Fairly new purchase, couple of issues. Advice appreciated :)

[itissamuel]

[FONT=____noteworthy]Firstly apologies for the new thread. Found many answers searching through threads but this one is quite specific to myself.
This is a bit of a long post but I would be very grateful if anyone can time to read it all and can give me any advice on where I stand.[/FONT]
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[FONT=____noteworthy]I purchased the car late December from used car dealer.[/FONT]
[FONT=____noteworthy]2009 A3 1.9 TDIe sport[/FONT]
[FONT=____noteworthy]It's my second car and all in all I'm extremely happy with the purchase.[/FONT]
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[FONT=____noteworthy]Noticed a couple of niggles soon after I got the car:

• Glowing steering wheel warning light on the dashboard even when ignition is off
• Radio feedback when rear demister is on

Found out what was causing these thanks to the forum. Mentioned these to the dealer just before Christmas and we agreed they would get it back in to look into resolving in the new year so I'm looking to do that ASAP when I've got time off work. Have held off getting round to taking it before I knew how to approach the following:
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[FONT=____noteworthy]Couple of queries that I hope the members on here can point me in the right direction:

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[FONT=____noteworthy]I purchased the car in the basis of full Audi up to date service history.[/FONT]
[FONT=____noteworthy]Car came with 3 months warranty from the dealer and I purchased an additional 12 months for peace of mind covered by WMS[/FONT]
[FONT=____noteworthy]The car has done 83000 miles[/FONT]
[FONT=____noteworthy]Dis showing:
Service in 7600 miles 285 days
Oil change in 6600 miles 285 days [/FONT]
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[FONT=____noteworthy]I understand the car is on long life service. I was looking to get my servicing done at Audi to retain the value of the car. On top of the service schedule I'm looking to change all filters and fluids in between the service schedule, with the help of a family member who is a mechanic, to give the car the best treatment and look after it.[/FONT]
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[FONT=____noteworthy]Here are images of the service book:

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[FONT=____noteworthy]My main concern is has the timing belt been changed/should have been changed? Service book sates it should be done at 95000. I understand from other threads Audi recommend it should be done along with water pump at 80000?[/FONT]
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[FONT=____noteworthy]Can anyone recommend where I stand on this? Bite the bullet and pay out to get this done on the next service or get it done ASAP?[/FONT]
Where do I stand on talking to the dealer and inquiring they do it on the basis the car was meant to be completely up to date in terms of service?
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[FONT=____noteworthy]On a slightly different note:[/FONT]
[FONT=____noteworthy]When pulling onto my drive, my mothers' partner pointed out the dual mass flywheel sounds like its on its way out and I should look into getting it replaced along with the clutch before it goes and might possibly cause more damage.[/FONT]
[FONT=____noteworthy]I have monitored it and there's definitely an intermittent rattle noise when releasing and engaging the clutch in neutral whilst stationary. The car has a warranty so I'm presuming this would be covered if it was to fail although I've read stories of warranty companies putting it down to wear and tear. Again, similar question, due to how long I've had the car, should I bring I up with the dealer and put it on them or the warranty provider to get the flywheel and clutch replaced before they fail. I've been reading that anything within 6 months is down to the dealer to resolve?[/FONT]
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[FONT=____noteworthy]I understand there is nothing immediately wrong with the car but I just wanted to know where I stand so I can best look after the car.

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Many thanks,
Sam

 

[347]

Hi Sam

yes cam belt really should of been changed ideally
.
Have you looked towards the back of the service book , this is where the cam belt change record would be ?

yes try warranty first , worth a go , but if they dont play ball there is no major rush , my mate had a mk 5 golf 2.0 tdi with a very noisy dual mass flywheel and drove it for over 6 months without it totally failing

 

[@udi A3]

If the seller says its upto date, and is unsure of the belt status, they should be replacing it as a matter of course in my opinion.

I went back to my second hand dealer about my clutch noise picked up on a service immediatly after buying it (they said it was service but it wasnt!), he said there is no noise its my imagination. 2 weeks later the DMF was replaced by SMF and clearly the DMF was about to fall apart!

This and a few other issues, ill be very reluctant to buy from a 2nd hand dealer again.

 

[Stev_A3]

I cant help with the problems you have but why people buy 3 yr old cars with that kind of miles is beyond me!

 

[itissamuel]

Thanks for the replies.

