My A3 failed its MOT costing more than the cars worth!

[benjibarnicals]

Hey all,

I've got a conundrum, my A3 went in for its MOT earlier today but the garage has spotted some large faults that are putting the repair bill to about £2k to put right, more than what I would think the car's worth! The faults are:

ABS Pump has gone
Rear nearside spring cracked (car's sitting on FK Coilovers)
Nearside brake calliper ceased
Brake's are only working partly on one side
Issue communicating with the ECU (but could be because of a voltage fault)
Oil leak coming down the exhaust from a leak near the turbo
Intercooler needs replacing
Emissions are too high (probably caused by oil down the pipe and not having a service for a while).

However saying all this the car starts up, drives ok, so if the ECU was blown I wouldn't expect the car to turn over at all.

All in all, with a couple of other minor other issues like HID's being used etc the estimated cost of repair is a little overwhelming.

On the flip side, I've spent a few hundred pounds a couple of weeks ago putting 4 new tyres on, doing just under 200 miles on them.

The car is staying at the mechanics for the moment until I work out what next to do.

Question is, what to do with the car, the garage has suggested scrapping it or stripping it down but I'm not a mechanic or have the facilities or space to do this. I would much prefer someone who has a passion for it to take it off my hands!

I can put up some pics or PM people if anyone's interested or has advice.

Hope this makes sense.



Cheers,

Ben

 

[markm,]

Sounds a lot like BS, I think you would know if you had no brakes working correctly.. I would find a local mobile mechanic to assist you for a once over. will cost about £25 for a check over. normally they do it for free.

 

[Nessy]

I agree that a lot of it sounds suspect, I’d be tempted to find a garage that does NOT do repairs ( and so have no vested interest) and have a re-test.
You might find that whilst still a fail, it might be a lot less extensive than the initial list!

 

[benjibarnicals]

Thanks, both, I should have said while I understand that garages are mostly looking out for themselves I know this garage well with a good friend that looks after the mechanical side of things, so I do trust what they say.

Brakes yes, there is play I know of in the brakes, the car stops, don't get me wrong! But I've had a brake binded before on the care and even though one break wasn't working as should the car would still break ok.

The MOT runs out tomorrow so from a legality side of things after tomorrow I can't move the car on the road.

The estimate costs I was quoted however was parts, labour included. I suppose I could get hold of second hand ABS pumps, FK spring It would shave some cost off that, but I guess you can't tell how well second items like this will last.

Thanks chaps, i'll keep an eye on here if anyone wants a little project to give some TLC too!

 

[ch1z64]

Simples answer to all your questions if the guy is so sure it would be better to break and you think he is 100% genuine on what he says well its a no brainer just break it will save you asking for advice .
What tyres do you have as i could be interested

 

[gokiwi64]

What part of the MOT tests the ECU ?, How do they know its blown ?

 

[Retroman]

I (DIY) replaced the discs and pads on mine (all 4) for around £160 (Pagid). I had a slightly sticking front which was down to very dirty slider pins, which I cleaned up with wire wool and brake lube. You could do it even cheaper with the in-house budget brand - www.carparts4less.co.uk. My front discs are 312mm and rear I think 255mm. The rear TRW callipers are prone to seizing inside but new they are around £60-70 each.

 

[benjibarnicals]

Simples answer to all your questions if the guy is so sure it would be better to break and you think he is 100% genuine on what he says well its a no brainer just break it will save you asking for advice .
What tyres do you have as I could be interested

I'm not a mechanic so as much as simple things like taking wheels off etc I can do, though I'm not able to break the car myself or have space to even do it. Though I know I'd get more money for it if it was stripped

The ECU isn't blown per se, that I'm aware of, perhaps I phrased it wrong. But basically, they mentioned they're not able to communicate with the ECU, which I guess could be as simple as a dodgy ODB connector or something like the ABS or a voltage issue around the system causing it? I'm not sure.

What I'd ideally like is for someone to take a punt and take the whole car, perhaps a mechanic or garage who can forgo the cost of labour to get it back running to sell on, the garage it's at at the moment doesn't take on older cars like this so its not something they'd do.

One thing to note the MOT is up tomorrow so it can't be moved easily without I guess a trailer.

I'm thinking perhaps stick it on eBay.

 

[aqibi2000]

The ECU isn't blown per se, that I'm aware of, perhaps I phrased it wrong. But basically, they mentioned they're not able to communicate with the ECU, which I guess could be as simple as a dodgy ODB connector or something like the ABS or a voltage issue around the system causing it? I'm not sure.

Straight up tell them to F off, why are they plugging into your Obd port during an MOT? It is not part of the process.

They want your £££

 

[ch1z64]

I'm not a mechanic so as much as simple things like taking wheels off etc I can do, though I'm not able to break the car myself or have space to even do it. Though I know I'd get more money for it if it was stripped

The ECU isn't blown per se, that I'm aware of, perhaps I phrased it wrong. But basically, they mentioned they're not able to communicate with the ECU, which I guess could be as simple as a dodgy ODB connector or something like the ABS or a voltage issue around the system causing it? I'm not sure.

What I'd ideally like is for someone to take a punt and take the whole car, perhaps a mechanic or garage who can forgo the cost of labour to get it back running to sell on, the garage it's at at the moment doesn't take on older cars like this so its not something they'd do.

One thing to note the MOT is up tomorrow so it can't be moved easily without I guess a trailer.

I'm thinking perhaps stick it on eBay.

Not meaning to sound rude mate but your here asking advice and people are given you it . But the more i read this post the more you are set on selling it so why not just put it either in the classifieds or as you say ebay and be done with it . To me thats the Simplests solution to the problem and just put in what you think it is worth in classifieds and No Reserve on Ebay . All the best

 

[Omy193]

+1 on above post

If you're not keen on having it recovered elsewhere and getting a 2nd opinion then stick it on ebay/gumtree/classifieds
Just advertise it as spares/repairs