Oil leaks to cost $7,800 to repair??

[new audi guy]

ok, I have just had some serious rethinking of my love for this car ('04 A6 s-line)


Took it to an independent mechanic to assess why I was smelling some burning oil adn oil is definitely leaking from somewhere.

He is telling me to fix will cost me $7,800! That exceeds the cash value of the car in all likelihood!


So i'm looking for some thoughts on what to do.


Basically the assessment is this:
Oil Leak #1: Engine manifold area - to fix requires removal of engine, timing belts, water pump, etc etc... estimated charge $1,900

Oil Leak #2: Left Turbo - minor leak at send and receive area as well as intake area. Estimated charge: $2,900 (he reccs replacing entire turbo, and requires removal of engine as well)

Oil Leak #3: Right Turbo - same exact repair diagnosis




So i guess at this point I'm wondering, should I get rid of this car now? There is no way i'm going to drop $7,800 on this thing.... Are there any other options?? Dealer will charge alot more.


btw car has 120,000 miles... just had timing belt / water pump etc done a year and half ago. Car looks and drives great other than this issue.



Thanks for any suggestions!

[csh724]

It would be cheaper to find another motor and have that put in, F**K that 7,800, wish you luck with it

[Hrushka]

^Agreed.

[2.7taudi]

ok, I have just had some serious rethinking of my love for this car ('04 A6 s-line)


Took it to an independent mechanic to assess why I was smelling some burning oil adn oil is definitely leaking from somewhere.

He is telling me to fix will cost me $7,800! That exceeds the cash value of the car in all likelihood!


So i'm looking for some thoughts on what to do.


Basically the assessment is this:
Oil Leak #1: Engine manifold area - to fix requires removal of engine, timing belts, water pump, etc etc... estimated charge $1,900

Oil Leak #2: Left Turbo - minor leak at send and receive area as well as intake area. Estimated charge: $2,900 (he reccs replacing entire turbo, and requires removal of engine as well)

Oil Leak #3: Right Turbo - same exact repair diagnosis




So i guess at this point I'm wondering, should I get rid of this car now? There is no way i'm going to drop $7,800 on this thing.... Are there any other options?? Dealer will charge alot more.


btw car has 120,000 miles... just had timing belt / water pump etc done a year and half ago. Car looks and drives great other than this issue.



Thanks for any suggestions!

Have you replaced the valve covers and cam adjuster seals yet?
Does the mechanic have experience with audi and the 2.7t? or just a regular ford guy attempting to diagnose an audi?

Don't go to those Ford mechanics because they often mistake leaking cam adjuster-seals which "simulates" leaking turbos when in reality its not the turbos.

These cars leak oil. Thats a fact. BUT an oil leak from the turbos is very rare BUT not impossible.

If you recently have changed the cam adjuster seals / cam plugs then completely ignore my post. lol

[nadatia]

NEW MOTOR TIME!

Sorry to hear about the troubles man. When it rains it pours!

Unless you (or a good friend) can do some of that wrench time to bulk of the cost (labour) it just seems to much to pay for.

[EErie B6]

Sounds like hes trying to take you to the cleaners. Several of those statements sound a bit fishy.

Before you give up on her, I would go somewhere else for a second opinion.

[moyenecorniche]

(1) I would not consider the dealer...
(2) I would find another mechanic/tech one who is not independent but one who is VAG certified and specializes on VW-Audi-Porsche-BMW. They are out there, I found one and my repair costs are usually 50% less than any where else...
Which of course is not to say that Audi's are inexpensive to upkeep.
I refuse to let anyone who is not VAG certified and specializes on Audi's to assess or repair my A4...Most mechanics are not familiar with Audi's complexities and will diagnose based on guesswork. I did the runaround a couple years ago to various garages in my area and the majority were clueless as to assessing an Audi. They don't understand them and the last thing I want is someone to be taking things apart @ $100 per hour all the while trying to figure out what's up ?
Which is why finding a specialist will save you money in the long run. I drop my car off and know I will have it back when I expect it to be repaired and ready to go, not still sitting awaiting parts or a mechanic

2004 means it is time to replace gaskets and seals, dropping in another used motor will run you close to $7000.00 and a used motor will still need that maintenance real soon. Not a reasonable option.
A used motor may also have other issues soon to reveal themselves.

