Well compared to my 99 328 bmw. I put a new thermostat in $80, new control arms $500 within one year. The longest I had it because I got stuck in the snow all the time plus I was told I had the dreaded rear subframe crack. Off loaded that.
05 Saab 9-3. Electrical gremlin car plus you just couldn't really work on it without taking it. Fiber Optic system was a flippen pain. Steering rack was sloppy towards the end. Had that car for a year. $400 in dealer visits and tune up items.
Audi since January. Fuel filter/ tune up items, used maf. Around $150 so far. I drive 105 miles a day to work and back so I take out around $200 a month when I can and save for just car repairs.

 

some people find gems and some people get lemons. same is true with any 10+ year old car. my car has never required me to do much maintenance (i replace or upgrade because i want to, not because something breaks). some people arent so lucky/smart and buy a car that is falling apart. having some mechanical knowledge saves you money too. Audis require more attention to detail then other cars. if you are not willing to take a little effort to maintain the car, buy a honda.

 

I will also say these cars are pushing 10 years on some years and since it's a foreign job it's just going to cost more. I love this car and preventative maintenance is a must with these but it also makes me feel a lot better.

 

Well he's a liar, that's a ridiculous amount for that particular luxury sedan, I would expect that amount from a brand new $50,000 E class Mercedes but not an A4

 

Ive got mine 3 months ago. I got it from a friend with 101,320 miles on it. We went to high school togeather and i knew he and his dad, who is a mechanic in the airforce, take good care of thier cars and they sold it to me cause they have 4 cars and only 3 people live in their house. I know the cars history. Only driven to around town rarely to other towns; clean title; original owner was his uncle who gave my friend the car as a gift and who is also was a mechanic and took good care of the car; mo scratches or dents. Only performance issue is the turbo, (stutters at around 5psi) amd the car shakes a bit more than it should when i idle while in drive or reverse(possibly tensioner chain) and a sagging interior roof. I drive 124 miles mon-thurs for school and it runs just fine. Last time it was brought to the dealer was almost 2 years ago, so theyre quite relyable in my short experience. I also drove a 1999 Mercedes E320 for a bit and we were the original owners(my father was a mechanic for VW so we took good care of that car) and that thing still needed more work done than the audi. So they can be quite relyable if you take good care of it and yes, parts and maintenance are quite pricy but if you know what to look for, you can always find them cheap (just thirft a bit )

 

I've been a Honda guy since the day I got my license 17 years ago. A 1990 2 door Accord EX with the LED spoiler - no one even knew what LEDs were yet. lol.

Ive had at least two other Accords since then. Hell, I still have an Acura, so I know the feeling well.

I now have my first Audi. It's a 2001.5 (face-lifted) 1.8t. (FWD)

My car has 275,000 (that's a quarter million) miles on it and not only does it run like new. It can stand next to any new car out today and still look good.......and even new-ish.

Oh, and I just replaced the original stock clutch (and it didn't even need replacing yet).

Again: I love Honda! - You can take the entire car apart with a 10mm socket, but Audi is luxury. Honda is not (Acura is).

I can also still smoke almost every loud *** Honda out there.......in my stock-ish "grown up car". I love the sleeper effect of my turbo Audi.

If you're going to buy something: Just make sure you buy something that comes with receipts and IMO, nothing older than a 2001.5. B5 - if you like that body style. Otherwise: nothing older than a 2002 (B6).

GL w/ everything.