John Elway

I own a 2001 a6 2.8l quattro. I recently bought it no more than 30 days ago. The dealer told me all the car needed was an o2 sensor. Long story short I went to get the coolant drained (it was brown) and found out that I had a leak. Took it to an Audi specialist he told me I had a leaking water pump and that my timing belt is 15,000 MILES PAST DUE TIME TO REPLACE!!!! The job is going to cost me roughly $1000 that I don't have right now. Do anybody have any idea how long I have until this thing breaks? And how can I check to see how worn it is? By the way my car has 120k miles on it
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Kris Hansen

Ok, so 2 things. The coolant was BROWN? That's never good. Should be pink. Second, If the coolant pump is leaking, and they replace that part, the timing belt is in the same place, so it is replaced as well. It's a decent amount of work to do that job, but not horrible. Having said that, if the pump is leaking, it's probably leaking at the shaft. If its leaking at the shaft, it won't last long before it seizes up. If it seizes up, your belt has about 1 minute of life before it breaks. If the timing belt breaks, it will cost a far sight more than $1000.00 to repair the damage.

Moral - either get it all done, or don't drive the car.

raj99

+1 on what Kris said - brown coolant = bad. Also, $1K for all the work that is done with a timing belt job is actually a good deal, especially if they use OEM parts:

• Serpentine Belt assembly
• Thermostat With O-ring
• Timing Belt
• Water Pump
• Accessory Drive Belt
• Tensioner Roller, Timing Belt
• Timing Belt Idler Roller

georgeb944

If all it needed was an O2 sensor, then why did you buy the car without the dealer replacing it first? Don't blame the dealer for lying, because they all do that. Blame yourself for believing that a liar would tell you the truth.

SloopJohnB@mac.com

Depending on your state there should be some kind of warranty. Go back to the dealer and find out. Check with your local better business bureau or use google to find out what rights you have on used cars.

Unless you signed away the warranty on an as-is deal and relied on the dealer's word rather than your own or a professional inspection. Learn from this…never buy a used car without a professional inspection..you are clearly not qualified.

Some people would say that a timing belt service is always needed on these cars because people dump them rather than pay to have it done. Whether that's a case of 'needed' or not depends on the definition of needed.

You should have noted the brown coolant. Never a good sign.

jcman

Not trying to add insult to injury but come on, it's a 14yr old car and I'm almost positive you bought it "As Is" and even signed that acknowledgement paper during the closing of the sale, at least the guy mentioned something.

Any time a vehicle is bought used it's generally up to the perspective buyer to have the car checked out or if able do it them self, fluid checks are the very first items to check, however many dealers with change tainted fluids to cover up potential problems.......it's all a crap shoot even before the car hits the lot for sale based on the lack of maintenance or neglect from the pervious owner/owners.

The fact remains it's a 14yr old car, not sure how much you bought for but do consider that any car needs maintenance at a given point so take the advice and invest the right dollars for the right repairs.......try to enjoy the ride.

deviantirish

If you do some research and have about a day you can change it yourself. recommend a cam lock bar and a timing kit.Also pick up a vagcom to read codes more accurately.
If the timing goes you are looking at a lot more time and money. I know. Mine went.

audi_nicoya209

assuming you have all the tools or at least the necessary tools for the job I'd say give yourself a weekend if its your first time. Don't be intimidated by the service position its not bad at all. There is a how to vid on you tube for the service position but I'm too lazy to link it up lol

deviantirish

Here are 2 helpful links:

Bently

Edgemotors