If the car is in great health other than gaskets which are normal in breaking down over time ....Why consider buying another car ? When you crunch the numbers you lose more than you gain.
With durable goods longevity of use is what brings your costs down over the cars lifespan, which means that spending money to keep it healthy is inevitable.
Trading in a car each time major repairs are needed is not cost effective.
Once your motor is back to health, there should be no reason not to drive another 150,000 or 200,000 miles..
That is still much less expensive then trading cars over the long term.

That is just me and my reasoning for owning what is an excellently engineered brand..
Then again I have a 198,000 miles on my A4, just took a 300 mile round trip to Bard's College without any issues.
It is going in for Timing Belt, gaskets Transmission fluid changes and wheel/tires/suspension and whatever else is on the agenda, but that will take me well into the fall before any maintenance is again needed.

[Calimus]

This mechanic doesn't sound like he's up on his Audi's. Like others have said, it would seem he's used to more generic auto's and is just kind of guessing at this one.

Your leaks sound standard. The valve covers and chain tensioners on these cars leak. The most common cause for this is the PCV (crankcase & head venting system) system clogging up allowing positive pressure to build in the engine. Just like anything else, when pressure builds, it going to find a way out. With an engine, it's generally the seals & gaskets that suffer.

Now, even when the turbo's leak if that is the case, those lines can be gotten to without removing the engine. If he thinks there is a leak around the intake mani, that can also be gotten to without removing the engine. The only things that require engine removal are rear main seal and actually replacing the turbo's. If you're turbo's don't sound like a pair of dentist drills than there is no reason to replace them.

If you don't have the skill/want/or resources to work on the car yourself (nothing wrong with that, I don't like paint & body work so I don't learn it) then find yourself a good indi shop that leans more towards Audi as their normal client's. Also, don't be afraid to go to more than one shop to get an opinion. However, do expect it to be a little pricey since you are having the work done. But do far, I don't see any reason (unless the turbo's are indeed bad or the rear main seal is leaking) that the engine should have to come out for anything mentioned.

You did the right thing by saying something here, you now know that you were fed a line. Do some more searches here on things like the oil leaks and you will see what others have payed to have that issue resolved. Also, don't be afraid to come back and ask more questions as you get some other opinions from shops.

[aysix]

LOLLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOL

Uh, NO. This makes me wonder how many people get ripped off. There a couple guys on here who would pull the engine for a couple hundred bucks & a pint of hard liqor.

[-C5-]

i took my audi to a chevron mechanic shop by my home for a simple o2 sensor change (because i couldnt reach one of them)
when i got it back,the car was missfiring in all cylinders.
turns out the dummys cut my o2 cables for the good o2 sensor i just replaced myself.

dont trust regular shops.
there are plenty of shops out there that specialize in vw/audi ect.
they will fix it in 1 shot.not attempt 3 different repairs and "guess" what the issue is.
just my $0.02

[Smneveau4]

Highly recommend takin to Audi Dealer just to get it diagnosed. Might cost a few hundred bucks to get it done but at least they know what they are looking at. Then based off the second opinion make a decision. Don't throw $7K into it. Might be time to find a newer Audi. Good luck hope it all works out.

[tenspeed]

So i guess at this point I'm wondering, should I get rid of this car now? There is no way i'm going to drop $7,800 on this thing.... Are there any other options?? Dealer will charge alot more.

btw car has 120,000 miles... just had timing belt / water pump etc done a year and half ago. Car looks and drives great other than this issue.

