Bad, bad Audi

My 2003 Audi must suck the most by far!  Just turned 65000 miles (15000 miles out of warranty) and now it sits for good.  It's at the shop.  Here is what it needs.......A new transmission ($6000.), New turbo's (about $4500.), a new front left fluid motor mount ($unknown), new cam belt ($2500. maybe lot's more), a new radiator (no guote yet, but I've heard over $1000., this started leaking when the mechanic and I were test driving the car for the transmission problem), new power steering unit ($unknown), new front axels including cv boots and axle joints (over $1000.).
This car looks perfect inside and outside, no signs of abuse.  I am over 50 years old and have never abused a car.  The factory reps in Michigan and the dealer in Utah are absolutely no help!  To make things worse, I am 180 miles from Boise and 350 miles from Salt Lake City (the 2 closest dealers) and have been guoted $800. to tow the car to Salt Lake and $300 to Boise.  And then what........spend  $15,000 to fix it and have a car that the Chevy dealer says he will give me $13,000. on a trade in for a new Tahoe?  I will never again buy a car from a dealer very far from my home.  What to do?????  Maybe mount it on a pedistal in front of a business I own in town with a sign that says "Audi Sucks"!  I'm really considering doing that.  Maybe I can save some other poor bastard from making the same mistake I did.....buying an Audi in the first place.  Boy, they sure run nice when they're actually running, but beware of what the future holds.  The salesman sure laid me away with how great this car is, but funny enough he doesn't work there anymore!  This is a car that cost over $50,000. new, not including tax and license.  Now I know why they stopped making them.  I have heard so many stories on Audi's problems, but I mostly dismissed them in the past, not any longer.  I would like to take this opportunity to appologise to anyone who is or is considering buying an Audi...........I feel your pain.......in advance!

Ummm, lemon??

I just got my first Audi 5 days ago. so far I like it. as I see it, a car is a car. how you maintain it is how its gonna treat you. also how difficult it is to work on a certain car followed by maintenance requirements will determine the price. This is why I'm a mechanic, for the love and the money.  but there are a few in a bunch that are straight pos. you paid so much for the car do you expect to maintain it with pennies? maybe you got dealt a bad card. though if you want a car to last with basic maintenance I'll suggest a japanese car. I've owned a Subaru and still have a Nissan, though I'm bias. may I ask, whats wrong with the trans & turbo? how did they determine they are at fault? what are your problems? and don't trade the car in for that price. I think they are trying to make a bunch of money off of you both ways. if you fix it or trade it in. I doubt I live in your area so may the truth be told.

I don't see how a turbo can be a $4500 repair/replacement.  Freakin' K04's are only $800!!

Answers to some of your questions.
I have a large classic car collection including many muscle cars from the '60's and a few 356 Porsches, a 2002 BMW M5, and a '87 Porsche 930 which I bought new in '87.  All are in showroom condition.  I know how to maintain a car!  I am probably tooooooo anal.  I bought this '03 Allroad because I was tired of driving a big Suburban and I need 4wd (I live in Sun Valley, Idaho).  My Suburban has 187,000 miles on it and other than regular maintainence and oil changes every 3000 miles (which every mechanic I have talked to says is not necessary, but just a cheap "insurance policy") I have only had to replace the front brake rotors.  And I bought that car used with 55k on it...........a Chevy, go figure.  Isn't an Audi supposed to be the height of German engineering?  My '87 930 turbo Porsche has only 30k on it (I bought it new) and I have only had to replace the tires on it.  Nothing else.  I'm thinking I know how to take care of a car.
As far as the cost of the Turbo, most of that is labor, but I'm just going by the quote of the dealer who sold me the car.  In Utah no less. 
The transmission does not work, what more can I say?  OK, I did exaggerate a little when I sais it would cost $6000.  The quote here is $5763.  The service manager said Audi recommends replacing the timing belt at 60,000 miles.  I actually saw them doing another Allroad at the time.  They had to take the whole front clip off the car to access it!  Bumper, lights, radiator, everythind!  The car looked really funny sitting there with no front.  I thought I was in a body shop, but that was around the corner.  Who in their right mind would buy a 50k car knowing that they would automaticly have to replace such a costly item in such a short time?  He told me it was recommended in the manual.  Sorry, but I'm not in the habit of reading the manual when I'm sitting in the "closing booth" buying a car!  All the prices quoted were from the dealer.  I know I could save some money by going to an independent, but I am a little worried about doing all that work and having something go wrong again. 
Don't you guy's find it funny how a shop might have an hourly shop rate of up to $100. per hour, but they go by these shop books that designate how much time to charge for a specific job and then they do that job in less than half that time and still charge you the book time.  These books must be guoting the job as if I were doing it myself (I am a very slow mechanic, it takes me about an hour to change an air filter in an old Chevy......I have trouble turning a wing-nut!).  Most shops want their mechanics to bill 16 hours for an 8 hour day.  I'm not making this up, it comes from my old neighbor who owns a BMW dealership.  He told me that a mechanic who bills less than that won't last long.  The service department is designed to float the whole store, parts and sales are what they call the gravy (profit). 
If anybody thinks I don't know how to maintain a car, that is your option, but it is just not true.  Don't assume facts that are not in evidence, it just dilutes the truth.
So bottom line is that I have a beautiful, black, '03 Allroad with every option available (that's the way it came) sitting here that is not worth what it would cost to fix it.
By the way, one of the Audi service technicians told me that the problems I have are not at all unusual.  He seemed like a stand up guy.  I don't think he was lying to me.  He told me he works there because of job security......we had a good laugh over that!

