My new (to me) B7 Avant

dimitar.tuntov.5 said:
Good news - hope that this beauty will be on the road again
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Thanks, I hope so too. I have been test driving other cars over the last few weeks as I really thought this was going to be scrapped.

I will be glad if its fixed though, then it can take it to the shows this year
 
unitzero said:
I can't quite believe it but I have some progress..

I have been told that the third party has admitted liability (best result ! now I can relax a little knowing that my premiums shouldn't shoot up due to a claim)
A Courtesy car is being dropped off to me on Monday and my car is being taken to Audi's body shop for a full inspection and hopefully a repair.
I questioned that if the cost of repairing may possibly cause the car to be written off . They can't rule that out, although on their system my car is worth £12k (yes, I know. doesn't seem correct but hey ho !)
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yep that's great news chap, You see that £12k price pings up again, that's what I paid for mine 11 months ago from audi, well £12,500 to be exact and they were still willing to buy it back for that a month ago, but prices will vary from source to source.
when I spoke to my insurance company last month to renew my policy I asked what they would payup if mine was written off tomorrow, they quoted approx. same price 12k as that's what it would could to replace it to the same spec and model etc, fair to say that's was enough for me.
anyway hope it all goes to plan and your backup and running sooner than later with your trusty steed.
rob
 
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Very good news, just to second everyone elses comments, be great to see it all back to its pre accident pristine condition. Far far to much of a lovely example not to see it back in your hands :icon thumright:

*edit* what did your insurers provide as a courtesy car - something equivilant in size, spec ? A neighbour whose 535D Touring (and its load capacity was used to its full through his work ) was given a Daewoo Matiz.......... :rolleyes:
 
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Thanks guys.

Pretty glad it's all going in the right direction now.

gary_tfsi_quattro said:
Very good news, just to second everyone elses comments, be great to see it all back to its pre accident pristine condition. Far far to much of a lovely example not to see it back in your hands :icon thumright:

*edit* what did your insurers provide as a courtesy car - something equivilant in size, spec ? A neighbour whose 535D Touring (and its load capacity was used to its full through his work ) was given a Daewoo Matiz.......... :rolleyes:
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I have just had a B8.5 2.0 TDI Avant delivered to me. It's lovely :)
 
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Insurance have authorised the repairs at Audi !They say it will take 5 weeks due to the extent of the damage though ! :(

So it's B8 for the next month or so. It will take great will power to not modify the courtesy car hahaha
 
well that good news chap, 5 weeks isn't that long, they had my for the turbo repair for a month too so 5 weeks for bodywork is not too bad, I did enjoy the A6 allroad avant they gave me aswell.
lookforward to seeing it back all nice and straight soon.
 
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Great news, can't believe the insurers have sent it to audi. Who do you use I might swap to them next year?
 
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SDHA4SLine said:
Great news, can't believe the insurers have sent it to audi. Who do you use I might swap to them next year?
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Yeah, apparently the accident management company work closely with that particular bodyshop on a regular basis for lots of their repairs.

I'm insured by Ageas via Adrian Flux. To be honest, I wasn't impressed at first as it was taking forever but once the third party admitted fault it's been a pretty quick turnaround.
 
A4Rob said:
well that good news chap, 5 weeks isn't that long, they had my for the turbo repair for a month too so 5 weeks for bodywork is not too bad, I did enjoy the A6 allroad avant they gave me aswell.
lookforward to seeing it back all nice and straight soon.
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Hopefully it will fly by and I'll be back to buying new bits for the B7 soon :)
 
Good news :icon thumright: !!

What was the extent of the damage ? Are they having to but a new B pillar / n/s side sill panel in ? It was pretty difficult to see from the pics.
 
I thought I would have a go at refurbishing the Rotors whilst the car was in the body shop so was in need of some cheap wheels.

Found these A5 17s on eBay for a good price and local too.