I drove a car for six years that used a quart every 1000-1500. Put 175,000 on it. The cost of the oil was a lot less than a rebuild. I used heavier oil in the summer to reduce usage.

[Yesmar]

ok, I have just had some serious rethinking of my love for this car ('04 A6 s-line)


Took it to an independent mechanic to assess why I was smelling some burning oil adn oil is definitely leaking from somewhere.

He is telling me to fix will cost me $7,800! That exceeds the cash value of the car in all likelihood!


So i'm looking for some thoughts on what to do.


Basically the assessment is this:
Oil Leak #1: Engine manifold area - to fix requires removal of engine, timing belts, water pump, etc etc... estimated charge $1,900

Oil Leak #2: Left Turbo - minor leak at send and receive area as well as intake area. Estimated charge: $2,900 (he reccs replacing entire turbo, and requires removal of engine as well)

Oil Leak #3: Right Turbo - same exact repair diagnosis




So i guess at this point I'm wondering, should I get rid of this car now? There is no way i'm going to drop $7,800 on this thing.... Are there any other options?? Dealer will charge alot more.


btw car has 120,000 miles... just had timing belt / water pump etc done a year and half ago. Car looks and drives great other than this issue.



Thanks for any suggestions!

thats insane, hes charging you to pull and reinstall the engine 3 times for 1 job
tell that guy to kick rocks down the street and watch em roll. leak around intake manifold, requires engine removal? haha i bet money its the spider hose. easy fix with engine in(it would take him 15 min and a new oem spider hose for less then $150. he would know for sure if it was valve cover gaskets. if that doesnt stop the leak do double check the vcg also engine in fix. if that still doesnt fix it pull the engine and inspect the turbo oil feed lines $210. plus engine removal/install labor 1time. id be very surprised if you couldnt replace the spider hose yourself. look it up, and start from there

never go to that mechanic again, hes literally trying to rape you.

[ENDEE666]

thats insane, hes charging you to pull and reinstall the engine 3 times for 1 job
tell that guy to kick rocks down the street and watch em roll. leak around intake manifold, requires engine removal? haha i bet money its the spider hose. easy fix with engine in(it would take him 15 min and a new oem spider hose for less then $150. he would know for sure if it was valve cover gaskets. if that doesnt stop the leak do double check the vcg also engine in fix. if that still doesnt fix it pull the engine and inspect the turbo oil feed lines $210. plus engine removal/install labor 1time. id be very surprised if you couldnt replace the spider hose yourself. look it up, and start from there

never go to that mechanic again, hes literally trying to rape you.

THIS! It sounds to me like the guy is giving you a high price on a job he doesn't want to (or can't) tackle. So the price is intended to discourage. Find yourself an Audi-familiar mechanic.

[new audi guy]

wow. great opinions. Many thanks.

I'll provide a bit more info so you don't think i'm completely insane. Basically the local audi dealer is a total ripoff, so I have been using this indy guy who does foreign cars in general. He's given me some great rates on repairs for half what the dealer charged. So lately i've been going to him first rather than assessment by dealer.

I probably should have said initially that his recc was actually to just keep driving the car and putting oil in unless something got dramatically worse. He wasn't trying to push me to do all that. But he did say that he doesn't work on a ton of audi's, but does german cars in general, that he was only quoting based on some manuals or something and his general diagnosis abilities. That said he scared the hell out of me with his diagnosis as I was not expecti9ng that.


much of your posts are very helpful and here is what I'm thinking:

1. The turbos run fine.. there isn't any noticable change in them
2. The engine runs a bit rougher than normal, but nothing crazy
3. no seals of any kind have been repaired other than valve cover gasket a year and half ago when i had the timing belt service done.
4. Cam adjuster seals were diagnosed leaking like two years ago and a nice audi tech told me 'hey these engines just leak oil in certain places, don't let someone tell you you need the cam adjuster seals done, they will just leak again 60 days later anyway'... so I did nothing about them. That makes me think that the comment here made by poster '2.7audi' may be a real possibility.
5. I had intended to drive the car till 180,000 miles unless the repairs were insane (which this price quote would be in that category!)
6. I don't have the tools or confidence to do major repairs myself... really changing oil and the like is as much as I've done, so analyzing the turbos is way out of my knowledge area.

