Have tons of cash

But does any of you AUDI owners get tired of dumping hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep your AWWWWWWWDI on the road?

My god I thought I was making a good purchase 3 years ago, mostly because the car was certified, but really what I have is a certified piece of ****...

100k miles and the car is completely wore out... Oil pump, torque converter, front tie rods, shocks, struts, door hinges... I could name a few others.

Am I just having a bad experience or is this pretty standard?

 

Try buying a new car instead. If you can't afford a higher end car when it's new, chances are you still can't when it's used. At 100K, just about any car will start to need a lot of replacement parts from general wear and tear. A car which starts out high end doesn't stop being high end just because you can get an old one cheap. Price out older Ferrari, Porsche and Range Rover parts and service. Audi isn't quite in the same league as those, but it's not a Japanese transportation appliance either.
It's an old car. If you want trouble free for the same price range, Kia has a 100K warranty- as does Hyundai. I deal with this question almost daily- people buy high end older cars and then wonder why it costs more to fix than a Chevy pickup truck.

 

The thing is The Chevy pickup truck doesn't blow through a $1500 oil pump at 100k miles, or need a new torque converter at 100k miles.

Hell my brother has a 94 BMW 325i that has 300k miles and its had some minor suspension work done and a clutch.

Audi told me that two owners and 100k miles is extremely high milage for an Audi.

I have a 93 Honda Accord with 200k miles and the only major work I've done to it is replace both CV joints and breaks.

I guess the high end Audi that was probably $45k brand new and now is only worth 8k, should get a metal for making it past in certified 100k mile warrenty.

 

I work as a service writer at a shop and the worst cars on the road have the Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth logos on them. Horrible cars. PT cruiser is the worst offender needing constant attention. I think what you have to remember about cars in general is that these cars were designed to provide the best ride, handling, power, etc. My 2.7L motor puts out 250 horsepower at stock level. A comparable toyota (2.4L 4 cylinder) 130 hp. The 3.0L V6 iiDohc, 200 horsepower. They don't break as frequently because they are all under powered and have absolute basic suspension systems. If you want the better ride and better power of a car with more technology, expect to pay more both in parts and repair. Remember also that BMW, Mercedes, Infiniti, Lexus, Lincoln, Cadillac, etc. all have the same problem. The japanese leg up is that parts are manufactured under sweat labor as opposed to by German, Austrian, Belgian citizens. This drives up our cost, but I'm much more comfortable shipping my dough to Europe than Asia. Consider what you are comparing here. Also, for ***** and giggles try pricing out new struts for a Volvo with the Nivomat suspension. Prepare your diaper in advance though. Better yet, an alternator for an 04/05 Camry 4 cylinder runs into the $4xx range!!!

 

Rodneylinn1977,
Yes (as many times discussed) Audis are MONEY PIT!
TCO (total cost of ownership) is the main criteria to count here, no matter what are the sophisticated “independent” opinions and methodologies.
Your points are very valid points – TC failures, turbo failures, transmission failures…. regular cv boots replacements, notorious oil leaks, Countless small component failures.
Besides, the Quattro is not at its best on slippery surface.
At the point the major components fail the value of the car is less than the cost of repairs.
Consider the value of an used Audi – very attractive (for a reason), dealerships are pumping pricing for no avail..
VAG never stands behind its products – especially in case of proven design and workmanship inferiority.
It is everybody’s decision about “+” and “-“ of an Audi ownership, for me honestly – it’s an expression of masochism, lack of common sense and undermining the value of the real thinks in life.
If you can’t have a decent slip – dump the car, at last you are not married for her…
(Have patience and wait for the Chinese comrades to saturate the market with affordable parts, travel to India and get your car repaired at the Audi plant there…)

 

50% of the work done on Audi's is not needed...of the other 50% only 15% really has to be done. For those that have massive trouble before 100 K all I can say is that either machanical things hate you, you neglected to do the simple mau=-intance items, or you drove like a mad man (Person).

I easily get over 200K on my Audis. The 89 200QT had 350K, the 92 90 Q had 200K, the 95 A6 had 210k and my current 97 A6 Avant has over 250K. where they perfect? Hell NO! but they all ran like scalled rabbits and were fun.

