New estimate back:

Post #272,587 by admin 11/8/06 11:19:01 AM Reply	New estimate back: $4K to $6500 to put a new transmission in. Fully warranteed at that point, and apparently the guy doing the work used to be responsible for rebuilding transmissions at Audi. This does not address the engine problems. However, he said that they can't even tell where the oil is coming from unless they put oil dye in the engine and have me drive it for a week. And I can't do that until the transmission is fixed. According to the shop they can't really diagnose it properly without doing this. Basically it's a worthless car until the transmission is fixed. Not even really worth anything for parts, either. So my choices are these: 1) Write it off to experience. I'm out $9000 and I find a new car. 2) Get the transmission fixed; now I have a $13,000-15,500 (weighted to the high end because of the mileage) car with possible engine problems. The only saving grace is that the dealership didn't go through the dye exercise, so they are likely just guessing. A gamble, nonetheless. Worst case, maybe I end up with 10-year old luxury barge with a new transmission and repaired engine for $20,000, a few thousand more than the cost if I wrote it off and got a new car, but with a warranty. If I get 5 years out of it, that's $4K/yr: less than buying a new car, more than a lease. 3) Attempt to get some sort of recompense from Bob the Audi Shafter in Chicago. Bleak prospects at any rate. After looking through the service history, I'm not sure Bob the Audi guy deserves the title "Shafter". In June, he had the front prop shaft seal and the lower oil pan gasket replaced. Which means that he thought he had the problems fixed, and it's just my bad luck that they weren't. Damn. Now the amusing thing is that the dealer said it needed a new lower oil pan gasket too. So either Bob (and I) got screwed, or the dealer was using the shotgun method. Regards, -scott anderson "Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
Post #272,590 by Another Scott 11/8/06 11:30:50 AM Reply	Better the devil you know... I'd keep looking into getting it fixed, myself. Any other used car you get may have issues as well. Have you seen [link\|http://www.audipages.com/usedA8/usedA8items.html\|this] list of common things to check on a used A8? If the leaks are similar in your case, it might not be a big deal. If you think you're going to hang onto it, if you don't have a copy of the Bentley manual for it, you might want to look into it. I bought the CD-ROM version for my VW TDI, but wouldn't recommend it. It requires an activation, and after a HD crash it wouldn't let me reinstall it without calling them (which I haven't done yet). I got the paper version on Amazon (I think). My Jetta TDI had a slow fuel leak for about a year that the dealer didn't find. I eventually found that the "tandem pump" (a combination fuel pump/vacuum pump hung off the camshaft) was leaking. It was replaced under warranty and my mileage went from 42-44 to about 50 mpg. That leak I was able to see at idle - you might have similar luck in your case (even with an oil leak). HTH a bit. Good luck! And keep looking into how you can get compensation from Bob. Cheers, Scott.
Post #272,593 by admin 11/8/06 12:12:10 PM Reply	Thanks... Wish I'd had that a few weeks ago. :-P Regards, -scott anderson "Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
Post #272,639 by folkert 11/8/06 6:24:49 PM Reply	Cost you much less to have... a Reman Motor and rebuilt tranny for the Taurus. Seeing as you already have new tires etc... on the Taurus. -- [link\|mailto:greg@gregfolkert.net\|greg], [link\|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry\|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] @ *i_wethey* Freedom is not FREE. Yeah, but 10s of Trillions of US Dollars? SELECT * FROM scog WHERE ethics > 0; 0 rows returned.
Post #272,690 by admin 11/8/06 11:09:20 PM Reply	Hindsight... And the tires on the Taurus are actually somewhat worn in the front. Basically I'm buying my way into a mock-certified used vehicle, one part at a time. :-P Regards, -scott anderson "Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
Post #272,694 by folkert 11/8/06 11:15:41 PM Reply	India Charlie Lima Romeo Papa Delta Basically I'm buying my way into a mock-certified used vehicle, one part at a time. :-P Yeah... it has to be there. -- [link\|mailto:greg@gregfolkert.net\|greg], [link\|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry\|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] @ *i_wethey* Freedom is not FREE. Yeah, but 10s of Trillions of US Dollars? SELECT * FROM scog WHERE ethics > 0; 0 rows returned.
Post #272,788 by inthane-chan 11/9/06 6:06:19 PM Reply	ICLRPD (new thread) Created as new thread #272787 titled [link\|/forums/render/content/show?contentid=272787\|ICLRPD] Odoru aho ni miru aho! Onaji aho nara odoranya son son!
Post #272,671 by Ashton 11/8/06 9:26:54 PM Reply	Re: New estimate back: Bum-mer - and you weren't even naive - ran down alleged maintenance data < purchase. Some.. think that a live trip to an unrelated mech. is de rigeur for anything 'costly'. They are either paranoid or Very smart, I wot. (I went with the data, because shop was local and with decent rep.. but it was ~ a gamble.) In June, he had the front prop shaft seal and the lower oil pan gasket replaced. Which means that he thought he had the problems fixed, and it's just my bad luck that they weren't. Damn. Dunno how much dismantling was needed for access to that shaft + pan; it's always about exhorbitant /hr. labor rates, esp. with Dealer overheads. But have you considered calling/visiting that shop, with the latest guesstimates? Yes, I realize the crapshoot of taking-responsibility, don't know local rules re warranty on such repairs. In CA we have a Bureau for enforcing a semblance of performance on any licensed shops, individuals. And the prototypical Lemon Law.. We KNOW our car people. Doesn't solve the xmission dilemma - net search for a lo-mile wreck? I've heard stories of satisfaction there. But unclear if Audi has problems with that model; I've certainly heard a few ex-Audi owners with highly developed moans. (Useless info with no handy stats, of course.) Now if 'twere Japanese - I've heard lots of satisfied US purchasers of $400-600ish engines, or cheaper transmissions: with (~ 60K km Japan use, when exchanged by law, over there.) Their anality: our serendipity. Luck.. sometimes you can stir up a little A.
Post #272,691 by admin 11/8/06 11:11:19 PM Reply	Some good news: The timing belt was replaced at 80K miles... it's recommended to be replaced every 90K, and it's a $1500 job. Regards, -scott anderson "Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
Post #273,016 by admin 11/12/06 12:35:35 PM Reply	I went ahead with the repair. They had the trannie halfway apart on Friday afternoon; both front clutches are bad, so we're looking at the higher end of the range. The only thing I can come up with is that the drive home from Chicago worked everything loose. The car wasn't driven very much so the seals likely dried out, and the long trip did it in. There was nothing wrong with it in Chicago (as Mike can attest). Regards, -scott anderson "Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."

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