I think I will take it to the dealer for analysis. I ran vag-com and its not providing any codes. maybe its from cam adjuster seals and I can get it fixed for a reasonable amount.

I agree in general though that this guy may be either not wanting to do the work, or just ignorant.. or maybe crazy. This guy has done maintenance stuff for me super reasonable, but i have also heard horror stories about him.

Moyenecorniche - I agree thats good advice. thanks.

I did think it really odd that he couldn't get to the send/return lines without pulling the motor... I know for a fact that the motor can be "shifted" enough to even do timing belts if the mechanic is familiiar and wants it done.

Anyway, this is highly helpful! thanks to all who took teh time to comment. I will get a 2nd and mayber 3rd opinion and update back as to result.


Thanks!

[G Men 08]

That mechanic is a compleye moron. You could replace every seal on that engine by yourself for well under 1k. Granted you would have to pull yhe engine to get to a few of them.. but 7800 dollars.. that is a complete joke.

[G Men 08]

Where do you live? The entire front end of the car comes off. It can also be put into a service position so the front of the engine is more easily accessable.

[khalimadeath]

Lot of work for an oil leak IMO. If it aint broke or throwin codes just put some cardboard under it when parked and keep some oil on hand.

[ENDEE666]

He wasn't trying to push me to do all that. But he did say that he doesn't work on a ton of audi's, but does german cars in general, that he was only quoting based on some manuals or something and his general diagnosis abilities. That said he scared the hell out of me with his diagnosis as I was not expecting that.

You should be scared. He may be a nice guy, he may know oil changes on a 1986 Mercedes, brake jobs on 8v VW Jetta's, etc.. The 2.7T is way too unique for any "jack of (jack off) all trades, master of none" to tackle anything involving a motor pull, turbos, etc. So, nothing against him, but I would anticipate that even if you did do all this with him, you would have significant issues after that.

Find a 2.7T familiar shop, at least semi-local. Or at minimum an Audi-familiar shop that knows 1.8T cars, or any A4/A6 from the late 90s & early-mid 2000's.. You car sounds like it will be fine to drive to your new shop. To find one, check the regional forums for your area here on Audizine. Since the 2.7T is slightly more supported in S4 trim, you can also ask in the B5 S4 forum & Chatterbox, as well as our forum & Chatterbox. You may also want to search the other forums (audiworld, quattroworld, Audiforums, even Vortex) to see who has a shop they like in your area.. This forum, especially C5, has the best crowd by far. But there is still info on the other sites that might get you into good hands. You need a proper shop. The dealer is going to rape you too, and a non specialist might make matters work as well as rape you..

I wish you luck, and welcome to the C5 side of Audizine! Are you good with working on cars? A lot of the gaskets are easy DIY jobs for someone handy. Saves a LOT..

[cbock]

Damn....Yeah, you need an Audi mech on this...lots of good advice above.

It does make me think tho. When I had my first oil leak, I spent a LOT more than what you were quoted. But, I was very, very, very, very, very, very happy when I got it back.

[ajames1463]

ok, I have just had some serious rethinking of my love for this car ('04 A6 s-line)


Took it to an independent mechanic to assess why I was smelling some burning oil adn oil is definitely leaking from somewhere.

He is telling me to fix will cost me $7,800! That exceeds the cash value of the car in all likelihood!


So i'm looking for some thoughts on what to do.


