Wishbone Bushes on Audi A3

willit

Just had an NCT fail :mad: due to worn wishbone bushes on the front near (drivers) side. Just had the car serviced 2 weeks ago at a total cost of around E1,300 so let it suffice to say I'm a bit peeved.

Anyway, has anyone had any experience with the wishbone bushes on an A3? Could I replace this myself or is it something that I should bring to the garage (bearing in mind I am going to call the garage that did my s4ervice to see if I can get a bit of satisfaction from them)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. It's a 04 model A3 in case the mechanics would be different from earlier models.

Moanin

I'd be bringing it back to the mechanic who did the service and didn't spot this.

Nissan doctor

A service didn't cost you €1300. What did you have done to it in addition to the service to bring the bill up?

If the garage missed the worn bush then it makes them look bad alright but they wouldn't be liable to pay for it to be repaired.

On the other side, no amount of work done on a car by any garage is a guaranteed NCT pass as they are a law unto themselves. There may only be the tiniest play in the bush.

I'd imagine a decent garage would at lease replace the bush as a discounted price or labour free etc.

mickdw

Did you pay 1300 in a bid to have the car prepared for the NCT. If so, more fool you.

What work did you have done? I wouldndt really be blaming the garage here. Its more than likely a borderline fail on the wishbone and the garage could most likely have been taking an educated punt on it passing, instead of charging you yet more cash.

willit

Firstly, I neither blamed the garage that did the service at any point in my OP nor did I say that I paid to get the car prepared for an NCT. I merely asked if changing the wishbone bushes is something that one could do themselves or if I should bring the car to a garage.

I mentioned the service because, as I said, I was a bit peeved. It was an Audi garage and I did ask them to thoroughly check the car as it was due for an NCT and they advised that there were no faults. I will contact the garage and speak to them but won't expect them to do anything as they have no obligation and I agree they shouldn't.

What I would expect is to get some advice on the question I asked regarding some DIY on my car as this is the DIY section of the Motors forum. Or perhaps it is "bigger fool" me for expecting that.

Nissan doctor

willit wrote: »

Just had an NCT fail :mad: due to worn wishbone bushes on the front near (drivers) side. Just had the car serviced 2 weeks ago at a total cost of around E1,300 so let it suffice to say I'm a bit peeved.

Anyway, has anyone had any experience with the wishbone bushes on an A3? Could I replace this myself or is it something that I should bring to the garage (bearing in mind I am going to call the garage that did my s4ervice to see if I can get a bit of satisfaction from them)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. It's a 04 model A3 in case the mechanics would be different from earlier models.

You are certainly insinuating that you feel the garage is to blame.




Anyway, How much experience have you got at DIY motoring jobs? In most cases, a wishbone is certainly alot harder then doing a basic service.

mickdw

To answer your question, Trying to do wishbone bushes at home on the driveway is not worth the hassle.
I am interested to know what the the 1300 euro was for though. I wasnt being smart about having spent all that money but its unreal the number of people who come on here wondering where to take the car for NCT preperation. The advice here is always to run it through the test first and see what needs fixing instead of spending a fortune on what might need doing. Anyone who goes this route usually ends up saving alot of money.

George Dalton

I'm confused. On the one hand you bring your 7 year old car to a main dealer and spend €1300 on it seemingly without question. Then when it needs wishbone bushes done you want to know if this is something you can do yourself? Usually the type of person who brings their car to a main dealer for work is not the DIY type at all. In my opinion you would be much better served finding a decent independent garage to bring your car to for future work as you will save yourself a lot of money by doing that.

To answer your question anyway I am going to assume that this is a new model A3. In which case the wishbone bushes are about the easiest to replace of any car out there (unless it is a DSG in which case the left wishbone is a bit more difficult to remove) However you will still need a decent selection of tools and be pretty competent with them. Wishbone bushes on these are a bit of a weak point. We fit Powerflex poly bushes to them as they are cheaper and last longer than the dealer parts.

willit

Thank you to those who have answered the question.
I don't really know why some are so interested to know what I spent 1300 on or why that would mean that I'm not the kind of person that would do some DIY. It had nothing to do with suspension or the bushes so that should suffice for people to no longer ask that. My father in law is a mechanic and we do a lot of small work on the car together. I bring it to the main dealer for service as neither I nor he have the relevant tools to update the onboard computer on an Audi. Do I do DIY? Yes. Do I have the relevant tools? Yes. Am I sorry I don't fit the stereotype that has been put on me? No.
I apologise for the rant but I just hate being pigeon holed based on practically zero information. I am genuinely thankful for any relevant answers and I will let you know how I get on.