Advice please....... (be warned its a long story)

Also as even if i do decide to go for broke (literally) and let Audi try n work out why my S3 is still ******** i am gonna need to get something else so that i can let my Dad have his car back and still commute to work. Any suggestions as i would only have a limited budget eg less than £1500 and would want something that is ok to sit on the motorway with and still fun to drive.
 
How much space do you need?

Mk2 MR2's are pretty good fun to drive, reliable too

306 GTI-6's are pretty decent too, made of paper but the engines are strong and soooo much better to drive than an S3
 
Don't need too much space but depending on how long i have to keep it i would like something semi practical. Oh and i want something quite comfy as i suffer from a bad back which is why i sold my Scooby and got the S3.

I have thought about MR2's as i like the idea of mid engine rear wheel drive n 2 seats does not put me off as have no kids etc...

Am currently looking on autotrader things i have seen so far are Mk3 Golf GTI's, Seat Ibiza/Toledo GTI, Peugeot 306 XSI/GTI 6 oh and Corrado's as i like them. Also seen a few old Audi Coupe's are they any good? Everything i have seen are £1500 or less as need to keep the budget down. Also wanna be able to sell (just incase i get my S3 back) for similar so i do not lose too much more money.
 
audi upgrades
I wouldnt bother with the mk3 gti or corrado - but ibiza GTi's are a hoot to drive, are as the 306's

The MR2's (n/a) actually feel quite slow, but handle brilliantly in the dry, just make sure they have the right size, good quality staggered tyres on or you'll go spinning into the nearest hedge on the first rainy day.

You could also probably get an E36 318is for that money, not too slow, comfy and good to drive too.
 
Or a Mk2 prelude, ugly as hell but the 2.2 is a brilliant engine
 
Think you would be mad to spend £5000 trying to sort it out. Get the spanners out and get it broke! only my opinion of course!! Cant believe Audi cant sort it out. Gutted for you mate. Keep your chin up.
 
Sorry just reread your post. Thought Audi were going to charge you another £5000 trying to find the fault.
 
nah the bill at Audi is £1100ish so far but as they don't know whats wrong then it could be time for very deep pockets etc..

Still looking for cheap alternatives at the mo as i don't really know what else to do. Still not sure if i should keep going with Audi hour by hour n hope that they can find this problem. Or cut my losses now and just see what i can get for the car in its present condition.
 
Just been to see Audi in person :

Spoke to thier Assistant Service Manager as the guy i had been dealing with is off ill. Anyway had a bit of a chat and basically explained my concerns of not being made of money and that i would not be able to fund them looking at my car for hours n hours in the hope they may find what is wrong.

The conclusion of the meeting is that Audi are going to have a chat between themselves eg the guys i have been talking to plus the technician 2moro. I have then agreed to let the technician have 1 more day working on the car. This is mostly due to the fact that Audi are going to basically give me a buy one hour get another free kinda deal so i just hope that they can get to the bottom of this problem once and for all.

Fingers crossed is all i can do now
 
A3steve said:
I'm wondering whether it would be quicker (cheaper) to replace sections of the loom?
Click to expand...

Yeah i have been thinking that too but the problem is Audi still are not sure whats wrong with the car so really it all needs to be tested, and once a part is confirmed to be ok it can be eliminated as the cause of the problem. i have even been thinking of replacement engines etc but if the fault is electrical that may well not even solve the issue. gotta just hope the Technician is having a good day tomorrow and that he gets lucky and finds and fixes the problem!!
 
audi upgrades
Stewart said:
Bob, there is a whole 99 S3 (with blown head gasket) for sale on ebay for £5k!
Click to expand...

Thanks thats another option to keep in mind will go on ebay and put it in my watch list.
 
By that I mean that if you were looking at spending £5k anyway, you could buy that and swap bits till you sort the problem (thereby identifying the problem) then spend the money to sort the 99 S3 and perhaps make some of your money back.

Will require plenty DIY and help from mechanic friends, if you have some, if you haven't go buy some (literally).
 
I have been reading this and feel for you Rob I really do.

But I have to point out what seemed obvious to me from early on....I just dont think you've taken your car to the right places. AB tech, well you have a different opinion of them now....but then to go to Audi.......£100 per hour for guys who bolt brake pads in and change oil etc........to investigate a fault of the nature you have.......sorry, but I think you need a specialist place that knows these motors inside out, not an Audi dealer who's main priority is their bottom line and for the techs, their bonus!!

I very much doubt they will diagnose the problem, more likely start randomly changing things and charge you for all the things that dont work.

A GOOD specialist will charge £50 per hour, have more knowledge about suhc things and be more motivated to sort it out....Southampton Audi dont care if they dont find the problem and you let everyone know they cannot like Abtech could not...?!?? A specialist is surely the way to go with this, also you are tryign to get Audi find something that you can pin on Abtech....they have the ultimate get out clause for not being ablee to sort the problem.....?

Now I dont know who to recommend as such, but I would suggest, depending on the status of the car itself now, ie running, not running, running badly, drivable etc, that if its drivable you take it to someone that can run some professional vag come logs on it whilst on the move....... Thsi should highlight your problem more accurately than "its getting too much air....." (what does that even mean.....!??!? At idle, under load, too weak a mixture what....?).

