Viking

Swap the rears onto the front and see what happens. If it still pulls, go ask the service manager to do an alignment.

So, the overall spec of the car. 3.0 ltr TDI, 245 bhp, S line, Quattro, S Tronic gearbox, Drive select (givesvyou options for sport, economy, comfort), keyless entry & start, heated & electric adjustable seats, heated folding mirrors, sat nav, built in hard drive, sd card slot, dvd drive. Just ordered an Android Auto interface which will give wireless Android Auto & Apple Carplay. Really nice to drive, plenty quick enough and more economical than the Kuga it replaced.

The pollen filter was as bad as the air filter. Replaced both today and also got the fuel filter to replace tomorrow.

Certainly is. I expected nothing less tbh.

The usual used car dealer attention to detail. Full service this weekend I guess (again).

Not quite. I couldn't get memory seats, but that's not really too much of an issue. Overall, with the service history, full mot, wheels refurbed and 4 nearly new tyres it was close enough. Keyless entry was the biggest one, I got that. As usual, they gave it a detail before they sold it, so that means spending the next few days doing it properly. The leather interior was greasy so I dunno what they applied to it, but I'll wash it all and condition it properly myself.

Finally... Picked this up yesterday.

Sounds like there's gonna be some good BBQ evenings happening at some point. 😊

I guess it's a new thing, flagging it on MOT tests as the guy said he'd never seen it before. I don't want the emissions fix because the car is fine without it. Once you get the emissions fix it overworks the egr system and causes more frequent DPF regens. Essentially you end up burning more fuel to reduce emissions. That can never be a good thing in my book...

No dice on viewing today, or indeed til next Thursday. Went in for MOT & passed with no advisories, but came back with a note on the MOT that there's an outstanding recall for the heater element electric connection. Is can wear through the insulation and possibly cause a fire. I knew about this already & had spoken to my local Audi dealer about getting it done. They said there's an emissions recall as well which I immediately said wouldn't be getting done. So now the dealer says they don't really like sending cars out with outstanding recalls so they would like to have it done themselves. After discussing it with him he's agreed to get it done down there and refuse the emissions fix. Makes it easier for me as I don't need to muck about up here with taxis, loan cars and suchlike. So next Wednesday it's booked in, will be with them for a day, so possibly ready for a week today pick up.

Well 10 days on and had a call from the seller. He's had it in for service and detailing, changed a tyre which had a cut in it (fitted a Uniroyal so I'm good with that), needs an MOT, and he's got to get the wheels refurbished as they're a bit scabby. He gave me the option of having them done now or he'd knock the price off the car if I wanted to take it as is. Looks like I should be going to have a look on Wednesday. If it's as it should be then the deal is as good as done.

Found one which sounds good, so put a deposit on it. More importantly the seller sounds good as well. Answered all my questions, didn't haggle over the price of my part ex (just said he'd give me what I was looking for which was WBAC and Autotraders valuation), getting it prepared and serviced / mot'd for next weekend hopefully.

Nope, nothing good coming up just at the moment. Checking a couple of times a day though. 😊

Found one yesterday, popped up on Autotrader with one picture and a good description. "Fully loaded" it promised... So I called and asked a few questions. He obligingly went to the car and sat in it while I said... "Does it have folding mirrors?". No "Does it have keyless entry and push button start?" No "Does it have electric memory seats?" It has electric lumbar adjustment. "Well, I guess it has heated seats at least?" Err... No... "Does it have sat nav?" No, I'm afraid not. "DAB radio?" No... "Well, how about cruise control?" Yes, it does have cruise control. So that'll be the fully loaded bit you're talking about then? 🫣

I'm surprised actually. Last time I asked at Costco they didn't do repairs / punctures, so maybe they changed their policy. In any event, to be repairable it needs to be in the central 70% of the width of the tyre. Where the tyre starts and the sidwall ends is open for debate, but that (as you say) looks borderline. If it were me I'd take it to my friendly tyre fitter, andif he says yes then I'd fit it on the rear and be aware of pressures etc.

