Audi A6 Avant damaged undercarriage

The_Conductor

Looking for a few ideas.
I was recently driving my car on a field at an agricultural event- and unfortunately encountered a football sized rock that was hidden in the chaff from cut straw. I knew pretty much immediately what had happened- from the noise of driving over it- however, there wasn't anything I could do about it at the time.

I know there is a rigid plastic sheet covering the undercarriage.

A mechanic at the event offered to look at the damage immediately (without the benefit of a pit) and offered that I had done major damage to this rigid plastic sheet, however, he wasn't aware of any damage other than to the sheet. I drove over a dust sheet- and moisture from the a/c dribbled out- nothing else).

I've checked vitals for the last 8k kilometers- and am not loosing fluid, no leaks etc- but on motorway driving it most certainly effects fuel efficiency (as I now have undercarriage drag, where previously I did not).

Is it worth my while trying to get the rigid plastic sheet replaced- its a 2010- so there is a reasonable assumption I might be able to get parts second hand.

I'm on a bit of a budget- who isn't- and the car *has* to last me at least 5-6 years (by which time the loan I took out to buy it in the first instance should be repaid). I want to make sure that I make good any damage- to the best of my ability- without breaking the bank.

Is there anything I should be looking for- other than damage to the rigid plastic undercarriage cover? I pretty much hit it in the middle.

The original mechanic who I had look at it- advised its a very common problem- I just got unlucky with such a heavy car in an agricultural field- so the limited clearance I'd normally have, was even less than normal. He said hes lost count of the number of times hes seen damage like it.

I suppose- I guess its cosmetic more than anything in nature- however, it might potentially affect an NCT (grateful if anyone has any ideas on this)- and its definitely affecting fuel efficiency on motorway driving.

Grateful for any advice you might have.
Thanks for reading.

racinggreen

Just out of curiosity what difference is the mpg since the incident. Is this based on the fuel computer readings?
as to the nct i would say either replace it or remove it. I don't think it would fail if its removed but any exterior parts that are damaged could be an issue.

The_Conductor

racinggreen wrote: »

Just out of curiosity what difference is the mpg since the incident. Is this based on the fuel computer readings?

Difference is less than 10%- and is based on the fuel computer readings (which update themselves regularly- so its a dynamic assessment). My main measure- is I drive to Belfast and back on a regular basis- currently getting about 950km on a full tank- was a bit over a thousand. Only change- is I've started adding a shot of Redex to each tank of fuel.

racinggreen

I dont think you would see any significant drop in mpg due to the damage. Over 900 km many different things can affect mpg . I would just remove it if you dont want to get a new one.

The_Conductor

racinggreen wrote: »

I dont think you would see any significant drop in mpg due to the damage. Over 900 km many different things can affect mpg . I would just remove it if you dont want to get a new one.

If I leave it be- will it fail an NCT?
If I decide to replace it- any idea how much those sheets cost?
Should I just bite the bullet and have an Audi dealership assess it (obviously I wouldn't get it repaired there- unless I win the lottery or something).

racinggreen

From my experience it could fail the nct if there is bits of broken parts sticking out etc.so i would just take it off. Definitely try a breakers fo a replacement as audi would be expensive.

Special Circumstances

If it is just split then you maybe could try the old diy bumper crack fix... pull the tray out and "stitch" it up with cable ties.

You may need to invest in some new plastic screw/rivet things if that's what's holding it on. I I always seem to break at least one when I go removing plastic arch liners or under trays. There were some stupid clips aswell on the last car I took the undertray off, be careful.

The last time I looked underneath an A6 I was helping reattach the under tray with cable ties, just not fit for bad roads really.

dieselbug

Firstly you dont need to bring it to the main dealer to have the damage accessed, any garage can do that for you and they can give the area a good inspection to rule out any other possible damage.

If the undershield is beyond repair I would try to have it replaced although it may be difficult enough to find a good used one.

You may well be correct in suspecting a small reduction in your fuel consumption as the undershield plays an important part in airflow around the engine bay and therefore helping to control the optimum temperature required for maximum efficiency.

The_Conductor

Thanks guys- I take on board what you're saying.
I need to get new tyres, tracking and a few other bits imminently- I'll ask for a quick opinion at that stage.

The_Conductor

On a separate note- is it a known 'feature' that Audi's tend to wear tyres on one side 10 times faster than on the other? I've had a look at a few Audi models in work- and they all seem to feature this sort of unusual tyre wear- front left looks almost new- but right is barely at legal thread depth? Seems a bit extreme to me- but I've seen pretty much the same on a few different A3s, A4s and my own A6. I suppose you could swap the tyres over every couple of months- just never had to do it before (my last few vehicles were all Volvos).

sunnysoutheast

The_Conductor wrote: »

On a separate note- is it a known 'feature' that Audi's tend to wear tyres on one side 10 times faster than on the other? I've had a look at a few Audi models in work- and they all seem to feature this sort of unusual tyre wear- front left looks almost new- but right is barely at legal thread depth? Seems a bit extreme to me- but I've seen pretty much the same on a few different A3s, A4s and my own A6. I suppose you could swap the tyres over every couple of months- just never had to do it before (my last few vehicles were all Volvos).

I would look at getting laser alignment for any sort of excessive/localised tyre wear.

Our F30 chewed through the outers of both fronts and when we replaced with heart-stoppingly expensive Bridgestone RFTs we had the car aligned, both fronts were miles out of tolerance.

The_Conductor

Ok- undershield damaged beyond repair.
Local mech is checking out Kilcock and Enfield for possible second hand parts.
Nearly having heart failure at the replacement tyre prices- and the fact that they're all price-matching each other, screams 'cartel' at me. Hell- even the Audi main dealers are price matching.

Openeo methinks........

Special Circumstances

The_Conductor wrote: »

Ok- undershield damaged beyond repair.
Local mech is checking out Kilcock and Enfield for possible second hand parts.
Nearly having heart failure at the replacement tyre prices- and the fact that they're all price-matching each other, screams 'cartel' at me. Hell- even the Audi main dealers are price matching.

Openeo methinks........

Have you considered trading down to something with less "premium" level parts/consumables costs?

The_Conductor

Special Circumstances wrote: »

Have you considered trading down to something with less "premium" level parts/consumables costs?

The Insurance Class 29 is more an issue for me- my V60 preceding this car- was a far more manageable Class 15.......
I've done most of the work on this myself thus far- including the console and software work- and to be honest with you, enjoy it, though it has been a learning experience. I've had one or two mishaps- including the incident down at the ploughing- which I'll just be more careful about in future.

I got rid of the Volvo- because its consumables on the horizon included a rewiring and new airbags (who knew airbags had a 'best before date').

I don't regret getting the Audi- it is lovely to drive- though I should have gotten a headsup about the ongoing running costs- before taking the leap.

The most annoying thing I've encountered so far- was the manner I had to take out the airfilter- just to change a light bulb- the Volvo was like assisted Lego- in comparison to the hoops you have to jump through with the Audi........

Borrowed a brand-new Opel Insignia for a few hours at the weekend- absolutely hated the way it handled- and I drove a few other marques before I settled on the Audi- none of which I enjoyed.

I do the odd bit of long distance driving (Belfast/Sligo/Donegal/Cork)- probably a few times a month (i.e. not on a daily basis)- and I've had cars that were such a chore to drive in the past. The Audi (and indeed the Volvo preceding it) were fun and a joy to drive- in comparison to the awful experiences I had with some other cars.........

Paying up for a few interesting rental cars when abroad- is a good experience to get a feel for how some of them handle- though of course the cars you get in rental companies- have had the hell driven out of them.