In my slightly cynical opinion, you wont get too far at Audi, they just dont knwo enough about what are pretty old cars now.
If vagcome and logging cannot pinpoint the problem, you then need to think about having someone strip the motor out, and chekc every single pipe, valve, wire etc etc for damage splits etc.....?

Or burn it for the insurance! !

Sorry Rob,m for what you are going through and you are doing the hand deep in pocket thing with supposed experts, but IMO you may have been better to speak with other people about this.....?!

good luck with it
 
Simch,

What you have said makes sense but the problem i had was that after speaking to a lawyer in regards to getting ABtech to sort the car as it seemed as if they caused this fault when doing the initial job, I was told i would need proof in order to go through the small claims court and the best people to have this from would be Audi themselves as they are the original manufacturer.

I am hopeful Audi can sort it but i can't just let them keep looking forever, I think if they can't work out whats wrong today or soon then i will have to sell the car cheap with the problem to cut my losses and just buy something else.

Would love to be able to just get rid of the car claim on the insurance so an accidental fire could be very useful.

Thanks for the support n advice
 
Just remember, should the car randomly catch fire or be magically stolen etc - the delete thread button is your friend lol
 
Yes, and make sure you dont use your credit card to buy the petrol and swan vestas on the way to the deserted field where it happends! hahaha!!

I know what you mean but having sunk the time and cash in it would be a shame to let it go cheap.
 
yeah will have to cover my tracks well if that happens!!

I think the best option would be to find the local Chav's in my area and then accidently leave the car unlocked with the keys in the ignition. After they thrash the nuts off the car and dump it somewhere i can then claim this problem was caused by them and get the insurance to cough up!!

Will remember the delete thread button at that point :undwech:
 
Out of interest if anyone knows of a specialist like Simch suggested in the Hampshire area can you pass on the details to me as it won't hurt contacting them to see what they say.

Cheers
 
Stewart said:
Your insurance wont pay out if they know the keys were left in the ignition :)
Click to expand...

Wont tell them that i will say the little gits ambushed me and stole my keys etc...
 
vrbob said:
Simch,

...I was told i would need proof in order to go through the small claims court and the best people to have this from would be Audi themselves as they are the original manufacturer...
Click to expand...

The problem with what you've said above is that basically Southampton Audi are just like any other garage, except they've spent a lot of money in order to display the Audi rings above the door. They are a franchise and are not the manufacturer as such, but then you knew that.

I have to agree with simch that most modern Audi dealerships don't have the kind of specialist skills and knowledge to trace, diagnose and fix this kind of fault. They are just adept at servicing and replacing bits and if the fault code doesn't pop up, they are pretty clueless in my experience.

I also agree you need to find somebody who is an experienced specialist, somebody like Ben Williamson from the Audi Driver magazine, although I don't know off the top of my head who he works for.

Best of luck trying to sort it out though.
 
Magazine's etc could be an idea - have you considered contacting any with your experience with ABT etc

Could give a big push towards you getting some of your money back.

Maybe worth a thought
 
Like the magazine idea will have a looksie via google in a while n see if i can find any with some contact details.
 
I would suggest some people like MRC, Vagcheck, (WAKTT off TT Forum), Vince at Stealth in Leamingtom Spa, RSD nr Banbury, Jabbasport, APS in Brackley, any of the custom mappers etc.
You could also try the 18t engine conversion specialists, check out Edition 38 site for more details. These guys really know these motors inside out.
 
simch said:
I would suggest some people like MRC, Vagcheck, (WAKTT off TT Forum), Vince at Stealth in Leamingtom Spa, RSD nr Banbury, Jabbasport, APS in Brackley, any of the custom mappers etc.
You could also try the 18t engine conversion specialists, check out Edition 38 site for more details. These guys really know these motors inside out.
Click to expand...

Thats some food for thought, Was thinking about contacting Storm motorsport as they do engine conversions and allsorts so maybe they could sort it and even remap it at the same time!!
 
WUUUUUUUHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Just got off the phone with Audi and it looks as if they have fixed the car :jump:

they are gonna test it 2moro to make sure all is actually spot on ok and then contact me so i may well be re-S3'd by 2moro afternoon!!!!

They have told me what was up with the car and it was a faulty part will let you guys have a guess as what that part was for a bit. But its not a part ABTech touched during the fix of the clutch etc... so looks like coincidence rather than bad mechanics.

Donations towards my Audi bill are greatfully recieved :thumbsup:
 
According to Audi it is now reading well within the limits acceptable. But they wanna cold test the car 2moro to be 100% sure. Fingers crossed indeed!

Not a split hose, Its more of a faulty part than a broken or damaged part.
 
vrbob said:
According to Audi it is now reading well within the limits acceptable. But they wanna cold test the car 2moro to be 100% sure. Fingers crossed indeed!

Not a split hose, Its more of a faulty part than a broken or damaged part.
Click to expand...

Ahh, ECU?
 
Nah, Not the ECU allthough i have got a new one!!

Think more parts the air actually passes thru and before you say it its not the MAF.
 
evotista said:
It wasn't the MAP sensor was it? (Manifold Air Pressure) sensor.....
Click to expand...

Good guess but not right.

Its literally right under your nose when you open the bonnet
 
good guess but not right Rickparmer,

It begins with a T
 
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