The Audi Thread

[K4shy]

Agreed. @K4shy - Assuming you are in Jhb, I can put you in touch with a friend who besides being well know for his work on Subaru's, is becoming well know for his work on the 2.0l and 2.5l high performance VAG platforms like the Golf .:R, Audi S3 and RS3.

That will be much appreciated. Thanks dude. I am JHB based.

Just get a warranty whatever you do.

I’d personally take the newer car (assuming mileage equivalence) and likely find the newer S3 is nearly on par with the older RS3.

Service and maintenance depends on where you are and who you use.

And don’t touch a car without a full service history.

Thanks for the info. The mileage that seems to be the sweet spot are between 50 000km and 90 000km they seem to be the ones catching my eye.

 

[Neuk_]

That will be much appreciated. Thanks dude. I am JHB based.

I'll just punt him here, he runs his own workshop from his house in Blairgowrie since being retrenched earlier in the year...

https://jsworx.co.za/

You can follow him on social media as well, the bulk of his work at the moment is engine rebuilds using forged internals but he'll do basic services, maintenance, repairs, diagnostics, remapping, etc.

 

[Adenoid Hynkel]

That will be much appreciated. Thanks dude. I am JHB based.


Thanks for the info. The mileage that seems to be the sweet spot are between 50 000km and 90 000km they seem to be the ones catching my eye.

The newer S3 is a better car all around. However, the RS3 2.5 Pot has a lot more character and is in my opinion more fun to drive. It also makes a lovely sound.

Have you driven both?

If you do get the RS, make sure it has PROPER warranty in place. If something goes wrong, costs can be eye watering.

 

[airborne]

4.5k will include labour and the 2 bottles of antifreeze. Does it still sound steep? I don't have the exact breakdown, i should have asked If i'm being overcharged a bit i can live with it, if i have to go somewhere else at this point then the time i will lose on work and billable hours will hurt me more

Only 2 bottles of coolant, that doesn't sound right?
And make 100% it's the correct spec coolant not general run of the mill stuff.

I'd also consider doing the timing belt and tensioner if it hasn't been done yet, on most vehicles 95% of the labour to do the water pump includes replacing both anyway.

 

[Neuk_]

Only 2 bottles of coolant, that doesn't sound right?
And make 100% it's the correct spec coolant not general run of the mill stuff.

I'd also consider doing the timing belt and tensioner if it hasn't been done yet, on most vehicles 95% of the labour to do the water pump includes replacing both anyway.

Two 1l bottles of coolant for a VAG 4 cylinder engine is pretty normal unless they are going to be doing a system flush in which case he would need three to four bottles.

 

[Neuk_]

The newer S3 is a better car all around. However, the RS3 2.5 Pot has a lot more character and is in my opinion more fun to drive. It also makes a lovely sound.

Have you driven both?

If you do get the RS, make sure it has PROPER warranty in place. If something goes wrong, costs can be eye watering.

Either of them I would look at a warranty but also understand that it may limit where you can take the car. All my VAG vehicles over the years that are out of warranty/maintenance plan/service plan never go to a dealership, I have contacts at various Goldwagen's for parts and three places they would go to depending on what needs to be done.

 

[Adenoid Hynkel]

Either of them I would look at a warranty but also understand that it may limit where you can take the car. All my VAG vehicles over the years that are out of warranty/maintenance plan/service plan never go to a dealership, I have contacts at various Goldwagen's for parts and three places they would go to depending on what needs to be done.

What aftermarket warranty would cover the S and RS models similar to a freeway plan? Does it even exist?

 

[Neuk_]

What aftermarket warranty would cover the S and RS models similar to a freeway plan? Does it even exist?

I very much doubt there is a plan that would match the Freeway plan other than extending the Freeway plan.

 

[airborne]

Two 1l bottles of coolant for a VAG 4 cylinder engine is pretty normal unless they are going to be doing a system flush in which case he would need three to four bottles.

He did top it up with tap water and the system coolant could probably do with replacement, may as well pay the but extra and get 100% fresh coolant.

Would it be worth doing the timing belt and tensioner on that engine if doing the water pump?

 

[RogueTr00per]

He did top it up with tap water and the system coolant could probably do with replacement, may as well pay the but extra and get 100% fresh coolant.

Would it be worth doing the timing belt and tensioner on that engine if doing the water pump?

Oh so my timing chain was replaced 35,000km ago when they did my engine overhaul in 2017. I don't know the exact cost, i didn't pay for it.

 

[Neuk_]

He did top it up with tap water and the system coolant could probably do with replacement, may as well pay the but extra and get 100% fresh coolant.

Would it be worth doing the timing belt and tensioner on that engine if doing the water pump?

