Audi 0 - Cardboard 1

I have just had the hybrid put in, a custom map, some other engine work and to top it off a nice front bumper respray (Calling all hybrid turbo owners)

I picked up the car from the tuners last Thursday looking like this:



The weekend goes well and I'm liking the power... roll on monday and its Eid, Eid Mubaruk to anyone out there who was celebrating it... So i take the car out to get to the Mosque for prayers and i notice the battery light keeps coming on and then randomly disappearing whilst I'm driving, this gets me really worried so when i get home i start ringing around trying to see if anyone can sort out the Alternator thats about to pack up on me... thing is i need the car to go and visit family and do about 200 miles trip from Kent to Milton Keynes, back to West London and then back to Kent.

Now my mates who are professional mechanics are telling me not to drive the car anywhere other than a garage since the car might just pack up all together! Great just what i needed
So i ditch the Audi at home since i have a long day ahead and take the wife's Yaris for a spin around the country.

So on Tuesday i take the car up to my mates garage and leave it with him to do his magic and i go off to work, a couple hours later he calls me back and say its all done and working nicely... for his trouble it that costs me £260

Well at least its all done now and i can enjoy it.

So Wednesday I'm going to work on the usual route up the A2 to London... I'm driving behind a big white transit like van so i can't see a ****** thing ahead when out of nowhere he runs over a massive piece of cardboard... i slam my brakes but it doesn't help much as this thing slams into the front bumper and then after a second disappears under my car... i pull over to see that the thing has cracked right through my RS3 grill


the offending cardboard:







The grill











It also managed to scratch the bumper and bonnet and crack some of the paintwork.
After i got to work i did my best to pull it out and straighten it a bit but my heart was broken... my car was in pieces






So i started calling around trying to find out where i could get a replacement one... the aftermarket ones on ebay looked ok but i couldn't find one in the same colour as mine... either in glossy black or a stunningly ugly bright silver. I was told to get the cheaper ones and spray it to the colour i wanted but i just couldn't bring myself to do that, i would always know that its not the same thing and whenever i would look at the front i would just be disappointed.

I called the guys at TPS who managed to sort out a really good price on a brand new OEM RS3 grill that i could collect the next day. I also saw an OEM one on ebay from Germany but by the time i paid delivery i would have pretty much paid the TPS price so i just ordered it and went home on Wednesday feeling like crap.


Thursday morning came and i drove straight to TPS and collected my brand new RS3 grill... handed over best part of £600 and then went to work feeling a bit sore in the behind... felt like audi had pull down my trousers and shoved all 4 rings.... yeah you get what I'm saying.

i have been looking into it and it looks like i can claim off the council for the debris so i am working on that... but on the bright side i had something to look forward to doing on thursday evening... fitting a new grill!

and here it is... fresh clean sexy RS3 grill!




and also i have a brand new RS3 badge available if anyone wants to buy it?




Now i need to sort out another respray... what an expensive week!