Oh yeah, the turbo......it is dripping oil and making noise.  The dealer says it's toast.

Don't know what to tell you, but it sounds like you have a pretty nice collection.
 
I still think you got a lemon.  If all Allroads had this many problems, there wouldn't be any left on the roads.
 
I would try to take it somewhere else besides the dealership, myself, but it's your car, so...

you thirsty? u got so much lemon in that car u can make a beverage

Thanks.  You may be right.....lemon!  Although I have heard that my problems are not that uncommon.  The feds considered a recall a fews years ago concerning the turbo's and transmissions (Audi mechanic told me, actually the service manager), but nothing ever happened and Audi has refused to show any sort of "good faith" with regard to an out of warranty car.
I appreciate your input, this is the first time I haver participated in any sort of forum on the internet. With regard to my collection, I bought a Ford Boss 302 and a Shelby GT 500 in the early '90's and plan to sell them (prices have gotten SOOO high) the summer before my first born goes off to college in a couple years.  I think between the 2 cars, my kids can go to any university they want!

It's amazing how fast some cars can appreciate in value.
 
I don't know if it would do any good, but you might try b¡tching to the AoA.  I've heard that doing that can get things done, sometimes.
 
I don't know if checking into local lemon laws would do any good since some of the problems are common, but that might be worth a shot, as well.  I would think showing anyone estimates like that would do some sort of good.  Common or not, the dealership should've done a decent inspection before passing all of the problems off onto you, in my opinion.

my bad if it sounded like I said you cant maintain a car. you seem salty. though I understand your frustration. If I was building cars, of course I would like to profit off of it for the life of the car. hence the difficulty. so that the average person would be intimidated to work on it their own. and take it to the dealer for service. seems like your not confident in wrenching your own car? and getting paid flat rate is awesome! (for the mechanic of coarse if they can keep up).

"If I was building cars, of course I would like to profit off it for the life of the car"?  Let me know if you ever start so I can avoid your product!  If you apply that logic to every product produced, we would all still be living in our caves and hunting for our own food.  I appologise for taking a different course in life and not spending my life wrenching on cars.  Seems to me if we were all mechanics, you'd be in a soup line somewhere.  As far as flat rate is concerned, why is a manual that spells out how much time it should take to do a particular job written for the least common denominator?  Hell, if I can do the job in less time than it takes for a trained mechanic, why do I want to pay someone else to do it for twice the money?
Bottom line, I think given your view of the auto world ($200. an hour labor rates, profit for life, etc.), life as we know it would cease.  Let's double everyones pay, gee that would work...................only remember that other little slice of Ecomonics 101..................now you're paying double for everything as well.........housing, food, fuel, doctor bills, your kids.......nothing is as it was.  See how well communism/socialism worked for the USSR and China?  Oh, that's right, it didn't!

Salty...not really.  Peppery...........you betcha!

dude, chill out im not attacking you. the truth hurts huh? back in the days you could fix a chevy with a hammer. now a days people look at it in confusion. im just trying to spread the word from what I know. harmlessly "Hell, if I can do the job in less time than it takes for a trained mechanic, why do I want to pay someone else to do it for twice the money?"  This is the answer I want to hear.

