Looking at getting an Audi. A4 2003-04 Manual T 3.0L.

What are you experiences in reliability? Some folks will say not good.

Audi is made by VW, and everyone I know with a VW has electrical problems. How does the Audi fair with this?

I know about the TX issues so I would get MTX anyway.

I have read about the timing belt replace called down to 75k miles.

What else guys? How its yours?

 

Your perception of reliability would depend on what you're used to. If you've owned a Range Rover, Audi is great. If you've owned anything Japanese, you won't think the reliability is so great.

I've had 2 A4's and still have my 2.8 30v quattro manual. I've owned it for about 5 years now and have been chasing repairs for most of the time I've owned it. I do my own work so my cost per year is still low, but if I had to go through a shop or the dealer I could have payed for the car twice. I should say that where I live the car will see up to +40 c in the summer and -40 C in the winter, so my cars have to endure a much harsher life than people in warmer climates.

The 3.0 v6 is a stroked version of the 2.8 30v so I can speak directly to your situation. I bought mine trying to be more responsible/reliable without the turbo. The problem has been that some parts are more expensive or there are double the parts to replace, ie valve cover gaskets, cam chain tensioners, etc.

I haven't had too many electrical problems except for: dash info screen (do any of them last more than 5 years?), ignition switch, sunroof switch, fuel level sensor, coolant temp sensor, oil pressure sensor, discolored side mirrors due to defrost malfunction... lol. Haven't had coil-pack problems... yet. There's also 4 oxygen sensors, a before and after for both cats, 6 spark-plugs, range problems with keyless entry... so there's a few things to keep in mind.

Mechanically, yeah I'm pretty sure Audi dropped the recommended timing belt change from 100k to 70k miles. For the V6 shops charge more; an independent where I live would charger 1000 for the 1.8t and 1500 for the V6. I did it my self for under 400.

Then there's the control arms, all eight of them, inner/outer tie rods, pcv system, clutch fan, broken sunroof(guids are plastic), wheel bearings, cam chain tensioners, valve cover gasket, tensioner seals, oil cooler.

Normal things like brakes and shocks/springs could also be on the way out, but that's any car at that mileage, depending on how it was treated.

Personally, I've put much more money into my daily-driver Audi than my fun-car RX-7. Yeah, the rotary is supposed to be the unreliable one, lol! So they are definitley not better handling Corrollas with leather. They are nice, but things wear-out faster than I'd like and it really seems like it's a cascade effect. Once one thing starts going, get ready because a tonne of things go around the same time. It's hard because when it works, I enjoy it.

Oh and I'm at 105,000 miles. Yay! lol....