Hi Everyone,

Just joined the Audi family and bought a "new to me" 2004 S4 about 60 days ago. This is my first V8 and I can easily see the attraction. Unfortunately my euphoria has been briefly interrupted with reality...

The car started making a clicking noise when revved above 2000 RPM. I took it back to the dealer where I bought it to have them repair it (since the dealer gave me a 3-month/3000-mile "powertrain" warranty with the car.) They diagnosed the problem as a bad idler pulley which is also shredding my serpentine belt.

Here is the issue...

They claim the belt and pulley are "wear" items and are not covered under the warranty. (I wasn't really shocked, when was the last time you heard a dealer say, "Hey, Let me fix that for you for free.") They are asking $650 for repair of the pulley and belt. I have looked in the engine compartment and while I have some German car engine repair experience, it does look like a daunting task. However, does $650 seem reasonable? I ask because I thought I'd also have them change the oil too (since I didn't have a service record of when it was last done), but they wanted $200 for an oil change and that seemed outrageous. Now I'm just wondering if they are just trying to rip me off...

I will appreciate your collective input on this matter.

Thanks.
Brian

 

Hehe, you are used to the pep-boys oil change for $19.95. That's not going to cut it in the Audi world. We run synthetic here. You'll need about 10 qts if memory server me correctly. The price seems a little high though, oil/filter change I would expect to be in the $120-$150 range. Remember you cannot just use any oil if you want your ride to last you, it must meet the specs of Audi.

 

Hi Lazydog,

Thanks for the reply.

I definitely know that oil changes are more expensive than your average car. I have had my BMW since '01, so using full synthetic oil is not new to me. (My Bimmer takes 8 quarts.) It's just that they told me it takes about hour and a half to change the oil. Hell, I could change 4-5 cars oil in that amount of time. My thought is the dealer is either greedy or incompetent. Now I have to figure out which one.

Back to my main problem,
They have my car for this belt/pulley problem (which I believe should be covered under the warranty) but they want $650 for the repair. It's claimed that the belt/pulley are standard "wear" items. I'm just curious if $650 is reasonable for this kind of repair, too high or are they cutting me a break.

Thanks.
Brian

 

The retail pricing for the serp belt, tensioner and the roller is 239.50 dollars. That leaves 410.50 for labor, unless that included the labor for the oil change. What was their quote for labor to replace the belt? 410.50 is 3.3 hours at 122.00 an hour. If you were to do the serp belt job yourself we could sell them to you for 166.84 dollars for all 3 pieces. Then you could do the work and save some money.

 

Hi Jmail524,

Since you have taken the car to the dealer they are going to charge you dealership prices. That means full price on everything. I am thinking this price is about right considering what Jeff-AudiUSAParts has stated. Your list of parts/labor would be something like this:

1. ~ $240 Pulley/Belt
2. ~ $120 Syn Oil/Filter
3. ~ $240 Labor (Pulley/Belt replacement 2hrs)
4. ~ $ 50 Labor (oil change)
5. = $650 Total cost

Sounds about right for a dealer.

Now what you should do is talk with them and see what can be done with the price. They should be looking at you as a possible new client and they should be able to work the numbers and give you some sort of discount to ensure you return. I know my dealer has helped me out with repairs when they seemed high to me.

Is the dealer you went to an Audi dealer?

 

Because my initial impression was to have the work covered under the warranty policy on the car, I took it back to the Audi dealer where I had just purchased it. I wanted them to look at it so that there would be no issues about the quality of work for the warranty claim. But now since this repair is not covered under warranty, I wanted to opinions to see how reasonable the price is. I appreciate the info and it sounds like they're not too far off the mark.

The only reason I'm having the dealer still perform the repair is because of the nature of the noises coming from the engine. While the dealer claims the tensioner pulley is bad, which is shredding the belt, in my mind it does not explain the metallic clicking/pinging sound emanating from the rear of the engine. I can physically see that the belt is bad and hear a "plastic sounding" tap, so I am not disputing the problem with the tensioner. But I feel there is a much more serious problem either with the timing chain drive or the Valvetrain. By having the dealer perform the tensioner repair, hopefully I'm giving them and the warranty company less ammunition for not fixing the more serious problem under warranty.

As for the $650 repair, that is only for the belt and tensioner. The oil change would be an extra $200 on top. I'm not having the oil changed as the dealer pulled the service records which shows that it was just done about 3 months/2000 miles ago. From what I can tell, the procedure looks identical to my BMW so I can do it myself at home after the warranty expires in 20 days. I'm sure it will be cheaper that way.

Again, thanks for everyone's input as it has helped me decide which direction to go.

Brian

 

Just an FYI,

The dealer completed the repair on my car and (so far) it turns out the noise was the tensioner pulley. (I'm quite surprised considering what it sounded like and where it was coming from. Guess I should leave the diagnosis to the professionals.) I'm very happy to have my car back.

Later...
Brian

 

ITs always hard to have the dealer do the work to your car. The good thing is you know your getting good parts the bad thing is your not sure if the dealer is giving you a good deal.

In the future I could make sure to gut your PreCats and get a JHM tune. you will be happy all over again.