Basically the assessment is this:
Oil Leak #1: Engine manifold area - to fix requires removal of engine, timing belts, water pump, etc etc... estimated charge $1,900

Oil Leak #2: Left Turbo - minor leak at send and receive area as well as intake area. Estimated charge: $2,900 (he reccs replacing entire turbo, and requires removal of engine as well)

Oil Leak #3: Right Turbo - same exact repair diagnosis




So i guess at this point I'm wondering, should I get rid of this car now? There is no way i'm going to drop $7,800 on this thing.... Are there any other options?? Dealer will charge alot more.


btw car has 120,000 miles... just had timing belt / water pump etc done a year and half ago. Car looks and drives great other than this issue.



Thanks for any suggestions!

Some oil leaks can be stopped, merely by changing the oil and filter. Why? Some of the unburned gasoline drips into the engine oil. The longer the wait between oil changes, the higher the ratio of gasoline to oil is in the engine. Gasoline leaks out much more easily than does thick oil. what is your car type you can have some auto repair estimates for the damage could be done.

[moyenecorniche]

^^^ Are You Serious...????

[JimmyBones]

OP, if I were you then I would go look for a engine degreaser named ZEP. It comes in a yellow can with a white cap then clean your engine off with it and monitor where your oil leaks are coming from. Make sure you take off all the stupid covers before so everything gets really clean.

By the way, there are usually four places that these cars leak oil from:
1. valve cover gaskets
2. camshaft adjuster seals
3. rear exhaust camshaft black caps
4. turbos

You should do the first three whenever you do a timing belt replacement because they have probably been leaking for a long time before that point and you save a lot on labor. The dealerships say that you have to pull the camshafts and adjuster out to replace the camshaft adjuster seals but it can be done in the car. It just helps a lot to have the timing belt off so that the cover over the driver's side/bank 2 camshaft adjuster can be loosened to allow more room. Also if your camshaft adjuster seals start leaking 60 days after replacing them then they were not done correctly. The rear exhaust camshaft black caps are small black caps on the back of the engine and they don't leak very often but again with the secondary air combi valves out of the way to get the valve covers off it is worth the $10 bucks to replace them. Some of us with the early 2.7Ts do not have secondary air like me which is very nice though.

Lastly the turbos do eventually fail and leak oil. Usually when the turbos go you can disconnect the lower turbo rubber charge pipes and so much oil will come out that it seems like you are doing an oil change! It is normal though for a little oil to come out when you disconnect those lines and I have only seen two 2.7Ts where no oil came out what so ever - I own one of those cars!

[new audi guy]

Well, the answer is back!

Lo annd behold you guys were 100% correct!


went to Dealer and they said Turbos are fine, bvut needs:
Valve Cover Gasket
Cam adjuster seals

Price Quoted: $1,350


phew.. never been so irrationally happy to get handed a $1300 repair quote.


I'm sure if i knew a good audi tech well enough i could get that done for $500 but at this pointj I'm just happy I don't need turbos.


Thanks again for all the advice.

and btw... as a side note... Discount Tire should be avoided at all costs... what a shyster operation

[4ringsa6]

Well, the answer is back!

Lo annd behold you guys were 100% correct!


went to Dealer and they said Turbos are fine, bvut needs:
Valve Cover Gasket
Cam adjuster seals

Price Quoted: $1,350


phew.. never been so irrationally happy to get handed a $1300 repair quote.


I'm sure if i knew a good audi tech well enough i could get that done for $500 but at this pointj I'm just happy I don't need turbos.


Thanks again for all the advice.

and btw... as a side note... Discount Tire should be avoided at all costs... what a shyster operation

I knew it! glad to hear the cost was cut down significantly. At a Indy shop, you should be able to do the timing and fix the leaks for around 1300.

[ENDEE666]

Yeah, it would have been much less @ non-dealer. But glad it worked out for you!

What was the issue with Discount Tire?