No, I can't wear shorts at work. I work on my knees all day so wear knee pads in my trousers. I wear shorts at home in summer though.

I guess the winters are a little warmer for you down there, up in the Yorkshire Dales it's winter more than it's summer. 😁

Found a nice one today on Autotrader. Had everything I wanted (except it has a sunroof which I really don't want at all) and it was £2k more than all the other stuff I've been looking at. Thought I'd give the guy a ring, and he was the typical car salesman. "It's just come in, and to be honest one of the mechanics and the valeter are both interested in it and they say they'll buy it if you don't!" So I told him I wasn't going to waste any more of his time and best sell it to one of the staff then, and put the phone down. 15 seconds later I get a text saying "I can knock £500 off if you leave a deposit right now!" So I replied "No thanks, I don't play those types of games so sell it to someone else." 🤪 Still looking...

Yep, looking at Audi A5 now (the Q5 is just not growing on me and I still like the A5 after the last one I had). The one I put a deposit on I've backheeled and got my deposit back. The salesman was very helpful, only been in the job for a couple of weeks so I let him take his time and tried to help him a bit on the way. It was at BravoAuto who are part of the Inchscape group, and the car was lovely, but it just lacked a few toys (no cruise control, no folding mirrors, no electric seats. So I spoke to a guy down in Ashford about another I found on Autotrader. It was perfect, everything was there and more, but it just transpired as I looked at the photos that the first buyer didn't tick the box for heated seats. There was a removable tow bar still in the factory packaging which was a £600 option, and never been fitted, and every other option imaginable, but why would you not tick the heated seats at £200 and have a tow bar? No matter, still looking.

And after 5 days of back & forth it became apparent that this Q5 was probably the one to buy. Then at the last minute he tells me he wouldn't want the Kuga in part exchange. What an arse. He wasted not only my time but his own as well. He seemed a bit put out when I told him I wasn't gonna buy his car if he wasn't buying mine, so I told him he knew all along from the first phonecall where I was stood, so another deal gone bad. So back on the phone and asked about another Q5 which just came on Autotrader, same thing he wanted to talk about how good his car was etc so I stopped him and asked if he'd take mine in part ex. So he says he wasn't looking for a part ex of mine because it was too new and he'd have to put money into the deal. Phoned another guy with an A5 I'd been watching, said he'd call me back and didn't. Then I got a text asking how much I wanted for the Kuga. Do any car dealers actually want to sell a car these days... But, I've put a holding deposit on another car. Details maybe to follow.

The only good stuff seems to come up way down south usually. I think all the car auctions are down south so it makes sense that they sell down there. Haulage costs up to here add a lot to the price. The last cars I've bought have been Aldershot, Sandhurst, Manchester, Tewkesbury, Hull, Leighton Buzzard and Norwich. Always seems like a drive is in order to get the right one, or maybe I'm just too picky. Prices are dropping a bit now, but with ulez zones popping up all over the place it means there's a steady flow of stuff arriving on the market.

I've found another possible car, again some four and a half hours drive away. Just waiting for the dealer to get back to me but as usual he's being an arse. Says it has full service history but hasn't actually got the car yet (just came into stock) so can't say if it's had the gearbox service as required. He's happy to take a £250 deposit but the only way to get my deposit back is to drive in and see the car in person. Yeah...

Well, today was supposed to be a good day. I'd done a deal to part exchange the ex's Kuga for an Audi Q5, coincidentally with a dealer I've bought from before in Aldershot. But after pressing him a few times for photos of the service history he finally sent them over. The S Tronic gearbox should've had two services and nearing it's third, but it's never been done. So no deal on that on mate. The search continues...

Get yerself unwell and put up a sob story, I'll volunteer it for Car SOS. 😊 But seriously, it looks like it could be a good project for someone so I hope it sells well.

Cancel and go elsewhere. You'll lose a month maybe, but I'd do it just out of spite.