Motoring Agony Column 19-12-2015

Motoring Agony Column 19-12-2015
Welcome to a Medical Battery specialist of the TSI Battery
This week’s carrespondance covers terminal destinations, emissions impassible, chain reactions, the wheel high club and far more than could ever be contained in the pages of a newspaper.
Apologies for the delayed appearance of today's column. I've been travelling.
As usual, emails to Honest John should be addressed to: letters@honestjohn.co.uk Please try to keep them as short as possible.
We are going abroad for two months February and March 2016 and don’t wish the batteries with like Li202SX Battery, Li202SX-6600 Battery, Li202SX-66C Battery, Li202SX-7200 Battery, Li202SX-7800 Battery, Li202SX-78C Battery, TSI 8240 Battery, TSI 9130 Battery, TSI 9550 Battery, TSI 9510BD Battery, TSI AEROTRAK APC 9510-02 Battery, Zoncare BAT-120003 Batteryto run flat on our Volvo XC60 and Fiesta (both 2014 models) over the winter period. Please could you suggest a way of keeping the batteries charged as I don’t wish the car electronics to be affected if I allowed to the batteries to go flat on our return.
Don’t blame you. Assuming the cars are garaged, connect them to the mains via 'battery conditioning float chargers' that maintain the batteries at a constant 13.5 volts. Halfords sells them.
Diesels are detrimental to our health, which is my main concern, and as diesel emissions vastly exceed permitted levels, despite Euro 6, on actual road use, it is your duty to tell the public not to buy a diesel car and to cancel their orders. You are not doing so because IMO you are more concerned in supporting the manufacturers who have today, I read in the Times, lobbied successfully the foul corrupt EU to reduce requirements for emission levels. Incredibly you are still in your own words recommending buying a killer diesel car if the costs stack up for the buyer. Manufacturers must be in a panic as they have spent millions developing the latest diesel engines with their still unacceptable emissions.
We need to get this into proportion. The forest fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra that covered a lot of South East Asia in haze for 6 weeks, actually put more muck into the atmosphere than the entire United States of America over the course of a year. And, while diesel cars are not essential to the survival of mankind, diesel generators, diesel tractors, diesel railway locomotives, diesel ships and diesel trucks most certainly are. (GB then bought another diesel -car.)
I purchased Audi Approved 2010 A3 2.0FSI with 47k miles from my local Audi dealer in August. The car broke down in France on holiday and had to be to the local Audi dealer who diagnosed failure of the timing chain and fitted a new engine under warranty. Should I keep the car, or try to return or exchange it with Audi? And how much does the engine change affect value?
The engine has been replaced so that's a good thing, not a bad thing. It means you have a new engine instead of an old one and increases the value of the car because anyone aware of this fundamental fault would rather have one with a new engine. This engine has now been redesigned as the EA288 to eliminate its 3 main problem areas, though, unfortunately, another has occurred with the camshaft lobes and it is being recalled in the USA.