Well some of you may have seen my first post about how excited I was about my new purchase. And I must admit I still am in love with this car, but I am getting hit with pretty hard with maintenance issues after only 2 weeks. Okay here we go. When for about the last week I was seeing a small leak that ended up being coolant. I also noticed a rattle coming from under the car that I would have bet money was a loose heat shield. Well fast foward, the leak is the water pump, and the rattle was the cat converter on the drivers side. I am just a little frustrated since I just got the car. Since the car only had 89K on it I thought I had about a year before I had to do the water pump / timing belt. I have heard that the dealer says 105K but I was not going to wait that long. I have a price of $1290.00 for the water pump / timing belt which is from an independent mechanic. Is this about right for an independent estimate? As far as the Cat converter they said it has small pieces inside that are rattling. What is the worst thing that can happen if I don't get the converter changed right away. I am getting the water pump done ASAP, but will have to wait on the converter. I also had a pressure check done before I bought the car and everything was dry. Could that have caused a premature leak of the water pump?

 

Thats actually a cheap quote for a water pump/timing belt job. We would usually charge around $2,500 at the dealer. Just make sure that includes the timing belt tensioners, and rollers. If not have them add it, its well worth it because dirt and grime gets inside those rollers and makes a real nasty noise after it tears up the bearings.
The cat converter won't hurt anything, if it gets really bad the worst you will see is a slight lack in performance because the exhaust is trying to push air through a constricted orifice. Picture you trying to blow through a kinked straw

 

Hey auditech79 I knew you would respond to this. It is strange because the estimates have all been around $1800 - $1900. I had a 88 Audi 80 quattro about 11 years ago, and I remembered I had this same guy do some work on it. When he gave me the estimate I said I wanted to call a couple of more places, and he said "whoever you get to do the job make sure they changes the tensioners, and the water pump." He also said if I wanted the thermostat replaced it is no additional labor. This mechanic is a one man operation so I think that is why he is so much cheaper. I set up the appointment for the first week in June. This sucks, but it could be worse. I am glad I have no engine problems, and no transmission problems. At this point I just have to bite the bullet on something I had to have done within the next year anyway.

 

Two more stupid things to do. Vacuum lines and valve cover gaskets, maybe that way you will be good for a while.
at that mileage they should be brittle.

 

I will ask him about that. Because I want to be good for a while. I am used to Lexus reliability, and I am hoping once this maintenance stuff is out of the way the A8 will be just as reliable.

 

I have belts and water pump done @ 90K at the Audi Dealer for US$ 1,700.00. So 12 is a good deal