Is a general RTA test enough for a used Q7 or am I being cheap for no reason?
Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2026 6:47 am
My cousin keeps telling me I'm overthinking this whole thing but I've got my eye on a 2017 Audi Q7 with the 3.0T engine and I'm trying to figure out if I should just let the dealer do the basic RTA passing test or actually pay for someone who specializes in these particular cars because I've heard the supercharger intercoolers can leak coolant into the intake and the timing chain tensioners on the earlier 3.0s are a known weak spot that won't show up on a simple computer scan. The salesman of course says the car is perfect and that I can take it to any garage I want for a check but I'm not even sure where to start looking because I'm new to Dubai and my last car back home was a Honda that I just took to the local mechanic who knew me by name. I stumbled across a few threads mentioning Dubai Audi Vehicle Inspection Experts that use the proper VCDS software to check for hidden fault codes and actually measure the timing chain stretch values which is apparently the only real way to know if that engine is on borrowed time. I guess I'm just wondering if it's worth the extra few hundred dirhams for the peace of mind when you're already dropping a decent chunk of change on a German family hauler or if I'm just being paranoid because I watched one too many YouTube videos about catastrophic engine failures.