Alright, I don't own an 2003 A4 1.8 turbo, my fiance does. I own an 06 Mustang GT modded heavily. I'm somewhat familiar with the A4 and the A6 4.2.

We're having some serious issues with her car, it has 63K, bought new from dealer, Jim Ellis in Atlanta. Luckily she got an extended warranty. Car ran pretty much perfect until about 50K miles, now, every 6 months she takes it in, there's a new problem. And every 6 months, if she didn't have the warranty it would be $1200-$2000 to fix. Here's what's happened:

1. speaker volume goes in/out, dealer replaces, problem still there
2. radiatorproblems -the resevoir doesn't have any fluid, supposidly a leakbut we never saw any fluid on the ground, car runs fine but needs to be fixed anyway, ~$1700
3. intake leak - computer actually reported this one, so knew something was wrong, she takes it in. Bill somewhere around $1000 for a damn intake hose.
4. paddle/stick shift not working - dealer claims can't reproduce, 95% of the time you put it over to manual shift, it won't shift up. This can be resolved by slamming the Hell out of it forward and then it starts working.
-- I'm sure this one will be big money when the decide to change it.
5.latest problem, something to do with power steering leak, extended warranty people tired of paying out so they sent an auditor to inspect, $1800 by insurance but we have to pay the $190 alignment which I'm pretty pissed about.
A) we have to pay for the alignment even though its warranty work
B) why the Hell is an alignmnet so expensive on these cars?

I'm just curious how other A4 owners experiences 50K+ are with their car?

We're getting rid of the car before the warranty is up at 75K and she was thinking of the new A4 butnot sureafter this experience.

My experience has been that Audi makes a great car. We've had all thework done by the dealer.

My Mustang's warranty was voided in 500 miles for most parts in/around the engine but I knew that, I also knew that if it broke, I can do most of the work or have it done pretty cheaply. With the Audi, it's just so expensive.

Curious about people who bought a used A4 and then what problems sprung up on them as well.

 

103k on my 96 and it's been great. If you're paying out of pocket for repairs, a dealer will destroy you.

 

I'm at 63k miles and not had any issues like that. Just minor quirky typical german car stuff.

 

Sounds like your cars a ghost or something haha

 

Stop taking to the dealer, they are stupid. Find a real mechanic.

 

I know it's easier said than done but I would definitely talk to a lawyer about this. Clearly the car is a lemon and part of a bad batch somewhere. Clearly the dealership is giving you skewed prices and clearly they are dicking you around until the warranty runs out. Then they MAY get serious about fixing it because that's when you'll be paying for the work. My car has 101k (had it for a month. Bought used) and itnever had nowhere near the problems yours has. I would document everything and talk to a good lawyer because someone's rippingsomeone off here and you're at the short end of the stick. Thank God for your warranty butstill, I'd demand a brand new car and threatenlegal actrion if I were you. You could sue for misrepresentation but like I said, I'm no lawyer.

Cheers

 

96 A4 with 20 miles below the 130,000 mark. only major problem was the tranny going out around 114,000. we bought it used at 112,000.

 

Actually it sounds like a sunfire lol

 

Bought mine new.
Timing belt job @ 84K mi.
MAF and wheel bearing @ 87K mi.
Tie rod ends @ 110K mi.
Front and rear brake pads @ 120K mi.

 

1. Speakersare a warranty thing. Quirky electronics.
2. Coolant leak shouldn't really happen, but you could drain that resivoir without noticing coolant anywhere, especially with the help of that belly panunder the car. Where $1700 came from is a mystery. It shouldn't be that much even if they replaced the whole radiator and hoses.
3. Intake leak? Bad MAF perhaps? Either way $1000 for what, all that crap is plastic and a MAF costs like $300 or $400?
4. Looking at their pricing history, it will probably cost more to fix your shifter than what your car is worth.
5. BS to pay for alignment. It is expensive due to some elextronics crap. Regular shops (like a Goodyear center) can't even align your car because they can't get past the electronic whatever it is. So the alignment is so expensive because it can be. A good Import shop may be able to do it for a little less.


As for what to do. Get rid of that car right now. You have a little bit of warranty left which is a little boost to your selling price if you sell it privately.
I think you will have a better experience with your next Audi, yours was a trouble maker and your dealer seems to have inflated pricing.
You buy warranty vehicles so you shouldn't be too worried about the dealer prices. If you bought one out of warranty, you need to DIY or find a good shop to go to and never visit the dealer again. Overall, I wouldn't let all of this deter you from getting another Audi if you like them.