I need advice, guys! I have a 2001 A6 2.7 which I absolutely love - but the maintenance is KILLING me. I've owned the car since last october ('08) and since have dropped probably $2500-3 G's in maintenance - most of the labor done myself but the rest done at Audi. I have dropped probably about the same in accessories - she's still pretty stock but has a 93 octane APR chip, OEM 18" RS6 wheels, LED tail lamps, upgraded HIDs to 8000k, 10" Alpine sub & amp - subtle things like that.

I bought an Audi after falling in love with my friends silver A6 2.7 - thinking Audi's held their retail value very well and would last forever. Well, maybe motor & POSSIBLY tranny but everything else nickel and dimes you! Suspension is the biggest money dropper I've learned so far (CAs, TREs, etc). I never imagined dropping so much money into her - esp in a year!

Soo, now I'm stuck with mixed feelings - half the time wanting to drive her off a cliff because the STUPIDEST thing will break/go bad. She has 111k miles on her now (which is not bad for a 9 yr old vehicle) and I paid $12-5 last Oct when he was orig. asking $14-5. Now I looked up the blue book value and I'm lucky to get $7k!?! WTH? Even retail is $9k. Well shoot, I still owe $7900 on her! Not to mention what I put into her...so what should I do!? Buy something newer and more reliable or keep her and just hope she's done being maintained for a while so I can catch up on bills? What do you think a fair asking price would be? If you want pics to make your judgment just search for some of my posts - you'll find a whole bunch on here or AF.com

Thanks guys! Comments/opinions greatly appreciated.

- Ben -

 

If you are upside down on the loan, it does not make financial sense to dump her. It sounds like you have done most of the mechanical maintenance associated with the suspension, hopefully you have done the TB service. I would keep her and make sure to take care of the snails, warm up and cool down. I had to make the same decision a couple of years ago, the turbos went and I was still paying off the loan, in the end I got another reliable daily and turned the A6 into a strictly for the fun of it car

 

Absolutely keep it. Any german made vehicle needs about 5-7k of maintenance every 100k or so. The engine and trans probably will last a very long time, and seeing as you have done most of the required maintenance for the cars age it should give you several years without another major repair.

 

I agree just keep plugging at it you'll pull through and sooner or later all the stupiness will be fixed. Any time you pull something apart replace as many of the gaskets and seals as you can.

The great thing about these cars is after about 6 months of owning one you really get to know your way around them.

 

^^^^Yeah, he's a f***ing master mechanic now LOL.

 

When I buy an Audi I look for people like you and tell them that the high maintenance costs will continue. Specially if they have a new CEL. Usually the dealer has just told them that it will cost a few thousand to fix the latest problem and they are panicking. Then I give them low ball offer and they usually thank me for taking the vehicle off their hands.

Since your an Audi friend I'll tell you that I agree with the other guys and tell you to keep it. Don't get discouraged when something else shows up - it is the nature of the beast to humble you, but boy what a fun ride!

 

I would like to point out one thing... Yeah you can yell at me after what I am about to say. But based on the information that your provided and noticing your sig, I am seeing that you spend a lot of money on cosmetics and electronic stuff. Save your dough and keep your car stock. It will save you money. And in many cases, so called performance upgrade usually follow with repair bills.

With that said, I say keep it for awhile. Since you did all the repair and etc, it should be good for awhile. Most of the repairs around 100K mark can be considered maintenance items. Once you take care of TB, waterpump, coils, plugs, filter and etc, the car should be good.

 

TB/WP/Thermo etc changed @ 75k from previous owner. Pulstar plugs installed < 10k ago, cabin filter changed @ 100k, K&N drop-in cleaned once a month, oil changed every 7500 miles fully syn mobil 1- lol no i won't yell at you - but most of the "cosmetic stuff" was before the high cost maintenance stuff which just put me even more under - this being my first audi and not knowing HOW MUCH maintenance would cost me. So it is a bit of a shock coming from a guy who would always fix his own cars and get parts (american made) dirt cheap. car maintenance was never a wallet cruncher for me...

 

Yeah that is the cost of driving a luxury import, especially a German. In any case, I say keep it. Just put away $150/month in a savings account for the rainy day.

 

HA, I probably will end up keeping her - not that I ever wanted to get rid of her in the first place. I just got back from a Honda dealer where one of my best friends works (figured knowing her and her being there 6+ yrs could get me a good bargain). I was looking at an '06 Accord EX-L (best trim avail) coupe - 66k miles, black leather, dual zone, power up/down windows, CPO etc. He was asking $15k for it which I thought was too high. After driving my beautiful piece of machine, he comes back and COMPLETELY slaps me in the face stating "Well after doing some research looking up auction prices, blue book values, etc. if you were anybody else I'd offer you $3500 trade. But since you know Julie, I can offer you $5500." Are you KIDDING me? I wanted to say "F*ck you dude" get up and walk out. lol ****, that would barely cover the maintenance alone that I've put in her in the last year! Not to mention the $8k I still owe. I prob will def. keep her b/c I only see myself flipping upside down, side ways and back upside down and stayin there again haha. $5-5...what a f*ckin joke...I wouldn't accept any lower than $10-10,5 for her