Dude...................I am TOTALLY "chilled out".  I just have to take issue with your words.  "Profit for life" and "getting paid flat rate is awesome........ if you're a mechanic"?  Don't you see the lack of respect for your fellow man in those words?????
I'm totally chillin!  I've made so much money actually doing the right thing (yes, you can actually profit being a decent person) that I retired at 40 and live in a ski town with my family.  I spend my work time trying to figure out which needy organizations to give my money to.  I give away more than 90% of my income to different causes.  My intent was to get on this forum and try to let others know how Audi and their dealerships might treat you and others who might not have my means and maybe save you some money by not buying a product where the automaker doesn't give a rats ass about you after the sale.  Cruise through the blogs on this sight and look at all the bloggers who have had exactly the same problems (trans won't work in reverse, timing belt change at 60k, torbo's going out (there are 2 in my car) so early).  There are sooo many and Audi has done nothing for any of these guys.  I can afford any car I want,  In fact I can afford any JET that I want.  But really, I have a huge problem with company's that don't back their problem products!  They have made so much money off their products, don't you think they should spend a little of that by fixing the issues that they are fully aware of??????  And you sit there smugly talking about mechanics charging $200. an hour?  For work that takes them less than an hour???
Really........find your soul and try to treat you fellow man with some respect!
By the way, if you need money so bad, send me your address and I'll have this beautiful sent to your doorstep along with the title.....for free!  Call me on that one.....I dare you!

congratulations on being a successful man. I'm sorry I cant afford to give 90% of my earnings away. as a matter of fact im going to be working till I can retire at 65. I'm just trying to tell you guys at a mechanics point of view. I don't mean to be disrespectful to anyone.

welcome myaudisucksthemost!
 
now THAT'S an optimistic screen name.
what happens when you decide that you love your audi????
 
ya know what they say......when life hands you lemons.........add vodka.

I did love my Audi.............for the first 60k!  I like your style....I'm headed to the liquor store for a bottle of Absolute!  Thanks for the suggestion!

Dear Sir,
                  I too have major problems and I have only had my cars for 39 days. I did not however pay what you did and my cars is not as new as yours. Like you said the cars is so pretty and when it runs it runs. I guess I should feel lucky in some sad way. My car was used had high miles but looks like the 2007 A4 Quittro, I thought I was getting a great deal on the car, I was wrong. It is an A4 Quittro all leather the whole ten yards. Sunroof cost $800.00 , Rt ball barring $200.00 , Radio amp $600.00 , thermostat $179.00 no word on the labor yet. I live in California but lived in Provo ,I know what you mean about fineding a dealer. I wish you well , I bought my car on a credit card if it makes you feel any better. I didnt buy my car from the audi dealer and I didnt have it looked at by them either. I wish I had. My point is that I have no room on the credit card to pay for the repairs. Again I do wish you well and feel your pain.
Sincerly ,Candice

Dude, I’m sorry your Audi sucks the most.. Really.  but as an Audi tech, I can assure you that we arent disrespectful to our fellow man (at least not all of us).  I wont make apologies for those of us that are honest, and make complete repairs on only items that need it.  My problem with your statements, is that you attack all technicians for "over charging."  those rates are set by the manufacturer and are there for everyone’s benefit.  New techs, and some older techs that are slower need that much time to make the repairs.  if a tech can do it faster, that is our bonus for the many health issues including cancers, back and knee problems, and many others that we will endure as we are working for our entire lives.  A lot of us dont have other options to make as much money as you, but we repair cars and do it at our own risk, we deserve the opportunity to make a good wage for our life time sacrifice to repairing other Americans autos.  Do you know what percent of automobiles fluids are fatal to a technician if an accident occurs?  I’ll tell you, its 100%.  Every fluid in a vehicle is deadly in quantity, and it’s not a quick death either.  What did you do for living?  if you have that much money, it wasn’t all honest, or your employee’s wernt as honest as you think they are.  something is not right for you to be that rich and that honest.  flat rate is so every customer gets charged the same time for the job.  it’s the only fair way, otherwise the better tech you are, the less you would make on a job.. and depending on what tech works on your car, the more or less you would be charged, that’s not fair to you either.  Audi is a great manufacturer, but its technology is born on a phenomenal racing history.  performance breaks.  that’s life, if you want reliability in a daily driver, try a less fun, less money, less exciting Toyota or something.  but if you want a great car that is fun, fast, and defines performance, be prepared to pay for it.  keep in mind that maintenance is cost of the vehicle.  dont assume the sticker is the cost, do some research and see if an awesome performance vehicle suits your needs.  If not, buy something else and dont bitch about it.

Im still waiting to see if hes really gonna give those keys up or not