RE RE: Why?

[Don Muirhead <dmr@kwic.com>]

Phil:

And the hydraulic system is filled with ATF!

This has perplexed us.  The current owner has driven the car for 11k
miles since it last saw a dealership and swears he hasn't topped up the
reservoir.  There's no reason why he should have, because there are no
signs of leaks.

I advised them both of the downside risk of ATF in the system.

That's why I asked the question.  With ATF in the system I didn't know 
whether the appraiser would see this as a minor or major "booboo"  and 
possibly devalue the car based on the potential for unknown hidden damage 
although none was present at time of inspection.

Don

-----Original Message-----
From:	Phil Payne [SMTP:quk@isham-research.demon.co.uk]
Sent:	Sunday, September 26, 1999 4:46 AM
To:	dmr@kwic.com
Cc:	quattro@audifans.com
Subject:	RE: Why?

In message <01BF0789.73DADB20.dmr@kwic.com> Don Muirhead writes:

> So Phil...what was the final appraisal?

It's not up to me, and the job of the appraiser - although paid by the
purchaser - is to be independent.

The main thing to look for is concealed major damage, which you usually
find traces of _underneath_ the car.  Nothing.  The ECU also stored
zeroes and everything else seemed OK - there was just the ATF issue.

This has perplexed us.  The current owner has driven the car for 11k
miles since it last saw a dealership and swears he hasn't topped up the
reservoir.  There's no reason why he should have, because there are no
signs of leaks.

We don't have the actual invoices for work done, just the regular
service stamps in the book.  This is perhaps because the car was owned
by a company, and perhaps because the work was done under warranty and
Audi have the invoices.  It's a deeply unsatisfactory situation.  From
the state of the crush washers and a few scratches, I surmise that the
hydraulic pump has been swapped out under warranty.  But I shouldn't
have to play 'Sherlock Holmes' like this.

Anyway - I advised them both of the downside risk of ATF in the system.
Anyone with access to the steering rack change procedure for an S2 Avant
will know _exactly_ what I mean.  I also pointed out that it wasn't
leaking yet and it had done 11k miles at least, if the owner is to be
believed.  I provided a fair estimate of service costs (it's due a big
one now - the chain is rattling so the water pump, idler and belts are
on the list) and they agreed a deal at GBP13.1k.

Everything else aside, it is a very neat and tidy car.  Our member is
now looking for a set of stock springs and wheels, to reverse the
lowering and restore some degree of stealth.  230bhp in an Audi 80 Avant
makes for a _lovely_ sleeper.  Once we get the "Porsche RS2 turbo"
badges off the front and back ...

One reason we can't get to some of the service information is that the
garage that performed the last major operations had their Audi franchise
withdrawn.  I wonder why ...

--
 Phil Payne
 UK Audi quattro Owners Club
 Phone: 0385 302803   Fax: 0870 0883933