Topping up with tap water is OK, not ideal though. I can't remember if that engine has a timing belt or chain? If it is a belt which should be changed around the 100k - 120k km mark and the belt drives the water pump it will save some labour cost to do it all at once. just make sure to replace the belt and all associated pulleys, tensioners, etc.

 

[RogueTr00per]

Topping up with tap water is OK, not ideal though. I can't remember if that engine has a timing belt or chain? If it is a belt which should be changed around the 100k - 120k km mark and the belt drives the water pump it will same some labour cost to do it all at once. just make sure to replace the belt and all associated pulleys, tensioners, etc.

Ok flip, well i hope they know what they are doing. I looked through their 160+ Google Reviews, only 1 or 2 were bad, and the one didn't even give a reason. They were recommended to me by colleagues 4 years ago as they all had VAG cars at the time.

I will ask, but by tomorrow morning the job will pretty much be complete i think.

 

[RogueTr00per]

Got the car back, am very happy, it ended up costing R3.8k in total vat inclusive, for the water pump replacement.
1.65k for labour, 1.86k for the water pump itself, R90 x 2 (bottles of coolant) + R120 for consumables.

The leak in the water pump was where the one thingmabob joins to the other thingmajig, not a visible crack but i think the 2 pieces weren't fitting flush anymore... Can take a pic later on if it's of interest

Service was a minor one and just under 1.5k vat inclusive, and the car drives like a dream now as i was way overdue for a service.

 

[TheChamp]

Got the car back, am very happy, it ended up costing R3.8k in total vat inclusive, for the water pump replacement.
1.65k for labour, 1.86k for the water pump itself, R90 x 2 (bottles of coolant) + R120 for consumables.

The leak in the water pump was where the one thingmabob joins to the other thingmajig, not a visible crack but i think the 2 pieces weren't fitting flush anymore... Can take a pic later on if it's of interest

Service was a minor one and just under 1.5k vat inclusive, and the car drives like a dream now as i was way overdue for a service.

There's what's called a weep hole on water pumps, I don't know if it's the case with all the water pumps but on all the cars I've owned the water pump had a small hole at the bottom, if the seal fails water will start dripping from the hole alerting you of the failure. You can still drive the car but you will soon have to take care of it before it becomes a problem.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Ok flip, well i hope they know what they are doing. I looked through their 160+ Google Reviews, only 1 or 2 were bad, and the one didn't even give a reason. They were recommended to me by colleagues 4 years ago as they all had VAG cars at the time.

I will ask, but by tomorrow morning the job will pretty much be complete i think.

For your mileage it’s really not a concern for either of them so don’t worry about it.

 

[RogueTr00per]

For your mileage it’s really not a concern for either of them so don’t worry about it.

Yeah, i've already asked them a bazillion questions

They filled the coolant expansion tank to this level for what it's worth. Pic was taken when the engine was cold, but it was the same level upon arriving home and the engine was warm.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Yeah, i've already asked them a bazillion questions

They filled the coolant expansion tank to this level for what it's worth. Pic was taken when the engine was cold, but it was the same level upon arriving home and the engine was warm.
View attachment 967064

So basically what I said then.

Yeah unless it’s ridiculously hot it should go up too much, it’s more of a worst case scenario expansion gap.

 

[FiestaST]

Audi won’t develop another new combustion engine, confirms CEO

Audi has ended development of new combustion engines as it shifts its focus to electric mobility, according to a fresh report.

Markus Duesmann, Audi’s CEO, told German publication Automobilewoche the company had stopped developing new petrol and diesel powertrains and would instead adapt current units to meet Europe’s ever-tightening emissions regulations.

“The EU plans for an even stricter Euro 7 emissions standard [due in 2025] are a huge technical challenge and at the same time have little benefit for the environment. That extremely restricts the combustion engine,” Duesmann told the publication.

Audi won’t develop another new combustion engine, confirms CEO… - CAR Magazine

Audi has ended development of new combustion engines as it shifts its focus to electric mobility, according to a fresh report. Markus Duesmann, Audi’s CEO,... Read more →

www.carmag.co.za

 

[ands45]

Hey, have a quick question. I am looking at buying a 2015 A4 Multitronic. How much of a risk is the gearbox and major costs down the line? I know of a friend whose failed and was a major cost to fix, but they did have the older generation model. Are the newer ones more reliable?

 

[airborne]

Hey, have a quick question. I am looking at buying a 2015 A4 Multitronic. How much of a risk is the gearbox and major costs down the line? I know of a friend whose failed and was a major cost to fix, but they did have the older generation model. Are the newer ones more reliable?

I thought Audi stopped using the Multitronic, aka CVT?

Big issue with CVT reliability is regular oil changes, so you'd want some kind of indication those were done on time.