Hi All,

I'm a first time car owner and I recently purchased a used 2003 Audi A6 at the beginning of this year that came with multiple problems.

Since I'm a first time owner, I'm not sure what to check on a car so I've had to learn everything the hard way.

Rear breaks were busted and needed to be changed after a month, then today the treads on my rear tire blew and I didnt have a spare so I had to get the car towed. I'm getting more worried that something is going to break but I'm not sure what preventative maintenance I should do. I'm not exactly sure what to check for so here I am - as a new car owner who doesnt know jack, what are some common things that I should check?

My car is at 83k and I found a European car specialist that has a "90 K Mile Maintenance Services" I was thinking about investing in. What do mechanics actually do for these types of services? Also, my friends told me to invest in a new timing belt, water pump and radiator soon. Apparently for Audi's the radiator should also be replaced with the timing belt and water pump. Should I go to an Audi dealer to get this done or would it be cheaper to do this at an audi specialist?

Thanks!!

 

My 2004 3.0 A6Q has needed a power steering pump, radiator, 2 cat converters, A/C compressor in the past 10,000 miles. Get ready. Audi seems to recognize the problem with the cats on this car. The dealer said it was the flex pipe that failed on both sides. Dealer said Audi OK's a "50-50" split on the cat repairs and did them on this basis
In general I have found the local shops work for about half of the dealer charges, however, this was not true on the A/C compressor repair.
The local shop will be able to do the timing belt,water pump repair for half the dealer price.

 

I thought the 2004 Audi was when they revamped their models? Could that be the reasoning for all the repairs at higher mileage?

 

Welcome to the Audi "club"

Depending on how well the PO (previous owner) maintained your car, you may or may not be in for a long litany of frustrating problems. Be sure to read the "stickies" at the top of the sections in the forums, there is a lot of good information there. A previously enjoyed Audi can offer a lot of long term enjoyment to an owner that is informed and not afraid to get their hands dirty. There is, however, a good possibility that you will go broke trying to pay someone else to maintain and fix it. I agree with bdhsailor, an independent shop THAT SPECIALIZES IN AUDIS can save you significantly over dealer service prices. But that doesn't mean that it will be cheap. Read as much on the forums as you can. Learn as much as you can. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Good luck.

 

The 2004 3.0 was the last of the old model. The new A6 model started as a 2005 in the US.
Your 2003 A6 was supposed to have the timing belt service already. If the timing belt breaks while you are driving the car you will loose your engine and the repair will be more than the value of the car.
You do not need a special "audi shop." Just a good mechanic who knows his stuff and has worked on them or VW's. Any good mechanic can do the timing belt and water pump for you. There is also some other parts that go with it (tensioner, etc). The radiator is not one of them and does not need to be changed.
Lookout if you have a 3.0L car. Word is that audi's with that engine got other parts that will fail such as a power steering pump and radiator. Also you may have a car with a recall on the coils. Thre dealer can tell you from the VIN.
Also Audi is paying half (without an argument)to replace the cats if they fail.

 

Timing belts generally need to be done between 75-90k miles. Check ECS Tuning or Blauparts for a list of everything that should be done at that time -- radiator is not one of them, but you want to make sure and change the thermostat and antifreeze. I believe the cat "warranty" is only good up to 80k as I experienced on my daughter's A4 3.0.

People don't trade 8 year old vehicles because they are maintenance free and running wonderfully. You really need someone who knows Audi, preferably a reliable indie shop, to go through it and make a list of what has to be repaired vs maintained. Then you can prioritize. E.g., the book calls for brake fluid to be flushed and replaced every two years irrespective of mileage. I, personally, have my MT6 and differential fluids changed every 60k. You can do simple stuff like air filter, but cabin and gas filters are a pita. A tire tread separation sounds like a really cheap tire or something really wrong with the alignment or balance.

Get the hourly rate from the Audi dealer and the indie shop - that should be informative enough. You can always ask the indie shop for a few references. If they don't give them, I'd beware.

 

Thanks for the advice!! I called an Audi speclists autoshop. They are asking for 1100-1200 for the timing belt, water pump, tensioner, thermostat, antifreeze, etc to be serviced. Do you guys think its a reasonable price?

 

That price sounds about the average. I believe the 3.0 is considered to be the biggest PITA timing belt job there is so....

 

I have a 2.7T though, and the price quote is an indie shop instead of the dealer. Is 1.1k-1.2K average for a dealer or indie shop? I was thinking the cost would be ~800?

I've read in forums that there is a way to check the turbo. What exactly is that?

What does the ESP button do on the Audi? Driving feels the same.

Also, where should I go to get a key copied?

Thanks for all the advice!

 

sorry I was reading bdhsailor's post when I saw 3.0.

I did the timing service on my car myself using the Ultimate Kit from ECS. I figure I spent about $550 all told and about 20 hours of my labor (made mistakes and had to go back, twice). It really wasn't difficult, just time consuming. You should be able to find an indy shop that will do it for $800-$900. A lot depends on what area of the country you in and what the labor rates are. I believe "book" hours for the 2.7 timing service is 6 hours, a lot of labor to pay on top of parts.

check the turbo? I don't know of a "good" way to check the turbos. Performance is usually a good indication. boost gauge. vacuum leak checker (search those last two)

ESP=electronic stability program (kicks in with wheel slip). If you want to slide the back end around turn it off (not recommended).

Key copied? dealership ($$$$$$$$$$$). specialty locksmith ($$$$$$). I recommend ordering the correct blank and case from ebay, then getting it cut and programmed at the dealer ($$$$).