Intercooler seals leaking & CV boot split - 57' A3 S-Line

[chewwie]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum - so hello first of all.

The other day I took my A3 (57 plate) to Audi for a standard Oil/Filter change and inspection. On collection they said they'd found two things requiring urgent attention; 1) outer CV boot split 2) Intercooler pipe seal leaking x4.

They have quoted £903.73 to fix these issues which seemed a lot to me. Does this sound right to you guys or are they ripping me off? Would I be better taking it to a specialist or independent garage?

Any opinions/advice welcome.

- C

 

[Best84]

£900!!!!
I recently swapped an out cv boot...£27 for the kit from audi and took about an hour and im no professional.

As for the seals, do u mean the joints in the pipes? If so they are £3 per seal and can be swapped by a child in five minutes.

If you dont want to tackle the work yourself take it to an indy, will be much cheaper.

 

[chewwie]

Yea - they quoted 4 washers (£18.92) and 4 hours labour @ £538.92 (ex VAT). Suffice to say, they're taking the ****. I just got off the phone with a specialist and they laughed, saying they could replace the whole turbo in that time.

 

[A3_130]

£900 is a hell of a lot of money for that work. Even if the CV boot's been split a while and water, grit has got into the joint itself and grease has escaped meaning it has worn and needs replacing they are only about £160 each from Audi dealer. Unless the intercooler needs replacing it's crazy money what they're quoting you. The seals sound like the little O rings you need and they are only a few quid each and as Best 84 says are really quick an easy to change. Try an independent garage you trust or have a go at the work yourself - not a bad job. I've been doing CV joints on my older A3 recently, I'd thought it would be a difficult job but turns out they're easy to tap on and off the driveshaft for replacement.

 

[maffew]

Wow that's a dear job. I've got the EXACT same issues with my A3 at the moment. CV boot kit I got for £20 from Audi. Though probably could have got cheaper at Euro Car parts or whatever. And the Intercooler hose O-Rings (if this is what you're referring to) I got from Audi for £3.49 each (needed two). I can fit the o-rings myself, not sure about the CV boot though.

They are certainly trying to rip you off big time there.

 

[MrLapou]

Name and shame the garage who's charging £900!!!
CV boot needs to be done asap, as dirt in the joint will lead to premature failure and large repair bill.
Depending where you live, take car to a specialist independent garage.

 

[SAiLO]

Overpriced.

 

[TDI140]

Haah slap the garage manager i replaced whole intercooler and forge hoses for £400 lol, get forge hoses and couplers and buy new seals the jack the car up and remove undertray and fit them your self pal it take about. 20minutes from start to finish its so easy mate cv boot is a bit hard i need mine doing but ill get my mechanic to do it and hub drive shaft need to come out

 

[Best84]

Haah slap the garage manager i replaced whole intercooler and forge hoses for £400 lol, get forge hoses and couplers and buy new seals the jack the car up and remove undertray and fit them your self pal it take about. 20minutes from start to finish its so easy mate cv boot is a bit hard i need mine doing but ill get my mechanic to do it and hub drive shaft need to come out

I did my driver side cv boot this weekend.
Crack driveshaft bolt. Drop the wheel off. Lower arch liner bumper side. Three bolts connecting wishbone to balljoint and pull off the suspension arm, now the driveshaft can be pulled from the arm then just undo the six bolts on the back of the driveshaft. I did two at a time taking it out of gear and spinning the shaft as access is fairly limited. Then pop in a vice and use a mallet to pop the end of he shaft off..replace job done. U have to renew driveshaft bolt and haynes recommend renewing the balljoint to wishbone nuts too. This is from memory may have missed something.

Trust me if i can do it anyone can.