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Chriswt said:
I can happily confirm that the noise has not happened again. The car seems to develop these little gremlins and after a few sleepless nights the problems disappear.
I was aware that the car can notify the driver of a fault by way of the DIS display but to actually fix itself is damn impressive.
As our cars were likely to have shared the same boat over from Germany to Blitey back in 99 can I ask if you've had any probelms with it and if you have changed the head unit?
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Chris,
I promised to get back to you about my own 2.8Q, seeing as it seems to have been born in the same litter as yours. I've tried sending a PM, but I don't think it's been sent. Anyway, I got mine in May 2003, from S G Smith Audi Centre in Beckenham, South London. It came with about 55,000 miles on it, & I paid £12,500. I could tell immediately it had had a hard life with the previous owners, but I figured an Audi approved used warranty would take care of that. Sadly, that proved only half true. I had a lot of problems with the dealer failing to inspect the car properly & fix obvious faults before delivery.
In the first month, it went back to them four times to have new rear wheel bearings, a new centre console, driver's door realigned, a new trim strip on the door itself, various other bits of interior trim either replaced or re-fitted. In between times, I had the wheels re-furbished one at a time, at a cost of £45 per wheel. In august, I replaced all four tyres (Goodyear NCTs, hard as hell & VERY noisy) with Michelins. At that point, three months in, I think I started to enjoy owning it.
Quite simply, it's a great car. I love the engine, I love the tiptronic gearbox, and I love the 4WD. In terms of power, and the ability to put it on the road, it is better than any car I've ever experienced. The interior is in blue leather, & the seats are the sports jobs. The equipment levels aren't high, though. No cruise, no steering wheel gear-switches, manual rear windows, & manual unheated seats.
The Audi Concert head unit was more than just the usual mediocre piece of junk. On mine, the built-in aeriel amplifier expired, leaving me with zero AM reception. A few weeks ago, I junked the Concert HU & CD changer for an new Alpine system. It's still on the original speakers, but even with them in place, it's a revelation. If you're are even thinking of replacing the HU, don't delay, do it. Alpine are by far & away the best make (if you don't believe me, ask "Andymac", one of the forum regulars & an expert on ICE). I chose one with a dark fascia, plus a red display, so it blends really well with the original dash.
Last month, we took the car up to the Isle of Bute, off the west coast of Scotland. It covered about 1500 miles in a week, & I've never enjoyed a driving holiday so much. Aside from a seemingly incurable excess of road noise, particularly from the rear tyres, this car is close to perfection for me.
Finally, last week, I picked up a Classic Road Angel on Ebay, for £200 brand-new including 3-year subscription. I attached it to the top right corner of the dash, by the windscreen pillar, & ran the cable down the side of the dash, along the bottom ridge of the dash ahead of the driver & along the inside of the centre console. The only bit that's visible is the plug that goes into the cigar lighter socket. It's only been in since Tuesday, but it's a licence-saver, make no mistake!
Have fun with yours, mate. Fingers crossed, you've chosen a great car. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif
