Hi guys thought I'd give you a little background on my car and the problem.
Over the weekend I drove down to munich legends. I had an absolutely amazing drive along the way and was grinning from ear to ear. The car was flawless and i drove the car hard. I had a look around said dealership where they had an immaculate e30 m3, a le mans classic e21 that had just ran and an absolutely mint e46 m3 convertible amongst Z3 m coupes, e60 m6's, M3 CSL's..... In short that place was a treasure trove for any BMW M fan.
Now onto the problem....upon returning to my car I started her up and there was a squeal from the engine. I thought it was an alarm from the premises. I turned the car off. I turned the car back on and it was there though less pronounced. I drove very gently for a few minutes and the noise disappeared. I thought the sound was coming from the belts. The performance of the car was unaffected. My friend and I both thought nothing of it and the sound didn't come back. The next day I started the car and it was fine. I drove down to eastbourne the next day and the car ran without fault. I had an amazing time on some brill roads around there. I drove home and had no problems.
I dropped my friend home and upon returning to the car I noticed a dashboard light according to the booklet it states "fault in the exhaust system". Now the car to me didn't quite feel the same. I thought perhaps it was a placebo effect but it felt a little sluggish.
On sunday I started the car the noise was back. I turned the car off. I came back in the afternoon to check again with a friend and the car started with no problem! My friend thought I was off my rocket!
I later took the car for a drive. This time the car felt very sluggish. The difference was night and day. The car didn't like slowing to a stop felt like it would stall. If that makes sense. I was going to call recovery services. I reasoned that perhaps the cars gone into limp mode I drove home gingerly. The car then stopped! I turned the car off and then back on. The car started off again. The car was now "chugging" the idle being very lumpy. The car now sounded like a boats engine chugging along.
Needless to say I've left the car. I want to recover the car to a dealer but thought I'd ask your help for pointers before taking any action. The ironic thing is I was due to book the car in for a major service + DSG service this week and then this happens.
I'd be grateful for any helpful advice. I was considering taking the car to a specialist as I know VW charge an arm and a leg for "fault finding" and the car is now 80k and don't really know if VW service history is so important anymore.
Any helpful advice on things to have a look at would be greatfully appreciated and whether to take the car to VW or a specialist would be brilliant.
I am based in in croydon but work in sutton area of south london.
The one bright spark is that this situation has made me realise how much I LOVE my GTI!
