Notes

audi r8

sorry i didnt get back to you last night . i wanted to wait for the info. im not very mechanically knowledgeable and wanted to make sure i got the words correct. i now have the paper i wrote on and cant read my writing. I am trying to figure out the most fair and logical way to handle this. obviously its up to both of us. you should do your own research before anything. i know time is short.
my check engine light light came on yesterday. car is running normal with no problems. they have spent about an hour of labor and determined which sensor triggered it ( evaporate emissions from the intake fuel detection pump? a possible leak) apparantly common causes are
1) gas cap on loose or crooked thus not sealing
2) cold weather as the gasket shrinks (which is normal) the sensor picks it up as a real leak. coincidentally or not we are having an unusual cold front currently which just started. probably the coldest its been since last year. i also hadn't driven it for a week or so.
3) bad sensor
4} an actual gasket leak from some kind of valve or activated charcoal canister? they lost me
i talked to the mechanic and to accurately diagnose the cause he needs to remove a bunch more stuff getting deeper into the car (about 5hrs of labor). after that If nothing major needs to be replaced its approximately $2200.00. if they do need to be replace stuff it is approximately $3000.00. the thing is either way they will need parts that have to be flown in and basically we wouldn't get the car back for at least 10 days.

so key points. i could be getting half those words mixed up and i cant even read my own writing

1. he is resetting the sensor and says if we do nothing it may never come on again- problem solved
or it may come back on tomorrow with the need to spend ~$2220-$3000. either way from my understanding and you can do your own research but this is not dangerous- just a leak. no reason to think anything will damage the car
2. theoretically i could have just not said anything to you as there would be no known problem on the day of sale but i did not want to do that. on the other hand if i was going to keep the car i would not waste 2200 when we are not sure anything is really wrong and if something is wrong then it is not dangerous and can always be fixed at a later date if the light comes on again. but in this case the expense would be yours. either way nothing that serious. when i told the mechanic that it sounds like the best thing to do is to put the car back together again and just observe. if it the light comes on again then can we can spend to 2200 to accurately diagnose and fix if necessary at that time. he said "that sounds like a logical plan". If an R8 certified mechanic at audi dealership says its logical not to spend more money to diagnose the problem.......that says something. They normally not only will milk you for every dollar but also they would not want any liability, not even the slightest minute chance if something going wrong. I have to believe that they are 100 positive of the facts. what to you think?
choices
1. do it now but likely would be an unnecessary waste of money (that i do not particularly want to pay ) for something that could have been caused by cold weather. you probably would loose money on plane tickets, and both of us will loose two weeks of time. etc etc
2. go with original plan as you are buying a used car and you have to expect things to break and need to be fixed . what do you think is fair??

maybe make an agreement that if you need to get it fixed within a certain amount of predetermined time (??? ___days) i will split the cost with you?? but what if by chance something crazy happens and something costs $15,000 because of a misdiagnosis. I do not want to be responsible for this repair?? what if something unrelated happens and it cant be proved it was not related. what if you go to get it fixed and it costs 5,000 and not 3000. there is just something unsettling about being responsible for something that could happen to a car that i do not own. im just trying to be fair,keep it simple but consider all possibilities.
well good morning. I probably beat this to death but i thought you should read it as soon as possible. so i recommend you call the mechanic at audi because you dont want any 2nd hand info from me that is not even close to a mechanic, do your own research as i did. maybe call another dealership and let me know what you want to do...
what i always like to do is be aware of the worst and best case scenarios and the likely hood of each happening.

audi dealership in ft myers fl -239 454 9600. barry is the mechanic. sal is the service guy. you should have my info