1. The check engine light had been on for about the last two weeks since I got the car from my sister, but it just went off a couple days ago. I have a feeling the bulb burnt out as the cluster still says "service" when i first turn the car on. I think my sister had gone to get a check-up to see why the light was on, but I can never get a straight answer out of her. What is my best course of action? Should I just take it somewhere with an OBDII tool (or whatever it's called) and have them run a diagnostic? Is that expensive?

2. I put a couple scratches on the trunk with a bike rack last weekend (i wont' be using that again [:'(] ). Is there a compound of sorts I could buy to fix that or am I pretty much screwed?

3. How about oil changes? Should I attempt that myself? I'm assuming synthetic oil.

Thanks a bunch.

 

Take your car to Autozone and they will use a Vag-Com to run your systems and check for codes. If there arent any that are to serious, have him clear them.

Scratch wise, it all depends how deep they are. Most of the time you can buy compound and lightly buff them out and apply wax over them. Dont just buff the scratches though, buff the whole body panel.

Oil changes are as easy as they are on any car. I use Mobil 1 5w-30 fully synthetic.


Oh and btw....This is post #100. Woohooooo

 

1. a lot of things can trip your CEL, if it went out, that probably just means you went through a 'drive cycle' and it reset itself (it only does this if the problem is no longer occuring)...the service light when you start the car is unrelated, and basically means nothing, especially if your car isn't dealer-serviced. it's set to come on in intervals of xxxx miles...here's how you reset it yourself...autozone has an obd2 tool that they loan for free (some make you pay a deposit though), but a vag-com is much better and more comprehensive, you can get one at www.ross-tech.com

2. check out the detail forum on the audiforums main page

3. yes, synthetic. most people on this forum use mobil 1 (i believe audi recommends mobil 1 0w-40), but there are others you can use. its not very difficult to do yourself.

 

Just make sure if you have a titronic transmission, that you drain your oil, not your transmission fluid

 

#2 i recommend a product made by Meguiars, called scratch x. i used this on my car that had a few minor scratches, with excellent results.
this product is a very light compound good for surface scratches. start by washing your car, and testing this product in an area not too noticeable. (better yet, on a different car that's not an Audi)
if your scratches are deep, you may need to use a more aggressive compound, but be carefull you can do more harm than good. if you need this type of compound it can be quite gritty removing clear coat quickly, so go easy, and testing on an older car is a good idea. after using this you will most likely need to buff the panel with a power buffer.

 

Great, thanks for the responses! The scrathes are pretty deep, I'd probably be better off having a professional do it. I think I'll change the oil tomorrow That's cool that the CEL went off and it's probably not burnt out. Thanks again.