My First Service

Matsuba

Matsuba

Member
Just wondered what you all thought of this...

After my balls up with the overfilling oil incident and possible coolant leak I decided that I'd take my little A2 to the Stealers for a good full service. (Sorry Mike, I had my heart on coming over to see you but the snow put paid to that idea. Maybe next time!) The DIS showed I had another 3000 miles before it was due but this may have been down to the oil change from the indi-dealer I bought from. I really just wanted some peace of mind that the car was ok.

Anyway, on top of the full service I asked them to check the cat converter with an emissions test for any signs of damage from too much oil. Thankfully this came back fine and there weren't any signs of a coolant leak either. So far so good but here is a list of the recommendations that need to be carried out. Some are obviously more urgent than others but I wondered what you all thought of these prices and if I could possibly save money by doing some of these repairs myself.

4 wheel refurbs...£352

Air con service...£51.85

New tyre (currently 3mm)...£43.71 (or £65.33 or £103.56)

Coolant change as concentration too high...£72.87

Brake fluid change...£48.25

Rear brake discs pitted and worn. Pads only half worn. Replace both when pads are fully worn...£172.44

Anti roll bar sleeve worn. New bar and bushes, also requires TVAC as part of repair...£375.92

Spark Plug Chance...£78

Air filter change...£39.73


Total cost £1,235.27

The roll bar needs doing as it won't pass its mot in may and the coolant change needs doing asap as the antifreeze can damage pipes etc. Am I daft to think a spark plug change when due would be part and parcel of a "major" service? I even had to pay for the pollen filter today on top of the service price. So what do they actually DO for all that cash apart from an inspection and an oil/filter change? They washed and hoovered it though...for free!!!! Bargin. Maybe I'm being a little naive!
 
I've PM'd you with fuller details, but to answer the latter points first, no, a pollen filter is never included in their service prices. Neither are fuel filters, spark plugs (or glow plugs).

Ordinarily, an air filter change is included in a service, so I'm surprised they've quoted you extra on this. A Longlife service usually consists of oil/filter, air filter and a full inspection including service reset and diagnostic check/report. You might get dealers that will give free fluid top ups too, but this is rare!

Yes, you don't get a lot for your £199, but then those showrooms don't pay for themselves.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Matsuba said:
4 wheel refurbs...£352

Wheel specialist ~£250

Air con service...£51.85

That's about right.

New tyre (currently 3mm)...£43.71 (or £65.33 or £103.56)

Sounds OK to me

Coolant change as concentration too high...£72.87

Indi should do it for ~£50

Brake fluid change...£48.25

Buy Ezibleed kit and DIY.

Rear brake discs pitted and worn. Pads only half worn. Replace both when pads are fully worn...£172.44

Buy discs and pads from motor-factor and DIY for <£100.

Anti roll bar sleeve worn. New bar and bushes, also requires TVAC as part of repair...£375.92

What's TVAC? Is the 3D geometry alignment?

Spark Plug Chance...£78

Never looked at a petrol A2, but would hope it's a DIY job

Air filter change...£39.73

Another DIY job
Click to expand...

So you see there's some money to be saved by investing in some basic tools; socket set, torque wrench, jack & axle stands.
 
Hmmm now Im worried about taking mine to get serviced.
I was weighing up the odds of either going to stealers for there £199 deal + Brake+clutch fluid at £55 extra and pollen filter at £35 extra or driving up to Mikes to get it done.

Dealersship Pros:
  • Very close and get curtesy car.
  • Dont have to wait with vehicle.
Dealership Cons:
  • They are a dealership and not sure they have 'My Best Interests' at heart.
  • Not convinced they have ever worked on an A2 before (I dont know, but why risk it)
  • Costs of 'other' work
.

Milke (Skipton) Pros:
  • Quality Service by someone who knows the A2 inside and out.
  • Audi parts used
  • Huge knowledge.
  • Not as expensive as Audi (not that i care to much as i will happily pay the money for good service)

Milke (Skipton) Cons:
  • Long drive to get there and back.
  • Will have to wait with car (not really that bothered, but depends if Mike minds people hanging around the workshop asking numpty questions :)


So I am leaning heavily in the Mike servicing route right now :)

Thanks for the info Matsuba, I am sorry the result was less favourable for you but I hope you can sort most of it with relative ease and cost.
Steve
 
A trip to Mike would be well worth it I feel. Personally I like watching a mechanic work. I get to learn something and see that the job is actually done.

Though one more 'plus' to dealerships is that you maintain the F Audi SH, which may improve resale value. As a car becomes older this is less important, but still a factor worth considering.
 
Wheel Refurb £352 !!!!

do a forum search on this normal price is about £50 - £60 per wheel.

I have used a company in preston who do A2OC discount and paid £220 all in, they disposed of old tyres and fitted and balanced new ones (i supplied) then swapped the pepperpots i was using as temps for the newly refurbed 17" sport alloys. and the finish was fantastic.

don't most main dealers just subcontract these jobs anyway ??
 
bovril said:
don't most main dealers just subcontract these jobs anyway ??
Click to expand...

Yeah I think so I paid about £30 for one wheel refurb from the contracted I saw in the car park of an audi, he was working on a car for audi, or £100'ish for 4
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. :)

I knew the dealer prices would be slightly inflated but judging by the some of the comments maybe that is an understatement. Strange how some of the service prices are bang on?

