[DJGibbo]

Hi all,

I was wondering if someone could help. I have an A3 2005 2.0 TDI and I have recently encountered the emmisions control system light showing on my dash board. I took the car to my regular garage and he set up the car on the diagnostic computer and it initially flagged up a couple of error codes (EGR Valve and Glow Plugs) he said that he wanted to get someone else with a more powerful diagnostic computer to get a 2nd opinion before he carried out any work which could be very expensive.

To cut a long story short my usual garage took forever to get back to me to arrange a date and time for me to bring the car back for a 3rd time to get it properly diagnosed.

I therefore decided to try the official Audi garage, they said that they would collect the car and provide a free health check and diagnose the issue properly. They have just rang back today and given the following details

"The turbo valve is leaking and needs replacing and this will cost £1200 + VAT, The brake pads and discs are 80% worn down and need replacing and this will cost £300 +VAT (I had a service in July so this should not have deteriorated that badly in 4 months) and the final thing is the exhaust gas circulation valve which is causing the emmisions control light to come on and this will cost £300 +VAT to replace"

All told the car is probably worth £4k and the work they are proposing to carry will cost over £2k. I am not sure if they are trying to pull a fast one and if the price they are charging is excessive.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[stevee]

Hi, when Audi say turbo valve- do they say specifically what to change? The turbo?

 

[grantg182]

If you know how to use an allen key, take the EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) off and clean it out. 90% of these cases are caused by the EGR clogging up with carbon deposits. I have done it on many VAG TDI's now at a grand total of £2.99 for a spray can of Mr Muscle Oven Cleaner and half an hour. Easy as pie. If the EGR diaphragm is faulty, you can either bypass the EGR (Note: The emissions light will stay on unless you get the computers function disabled) or get a reconditioned (ie. someone spent a few quid to clean it and a tenner at a scrapyard) from eBay, which start off around £60. Even a brand new OEM one will only cost around £150, so they're going to be charging you 2 hours labour at that price for what is essentially no more than an hours labour.

Turbo valve - need something more specific, what and where exactly is leaking? I presume at that cost they are looking to replace the turbo, as opposed to fixing the leak if it even exists in the first place. £1400+ for a new turbo fitted sounds way over the mark, you could order a (better) hybrid and get it fitted for half that price.

As for the brakes...if the brake discs and pads were changed as recently as you think and you haven't driven round the Earth in that time, get a second opinion on that. Still, around £360 sounds about right for most garages to supply and fit discs and pads for one of these. If you know how, you could DIY, or order them from somewhere like Euro Car Parts, get an independent garage to fit them and it'll cost maybe £200 supplied and fitted.

 

[davelincs]

Hi DJGibbo, welcome to the forum, is your regular garage an independent Audi garage?,