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turns out that an ET of 28 with 225/50 tyres doesn't work too well on the B7. I wasn't happy about putting them on so they are now for sale !

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Really glad to hear that they're doing the repair. It really hacks me off that you have to have insurance, they grill you over everything and expect the world from you, but when you need them they exacerbate the already stressful situation by making you jump through so many hoops.

How the third party could protest innocence in that situation I'll never know-some people have no respect for others cars. To lots of people, a car is a car. New cars are now so easily accessible with needing very little monthly payments etc, that owning a new car isn't as unrealistic anymore-therefore the satisfaction of owning a new car isn't held in as higher stead as it used to be. Lots of new cars don't get treated the way a new car deserves, therefore older cars can get overlooked completely. I just spent £1284 on getting the paintwork sorted on our A4, the £84 was for the local dent guy to pull out 8 car park dings-6 of which have happened in the last year alone. Quite a few friends think I'm nuts, but I'm not. Just because it's nearly 8 years old, doesn't make the car ancient and not worth spending the money on. People are just so used to having new cars, if you have a prang with some one who doesn't care about their car and it's 4+ years old, you're expected to adopt the same mindset if they don't care about theirs. Hacks me off-just because you don't care about your car, doesn't mean I don't care about mine, regardless of it's age!

Sounds like a victory though-it's far too nice a car to let it go to the breakers: and I'd be over the moon to know it was going to Audi to be repaired. Lots of reputable repair centres out there, but (touchwood) you know anything replaced will be genuine and the work will be carried out to a high standard. Fantastic result.

Oh, and sorry for the rant!
Dan
 
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yep, have to agree, I have never lashed out on a new car, I have allways opted for a good used one and most are 5-6 years old on low milage with a couple of owners.
a car is what you make it and also how you treat it.
my avant is a 56 plate (jan 07) and despite the few issues ..... It is a great car and looks great, way better than newer models, i'm allways getting good feedback from people who see it and think it's a much newer car and a top spec version.
If you work hard to fund the car off your choice I think you'll be more likely to treat it with tlc than if it is just another motor on the driveway.
 
I had a new car once but I usually change my car every few years and like to modify them so a new car isn't a good way to spend my money.

I do however have yet another set of wheels on the way for when the car comes home :sweatsmile:
 
After having the Date of Completion moved several times over the last few weeks I eventually called the body shop to confirm and they say that Tomorrow I can have my car back !
 
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Great news you're finally getting it back mate :)

But..... New wheels?!? Why?!

You gonna manage to get to any shows with it now? Not sure what else I'm gonna be south of the border for now, probably just edition now I think - you planning on going to that?
 
ESD1711 said:
Great news you're finally getting it back mate :)

But..... New wheels?!? Why?!

You gonna manage to get to any shows with it now? Not sure what else I'm gonna be south of the border for now, probably just edition now I think - you planning on going to that?
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Because I'm addicted to buying wheels and need help !!

Supposed to be at GTI international this weekend and am cutting it mighty fine. Picking up car today, MOT Thursday and wheels Friday - then need to fit tyres and get to the show Saturday morning !

Yeah hopefully will be at Edition
 
Glad its back with you mate, shall keep an eye out for pics of new wheels :)
 
SDHA4SLine said:
Excellent, are you please with the work?
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the work is great - a little orange peel on the clear coat but wanted the car back after nearly two months so I'll sort that when I get a DA polisher

ESD1711 said:
Glad its back with you mate, shall keep an eye out for pics of new wheels :)
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thanks man - you no longer need to wait ...

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Unfortunately they wont be on for the show at the weekend due to the condition of them. ... and I had some rear tyre issues, they are a tight fit (10J) and the 235s I ordered would have hit the arch so I may go with 225 (which is what's on them now but one has super camber wear so is dead)



I knew they weren't perfect but I'd rather sort them over a few weeks rather than rush job.
 
