Can anyone point me to a final inspection checklist or make some recommendations on what I should watch out for? The factory warranty for my 2006 C2S runs out in a couple of weeks and I'm planning on taking it into the dealer for one final warranty-covered session.

The car has run great these last four years. In fact, it has been the most reliable car I've ever owned. I'm sure the fact that I only have 23K miles on it helps ;-)

I'd appreciate any recommendations you might have.

 

I did this for my 2003 A4 a few months before it ran out of CPO warrantee. This is not an exhaustive list, but here's what I did:

- Looked for any leak in the engine or drivetrain. Found a leak in the rear differential which was fixed under warrantee. To do this, I had to put the car on ramps and I crawled underneath.

- If you have access to an ODBII scanner, see if any fault codes stored in the system (CEL may not come on even if a fault code is stored in the system).


- Looked for rust that may be covered by the warrantee. I found some rust in the rear axle area which the dealer refused to fix.

Fixing coolant or oil leaks under warrantee may end up saving you a lot of money. One thing I didn't catch is a coolant flange leak, which the dealer wants $500.00 to fix now.

I hope this helps.

 

Why not ask the dealer to do an inspection, they will know what to look for.

 

Thanks - I appreciate your suggestions.

 

I'd like to help them along to ensure they are comprehensive. I suspect they will address any known warranty issues but they may miss other items.

 

My indie tech found an rms leak at about 20K miles one week before warranty expired on my 06. He did not charge me for the inspection and the dealer did the work. They (dealer) have an inspection that they perform for extended warranty that is comprehensive but not free. I think they wanted either $150 or $300, can't recall. Good luck with it.

 

Same situation for me. Taking mine in Friday. Still have a few weeks to decide if I want to buy an extended warranty afterwards. Will all depend on how many warranty items are discovered on the inspection!

 

I passed on the warranty. It's a crapshoot. Since March it has cost me 400$ for an O2 sensor. Don't know if it would have been covered or not. The electronics worry me most long term. Cost of a warranty past the next 2-3 years is very high. We'll see. I do love this car

 

a dealer wont look for everything in detail... but here are a couple of smaller things

1) check your PCM functionality... play cds change to radio, push all the buttons. to replace this unit out of warranty is very expensive. my tech said if it ever breaks, just go buy an aftermarket unit. see if buttons are peeling although this was typically seen on the 05

2) check cupholders and side door glove boxes for any loose parts.

3) check floormats to make sure that velcro peg is still in place. sometimes it tears away from the carpets

4) there's a plastic overhang on the doorhandles. hard for me to describe, but sometimes it becomes separated from the rest of the doorhandle.

5) run your heater and A/c... see if there is any funny smells and make sure everything works well

6) check sunroof functionality.

7) rev up the car to check for exhaust leaks.

8) open and close trunk and hood several times.

9) when the car is cool, check your coolant cap to make sure there's a tight seal.

that's all i can think of right now off the top of my head. i'll add more later if i can think of anything else... of course, all this is beyond the standard mechanical inspection of looking for fluid leaks, etc. that would be standard protocol.

 

Awesome - thanks for the starter list!