I intend this to be a running thread for all the work I do to it, from necessary repairs to my own mods.
So, my first delve into the Audi world for nearly 20 years. For the bargain price of £300 I picked up a 57 plate 1.9tdi Sportback with 148k and a few known issues (central locking fault, "dodgy" oil sender since service, turbo whistle) but a full 12 months MOT.
I drove the car 12 miles to home, via a pitstop for some V Power diesel.
I had been assured that the car had recently been serviced. However, the oil was black and about 4" above the max mark!!! Needless to say the oil was drained and replaced with some Shell Helix Ultra I had left from my RenaultSport Mégane. 6 ltrs out and 3.4 ltrs in. Whoever had "serviced" it had obviously omitted to drain the old oil and also failed to check the dipstick. The filter looked new so as I didn't have a replacement handy, it was washed in diesel and refitted. Now, that "dodgy" oil sender I was told about. Guess what? It's no longer flashing up on the dash. I wonder what could have been the cause of it coming on in the first place........
The MOT, carried out by Mr Tyre in Walsall, flagged up 3 tyres as advisory "nearing limit with uneven wear" or terms to that effect. Now bear in mind that since the MOT, this car has covered 16 miles, including my bringing it home. Both rear tyres were slick on the inside to about 1/3 width, front driver's side tyre was 1.2mm tread and nearly bald on the inside edge. The front nearside tyre shocked me the most. Slick on the inside edge with an egg on the inner sidewall, a huge gash in the outer sidewall resulting in cords just visible. The garage's response was "someone must have changed the wheels mate." Something I know to be a lie as I had already seen the car before the MOT and the wheels had the same identical scuffs. Admittedly I didn't pay too much attention to tyres as that's one of the first things I replace anyway, but it still goes to prove that this MOT centre is untrustworthy and I have submitted a report to the DVSA.
In any case, she's now had 4 new Avon ZV7s and tracking done. I originally wanted Yoko AE51 BlueEarth but only 2 were available in 225/45R17. My trained mechanic/tyre guy advised me that it's recently had new discs and pads and underneath is pretty sound.
I found a slight split in the turbo actuator hose so I've replaced this and whilst there is still a whistle, there's no longer any real lag. I will at some point treat the car to a new turbo but I quite like the whistle sound.
The car itself is in very good exterior condition for it's 14 years. Paintwork is bright and shiny with very few stone chips or scrapes. There's a slight scrape on the FNS arch and a dink behind the fuel filler but nothing severe.
Inside is pretty good but I'll reserve judgement until I've given it a full valet.
Inoperable rear wiper. I'll be removing this and blanking off the hole.
A slight dink just behind the fuel filler which has pushed the panel around the light cluster out of shape. I'll attend to this once the electrical issues are dealt with.
I have a cheap 2nd hand climate control unit on order, purely to replace the missing knob cover.
Concert works but as there's no Bluetooth I'll be replacing it with an Android unit.
Can someone explain the operation of speed limit/cruise control? I can only seem to set a limit.
So, my first delve into the Audi world for nearly 20 years. For the bargain price of £300 I picked up a 57 plate 1.9tdi Sportback with 148k and a few known issues (central locking fault, "dodgy" oil sender since service, turbo whistle) but a full 12 months MOT.
I drove the car 12 miles to home, via a pitstop for some V Power diesel.
I had been assured that the car had recently been serviced. However, the oil was black and about 4" above the max mark!!! Needless to say the oil was drained and replaced with some Shell Helix Ultra I had left from my RenaultSport Mégane. 6 ltrs out and 3.4 ltrs in. Whoever had "serviced" it had obviously omitted to drain the old oil and also failed to check the dipstick. The filter looked new so as I didn't have a replacement handy, it was washed in diesel and refitted. Now, that "dodgy" oil sender I was told about. Guess what? It's no longer flashing up on the dash. I wonder what could have been the cause of it coming on in the first place........
The MOT, carried out by Mr Tyre in Walsall, flagged up 3 tyres as advisory "nearing limit with uneven wear" or terms to that effect. Now bear in mind that since the MOT, this car has covered 16 miles, including my bringing it home. Both rear tyres were slick on the inside to about 1/3 width, front driver's side tyre was 1.2mm tread and nearly bald on the inside edge. The front nearside tyre shocked me the most. Slick on the inside edge with an egg on the inner sidewall, a huge gash in the outer sidewall resulting in cords just visible. The garage's response was "someone must have changed the wheels mate." Something I know to be a lie as I had already seen the car before the MOT and the wheels had the same identical scuffs. Admittedly I didn't pay too much attention to tyres as that's one of the first things I replace anyway, but it still goes to prove that this MOT centre is untrustworthy and I have submitted a report to the DVSA.
In any case, she's now had 4 new Avon ZV7s and tracking done. I originally wanted Yoko AE51 BlueEarth but only 2 were available in 225/45R17. My trained mechanic/tyre guy advised me that it's recently had new discs and pads and underneath is pretty sound.
I found a slight split in the turbo actuator hose so I've replaced this and whilst there is still a whistle, there's no longer any real lag. I will at some point treat the car to a new turbo but I quite like the whistle sound.
The car itself is in very good exterior condition for it's 14 years. Paintwork is bright and shiny with very few stone chips or scrapes. There's a slight scrape on the FNS arch and a dink behind the fuel filler but nothing severe.
Inside is pretty good but I'll reserve judgement until I've given it a full valet.
Inoperable rear wiper. I'll be removing this and blanking off the hole.
A slight dink just behind the fuel filler which has pushed the panel around the light cluster out of shape. I'll attend to this once the electrical issues are dealt with.
I have a cheap 2nd hand climate control unit on order, purely to replace the missing knob cover.
Concert works but as there's no Bluetooth I'll be replacing it with an Android unit.
Can someone explain the operation of speed limit/cruise control? I can only seem to set a limit.
