Advice on Audi A3 car trouble.

AllanM

Hi, i am just looking for some advice and if anyone could tell me what my options are with the following.


On the 9th of April I was told by Arnold Clark that I needed to replace my EGR Valve at the cost of £1129. I used mycarneedsa.com and a local garage offered the price of £650.

I put my car in on the 19th April to cut a long story short I picked the car on the up on Wednesday 25th April paid the £650.00 but my car was in the exact same condition. Garage A said I should take it to Garage B to find out the real issue. So car has been in and out Garage B for the last few months. I havent had the car since the 1st June at all. Garage B has checked everything else out can find nothing and can only suggest I take it back to Garage A to replace the EGR valve again.
So its booked in to Garage A next Friday 22nd June. If it turns out that they fit and EGR valve and it fixes the problem what options do I have? I mean its been in Garage B for basically 2 months and going to cost me I dunno £400-£500 ( I havent picked the car up yet) But if Garage A had done the job competently in the first instance I woudnt have had to pay Garage B I have also had to borrow transport from friends and work etc..



Interested if anyone can advise.... oh and lets not even go down the road of what if the EGR doesnt fix the problem :doh:

verityboo

How old is the car, is it a diesel and if so has it had the emissions fix. Which engine is it?

daveyjp

The A3 has been around over 20 years. A clue as to the age and which version you have may get you useful answers.

Stoke

£650 for an EGR valve? Are these like special EGR valves? Do they cure diseases?

The last time I fixed an EGR valve, I took it off the car, cleaned it with a toothbrush and carb cleaner and put it back on and it was fine. Replacing it would have involved simply not doing that and putting a brand new one in. The entire job took about half an hour, and a new EGR valve for an A3 is:
https://www.eurocarparts.com/search/424440431?type=shopping&gclid=Cj0KCQjwx43ZBRCeARIsANzpzb9YEL7arEBvDJzRN9XhlUZlN4S9DnfZKtnyyerp2IsJrGI-q2AHrp4aAmiDEALw_wcB

£188. Where's the £400 odd of labour coming from here? Unless it's a very complicated job on the A3....?

daveyjp

The EGR valve on a VAG 1.6 diesel is a real pain of a job to do, see youtube for evidence!

3-4 hours with a proper lift, I've read it can be up to 7 hours on an A1. Its almost as if VAG designed it this way as a nice earner for their dealers. Cynical, moi?

Stoke

daveyjp wrote: »

The EGR valve on a VAG 1.6 diesel is a real pain of a job to do, see youtube for evidence!

3-4 hours with a proper lift, I've read it can be up to 7 hours on an A1. Its almost as if VAG designed it this way as a nice earner for their dealers. Cynical, moi?

The car I was working on was a Lupo......

I'll take your word for it, but wow, why the heck would any company stick the EGR in a difficult to locate place. They get gummed up. It's part of their job.

System

Ask Ford. The MK3 Mondeo it was right there in front of you on the left side of the engine in clear view with nothing preventing you taking it off. MK4 and its down the back of the engine where there's almost no room between the engine and the bulkhead and half the bolts you can't even see.

facade

Stoke wrote: »

The car I was working on was a Lupo......

I'll take your word for it, but wow, why the heck would any company stick the EGR in a difficult to locate place. They get gummed up. It's part of their job.

Modern cars are not "designed" to be serviced or repaired. Only to be assembled at minimum cost, using the cheapest possible parts that can just last the warranty out.

alan_d

AllanM wrote: »

I was told by Arnold Clark that I needed to replace my EGR Valve

I suspect that's where you went wrong. Sounds like it needs to go to Audi or an independent specialist to be properly diagnosed.
As others have said, usually cleaning the EGR is sufficient (and far cheaper) - but it's possible this isn't your fault at all.

AllanM

61 Plate, 2L deisel.Yes its had the fix .

Kiran

Did they plug it into VAG COM and for a forced regeneration? The other problem that manifests with a EGR fault is the throttle inlet flap sticking. I ad this problem with an A4, tried cleaning it which didn't work, replacement part was £75.