so I went out to my car after work yesterday, turn the key... nothing. Barely even a click. So i get this guy to jump me...nothing. All the interior lights work fine but the headlights wouldn't so i was like wtf?! I have a manual so i kick started it. Drove it right to Pep Boys. $22.50 just to look at it. Then they come back and say the battery is bad. It will be $166 to fix... ok fine go ahead. 10 minutes later they come back out, "yea uh.. actually it's your alternator." It will be $266 to fix it. F*ck... ok fine whatever fix it. "well we dont' have any in stock for your car, you'll have to leave it here over night." Wonderful.. So now I'm car-less for a day.

Now don't get me wrong, I love my audi but I've had it for about 2 months (pre-owned) and so far this is what i had to fix:
MAF sensor went bad
TRE's had to be replaced
Hose leaks
Speedo sensor went bad
Washer fluid leak
Alternator

So I'm shelling out some heaping mounds of cash just to keep it running and I can't save up for any mods!!!

 

if you buy a bentley manuel and do all the work your self you really wont spend too much money. if pep bpys were smart they would have disconected the batterie while the car was running to see if it died or not. if it dies, the alternator is bad. anyways, seriously do it all ur self it really isnt too hard.....[8D]

 

where can i get a bentley manual for a decent price?

 

well. its expensive no matter where you go.... $85-100. honestly though i have a haynes which was like $15 or $20 and it does fine. i havent had any serious problems yet though. so far the chiltons manuel has been ok, its confusing though
if a vag cant find ur prob try posting ur problem on here, usually someone knows what to do. if i didnt do stuff my self i really wouldnt be able to afford my car...

 

here here......

 

If the car was running fine up to the point you parked it... and you came out, and it wouldn't start... and you were able to 'bump start' it as you said... then this really doesn't sound like an alternator problem at all... Perhaps a starter problem... or starter solenoid.

 

thanks for the feedback fellas, i do minor stuff myself but.. oh well, i'll def look into getting a manual. I had haynes with my volvo and it was fine. Also, quick update to the story, Pep Boys wanted to charge me $900!!!!! HAHAHA, i said the hell with that, got it towed to my friends garage. Gay pep boys... gay..

 

Do you still think it's the alternator?

 

For those of you who are interested, it turned out to be none of the above, battery's fine, alternator's fine, starter's fine... Turned out to be a loose ground wire connection from the engine to the battery. Anyone else run into this issue? Or is is just a wierd thing...

 

weiord things happen when a ground is loose. my car would drive fine until it warmed up, then the tach would literally FLIP out and the car would die.. found it. fixed it, car runs much better.