[v8a6]

and btw... as a side note... Discount Tire should be avoided at all costs... what a shyster operation

Discount Tire online? I have only had the best experiences with them time, and time again. What was the problem? If it was the Discount Tire online, give them a call and I am sure they will sort it out. Their customer service is top notch.

[moyenecorniche]

I have had positive service with Discount tire as well as Tire rack....
OP can you elaborate as to what the issue was ??

[new audi guy]

The discount tire issue? mainly just terrible service...

after much research I decided i wanted to put continental dws tires on the car. 235/40/18 tires.. so I pop into a discount tire locally (i'm in ohio ) and tell them I'm looking for that tire and do they have it. The convo goes like this:

Do you have these tires in stock.. continental dws in the 235/40/18?

why do you want such a low profile tire?

Because thats what fits my car and rims the best and came with the car.

You would really be much happier with something in a 245/40/18 size, you would really like these Yokohama yk580 tires

I'm really only interested in either these or some michelins.

Are you sure? I really can't get anything in that size anytime soon

Your website said you had these in stock in the area

We can't get them, but we could put the yokohama's on right now if you like. It will be about 1.5 hrs total



.... so i leave shaking my head. But i chalk it up to the location or the guy. I then check out their site again and it says they can have these exact tires in 2 days to any location. So I cal a different location to ask if they can put them on my car, and can they handle putting spacers on . The guy says oh no, they can't put tires on with spacers. And no they can't get the tires, and the website must be wrong. But he has michelins for $265 ea, but in a 245/40/18. so again I go back to drawing board.

Not sure why I'm a glutton for punishment, but I just assumed these kids at the store don't know what they're talking about.

So i decide to just order the damn tires off their website and make the appt on the website and they can put the tires on the wheels and I'll put em on the car myself with the spacers. The website gives me an appt in two days for those exact tireswhich it indicates will be shipped.
Two days later I call and ask if they have the tires before i drive over. No they don't have the tires... But they'll call when they get there. Another day goes by, after the appt i had... still no word.. I call again... still no tires, not sure if they've been sent or not. NO notice to let me know not to come to the appt or that they didnt actually know when the tires might come.


bottom line, they will try to convince you to buy their in-house brand and could care less about service.

[Calimus]

Wow, that's awful, I've been a big proponent of Discount for over 10 years. I have two stores that I have been going to all that time and never had anything but top notch service. Sounds to me like you just have few yahoo's at your local stores which really sucks. I've even had a friend that recently moved to cali and had two tires blow out and took out a third with a rock in the road. Each time he called me and had me locate the nearest DT and they took perfect care of him. They even replaced his spare tire for free as it was so old and they didn't want him to have to use it again. That's been the level of service I've always had from them. However, just like anything else, there are always shit stores and I'm sorry you seem to have two of them.

Glad you were able to get the oil issues taken care of. Be sure to call DT corporate and let them know about the level of disservice you experienced. I constantly get survey's from them in the mail after every visit (I have 5 cars, so I'm on their xmas card list, lol) and let them know that ppl in your care community recommended them to you and that the experience was drastically different from what you were told it should have been like. I would imagine they take it very seriously since I've never heard of that kind of treatment from any store anywhere till now.

Enjoy the leak free car, one of these days I'll get off my ass and do the same service you just had done and maybe I won't get a whiff of burning Rotella at every stop light.

[matthilaman]

sorry to hear about your bad DT experience, but im not too surprised. I work for costco tire and i always get complaints about our local competitors. I even called Big-O tires down the street for a price comparison and the salesman on the phone actually said that we have better service than them..BUT they will price match LOL

[julex]

99% of times when oil leak from top of engine is involved it is either cam tensioner seal or cam plug leaking. It is really never a "VCG". Leaky cam tensioner/cam plug manifests iteself in oil dripping down the exhaust manifold and then all over the stuff below including turbos.

There is no single V6 30v engine out there that doesn't develop this sooner or later. At the age of our cars, it is 100% guaranteed that you will get it soon.

