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[Audi A3/S3] My S3 nightmare......


guylacey
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Back in October I posted about a couple of noises coming from my X-plate S3 that I had bought that week from Fontain Motors nr Slough iamwithstupid.gif. General consensus was it was nothing more than a loose heatshield or similar and a normal noise on start-up....

I wish.

It turns out to be the following;

Noise on low revs-high torque turned out to be a broken dual-mass flywheel. Flywheel replaced and new clutch while we're at it.

Noise on start-up turned out to be a worn cam-chain and tensioner. New chain and tensioner fitted.

The usual DV failure was also apparent!

TOTAL COST: 1,807 sterling.

OH - MY - GOD

The local Audi dealership (Taunton) were absolutely superb and if anything has taught me to buy from a dealer then this is it. Courtesy car for nearly 3 weeks and superb service.

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What it has also taught me is that extended warranties are not worth the paper they are written on as the company providing the warranty have absolved themselves from any costs as the faults were only causing "noises" and the items had not yet failed. If a loose cam-chain and tensioner is giving signs of failure then surely I'm preventing more costs by reacting to the warning signs??

Rant over.

Over 12 years of driving Volkswagens to almost 160k in some cases without so much as an oil leak I am *very* disappointed with the reliabilty of Audi so far.

Roll on R32.....

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S3Guy,

What did Fontain have to say about this?

All dealers are required to give 90 days warranty on second hand cars they sell. Surely Fontain should at least make a contribution to the cost as you state in your post that the car was making the noises and hence faulty in the first week of you owning it.

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Jeez, what can i say? it sounds like you've been really seen off.

I brought my S3 from Fontain and luckily i have nothing to complain about really other than the fact that the car had been touched up in a few places which meant that i had to get the front and rear bumpers resprayed at a cost of £200 but in all honesty it was my fault for not checking the car over as rigorously as i should have. Overall i found them to be fine and very helpful, etc.

Luckily (touch wood) i've not had a problem with my S3 so i've not had to make use of their warruntee but if i were you i'd be furious FIREdevil.gif it's so annoying that these warruntee companies can wriggle themselves out of paying out. they're not worth the paper they're printed on in truth. At least with a main dealer warruntee, you have a better chance of arguing your point and getting some assistance with the costs. I suppose that is ultimately why you pay a premium for main dealer cars.

It is a shame really, cos this warruntee company is dragging down the good reputation that Fontain has built up. It's definately something that they should look at.

What did Fontain have to say on the issue?

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oh yeah, i had to replace the DV soon after buying my car too. come on guys, this should be standard procedure before selling a car and it doesn't really cost anything to replace. Luckily, i'm confident with a spanner so it cost me nothing more than the price of a new DV. I wonder if i can claim the cost through the warruntee company...

jump.gif

maybe not smile.gif

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warruntee

It's spelt warranty. I wonder why this and breaks are the most commonly spelling errors on TSN?

S3Guy, perhaps your car was chipped by the previous owner and was thrashed to an inch of it's life before before sold to Fontain?

Older cars are going to start showing the signs of wear and will soon prove that AVS was not such a good idea. Still, Audi don't care, it's out of warranty and cars are lasting far too long since they started galvanised the bodies 10/15 years ago.

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[ QUOTE ]

I brought my S3 from Fontain and luckily i have nothing to complain about really other than the fact that the car had been touched up in a few places which meant that i had to get the front and rear bumpers resprayed at a cost of £200 but in all honesty it was my fault for not checking the car over as rigorously as i should have.

[/ QUOTE ]

I went to look at an A4 at Fontain last year, they knew I was coming to view it, got there had a totally flat tyre, Paint overspray on the front tyre(lots) from shoddy masking hwent painted.

Needless to say didn't buy it, FIRST impressions count Fontain, Can't say I would bother to view another of their vehicles again. Are you listening???

Matt

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[ QUOTE ]

Sven thats a diverter valve in your picture (recirculating type) for VW Group cars - a dump valve would be like this:

[/ QUOTE ]

It's both according to the description:

Manufacturer: Forge

Item: Dump/Diverter Valves For Turbo Motors

Description:

What does the Forge valve do?

It operates similar to the OEM valve except that the quality and tolerances are more exacting.

You will find that this valve "recovers" more quickly than the OEM valve during quick throttle off/on situations. This reduces turbo lag.

Honking noises in the 2,600 - 4,000 RPM range are gone on your 1.8T.

Throttle feels more "crisp" during application.

What's great about the Forge valves?

The valve installs in the OEM position (not backwards).

You can change the Piston.

You can change the Spring.

You can change the O-rings.

You can lubricate the piston if needed.

This valve can serve you forever!

Lifetime warranty. Forge will replace defective valves at no charge for the life of your car.

web page

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Thinking locically both are dump valves it's just where they dump to that alters, and probably it started being called as a diverting dump valve and then over time has become known as a diverter valve......

That's probably a load of site, but gives you something to think about! iamwithstupid.gif

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