Hi all

Hopefully someone can give me some guidance here. It's long(ish), so bear with me.

Three and a half weeks ago, I bought a reasonably new used Audi SQ5 from Audi Northampton. It had 18k miles on the clock, and was the spec I was looking for (all the bells and whistles), so I travelled a fair distance to view it. I travelled 130 miles to view it, in fact. I paid £34k for the car, so it wasn't cheap, and I had it delivered the 130 miles to me a week or so later, for an additional £200.

After driving it round the block from where the delivery driver left it, the car was then put straight into my garage for the first week, as I still had my old car, and the first time I really drove it any distance was a week later when I embarked on the 500 mile round trip to see my folks for Christmas. Once I'd set off, it became apparent that the car was hissing under almost any application of throttle, and at various revs was also screeching. I continued to my destination, and called out Audi Roadside Assist, who acknowledged there was an issue, but were unable to diagnose it at the location I was at. I was, however, assured that it should be OK to make the return journey.

On returning home, the car was immediately taken to my local Audi dealership (Audi Roadside Assist had booked it in for me in advance), who gave me a courtesy car to use in the meantime, as my newly purchased car is still under manufacturer's warranty.

That was on 29th December.

So in summary, I've had the car for just over three weeks, and for (as I write this) 11 days of that, it's been garaged with Audi, who are trying to ascertain what the problem is. Their last update was that they don't know what the issue is, and are consulting with Audi Technical head office, so it's clearly not anything straightforward.

That's the background.

Oh, and there is apparently an option to return a purchased used Audi within 30 days, however since I don't have access to the car, I don't think that's a route I can look at immediately (and I'd rather have the car back, fixed, than return it). I have spoken to Audi Northampton and told them there is an issue with the car, but they have now stopped responding to emails. Great customer service.

My question really is whether or not it's reasonable to be seeking some sort of compensation from the Audi dealership that sold me this car (legally, or informally). I kind of feel that I've been sold a pup, but I'd expect better from a prestige dealership.

Looking forward to any input that anyone might have on this.

Thanks in advance.