I bought the car from a local independent garage on the 31st March this year and by the 6th April I noticed it was losing coolant (approx 100ml every 100 miles) so I went back to the garage fearing a cracked head. Since then they've done everything other than replace the head to try and solve the coolant loss (EGR stripped and cleaned, the matrix checked along with the radiator, hoses and expansion tank).
I had the car back a couple of days and after completing a 200 mile motorway drive I lost another 200ml of coolant so I went back to the garage with information from this forum, a second opinion from an Independent Audi Specialist and guidance from a lawyer. The garage finally agreed that the head needed replaced and I gave them the option of doing the repair at their expense or providing me with a full refund under The Sale of Goods Act. They chose to repair the car but will only do what's legally required to make the car fit for purpose which is why I'm covering the costs of the new cam belt and water pump.
I think I've been extremely lucky as the car was sold to me without any warranty and as well as the head being replaced the garage have already replaced a rear brake calliper, a set of pads and two front wheel bearings at no cost to me. The whole incident has been handled pretty well by them and their outlook has been that 'you win some you lose some'.
Clearly in my case it's the garage that have been the losers as they're having to do a £1400 repair on the car (£1000 for parts and £400 for labour).
BTW I checked the upside down number beneath the fuel lines as per another Thread on this forum (which I can't find now) and saw it was the first number in that Thread and that all the heads with that number had cracked or were porous.
