^^^ totally agree with the Lexus owner there

 

Thanks for the posts guys.
I agree with you all. I love my audi for the drive quality it gives me.

The plain fact isthat the german cars are fun to drive.
Interiors are amazingly well designed and they are safe as anything.

I also used to thinkthat "well even though I have to pay a little more, its worth it for the feel it gives me," but enough is enough sometimes and honestly I feel myself unfortunately sliding off the slope to try something else.

I'm not going to beat around the bush Audi has let me down a little.
I look back at the past year on what I've spent just to keep the car running smooth.
What I couldhave done with that $.

Maybe a BMW will be to come..Who knows.
Might be nice to see what i'm missing.

 

I bought my A6 a little over two years ago (used), but it is still the nicest car I have ever owned. I love the profile, the fact that it has a manual transmission (I enjoy driving...not riding), plus all the safety features of AWD and 8 air bags. The interior is comfortable and the Bose keeps me company on my long drives. I put 60k miles on it and am looking forward to rolling over 200k miles with it.

The downside is a little more maintenance. My Saturn VUE was an oil change every 3-4k and good utility, but not much fun or sportiness. The only unexpectedA6 failure I have had in two years has been the alternator. I also chipped the beast and expected to run into clutch problems, which I did eventually. Now eventhat is relatively bulletproof with the Stage 2 clutch. I would consider regular oil changes and 100k timing belts as maintenance. My wife's Mercury Villagers suggest timing belt changes too - I just didn't bother to get it done because they are disposable minivans (a 92 at 140k) and the current 99 at 110k. Other things wear out or fail and need to be replaced over time.

Yeah, Lexus and Acuras are probably more reliable. But do they give the combination of sportiness, interior and trunk space, the option of a manual tranny, and AWD. Not in any one package of which I am aware.

The most fun car I ever had was a 1974 Triumph TR6. But every couple weeks it was cleaning the spark plugs, diddling with the Strombergs, etc. The second most fun - my 2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster Ltd. But there is something special, and limiting, about convertibles. The A6 is fun all year round.

 

I want to chime in! My father has owned 3 Acura Legends, 1 RL, an integra and my Legend...all great cars, but kind of boring to drive. I've owned 3 Mustangs, FordContour SVT, Lexus GS 400 and my Audi A4. Of all the cars, I've loved my Audi the most. I just sold it last week with 107,000 miles and I hated to get rid of it. Great car, just wanted to get an A6 which I'm doing this weekend (04 2.7T 6MT). My A4 did what every other car I owned did. Needed the battery, alternator, tie rods and timing chain replaced around 100k, other than that, nothing major. Torn CV Boot at 105k and new fuel level sending unit. I'm a German, more specifically an Audi, person for life. I agree with the statement that BMW's are too pretenious and the fact that you can't get an all wheel, manual, luxury sedan that is fun to drive from the Japanese. My Lexus was nice, but boring and did put me to sleep, even with 300 hp. My 190 hp 2.8 A4 was so much fun and so solid to drive. That's all...can't wait for the A6

 

