I took my Audi to the dealership for a routine oil change at 75k miles.They told me the water pump had a leak and provided a quote of $1200 to replace the pump and the timing belt. I asked how bad the leak was and they said it was small. They could not tell me how low the coolant was or how much they had to add. I stopped by a different garage the next day and they saw no signs of any leaking from a quick visual inspection, and they said all sounded normal while the car was running hood up. I have driven the car 400 miles since and the coolant level has not changed. The engine temp has been fine and no warning indicators have been displayed. If there is indeed a leak then it must be extremely small. Should I get it replaced anyway? I have minimal mechanical knowledge so sorry if I left anything important out.

 

You will have to do it at 85,000 miles

 

Really tough to say the waterpump is leaking on these motors since it is all covered by the lower timing belt cover and no easy way to inspect without really tearing in to it. Many other locations likely to leak before that. Unfortunately sounds like the dealership just trying to get the work, though that is not a bad dealership price actually. If you find a local independant that does Audi/VW you can get a better price, prob closer to $800-$900 and they won't look for the next thing wrong to fix like the dealership.

Keep an eye on the coolant level and the temp guage.

 

its advisable if you change it now. because it can upset the operation of your car's cooling system and can also damage the engine.