Audi gurus advice needed

[Archer]

Except you'll never ever need to replace an entire gearbox.

Also you could find a donor gearbox for < R20k if you weren't in a super rush.

No but you see the people who work at the dealership said if I don't replace the entire thing it's going to explode and then I'll have to not only replace the transmission but the rear axle too and infotainment system too because they are linked you see!

 

[gfmalan]

Except you'll never ever need to replace an entire gearbox.

Also you could find a donor gearbox for < R20k if you weren't in a super rush.

I took the max amount that can go wrong, put it in a account, and not take some insurance.

When I were in the Audi workshop, spoke to the techies and they told me some horror stories about those gearboxes, me being technical understand the reasons why.

So personally I would skip those boxes. I like the torque converters.

 

[SauRoNZA]

No but you see the people who work at the dealership said if I don't replace the entire thing it's going to explode and then I'll have to not only replace the transmission but the rear axle too and infotainment system too because they are linked you see!

I have to date not heard of a single instance where dealership has replaced the entire gearbox.

Nor an engine for that matter.

 

[SauRoNZA]

I took the max amount that can go wrong, put it in a account, and not take some insurance.

When I were in the Audi workshop, spoke to the techies and they told me some horror stories about those gearboxes, me being technical understand the reasons why.

So personally I would skip those boxes. I like the torque converters.

For sure I agree with you that the torque converter options are a cheaper/simpler/safer bet.

I just never get the logic of “but the gearbox costs X” which isn’t really relevant.

The dealer pricing to fix these things is still stupid even in lesser parts and then half the time it still doesn’t work.

And it seems the newer they are the more **** they have.

I got 200,000km out of my DSG with none of the common failures but an input shaft bearing was starting to whine but even then I find that quite reasonable.

 

[Adenoid Hynkel]

I just did front pads and discs. All in was about R2500 including labour with oem parts.

Was this done at a VW agent?

Golf 7 gti front disks excluding pads are R3500 for the set.
And they'll charge you around R700 to swap them.

 

[Jladan]

Heya gents , so 2 year extension on the plan was quoted at 35k. At that price I’d rather save that cash for in case. I’m in Randburg area, so I’m thinking Audi can do the normal annual service which is around 2 k and then find a decent mech for everything else

 

[Inviter]

I have a 2014 Audi A4 2.0TDI Multitronic with 93000km. It gives a beautiful drive. No troubles this far. However I'm in a similar predicament as OP. Freeway plan comes to an end in January 2019 (maybe sooner due to mileage) and the dealers quoted me R38 000 to extend it. They are trying to sell the extension using the costs of the next two services saying that it will equal the same if I pay cash for the cambelt service and the one after. In the past I have driven cars to high mileages (VW & Toyota) which are cheaper to maintain. My concerns are:

- The Multitronic gearbox (hasn't troubled as yet)

- I don't know of a good Audi technician to service the vehicle (Durban region)

Please advise if these are genuine concerns. Or should I move onto another car within the same price range (sell my car) so I don't spend anything extra monthly. Spending on general maintenance is not an issue but spending just to replace expensive parts will be a problem.

 

[Ecko_1]

Was this done at a VW agent?

Golf 7 gti front disks excluding pads are R3500 for the set.
And they'll charge you around R700 to swap them.

Parts bought at agent and fitted at private mechanic

 

[Ecko_1]

I have to date not heard of a single instance where dealership has replaced the entire gearbox.

Nor an engine for that matter.

A friend of mine had to replace his s tronic gearbox twice. For an 8p audi a3. First time he paid R65k out of pocket at audi. Second time audi covered the cost as it was a failure within a few months of the prior replacement. He sold the car after the 2nd box went in

 

[Ecko_1]

I have a 2014 Audi A4 2.0TDI Multitronic with 93000km. It gives a beautiful drive. No troubles this far. However I'm in a similar predicament as OP. Freeway plan comes to an end in January 2019 (maybe sooner due to mileage) and the dealers quoted me R38 000 to extend it. They are trying to sell the extension using the costs of the next two services saying that it will equal the same if I pay cash for the cambelt service and the one after. In the past I have driven cars to high mileages (VW & Toyota) which are cheaper to maintain. My concerns are:

- The Multitronic gearbox (hasn't troubled as yet)

- I don't know of a good Audi technician to service the vehicle (Durban region)

Please advise if these are genuine concerns. Or should I move onto another car within the same price range (sell my car) so I don't spend anything extra monthly. Spending on general maintenance is not an issue but spending just to replace expensive parts will be a problem.

