Suspension bushings worn - is it normal?

[ruby0080uk]

Hi everyone,

I am new here with a question which I hope you can advise on.
We just (a month ago) purchased a 2012 (62 reg) Audi A6 TFSI Quattro automatic with just under 39k miles on the counter from a dealer (not Audi).
The car went through an MOT in January a pre-delivery inspection which checked the condition of suspensions among a long list of other things.

We took the car for alignment to a local garage yesterday as a precaution and they couldn't do it due to the state of the suspension arms bushings (see photo below).
My questions are, given the age and mileage of the car, is it normal to need new bushings? And shouldn't the MOT and/or inspection have picked up on it?

30710904_10155971675526001_6219215208427028480_n.jpg

[A6S]

Suspension component deterioration is dependent on how the car has been driven. If it’s been driven hard all it’s life then it’s gonna wear out quicker. Also the terrain it’s driving on so a pothole ridden area will accelerate the process.
It’s only an mot fail if it has sufficient play in the bush and deemed dangerous as far as I know.
Other thing is if there is no noticeable knocks or noises the bush is still doing it’s job.
Not very helpful but a 6 year old car I would expect something to wear. These are 2 ton cars so the suspension components takes a beating. My wife’s old mini had rear bushes replaced at 17k when it was 3 years old just for comparison and that wasn’t driven hard other than me giving it a run now and again.

[johnsimcox]

I would not be totally surprised that the bushes are showing signs of wear on a 6 year old car, especially given the weight they are having to deal with. Also the car has doen a low mileage for its age and rubber does not like sitting around it needs to be flexed so it can self lubricate. I used to have a Lotus Elan with rubber donuts in the drive shafts and a prime cause of these failing was not using the car causeing the rubber to dry out and crack.

As to why it did not show up in the PDI or MOT. is anyone's guess. However as you have only had the car a month and it was bought from a dealer they are legally liable to fix the problem, regardless of whether it is covered by waranty or not (any issue that arises within 6 months of buying the car that is not the result of obuse is deemed to have been present at the time of purchase and the responsiblity of the selling dealer to fix). Suggest you contact the dealer and tell them it needs fixing

[rowdy-999]

That would most likely be a MOT advisory. Will the dealer fix an advisory? Good luck.

[ruby0080uk]

Thank you everyone.
So it sounds like it's not abnormal for them to need replacing at that age/mileage but as I thought, it probably should have been an advisory at the MOT which was just 3 months before we bought it, and certainly picked up during the service and following inspection.
If they didn't want to fix it before selling the car, I would have expected the dealer to at least tell us they needed changing.