Service with own parts and few questions regarding the S-Tronic Gearbox and re-paint/dent fix

[Staff68]

Hi everyone,

I own an C7 since March, already made a long trip of 10k miles in 5 weeks plus the normal usage in UK.
Before I went to Europe, I made the service at Audi (400£ - major service they say) but I don`t really trust them and I prefer to buy the parts on my own and go to a local service to replace everything as I will stay next to them when they are replacing everything and also much cheaper.

My question, what are the best products to buy for my car(oil, filters etc.), and where from if it is allowed.

It is A6S 3.0 Quattro, 245CP, S-Tronic.

While I was away I had an issue with my gearbox (apparently 2 kick down at 200km/h is not the best thing to do) and I lost all the oil in the gearbox, had to call recovery to get my car to the service. They realized that the plastic cover of the oil filter was broke (they said that it was too tight but I know what I`ve done the night before and this I believe is the main reason). I replaced that part, got a different Oil (Febi G052 180 A2) instead of Porsche G052 180 A2 (which was recommended by the service) and right now I don`t like how the gearbox is changing the gears, would be hard to explain but seems different then before. I am planning to replace it again together with the filter. Which one will be the best for my car?

The last problem, I was caught by hailstone storm and my car was all full of dents. Already sorted a lot of them by some suction technique but some left and I would like to know (approximate) how much would cost me to fix it and repaint (I was thinking on the whole car because after that I am planning to wrap it with some strong wrap just to avoid this). I don`t want to go to Audi because I don`t have enough money to do this and I would prefer some garages that are doing a good job and cheap.

Sorry for a lot of questions but I am thinking that might get some help here.

Thank you in advance.

[JSRed]

No idea on the gearbox stuff but if my car was covered in dents for a hailstorm I'd be onto my insurance to get it either fixed or written off. Any increase in insurance premium as a result will be outweighed by the cost of repairing it yourself so why not claim? That's what it's there for and saves you the risk of a crappy repair job and impact on resales. Hail damage is not a simple repair and the last thing you want is loads of filler and cheap paint job ruining the car... And you paying for it!

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[A6S]

For servicing use genuine parts as if you have a problem you are in a better position to get some goodwill from Audi. You can get them from dealers or places like tps. Trade can get parts a bit cheaper than you going to dealers.

Gearbox losing all oil can be an expensive fix if it broke anything. Not much I can add to that.

Hail damage, get it checked by a body shop.
The A6 has aluminium panels and some steel. The aluminium is a lot harder than steel so a lot of the chipsaway type traders have trouble getting them out or do a bad job.

[Scott K]

I can't see how it is possible to damage a gearbox in normal use as the gearbox software determines the gear-you can't override it if it will damage it. You haven't said the age of your car but if you only got it in March then I would take it to Audi to get the issue seen to. If you decide to service the car yourself, you can forget about Audi covering any warranty work. To keep the warranty, you need to use a VAT registered garage and genuine Audi parts.
Good luck with the gearbox.

[Staff68]

The gearbox is working now. I`ve replaced the oil and that plastic cover 4-5k miles ago and looks fine. Just I don`t like how it change the speeds...it feels very weird. It cost me around 100£ to fix it including oil.

Regarding the hail damage, I know that only the doors and rear wings are steel and the rest of the car is aluminium. That guy made a good job and from 100+ dents it left only around 15-20 which cannot be fixed without removing the paint, use filler etc.

[Staff68]

The insurance will not cover the hail damage. First of all, my comprehensive insurance is not covering anything but 3rd party outside uk.

Also, a big issue is that I have 3000£ excess and I believe that the repair itself will not cost that much if I am doing it outside Audi service and using a regular service(audi approved).

[A6S]

£100 is very cheap for the gearbox fix. The stronic oil alone would probably cost that much. Need to remember the stronic doesn't use normal automatic transmission fluid.

As for insurance, £3000 is the highest I have ever seen. Mine was zero last year and now £100. At £3000 you are never gonna make a claim unless you hit a Ferrari or something a bit more exotic than a Ford Fiesta.

[Staff68]

Unfortunately this is my first car in UK, I am not born here so probably this is a main reason...also the insurance cost me 2500£. Next year will be around £1600.

The fix was cheap because the issue was on that plastic cover of oil filter and only that has to be replaced...that one itself cost around 30-40£ back home (not UK) and the oil £60-70. The oil that I`d used was Febi G052 180 A2 which I was told that is what I need (as I bought it aftermarket) similar with the one that is used by Audi.

[Gazwould]

Is the Febi G052 180 VW approved ?

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it , but in the event of a gearbox warranty claim if the oil wasn't approved...

[Staff68]

Don`t have any warranty left as I bought the car at 30k miles.

Not 100% if it is VW approved but it says that it works. I am looking to replace it with the genuine one ASAP. Next week I have to do my service (filters, oil change and general check) and I am looking to buy the best one for the car.