It is easy to tell too, when you start engine cold and you get oil burning smell almost immediately, that's oil on exhaust manifolds.

The fix is a fairly easy DIY or about 2-3 hours of shop time. Absolutely insist on replacing cam plugs too as in my experience these are actually responsible for majority of leaks.

This WILL cure your oil leaks.

[new audi guy]

99% of times when oil leak from top of engine is involved it is either cam tensioner seal or cam plug leaking. It is really never a "VCG". Leaky cam tensioner/cam plug manifests iteself in oil dripping down the exhaust manifold and then all over the stuff below including turbos.

There is no single V6 30v engine out there that doesn't develop this sooner or later. At the age of our cars, it is 100% guaranteed that you will get it soon.

It is easy to tell too, when you start engine cold and you get oil burning smell almost immediately, that's oil on exhaust manifolds.

The fix is a fairly easy DIY or about 2-3 hours of shop time. Absolutely insist on replacing cam plugs too as in my experience these are actually responsible for majority of leaks.

This WILL cure your oil leaks.

that is exactly the symptoms! smell oil right away when starting up.


thanks! I will ask them to do the cam plugs

[CitizenGremlin]

I know this thread is now a few months old, so I'm not sure if anyone is still checking it. I'm a new user here (just signed up) who had a very similar issue. I have a 2001 S4 that had oil leak (could smell burning from engine), so I brought it in. Although I have hardly noticed the oil level dropping, the undercarriage is covered in oil, so this must be an old issue. Needless to say - both the dealership and an independent Audi mechanic both quoted roughly $7,000 to fix the car (more than its worth). This sounds a little weird to me: 7k to fix an oil leak? Does this sound accurate or crazy?

In other news, I really need to learn more about these cars so I can work on it myself or at least understand what is going on. How does one get started on learning the very basics of DIY?

[rollerton]

It's totally fair and reasonable. They have to remove the engine to fix the first leaks around the manifold etc.. then put the engine BACK IN, then remove it again and fix turbo #1, then of course reinstall engine and remove it again to fix the 2nd turbo leak.
Yep.
That's how you do it.
99.9% of the time if you can smell the oil burning it's cam chain tensioner seals and valve cover gaskets. It's $75 worth of seals and an hour for each side roughly

[Sparkstack]

nvrmind.

[z06bigbird]

About 17 Discount Tire stores in San Antonio area, and I have purchased thousands of tires from them in five years for my business and personal use. Yes, thousands of tires. No problems that I could see. These guys will even lend you a set of new tires until your (specific) tires arrive. I have also seen them give a used tire to customers when the customer has absolutely no money for a new tire. They really believe in fantastic customer service. If you look at the policies and procedures on the walls in the shop, they are fantastically detailed. Tons of training for their staff on a regular basis.

One sign caught my attention. It says something like: One of our goals is to DELIGHT the customer.

On the other side of the fence, they do employ many young inexperienced high school grads. Those guys do make mistakes like you and I did when we were young.

Again, when D T makes a mistake, they own up to it and do the repair for the customer.

We all know that some store mgrs are more caring and honest than others. Same as any other business. That company is first class, and the high expectations roll down from the regional and corporate offices. BTW, that company is owned by 1 guy. I suspect he makes a few $$. lol

I do not work for D T, nor do any of my relatives. Just my unsolicited 2 cents.

[julex]

It is a simple few hour job to seal all the leaks, unless turbo is involved but that's it is rare for it to externally leak.

Search for "Cam plug" on here or B5 S4 forum (same engine) as this is the part that frequently leaks after few years and can be replaced with two screwdrivers and a hammer and 1 hour when taking it slow. And $10 in parts.

[-C5-]

agreed. for less than that you can get a whole new engine. they are trying to screw you.

[mike2112]

I have an indy mechanic near me that says he does tb service vc and ALL seals and rebuild turbos for 2300 seems pretty reasonable