What to look for when buying a 3.0 TDI

[aussiejock]

Both my intake motors failed at the same time (60k ish) but luckily they were replaced under warranty by Audi (£1800).

My warning light came on but this is sometimes not the case and you just don't know unless you scan for faults.

Always been a petrol / manual guy In the past but I'm now converted and would not go back - worth the extra money!!

Get an SE and throw on the S-line kit?

[OVI82]

Thanks for that aussiejock.Did yours show any other signs before they went pop??And do you really have to do something about these(replace or repair)or can the car be used with them broken(for a small period of time at least).
As for buying an SE and than retrofitting different parts to make it look like an s-line,no thank you.I have made that mistake once with the previous car and learned a very valuable lesson,which is to try and buy what I really want/like and not something that's say £1000 cheaper and than get loads of parts changed on it,remapped and so on.

[aussiejock]

I called Audi when the light came on and they dropped off a RS5 for me to play in for a week until they fixed it!

[Rothie]

Have the manual version, 2008 SE with just over 50k on it. Steering rack was replaced at 3 yr point (warranty scam ?!? Not sure). Had the fuel flap lock fail and a crack on the intake air flow monitor. All fairly minor.

keep the tyre pressures correct, have decent tyres on it. Fitted box from race chip.de 300bhp. Goes like a train. Bit short in 1, 2 and 3 but change down at 50mph !!!!! Did a twisty 10 mile road in 4th just to **** of son in Focus ST. He couldn't keep up.

runs down south? Mileage munching? Average 67mph - ave 42mpg. Not complaining. It wasn't bought for economy.

Hard to think what to swap it for eventually ,

[OVI82]

Cheers everyone.Looks like the fuel flap is a common one.Is just hard to find a decent one without paying a small fortune for it.Any other car sales websites that you guys know of.....mainly looking on autotrader.

[Boy]

Don't be put off by the fuel flap failure problem. It is only a £15 part and a 15 minute DIY job.

[gdallas]

my 58, 2009 model has had the right bank intake manifold intermitant fault since i bought it year and a half ago. Seems to be worse in winter for throwing the fault for some reason. Im told its not that bad an issue, but its around 800 bucks to reslove via audi. other than that. its been great.

[OVI82]

Cheers for that gdallas.Do you know if there is any other way to tell if these are busted,other than a warning light.I'm just worried that a dealer/seller could easily reset the light.Where are these manifolds located in the engine bay and is there any way I can inspect them myself??
I did go and look at one last weekend but the last documented oil service was at 56000 and the car was now on 84000 plus last owner only had it for 12 months so walked away from it.It's a shame because it was a really nice and tidy car.

[gdallas]

Well its possible they could reset the light. But if it’s a dealer, and the faults occurs within warranty then they will replace the whole manifold for you. Others have had this done on here. Not sure if the dealer would let you, but you could always hook in your VCDS, if you don’t have one highly suggest you get one. You would first off be able to scan for faults (do this after the test drive) as there doesnt have to be an engine managment light on to throw a fault on the manifold. If none are found great, might mean the car has no issues or it might mean the fault is intermittent, like mine! Then perform an “output test” on the intake manifold via the vcds and get someone you trust to look over the engine bay to observe the behaviour of the rods connecting the two actuators to the flaps. They should be fluid in movement, if ones jammed, like my right one on occasion you will see an awkward movement, jittering like.

Hope this helps

[neebsta]

Check around the wings for corrosion, seems a common fault on B8s. I have one currently that has had the issue fixed, also went and viewed a 3.0 tdi quattro at some Mickey Mouse dealer in Bury that had a car with the very same problem present. So on a straw poll of 2 from 2.

Other than that, have a look at an A6 3.0tdi. I'm sure you'd get a better value car.