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At first sight I wasn't a fan of your new wheels tbh, loved the HRE's but seeing the new ones on the car they do work really well and I'm converted, top job!!
 
ajax1976 said:
At first sight I wasn't a fan of your new wheels tbh, loved the HRE's but seeing the new ones on the car they do work really well and I'm converted, top job!!
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Thanks dude. Yeah they wouldn't be my 1st choice if buying new Always wanted some OZ futura on every one of my cars and still plan on having some in the future but the RH were a decent price for 3 piece wheels (although I thought they were in better condition) and they are pretty good offsets - good enough to work with anyway.
I'll take my time and clean them up the best I can and see how they look. HRE's are still on for now. I should really take them off before I end up curbing one (my drive/road is such a wheel destroyer :( )
 
a few more pics surfacing of mine from Gti International

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Looking spot on Baz! Glad to see the thing back in its natural habitat :)
 
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Looks mint that. Really good to see it repaired and looking as good as it does, very least it deserved. You and Ajax really seem to have this Avant thing nailed...

Top work!
 
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SO I have had a knocking / clunking over rough surfaces / small bumps for a while now and thought I had narrowed it down to the top arm on the passenger side where it connects to the upright leg, took it to a garage to confirm and if so to change it as do not want to wrestle any pinch bolts again !
Car was left at the garage all day yesterday to find the source of the knocking but the mechanic said he couldn't find anything that was worn enough to warrant changing. He could have chased it down by changing part after part and racking up a huge bill but wouldn't be able to put his hand on his heart and say it would be noise free even after that.
I might have to bite the bullet and buy a complete control arm set and swap the lot over. at least I can rule all those bushings out then ?

I changed a good few of them last year but never loosened off the bolts and re-tightened at my "preferred ride height" as I was supposed to. I believe this has caused the premature wear of the rubber bushes.
 
Tbh I think the nature of air ride will give bushes a hard time depending on how much you use it, the top arm bushes weren't designed to operate over the wider range that air has.
From my experience over quite a few years with various cars and bushes it's very hard to spot a bush on it's way out due to not being able to check it or see it under normal driving conditions. The Wheeler Dealers technique of prying them with a bar is great when it's shot but a bush doesn't have to be totally knackered to cause a knock or rattle, just a breakdown of the rubber itself can be enough.
Also worth a check of the stupid wee donut things on top of the airlift struts, pretty poor design imho.
Only two real choices for you, let it develop and it should be easier to spot or take the hit and change the lot.

Good luck!!
 
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Changing all the arms on mine along with springs and shocks cured every little noise i ever heard before, I definatley recommend replacing all control arms to anyone with around 100k on the clock.
 
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ajax1976 said:
Tbh I think the nature of air ride will give bushes a hard time depending on how much you use it, the top arm bushes weren't designed to operate over the wider range that air has.
From my experience over quite a few years with various cars and bushes it's very hard to spot a bush on it's way out due to not being able to check it or see it under normal driving conditions. The Wheeler Dealers technique of prying them with a bar is great when it's shot but a bush doesn't have to be totally knackered to cause a knock or rattle, just a breakdown of the rubber itself can be enough.
Also worth a check of the stupid wee donut things on top of the airlift struts, pretty poor design imho.
Only two real choices for you, let it develop and it should be easier to spot or take the hit and change the lot.

Good luck!!
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I agree, I've had the pry bar in there myself but as you say.. With the car jacked up everything is at different angles to how it is when driving. My Bora had a similar issue and did turn out to be the Airlift "top mounts" and Airlift sent be replacement parts which cured the problem. Back then I could grab the strut when jacked up and shake it to recreate the noise. New "donuts" we're put on when I fitted these struts and I can't wobble the actual strut this time.

SDHA4SLine said:
Changing all the arms on mine along with springs and shocks cured every little noise i ever heard before, I definatley recommend replacing all control arms to anyone with around 100k on the clock.
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150k on this old beast ! Replied to your PM btw :)
 
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