A4 Phil

I had my car serviced by an Audi dealer for the first time in years after driving it across country. Dealer was very nice and service was OK, not great, but certainly ok. My eyebrows did arch at the list of recommended services which included replace battery (failed load test supposedly). Anyway, dealer wants $350 to replace.

So, I thought, if any group of people would have an opinion on battery types, it would be this forum. What have you replaced your batteries with? There must be options for the type of money we are apparently talking.

And just in case you are curious, here is a list of the other recommended services from the dealership.

Replace faulty vacuumed hose $480
Electric cooling fan inop $915
Prop shaft seal $500
Cam leaking, recommend reseal $2,635
Front motor mount torn $530
Timing belt due at 105k $570

Interesting to note that the timing belt was changed just 30k ago when water pump went so I am not sure how they diagnosed that. That and the fact they completed my oil change with Castrol just makes me question things far more than I otherwise would.

I'll get the cooling fan changed as I am worried about my other fans compensating. But I really would have expected it to be less expensive.

Thoughts on the battery?

Oh and if you have a great mechanic near Oceanside Ca, I'd love a recommendation. Or one worth driving to. :-)

Just Me

Batteries are, for the most part, batteries. I put a DieHard International Pro in my S6 years back and it has been great. Around $125 at the time.

By and large get the biggest battery that fits.

Some people are willing to pay for AGM technology (light, dry). So far i'm not.

Timing belt comes up for service at 105. They apparently have no record of your change.

Oil leaks. So what?

I would fix the motor mount and prop shaft seal, btu i have issues with the price quoted.

On the other hand, how can one do a complete, proper TB service for $570? You can;t. They would have you just replace the belt, which is almost never the problem. Its the stuff they are obviously omitting.

Grant

Huskerbob

I'll change your battery for $350 too. Really? $115 should do the trick. Try a parts store or Walmart. It's an easy DIY. Got the radio code?

$2635 for a leaky cam seal is highway robbery. Again it's a pretty simple DIY if you are so inclined. If not find a good indy shop and get it done for about 1/5 th of that quote.

Snub mount is easy when you go to service position and certainly not a $530 fix.

Good luck.

Airbag

The front motor mount is not the snub mount ... that is over by the alternator, and across the other side .. .. or at least i hope its one of them for that money ...

I use interstate batteries .. in fact i dont think i have thrown one away yet ,, pretty solid batteires at a reasonable price ...

well okay i get mine at the wreckers for 20.00 and 3 months warranty .. My current one i got a bought 5 years ago

tester123

I am surprised they didn't say that you need a new car while you are there!

WOW! those prices are outrageous! Then again, it is not surprising. Can you do any of these repairs yourself?

Battery? Good old autozone, sears, advanced auto etc. any store that can match your car's amperage requirement is sufficient.

tester123

Exactly! It costs close to this (well, a couple hundred less in aftermarket) in parts alone to do it properly. Like Grant mentioned, the belt is rarely the issue.

A4 Phil

I ended up purchasing an Interstate Mega Tron Plus for $119.99 I was to install myself, however, the Firestone I picked it up from offered a $13.99 install. So it ended up being less than $140 AI.

Still researching the other items for another mechanic.

nzaudia6

I agree with others here that those quoted prices are crazy. I just did my prop shaft seal. $20 for the seal. $30 for a litre of gear oil. About 3 hours labour (taking my time too)

I had some really good and some really bad experiences with batteries. Some have lasted for up to 7 years while others give up after 6 months and I have to replace under warranty. For that reason I always choose one with a very long warranty like 24-36 months.