List of work the length of your arm!

Smick

Smick

Member
Hi, I have the car in at the stealers at present and got a phone call off them. My jaw nearly dropped!

They are recommending that I:

Have timing belt and water pump changed (£600)
Change front discs and pads (forget price)
Change brake fluid (£120)
Replace door check strap (£75)
Change front left shock absorber (£180)
New tyre gunk (£35)

So when you include the £350 service I will be lucky to have any change from £1,500!

While I don't argue that this work needs done, I really can't afford to pay this amount.

Does anyone have any tips as to how I can reduce this cost and whether I should get it done?

The car was new in Sep 03 and has 49,500 miles. It is used mainly in Ireland, where the roads are quite shocking, so I might understand if the shock has gone with the potholes I regularly fail to spot and drive through.

He says that the timing belt is due to be replaced in Sep so get it done now. I suppose I can get some of the other stuff done and leave it untill September to do the belt.

Any advice gratefully received.
 
Unless you need to keep within the dealer network for warranty purposes, I suggest you just get the service done and then go elsewhere for the rest.

Brake fluid changes are regularly priced at about £80 at othe Audi dealers and even cheaper at independants.

Front discs and pads can be done yourself if you have a modicum of mechanical knowledge.

Tyre gunk is purely a replacement because the bottle has reached it's shelf-life and it'll probably be useable still.

Get an aftermarket set of dampers fitted at an independant, as the Audi ones are not the best suited to the car (barmy but true).

The timing belt is not due yet and unless there is visible signs of deterioration, it'll be fine for another 10k miles at least.

Now the biggie - don't let them touch the check straps as it will almost certainly be changed by Audi if you have any door cracking issues and it'll be gratis.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Skipton01 said:
Now the biggie - don't let them touch the check straps as it will almost certainly be changed by Audi if you have any door cracking issues and it'll be gratis.
Click to expand...

OK, I know there are two major threads running elsewhere on this, BUT

1) I haven't seen anywhere yet an announcement to say that dealers will do this pro bono
2) I haven't seen anywhere discussion of how far back possible claims can go (mine is a Y reg 2001 - would this be covered?)
3) I'm not even sure what I'm looking for - I have what look like tiny cracks starting to appear from the top bolt hole of the upper hinge - only about 2mm of crack showing (no, I'm not a plumber!) - is this what everyone is talking about and, if so, can I expect it to get worse?
 
Thanks alot guys. I have told them only to proceed with the service and brake fluid. I'll get the rest done by VAG independent specialists.

I told them to go ahead with the tyre gunk. Thing is though, the gunk is only a temporary measure. I might leave the old stuff behind. I am a full AA member so if it doesn't work, they will come out and get me and give me a lift to the nearest tyre depot, as happened the last time. Even if it happens out of hours, I have the most expensive AA membership so I can get them to drop it to the tyre depot when it next opens and they will give me a hire car in the mean time.

Mike, how do I check the timing belt for signs of deterioration?
 
Smick said:
My jaw nearly dropped!
Click to expand...

Hi Smick,

Have a look here:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/richlist/person/0,,39149,00.html

When I was in Agnews a while back, an open top Aston Martin drove in and parked behind the barriers. Turned out it was one of the younger members of the Agnew family paying a visit.

I have got an independent in Belfast to do all the suspension and servicing work to my A2. Let me know if you would like their details. Consider having Koni FSD dampers fitted. Best thing I did last year.

John.
 
Smick said:
Have timing belt and water pump changed (£600)
Change front discs and pads (forget price)
Change brake fluid (£120)
Replace door check strap (£75)
Change front left shock absorber (£180)
New tyre gunk (£35)
Click to expand...

Had belt/pump done at VW they charge as if it's a Lupo or Polo
Bought pads and discs from Agnews and GSF across the road, local garage fitted for £50
In VW the other day and they do a brake fluid change for something reasonable, again at Lupo/Polo prices
Hvae bypassed my gunk best before date with spare wheel, or £38 for 15" steel and £x for tyre

I do remember that Agnews wanted nearly £900 for the parts and work, local VW were around £350

Cheers

glock17
 
Hi Smick
If the shock is leaking oil it will fail the annual MOT test (assume you have the same system over there) If not, and you have not noticed any deterioration in the roadholding then leave it for a while and save up for a set of FSD's - from the Koni 'feel the difference' range. A set of 4 cost around £350 plus fitting.

Cheers Spike
 
That is well expensive (Have timing belt and water pump changed (£600)) I had mine done for 1/3 of that
 
spike said:
Hi Smick
If the shock is leaking oil it will fail the annual MOT test (assume you have the same system over there) If not, and you have not noticed any deterioration in the roadholding then leave it for a while and save up for a set of FSD's - from the Koni 'feel the difference' range. A set of 4 cost around £350 plus fitting.

Cheers Spike
Click to expand...

Hi Spike,

thanks for the advice. The car went through its NCT (Irish equivalent of MOT) about the second week of December. It failed as the passenger side front tyre was facing the wrong way.

I am told that the Irish system is more strict than the UK system as the Irish cars are only tested every two years.

What am I likely to feel as a symptom of the shock deteriorating?
 
So I got the car back.

The cost of the service and brake fluid change came to £384.30.

This did not include air or fuel filters. Seems quite alot to me but it is variable servicing and most of my miles are motorway so hohpefully I will get 20,000 miles out of it.

I have had an issue with my cruise control more or less since I bought the car. When I hit the accelerate button it does one of two things. It either accelerates up to the point I specify and doesn't stay there.

Alternatively it just knocks off the cruise altogether as if I had hit the brake.

The two previous times I left it to Agnews, they could see nothing wrong. This time I insisted. They phoned me and again told me there is nothing wrong. I explained the problem exactly. They came back and said they understood the problem but were able to change the settings to rectify it.

I picked up the car today. Still the same problem! I might have to go to Audi UK. My original complaint was when the car was under warranty and one of the mechanics has even taken it home for the night to Bangor to test it. I think Glock saw him out and about when he had it.

Oh, and there were three very attractive women who welcomed us and gave my dad and I coffee and shortbread. I'd say that's what about £284.30 of the cost goes on.
 
Onto the next part of the work then!

One small point, you should get up to 30k miles on variable servicing for your TDi, not 20k.

As for cruise, I'd like to have a look at some point if you ever venture over the sea.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Smick said:
What am I likely to feel as a symptom of the shock deteriorating?
Click to expand...

Hi Smick,

In a phrase - lack of damping.

The nearside shock absorber failed on my A2 last year and was the cause of it failing the MOT. During the MOT test, the front wheels are placed over an automated testing machine. The wheels are then bounced up and down for a few seconds, by the machine and the response of the damper is monitored. I was shown a print out of the two front wheel tests and the oscillation of the failed wheel was much less controlled than the wheel which passed.

Out on the road, the suspension on the failed damper side was more likely to bang into the bump stops on a poorly surfaced road, than the wheel on the other side.

Just prior to the MOT test, there was not much sign of things starting to go wrong, but then I tend not to drive like a boy racer. I did have worrying moment when overtaking on a dual carriageway and the steering on the car went light when changing lanes and running over half a dozen cat eyes.:eek:

I wonder if there is a bit of history with the nearside front wheel of your car? Possibly a tyre being damaged by a pot hole?

John.
 
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