jimbobery
S3
- Joined
- May 6, 2008
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- 257
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I had Audi service my car (engine oil and haldex) on Monday. I need the history stamp and they actually worked out cheaper than the local specialists as they offer a reduced labor rate for mature vehicles.
Before theyd finished the service I got a phone call detailing some problems that theyd spotted on the car.
Clutch apparently this is faulty. It needs investigation but is likely to need replacing.
Front brakes and pads fair enough, I knew about this and was planning to change myself soon.
Front ARB needs replacing
Rear ARB needs replacing
Rear shocks they are leaking and need replacing.
At the moment I think the car is running really well; they clutch is nice to use and there are no suspension knocks, creaks etc, and therefore Im a bit suspicious about all this work but I've allowed them to quote me anyway.
The quote for all the work is £2600!!! This is for the individual jobs, and Ill get a discount if I get all the work done at the same time. Obviously Im not going to be paying £2600 (dont have £2600 for starters!), and I do as much work on my cars myself as Im able to.
So I thought it best to investigate these issues myself. I took the car to my local Mr Clutch today. They said She pulls like a **@!, that clutch is @*!*@@!* perfect, who told you there was something wrong with that! which is what I thought, but without all the swearing.
The biting point is really low, and there is a tiny bit of play in the first downward part of the travel of the clutch pedal, but I really like the low biting point, far better than it being in the middle of the clutch pedal travel. The clutch is progressive, no judder and no slip, and it hasnt changed in the way it feels since I brought it 7k miles ago.
Next I went to my mates garage. They make cars rather than fix them, but they know what they are doing, having ex F1 backgrounds etc. I jacked up the rear, and there is no sign of the shocks leaking at all!!!
The rear ARB does have rust where it meets the bushes, so I accept this will need replacing soon.
Then I jacked up the front, and the front ARB is similar to the rear, so it too will need replacing at some point.
It seems a bit suspicious to me that both ARBs need changing, but Audi are also saying that rear shocks and clutch also need doing:
-Front ARB requires sub frame to be dropped, as does clutch change (I think).
-Rear ARB needs unbolting from the shocks (well, drop link to be exact).
It seems the offer of reduced labor can be achieved because the fake faults my car has are jobs that relate to the work required to replace the ARBs?
Anyways, Im just venting my frustration with all this. I know no one here will be surprised to hear this story about a main dealer, thats why people call them stealers, but it amazes me that any customer would be so stupid to simply say Well the car seems fine to me, but if you say so, £2600, yeah ok.
Ive got some standard front discs and Im watching the current Brake Pads thread. For the ARBs I think Ill get some R32 ones, do the work myself and save about £2300.
but the ****** part was right, they are real shites for this, as HTC says the ARB's will be fine, its normal to get some rust around the bushes, mine had it & 7-8 years on no problems from what I know after I sold after my 7 years, drop the ARB's down & just clean them up, change the bushes & paint the arb's & jobs a gooden fella & as for shocks I personally in 7 years never once had any issues with that area
