth knowledge, and will hopefully - for your sake correct me - but just beware. It’s better to lose a deposit than to be affected by it. Alternative:-look for a 2013 on model. If my information leads to a false alarm then I’m grovelling, but if the alarm is justified then at least you will be fore armed to make your decision. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Lisa, Thanks for joining and posting your advert. More information and a couple of photos would aid its sale. I’m sure you will appreciate that ‘reasonable offer’ leaves both seller and potential buyer open to be messed around, so could you please list the minimum acceptable price you are prepared to accept please. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Karl, Many thanks for joining and posting the question. Unfortunately the original poster hasn’t returned to the forum since the day after he posted, so it’s probably best to send him a PM in the hope that he will respond to you directly. Your, and of course the OP’s issue is almost impossible to diagnose without inspecting the car. I think the only practical way forward is to arrange that, and get it thoroughly inspected for anything that appears loose - sometimes a spring broken near the end maybe the cause, but that’s very much a guess. If that inspection fails to identify the cause, then it might be worth spraying all rubber bushes and linkages with some ATF fluid in the hope that that will cure it in a couple of days. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regard, Gareth.

Hello Paul, Could I add the question of each tyre brand, and the checked and adjusted pressures you are running them at? What mileage have the shock absorbers covered? Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks Stephen, I’m estimating £217 at Audi equates to no more than 1.5 hours, so probably not rated as a big job - with the right tools and no rusty bolts! Hello Rod, You be lucky to get away with removing hub without a good hub puller, but you could be lucky and it will tap off with a good non-metal mallet if ( in caps) you can get behind the flange. Kind regards, Gareth.

As far as I’m aware Rod, the hub normally has to come off so that you can get at the mounting bolts and remove them completely. Looks like you are going to need some new mounting bolts as well. Pessimistic maybe, but removing the current ones could be a bit of a challenge for Releaseoil. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, What’s the latest? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello - whoever you are? The main moderator on here more often than not welcomes newly joined members with his view that we are a friendly bunch - which I like to think we are, or at least we try to be. Saying it as it is, or at least as I see it, it disappoints to hear opinion that ….’Seem to (too) that this site is dead.’ We all do our best when we can with the knowledge we have, and indeed spend quite a bit of time doing it. This very much a personal view, but my dislike is for first time posters not to register their actual names, and to be flippant with their actual location - such as ‘Earth’. It just renders them anonymous, and non approachable. Again as I see it, you joined and posted your plea for assistance on the same day 14 days ago. David gave his time to try to respond to you yesterday, yet you rebuke that assistance by letting us know ‘too late - I fixed it two weeks ago’ - must have been the day you joined and posted then! Apologies we couldn’t have given you an instant reply ChatYBB - or whoever. Please excuse the rather direct reply, which may not reflect the views of the forum in general. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Kevin, I guess genuine Audi prices are daft. Where else to find new ones - apart from the likes of Ali Express possibly?? Incase it helps, I’ve bought ‘Accessories’ for a non-Audi via. them (Chinese), and if they have been packaged in the main dealer packaging, I wouldn’t have known the difference - except for the price! Side step quality?? Perhaps you could let us know how you get on Kevin. Kind regards, Gareth.