If you can get to Westville then give Rob at Dubcorp a try. He is a VW AND Audi specialist but works on any brands. Genuinely one of the best guys to work on your car and is honest. All my maintenance is done by him for the last 7 it 8 years.

 

[Inviter]

If you can get to Westville then give Rob at Dubcorp a try. He is a VW AND Audi specialist but works on any brands. Genuinely one of the best guys to work on your car and is honest. All my maintenance is done by him for the last 7 it 8 years.

Thank you

 

[Ecko_1]

Does the a4 tdi have a cambelt or chain. If chain then it will be a longer period before change unless there are signs of imminent failure.

Either way ask Dubcorp how much for your belt change vs the dealer.

 

[Inviter]

The dealer said it's a cambelt. Any idea how solid are the multitronic gearboxes. Again the dealer says that audi fixed the previous issues with them and mine should not trouble. I don't have any signs of failure but want to have an idea how big the hole in the pocket would be if something goes wrong.

 

[The_Traveller]

My advice is if the car was/is trouble free to date, its going to be trouble free for much longer, as long as you keep on servicing it the same way you've been doing all these years.

 

[The_Traveller]

Except you'll never ever need to replace an entire gearbox.

Also you could find a donor gearbox for < R20k if you weren't in a super rush.

Agree, I too have never seen entire gearboxes changed. Only links and other parts which cost ~R20k

 

[SauRoNZA]

A friend of mine had to replace his s tronic gearbox twice. For an 8p audi a3. First time he paid R65k out of pocket at audi. Second time audi covered the cost as it was a failure within a few months of the prior replacement. He sold the car after the 2nd box went in

Does your friend know know anything about cars?

Did you actually see an invoice that stated a full gearbox was replaced and not just parts for one?

It’s often a misconstrued statement but as I said before I’m yet to actually see a full gearbox swop happen.

Audi just doesn’t do it. Nor do they swop engines even though it seemingly makes more sense to just do that. I suspect their warranty process just doesn’t allow for it.

And then especially not twice. I just don’t buy it and the “friend of a friend” make me doubt it even more.

 

[SauRoNZA]

My advice is if the car was/is trouble free to date, its going to be trouble free for much longer, as long as you keep on servicing it the same way you've been doing all these years.

100% this.

If the car has been under your care for a 100k you know what’s what and it’s unlikely it would change.

If the car was problematic then I would worry but then I probably wouldn’t keep it in the first place.

 

[Ecko_1]

This was a first hand friend. He does have fair knowledge of cars as he is buys cheap cars and fixes them to sell occasionally although that's stopped since he got a real lemon earlier this year.

I haven't seen invoices as it wasn't any of my business. The a3 was initially tower to the same mechanic i used before going to audi for a warranty claim

 

[Ecko_1]

This was a first hand friend. He does have fair knowledge of cars as he is buys cheap cars and fixes them to sell occasionally although that's stopped since he got a real lemon earlier this year.

I haven't seen invoices as it wasn't any of my business. The a3 was initially tower to the same mechanic i used before going to audi for a warranty claim

To add. This guy isn't your a to b driver. He is an enthusiast so takes good care of his car's and knows a bit more than your average Joe.

Not a friend of a friend situation.

 

[Ecko_1]

Personally I am terrified of potential repair costs on fancy auto boxes. One of the things that influenced my decision to buy a manual gti. The intention was to keep it for the longer term. And I still enjoy driving manual over dsg. Dsg is quicker but I don't race.