Hey all, long time since I've posted, will keep this as short & succinct as possible.
Background: My 3.0TDI S-line Avant Tiptronic is pretty poorly, and I need to weigh up fixing vs replacing.
Car has done 112k, has literally every option from factory, owned by me for 7 years and fits my life perfectly (ie I can throw the kids/dogs in it, leave at the train station and our nanny does most of the miles in it. I now WFH full time.) It's pretty tatty cosmetically and a CAT D so worth peanuts, maybe £3k on a very good day.
However, the engine is smooth and powerful (remapped), gearbox smooth, adaptive suspension still works, everything mechanically feels good.
Big Issues:
1) Dynamic steering rack was ******* hydraulic fluid, had it replaced with a genuine used dynamic rack (checked part no's) but now it fails the calibration. This kills the adaptive cruise control, auto handbrake and ESP (which means MOT fail next week)
2) MMI has died - water ingress in boot. It shows splash screen, then dies. I opened up the B&O amp and there was water damage so sent off for repair, but it didn't fix the issue. Have a fibre optic loop on the way to find issue - suspect it's the "5F" headunit which are about £600 on ebay, and need to be coded to the car.
3) Sunroof rear drain plug - I've had the wheel arch liner off and tried to unblock the pipe but it's well and truly bunged up. Also suspect it's leaking where the pipe meets the cassette.
Minor issues:
Three of the door locks are faulty (I replaced these myself with ebay specials, it was always going to happen)
Lane guidance works sometimes, then cuts out.
I have corrosion on the inside of two alloy wheels - means every 3-4 months I have to take to the tyre specialist to "clean up" because they start to lose air, so I have a warning light on right now - can't reset the pressures because the MMI is dead.
What I've spent recently:
B&O Amp repair: £280
New Springs all round: ~£300 (can't remember RN)
New Brake Pads: ~£80 (can't remember RN)
Two new tyres: ~£240
Slow puncture repairs: £50
Total: £900-£1,200
What I'm likely to need to spend:
Adaptive cruise diag / calibration: £250? (includes required tracking correction before they can rerun the calibration)
MMI module + coding: £700?
Used 19 inch alloy wheel set: £500?
Sunroof: £££££££ (or bodge it)
Total: £1,500 - £2,000
It's due and service MOT next week, but in it's current state it will fail. I've had it 8 years and don't want to change it, but I'm also reluctant to throw more money at it.
There isn't anything on Autotrader that I'd want to replace it with for less than ~£20k (another 4WD, auto, V6 estate/SUV with all the toys).
Current frontrunners are: Late gen 1 RRS, Early gen 2 RRS, Jag XF Sportbrake, A6 BiTDI. I couldn't be less interested in buying / driving / owning any of these cars.
So, question is - what would you do?! Keep thowing money at the ol' warhorse, or get something new?
Background: My 3.0TDI S-line Avant Tiptronic is pretty poorly, and I need to weigh up fixing vs replacing.
Car has done 112k, has literally every option from factory, owned by me for 7 years and fits my life perfectly (ie I can throw the kids/dogs in it, leave at the train station and our nanny does most of the miles in it. I now WFH full time.) It's pretty tatty cosmetically and a CAT D so worth peanuts, maybe £3k on a very good day.
However, the engine is smooth and powerful (remapped), gearbox smooth, adaptive suspension still works, everything mechanically feels good.
Big Issues:
1) Dynamic steering rack was ******* hydraulic fluid, had it replaced with a genuine used dynamic rack (checked part no's) but now it fails the calibration. This kills the adaptive cruise control, auto handbrake and ESP (which means MOT fail next week)
2) MMI has died - water ingress in boot. It shows splash screen, then dies. I opened up the B&O amp and there was water damage so sent off for repair, but it didn't fix the issue. Have a fibre optic loop on the way to find issue - suspect it's the "5F" headunit which are about £600 on ebay, and need to be coded to the car.
3) Sunroof rear drain plug - I've had the wheel arch liner off and tried to unblock the pipe but it's well and truly bunged up. Also suspect it's leaking where the pipe meets the cassette.
Minor issues:
Three of the door locks are faulty (I replaced these myself with ebay specials, it was always going to happen)
Lane guidance works sometimes, then cuts out.
I have corrosion on the inside of two alloy wheels - means every 3-4 months I have to take to the tyre specialist to "clean up" because they start to lose air, so I have a warning light on right now - can't reset the pressures because the MMI is dead.
What I've spent recently:
B&O Amp repair: £280
New Springs all round: ~£300 (can't remember RN)
New Brake Pads: ~£80 (can't remember RN)
Two new tyres: ~£240
Slow puncture repairs: £50
Total: £900-£1,200
What I'm likely to need to spend:
Adaptive cruise diag / calibration: £250? (includes required tracking correction before they can rerun the calibration)
MMI module + coding: £700?
Used 19 inch alloy wheel set: £500?
Sunroof: £££££££ (or bodge it)
Total: £1,500 - £2,000
It's due and service MOT next week, but in it's current state it will fail. I've had it 8 years and don't want to change it, but I'm also reluctant to throw more money at it.
There isn't anything on Autotrader that I'd want to replace it with for less than ~£20k (another 4WD, auto, V6 estate/SUV with all the toys).
Current frontrunners are: Late gen 1 RRS, Early gen 2 RRS, Jag XF Sportbrake, A6 BiTDI. I couldn't be less interested in buying / driving / owning any of these cars.
So, question is - what would you do?! Keep thowing money at the ol' warhorse, or get something new?