Hey folks.

I bought this car new in '06 and have put every mile on it. All routine maintenance done, only premium fuel, only issue it ever had was cam sensor go bad.

A few days ago, no prior indication of trouble, it simply starts, turns over and dies. A few times. I call AAA. I tow it to the dealer (been good to me; all my stuff done there) and after $500 in diagnostics, they report that my timing chain broke through the plastic rails and jumped for half the cylinders.

Quote is about 10K, 6K in parts and 4K labor and they say it could go higher. One local shop said they can't do that job. Another local shop said their owners' daughters' car did the same thing and they could do it for 6K, probably running up to 7K.

I JUST put new tires on and replace the headlights. Do I fix it? Should I buy a new engine like this one. Forget it and get something new? I even picked up new brakes and rotors in advance of when that job needs doing. And I really love that car. But I don't want to be an idiot.

Any advice?

 

I have the same loyalty to all my cars and I would have the hardest time to give up on it should it experience anything like yours. Unfortunately though you should look at the money you have to invest to get it up and running. Economically speaking I'd say the car is totaled and you should move on. Even if you do all the work yourself you would have to invest about 4-6k in parts to get this running again (and many painful weekends).
Sell the car for cheap explaining the issue and let a mechanic who wants a project car take it off your hands. A friend of mine just bought a 2004 Allroad for $1400 with the same issue (it was a belt not chain though). So there is a market out there for this.

Return the parts you have extra or sell them online so you get at least some money back.

 

Man, that sucks. I picked up an 01 A6 less than a year ago with 110K miles and already have to pull the tranny for a seal leak. I have an 06 Saab that still runs like a champ and the damn company doesn't even exist anymore.

If I was you, I would not put that much money into the car and the reason why is this:
-these cars break down a lot and parts/labor are very expensive.
-the Audi DIY community is not very extensive so finding repair videos, etc, are very few compared to BMW or another. I have been googling Audi transmission removal videos and the best one was for a BMW or VW.
-the cars are way over engineered and require very detailed repair procedures, not easy to work on. I shouldn't have to have a $300 cable and software just to change my tranny fluid.

Once I repair or replace my Audi I will go back to a BMW line. A ton of DIY resources out there for them.

 

I found a shop that can fix it for 6 or 7K. At least I have a new engine that way.

I may very well regret it.