Took a quick trip to the dealer today as has to settle a balance.
Mentioned the two issues I was having quite openly without being to forward to see where he would take it. His response to the timing belt query was that the car was built to easily make it over the 95000 as stated in the service manual. And Audi advising anything sooner was a ploy to get customers with higher mileage cars back into Audi for them to make more money.
When I mentioned the rattling dual mass flywheel he went down the route of saying it would have to actually fail before it was covered under warranty but I definitely would be looked after if it did fail. I worry this would be correct on the basis the noise wasn't there when I purchased it.

Left it on the terms that the car will be booked into a garage to get it scanned and looked into regarding the smaller issues mentioned in my original post. In the meantime I will monitor the issues and weigh up my odds and plan before contacting them again. I suppose there is always a risk buying a used car.

 

[tsvb]

With regards to the flywheel, i would take it back and get them to fix it. I too had the same problem, had a hour long test drive and all was fine. Brought the car then about week later it started to make a loud noise from the front end .
I rang the dealer the next day and got the same old " it was fine on the test drive rubbish", told him of my rights e.g. sale of good act (Google it).
Within two days i had the car fitted with brand new clutch and dual mass fly wheel.

Just don't accept poor service

 

[@udi A3]

Average milage is 12-15k miles a year. Assuming you only do this milage, if the belt or clutch fail within the 6 months or 6-7.5k miles, then the dealer will be responsible under sale of goods to repair the car.
Knowing there is a suspected fault now, if you try to claim on the warrenty in 8 months time, they may refuse it as a known fault.
If you feel there is an issue you are still able to refuse the car you could do, but you need to allow the dealer a chance to fix it first.

Personally, if the car isnt fully paid for i would ask the dealer straight, to fix the issues or offer a rebate to the tune of the repairs needed, or refuse the car.

I rushed to buy mine, paid another 200 on top for the belts to be done for my peace of mind. I also secured a part refund for the repair of the aircon, and did the work myself to cut mine and the dealers costs.

 

[The Governor]

I'll do my usual post in these sort of matters!

I think I'll just post my usual advice regarding issues like this.

Under the Sale of Goods Act any fault on a car that becomes apparent within the first six months is considered by law to have been present at the time of sale, therefore the dealer must PROVE that it wasn't, if they can't prove it wasn't they are required to fix it.

Don't take any flannel, they have to fix it, they will try to convince you it doesn't apply in this circumstance or other, because it's Uncle Tom Cobblies birthday next Tuesday or some other nonsense, but it does apply.

Just make them fix it.

[ARCHIVED CONTENT] DTI Fact Sheet Car Sales

Frequently Asked Questions | Honest John

Sale of Goods Act Explained​

 

[itissamuel]

Hello everyone,

Thought I would post a quick update about how I got on with this.
After I sent a rather lengthy email to the car dealer on the 8th March outlining my concerns in full, they agreed to take it back in to have a look at.

I dropped the car off on the 12th and first heard back from them on the 14th saying that they couldn't find the reason why the steering wheel warning light was constantly glowing slightly. They also said that if the DMF was at fault and they replaced it I may want to pay for a new clutch to be put in at the same time as only the faulty part would be under warranty. I agreed that this is what I would do knowing that ideally both should be changed at the same time.

Next heard from them on the 19th - the DMF was to be changed and I ordered my own clutch cheaper than they quoted and got it delivered to the garage within the hour.

I called them on the next day for an update, the DMF and clutch had been fitted, they were waiting for the dash pod to be returned from a specialist who had looked at it RE the glowing warning light and no fault could be found.

Got a call Fri 22nd that the car was ready but they had no idea why the steering wheel warning light was still glowing. I agreed to have the car back as I had been without it for a long period of time on the basis that some ideas about what to do with the warning light would need to be made.

They dropped the car off to my work later in the day where I quickly parked it and had to run back to work.
I noticed when I finished work that the DIS in between the dials no longer turns on at all, you can imagine my frustration after not having it for so long, getting it back with a fault no being rectified only to find something else wrong.

Called them the next day and agreed that I would take it back to the garage they had it at later this week and stay with the car whilst they work out what went wrong when putting it back in.

Have seen a couple of threads on here regarding the glowing steering wheel warning light even when the ignition is off but I cant seem to find any solution. So if anyone knows a solution that I can put forward to the dealer the resolve it I'd be more that grateful.

Many thanks all!