layabout13

I've been quoted approx £500 for a new starter motor on my 58 plate Audi Q5 3.0 TDi S tronic. Does this sound like a correct ball park figure?

MurrayA4

layabout13 given that your talking Ibs.this may only serve as a guideline or you could order from Canada, anyway here's the link to my parts supplier.
https://www.autopartsway.ca/partlist.../pagenum1/tabs

Anomious

In my town there is a service that rebuilds starters and alternators...

Very economical but you must take the starter out and to them.

Redd

Layabout-
Be careful about "new". In the US, if you go to a dealer and buy a "new" starter or alternator, it typically is NOT going to be a new part unless the car is still in production. Usually what they sell is a "remanufactured" part, meaning that someone (often a major supplier) actually took a non-working part, stripped it down to the frame, and rebuilt it using every component tested and measured to be within spec for a new part. Essentially, yes, this is "new" but the parts may or may not actually be new.
This is in contrast to a "rebuilt" starter or alternator, which means they simply fixed whatever was broken in one, but does not mean that everything (bearings, etc.) was actually tested to see if it was still in spec, just that it is now working again.

Actual "new" tends to be very expensive. Remanufactured almost as much. Rebuilt, much less but with quality control questions. I've been lucky with starters, not needing one. But with alternators, I've found that the best bet (most reliable and economical) can be to just buy a fairly clean one from a junkyard that has low mileage and typically a 90-day guarantee on it. And then let a mechanic drop it in, rather than a dealer. (Although usually if you let them source the part, they'll also guarantee their labor on the job for a period.) The length of warranty that you get can be as important as the price.

A truly "new" starter or alternator could easily hit $600 US even a decade ago, fwiw.

Rebuild shops...can be reasonable, but the quality of their works also varies quite a bit. If the actual shop looks a mess or there are people shouting...walk by.

simplesez

Looks like about $400 to $550 US for a new BOSCH SR0790N starter