Hi
my mechanic prays for me to ditch this car :)
it drives great. needs a total break job soon (been hearing this at every seasonal oil, lube etc. for a year but still ok)
has approx. 250 000 km on it.
what's your opinion.
(I wish I were mechanically inclined after reading on this website)
car makes a twangy noise on braking - always has - any opinions?
a/c needs work every year ($1200 each time)
for the past few years I've averaged around $3500 Canadian$ per year in repairs.

Thanks for your input!
Mac

$3500 a year? I guess that you car has to be in near mint condition and that is probably why your mechanic wants it. I put in about $1000US in parts into my 91 100Q half is necessary repairs the other half is preventive maintenance and upgrades. I do all the work myself and if I had to rely on dealer and mechanics I would be driving a Toyota instead.

$1200 per year for AC is ridiculous. For that much money you should have it properly fixed and/or upgraded to R-134A. If the system was upgraded and it still leaks then you need to change the rubber hoses and O-rigs since R-134A has a smaller molecular structure and permeates through the old R-12 compatible rubber. If you are still using the old R-12 then you might have worn seals on the compressor.

Brakes! Not sure what you mean by “twangy” noise? The front brakes on my 91 tend to form a groove on the outside of the rotor. This is due to the hard metallic pads and a fact that the pads sit a bit inward. Eventually a groove forms and it starts to scrape the pad backing plate or the sides, even though there might still be enough friction material on the pad itself. I usually take a grinder and remove the ridge.

Should I keep the car? It is a question I often hear! You have to ask yourself if I am going to get another vehicle what am I going get, what is my budget. If you are going to replace it with another used vehicle how well did that person maintain it, was it in any accident, etc.? In the end it all depends on you, if you really like the car, it has never been in an accident, or rusted and there isn’t anything new that satisfies you more, then keeping your existing 200 might not be a bad idea. I have heard of many 5 cylinder Audis going past the 200,000 mile mark and even past the 300K. My 91 has 176K miles. However since you don’t do the work yourself it might become cost prohibitive since most of the problems on older cars are electrical problems which are due to oxidation or corrosion. These problems tend to be intermittent, difficult to find, and costly if you rely on mechanics.

na, dont get rid of it. If its near mint and its fun to drive keep it, however when little repairs add up then the fun gets sucked out of it. With the repairs it sounds like your having, i'd get all of it done right the first time, Convert your A/C, get the brakes fixed and the front end realigned. if you decide to sell it, clean it up, and try to get as much out of it as you can. From what ive been reading it sounds like this is a really nice car so im thinking you should get a good chunk of change out of it.

good luck!
~RJ

So far the 2 responses are seeming to assume your car is near mint. Could just as well be a "beater" that you can't afford to replace because you are paying so much to keep this one running.

Offramp is right, 1200 to get the air running each year is a total ripoff. Probably not cost too much more to have an Audi dealer replace the whole system..

The car doesn't BOOK at 3500 USD. Paying that per year to keep it running is foolish.

First suggestion would be to get another mechanic. Even a halfway decent mechanic who is not Audi savvy would be able to figure it out. Some of them kids, and I am old enough to call them that, 40ish mechs. are pretty sharp. My own mech never worked on one, since I can no longer do my own, with just a little of my guidance, and access to my books, he has never failed me.

Not being mechanically inclined, as you say you are not, I would suggest you go elsewhere for repairs. Buying a Chevy, and taking it to your mechanic would probably cost just as much. My vote is against him..

Cheers,

George

BTW, other than the AC bill, what else has he done that you know the price of, per operation? Give some idea as to whether he is actually screwing you. If you are female, pardon my French.

keep it! its an AUDI!

AUDI
do I have to say anything else.

For Simone,

Once upon a time, I knew 2 kinds of car owners.

One was the "New at any cost", the other was "Big at any cost, no matter how old".

Now, this was back when gas was a quarter a gallon.

Things are a little different, now, if you have to ask the mileage it gets, you probably should not be looking at those models.

But, if you are in the 20 + club for milage, it is no big deal, most cars can achieve that, at least according to the EPA.

You are being taken for a ride by your present mechanic. They are not all that difficult to maintain, it is no more difficult to charge the AC on it than on any Chevy, yopu pop a cap on the compressor, attach the valve, introduce some gas. 1200 bucks? Jeez, what did you beat him down from? 3 grand, and if you don't want to spring for that, just leave me the car, I'll get rid of it for you?

You have been royally shafted by this mech and his, presumably, gilded member.

Cheers,

George