Well at the moment the wheel refurb can wait. It's only cosmetic and not urgent. Aircon too can wait as I try and save fuel by not having it on anyway. Econ button is always pressed! New tyre can wait too as it's still legal and as we only use the car mainly on weekends so we don't do that many miles. Brakes can wait too till the pads are fully worn then I'll do the discs too.

I'm going to get a K&N ail filter and see if anyone at work has any axl stands I can borrow and do it myself. Seems pretty easy from what I've seen on this forum. I'm going to look into the Eezibleed kit too for the brake fluid change. Has anyone got any experience with this? I really wouldn't know where to start. The same with the spark plugs. I remember my firsty fiesta many years ago and pulling the leads from the distributer cap and the spark plugs being right there. I'm guessing with these modern engines it's not so easy??? Anyone done this on their FSI?

So really my main concern is the coolant and the anti roll bar. From the PM I received from Mike (thank you so much mike!) it shouldn't cost too much from an indi garage. Mike: you said the ARB wouldn't need the wheel alignment that Audi said would be required. Why is this? They reckon its because they have to drop the sub frame (or something like that). I don't understand any of this so if you have the time could you briefly explain why I wouldnt need the TVAC?

My dad knows a mechanic that he really rates and trusts so maybe I'll ask him to do the coolant change and anti-roll bar. I just don't know :confused:. The reason I say this is because the A2 isn't exactly a common car and I wouldn't imagine most local mechanics would have too much experience with them. Do all cars have anti roll bars? Are they a common repair on older cars?

If I had the cash I'd just let Audi do it all but as the baby is now here money is tight to say the least and these repairs couldn't have come at a worse time. I wish I lived closer to Mike at the moment. Well I've really gone on here haven't I...again. :eek:

Oh yeah, I nearly forgot. Draggon: I'd make the drive to Mikes to be honest. Don't think of the "courtesy car" as a reason for the Stealer service. I got an A4 2.0 TDI. Was going to be a £2500 excess on the insurance!! Ha! I told them I would have to sell my car to pay for any damage. The guy then told me I had the option of paying £10 to reduce the excess to £250. Then I had to pay for my own fuel or be charged 15p per mile and was only allowed to do 100 miles (my fuel remember) then its 15p per mile on top! Never again. I must admit that it was a plus point for me too but the A4 wasn't THAT great. I wasn't disappointed getting back in my A2 thats for sure. What is it about these little cars?

Ok, I'm going now :D
 
Ezibleed kit - instructions come with the kit :)

Suspension configurations are all very similar. As far as I know there's nothing special about the A2s. So most garages will know what to do. Yes, anti roll bar bushes are a common thing to replace.

Likewise for the coolant. The engine is near enough the same as the VW Polo.
 
Matsuba said:
Oh yeah, I nearly forgot. Draggon: I'd make the drive to Mikes to be honest. Don't think of the "courtesy car" as a reason for the Stealer service. I got an A4 2.0 TDI. Was going to be a £2500 excess on the insurance!! Ha! I told them I would have to sell my car to pay for any damage. The guy then told me I had the option of paying £10 to reduce the excess to £250. Then I had to pay for my own fuel or be charged 15p per mile and was only allowed to do 100 miles (my fuel remember) then its 15p per mile on top! Never again. I must admit that it was a plus point for me too but the A4 wasn't THAT great. I wasn't disappointed getting back in my A2 thats for sure. What is it about these little cars?

Ok, I'm going now :D
Click to expand...

Thanks Chap...leaning very heavily in Mikes direction now...will be in Feb I hope...and If Mike wants too of course ;)
Will even book a day off :)
 
All comers are very welcome here and yes, I positively encourage owners to hang around, watch, learn, ask questions and generally have a good old chat about A2s!

The Gunson Eezibleed is about the only bleeding tool on the market for the home mechanic, but it's a pain in the backside to use, the seals will give way and you'll need to keep topping the reservoir up, as it holds far less than you'll need to do the entire system.

As to not needing an alignment check after dropping the subframe, this is because the subframe is held on with 4 big bolts and as long as the position of the subframe is marked and replaced in the same place, then nothing will have changed!

Cheers,

Mike
 
Matsuba,
Mike is the most knowledgable A2 person on the planet. He can take these things apart with his eyes closed and works to a very high standard.
If you want a hand with basic FSI service items (spark plugs, oil, air, pollen, brakes, brake bleeding etc) then I am happy to help and live in south Leeds (just off J30 M62).
For more complex stuff Mike is yer man.

PM me if you want any help.
 
chb said:
Matsuba,
Mike is the most knowledgable A2 person on the planet. He can take these things apart with his eyes closed and works to a very high standard.
Click to expand...

To be fair, most people can take cars apart with their eyes closed, the real trick is getting them back in one piece, preferably with no bolts left over!

Cheers,

Mike
 
Nice answer Mike!:D:D:D

As for wheel refurb for £350:eek: You could buy a decent set of new wheels for that money! otherwise do as suggested above. The main reason I do little work myself on my cars these days is lack of weather proof ( ie garage) facilities and I hate working on cars in cold weather.
 
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