I Bought an A3 TDI 2.0 '03 plate from used car dealer but new shape on Jan 14th. Didn't know about porous cylinder head issues on these early TDI models at this time (see my other posts) 2 weeks later, oh no, coolant leak. The used car dealer took it to the garage they use and tested it. They couldn't find a cause. It has been in this used dealers approved garage 3 times since because the coolant continued to leak. No courtesy car was provided despite me asking.
Eventually, I took it to an Audi dealership who were quite good and who listened to me (but were expensive) and found it to be a porous cylinder head. This, of course, costs thousands to replace so I have been trying to get the used car dealer to sort it out because the leak has been there since I bought it and there is an automatic 3 month warranty with any car purchased from a used dealer. The used car dealer refused to pay for the diagnostics done by Audi because they say diagnostics are not covered under the warranty. I did not purchase the car on finance so I cant just refuse to pay.
I have heard that Audi should make a goodwill contribution towards the cost of this because, even though its not under warranty, its still a manufacturing defect.
In addition the cam belt hadn't been changed at 80k miles and I bought it at 87k. I should have picked up on this but anyway I spoke to the used car dealer I got it from. They agreed to go halves on the cam belt, tensioners and water pump change as a goodwill gesture.
The people at the garage (that the used car dealer deal with) didn't replace with G12+ coolant when changing the cam belt (and I wonder if they bothered testing the leak properly) I worry that they might not have carried out the cam belt change fully/properly and thought at the time that I might ask the Audi dealer to look (expensively) at that if they end up doing the cylinder head change.
I phoned Consumer Direct who were quite helpful. They said the car should be sold in a satisfactory condition, and if not I should be entitled to repair/refund or replacement. They told me to write a letter to dealer headed with re: Sale of goods act and explain the situation. I did that and the dealer has wrote back saying "we will look at coolant again, we're sorry, we tried to help you etc."
Once it got back from the Audi dealership, I wrote back to the user car dealer telling them it was found to be the cylinder head. They phoned back a couple weeks later, and said they would to take the car to another dealer (not the Audi dealership) that specialises in VW Audi vehicles to fix it.
They had it over the course of the next week, eventually after a week they phoned to return it and said in these words its been fixed, and for all your trouble weve purchased a years extended warranty with the RAC with £300 for the next year, in case anything else goes wrong. Not that we expect anything else to go wrong.
Awww. How nice of them.
The saga continued. The coolant level warning stopped going off, but, the coolant level still kept dropping. I suspect that all that the apparent VW Audi specialist did was actually disable the coolant level warning sensor. I also am suspicious that the used car dealer purchased the warranty so they could make a claim for the cylinder head once I complained again.
Needless to say I have phoned the dealer again. They, of course, phoned the RAC to make a claim and have asked me to bring it back in to them. The word dodgy springs to mind.
Think I might have been unlucky with this car? Well, in addition to all the above, whilst it was at the Audi dealership, another customer dented it and so the customer had to make an insurance claim and it went to a bodyshop to be fixed. Well at least Audi gave me a free full valet apparently worth £75 for all the trouble!
At this point the car looked great. Not for long. Two days later a 17-year-old went into the back of it and recreated some of the previous damage and then some. Anyway that was all fixed with a courtesy car at no cost to me, but what an annoyance! As if it hasnt been in and out of garages enough!
The word jinxed springs to mind too. A lot of people say I should get rid (or torch it!) but (1) I dont really want to be dishonest / pass the car with the cylinder head problem to some poor other person and (2) Ive spent money on it already and am not sure if Im ready to count my losses without seeing this through.
I dont know what to do. Any suggestions?
Eventually, I took it to an Audi dealership who were quite good and who listened to me (but were expensive) and found it to be a porous cylinder head. This, of course, costs thousands to replace so I have been trying to get the used car dealer to sort it out because the leak has been there since I bought it and there is an automatic 3 month warranty with any car purchased from a used dealer. The used car dealer refused to pay for the diagnostics done by Audi because they say diagnostics are not covered under the warranty. I did not purchase the car on finance so I cant just refuse to pay.
I have heard that Audi should make a goodwill contribution towards the cost of this because, even though its not under warranty, its still a manufacturing defect.
In addition the cam belt hadn't been changed at 80k miles and I bought it at 87k. I should have picked up on this but anyway I spoke to the used car dealer I got it from. They agreed to go halves on the cam belt, tensioners and water pump change as a goodwill gesture.
The people at the garage (that the used car dealer deal with) didn't replace with G12+ coolant when changing the cam belt (and I wonder if they bothered testing the leak properly) I worry that they might not have carried out the cam belt change fully/properly and thought at the time that I might ask the Audi dealer to look (expensively) at that if they end up doing the cylinder head change.
I phoned Consumer Direct who were quite helpful. They said the car should be sold in a satisfactory condition, and if not I should be entitled to repair/refund or replacement. They told me to write a letter to dealer headed with re: Sale of goods act and explain the situation. I did that and the dealer has wrote back saying "we will look at coolant again, we're sorry, we tried to help you etc."
Once it got back from the Audi dealership, I wrote back to the user car dealer telling them it was found to be the cylinder head. They phoned back a couple weeks later, and said they would to take the car to another dealer (not the Audi dealership) that specialises in VW Audi vehicles to fix it.
They had it over the course of the next week, eventually after a week they phoned to return it and said in these words its been fixed, and for all your trouble weve purchased a years extended warranty with the RAC with £300 for the next year, in case anything else goes wrong. Not that we expect anything else to go wrong.
Awww. How nice of them.
The saga continued. The coolant level warning stopped going off, but, the coolant level still kept dropping. I suspect that all that the apparent VW Audi specialist did was actually disable the coolant level warning sensor. I also am suspicious that the used car dealer purchased the warranty so they could make a claim for the cylinder head once I complained again.
Needless to say I have phoned the dealer again. They, of course, phoned the RAC to make a claim and have asked me to bring it back in to them. The word dodgy springs to mind.
Think I might have been unlucky with this car? Well, in addition to all the above, whilst it was at the Audi dealership, another customer dented it and so the customer had to make an insurance claim and it went to a bodyshop to be fixed. Well at least Audi gave me a free full valet apparently worth £75 for all the trouble!
At this point the car looked great. Not for long. Two days later a 17-year-old went into the back of it and recreated some of the previous damage and then some. Anyway that was all fixed with a courtesy car at no cost to me, but what an annoyance! As if it hasnt been in and out of garages enough!
The word jinxed springs to mind too. A lot of people say I should get rid (or torch it!) but (1) I dont really want to be dishonest / pass the car with the cylinder head problem to some poor other person and (2) Ive spent money on it already and am not sure if Im ready to count my losses without seeing this through.
I dont know what to do. Any suggestions?
