RE: I was took...

[Aleksander Mierzwa <alex@matrix.com.pl>]

Jo,
As a rule of thumb: for every problem with the car the seller generously
informs you of, assume there are three other, usually more serious ones
he/she is trying to hide. I know it's somewhat too late to tell you that
now, but keep it in mind should you ever be looking for another used
car.
Should you keep the car? Let's see: you paid $800 for it and spent
another $1500 on repairs. Will anyone give you $2300 for a 11 years old
car which still has many problems? Not likely. So if you decide to get
rid of it now, you _will_ lose some money. And at least you know you
have new head gasket, water pump (I hope they changed the timing belt as
well), valves etc. I'd keep the car.
You say you know nothing about cars, yet you was able to pull the door
panel off. If you could do this, you prolly can do many other repairs.
If you decide to stay on this list, it will provide you with tons of
useful info on how to fix various items (we'd love to help a nice gal
with her nice car, wouldn't we? ;-))) ) Even if you decide to go to the
mechanic (stay away from the dealer - find a sincere, independent
wrench) it's good to know what needs to be fixed and how much work does
it take, so you can negotiate the price.

As for paricular items:
- Window held by a stick: you need a window regulator. New one is gonna
cost $$$, but there's a fix involving bicycle cable if memory serves me
right. We'll be able to dig it out once the search engine is
operational.
- Changing the transmission fluid: if it is a manual gearbox it's simply
a matter of removing two plugs (17mm Allen wrench needed), draining the
old fluid and pouring fresh one in. If it's an automatic, one needs to
remove the oil pan, remove the filter and get it cleaned (the filter is
a metal mesh that gets cleaned rather than replaced). New filter and pan
gasket will be needed and if the fluid was very dirty, it is advisable
to repeat the procedure three times in about 1000 miles interval to get
all the old stuff out (once the filter gets cleaned, you can find a shop
which has a machine for sucking the fluid through the dipstick tube for
remaining fluid changes)
- Low beams don't work: apart from the possibility that both fuses are
blown, it's probably the switch: new one again is going to be expensive,
but if you find a good used one you can replace it yourself (quite an
easy job)
- No break lights: if the fuse is OK, it's probably the switch, not
expensive
- No cold and no hot air: it requires some diagnosis work to find the
cause: first we need to know what Audi model are we talking about.
- Three windows inoperative: one of them is held by a stick, so we know
the cause :-) Remaining two are either held by sticks as well ;-) or the
problem lies in the switches: the switches are almost always repairable
by cleaning them with contact cleaner.
- Exhaust: it is possible that the previous owner "repaired" it with
muffler bandage and hose clamps so it wasn't too loud - it's difficult
to say something without looking. Of course, if you decide to go to the
dealer for the repair they'll sell you OE exhaust for big bucks, but an
independent muffler shop will do it much cheaper.
- Temp gauge doesn't work: it's usually a faulty sensor, but I wouldn't
rule out the possibility that the previous owner disconnected it to hide
the overheating problem.
- No radio: there's so many fine radios at good prices on the market
now...
Feel free to ask any other questions you may have.

Aleksander Mierzwa
Warsaw, Poland
mailto:alex@matrix.com.pl
87 Audi 5000CS turbo (mine)
88 Renault Medallion wagon (mom's)
91 mountain bike (just in case both cars broke at the same time :-)