Funny how we all agree to the responses and yet I find myself sucked into this intriguing dialogue- I own '99 A6 2.8 Quattro. I bought with 23K in late 2001 with the extend warranty (thank you forum members for that advice)! I am in sales, do a lot driving and live in the Northeast, USA- My car now has 198K and I should reach 200K in July- I chose this car after focusing on AWD cars, not SUVs and the Audi clearly stood out from the pack (Subaru's- small interior, dare I say Ford, need I explain, BMW- AWD models too pricey and Infinity/Lexus- not many used AWD available). The A6 easily fits three car seats (ages 2, 5, 7) and leaves plenty of leg room too. Audi by far has the best interior, great handlingand I love the styling! Now for the costly repairs: At 70K (timing belt $1200. including labor), 100K (spark plug wires and plugs, and rear axlefluid-$300- DIY), 105K "The Trifecta" (Oil Camshaft Seals (4), Crankcase seal oil leak and Value Cover Seals (2) $2900-w/ Labor- oh yeah, the leaks were so bad that the timing belt had to be replaced again), 118K Axle/tranny seal (passenger side) $250 w/ Labor and squeaky HVAC Blower (I remove blower behind the glove box, cleaned, oiled and replaced- good as new (FREE, just well spent time)- 120K (Replaceddriver side Axle and Tie Rods $700)150K, Yellow Headlightlens(they were nasty, I went AutoZone and bought headlight lens restorer kit made by Permatex, now they are renewed and refreshed the cars appearance- $15 for kit and elbow grease)- 197K (Cats Replaced Direct fit-aftermarket $800 w/Labor- I am told the aftermarket cats will not last as long as the OEM from Audi, but pushing 200K I'll take my chances. Total approx $6100-OUCH! But I love the darn thing- no turning back- I heard once it’s fixed, it’s good for another 70-100K.

Now, I have never replaced the tranny fluid- I was told by my Audi Service Tech that these tranny's are not meant to be changed due to the Synthetic Fluid used and design- Is this true and should have this done now? How much is this service? There is no dipstick so you need to refill the fluid from the top of the tranny and like all Audi repairs it ain't easy to get to- Any Ideas or instructions to do this?

Well that's my long winded history- In closing, my wife and I bought our 2nd Honda Odyssey (2007), the old one had 150K and never went in the shop for repairs outside the maintenance schedule-How about Honda and Audi partner- Honda builds the engine and Audi the design?

 

Wow, I usually refrain from "do a search", and don't take umbrage, but there have been a lot of posts on the trans fluid issue.

Opinions vary.

For my part, I wouldn't run any synthetic fluid over 100K even under the most relaxed driving. I just did mine on my A6 and it was the color and consistency of coffee. The R&R is a bit more difficult because there is no topside provision for adding the fluid and the car needs to be level, but it should be done. There are a number of stories around about erratic shifting prompting a change a short bit before or after 100K. There's a write-up for changing it on an A8...I think its on Audiworld...essentially the same although you can tailor to your own degree of obsessiveness. I did front and rear diffs at the same time, though I haven't gotten to the gearbox at the very front of the trans yet. Looks like that one is best tackled during pass side CV boot or axle service.

 

I had my atf fluid changed (4 qts) a couple months ago, at that time I also drained and refilled the rear and I believe the front differential. Is there another diff or fluid to change? On AW I was reading about needing to change the torsion fluid next to the cat, but I thought the bentley said that it shared the atf fluid. So my question is, how many diffs are there to change fluid on? The front, rear and ?

jeff

 

Hey, bdmstang. Not to hijack the thread, but would you be willing to share the mileage, options, and price of your 2004 2.7T MT6? Helps us understand the market prices for these babies.

Congratulations, BTW.

 

Great post man, You seem like you know your stuff so I have a question
I'm thinkin of either buying a Mercedes (cls500) or an audi (s6) that are both used with about 60K miles on it. In terms of long term and maintence prices, how do they stack up? What's the BMW alternative? And do you really think the Audi will have so many maintence problems down the way? Will the mercedes too? Thanks !

 

I was surprised to see this thread resurrected with my post from 2007. I still have the A6, now with 235k miles. I replaced the cats and the fuel pump over the last ~8 years. I tried selling it last fall, but apparently no one wants a high mileage turbo vehicle. No problem, I took my duaghter's A4 off the road for the winter and we are using the A6 as a winter beater. She is showing her age with some rust, less crisp brakes, and a whining from the P/S unit but continues to start every day in subzero weather and gets my daughter back and forth to college in horrible snow conditions without issues.


I bought a newer A4 last fall with 99k miles and have had zero problems since then, now at 106k. I think the reliability of Audi has improved but they are a higher maintenance vehicle than a Japanese brand, offset by being a) a far better winter vehicle; b) better looking; and c) more fun to drive with the MT6.