As for the slippery surface comments -- Ya gotta be smoking some strange -- I'd rather be in my Audi when it snows than any other vehicle...

 

I find my Audi very reliable at just over 170k miles. I've done all the maintenance it required but also change the transmission and differential fluid every 60k. I avoid driving into potholes and over curbs, and don't race it (but regularly drive it fast, i.e., well over the speed limit). Replaced the alternator, clutch/flywheel, and the front axle boots. The headlight washers don't work, now the temperature reads in Co rather than Fo, and one rear window occasionall sticks, but I can live with that. It runs fine and I have no reservations about taking it on 1500-2000 mile trips as is.

I've driven it 25k miles per winter for the past 6 years here in Michigan. That includes blizzard conditions across I96 and into Canada, whiteouts, and temperatures well below zero. This is bar none the best vehicle I have ever owned for winter driving.

Will I need new turbos someday -- undoubtedly. But I can probably achieve 200k+ miles before then. PS - She still has the oem battery and it tests fine.

 

My a6 has 112,333 miles, runs fantastic. Needs new dv's but I'm just getting the 710n tomorrow so not a huge loss. When you drive a car everyday and rack up big milage all cars need money to keep them running. To offset my costs, I bought a 1982 honda accord lx for putting around the city and as an all purpose DD. It has 210,000, runs great, gets amazing gas mileage, and costs virtually nothing to insure and fix. Its a good car, but every time the audi comes out of the garage I remember think to myself "oh yeah, thats why this car is so expensive". I've come to like the little hatchback, but seriously, the audi is a bajillion times better in every way. You get what you pay for.

oil pump is probably bad because the oil wasnt changed in a timely manner. Tie rods, shocks, and struts as well as ball joints and other suspension bits are 100K maintenence items, all cars have them, they wear out on all cars. Put some machine oil after you clean the hinge and your all better. Torque converter is prone to failure on chipped cars because of the increases torque... are you chipped?

I'm really sick of reading these threads about people complaining how much the car costs to maintain. Anyone else? I'm assuming that you went to the dealer for your services (certified coverage) and they are out to make money. This is the hundred billion thousandth time that it has been said that the dealers are sharks and you are a small badly wounded fish bleeding heavily that is known to be very tasty. Come drive my honda, then my a6 and tell my which is the better car. If you want a cheep car, buy a chevy pickup (you said it yourself) and sell me your a6 for parts. As far as sweat labor, I still feel good because the honda I have was made in ohio by american union sanctioned workers.

btw, why would you be so quick to think we all have money??? Thats just plain ignorant and rude to made such a comment as your opening line. The majority of the forums members here know that trusting a dealer is absurd and learning to wrench is a great way to both learn something new and save some bucks. If youre tired of paying, all the problems you mentioned can be DIY (although oil pump would be a doozy and the TC wouldn't be fun either). Next time, suck it up and do something about it or buy a new car, hasn't this been discussion ad naseum?

*** end rant ***

 

When you buy a used car, you don't know if the original owner took care of it unless you get a stack of paperwork with the car. The vast majority of people do NOT take reasonable care of their car at all... that's the fact. I own a shop that works on only European 4x4's and we see it all the time. There are two types of customers- the ones that do what they should be doing all along and they're getting 300K miles, and then there's the ones that wait until it breaks and then complain about the cost.
High end cars are like unusually hot women. They take a lot more attention to keep them happy, and you have to decide if that attention and expense is worth it. It's not for everyone if your priorities are in a different place- that's ok. I just can't understand why people buy a higher end car used and cheap and think it stopped being a high end car.
Your arguement has a basic logic flaw. Just because your car is a pit doesn't mean they all are. People go to forums to complain/troubleshoot- the vast majority of people just drive and go on with their lives.

 

My A6 has been pretty damn good to me. Ive had it since I was like 16, A few things fail here and there, but its a 110k car, I would expect that.

And about being loaded with cash. Hardly. Like I said, I just turned 20, so Ive owned my car through teen years, as a porter cleaning cars, super baller job right there.