Crowning Achievement?
 

Another poster--in another thread recently remarked that Audi's crown achievement is the longevity of the engines. I guess the tranny's get short shrift here. Actually a crowning achievement would be if the Germans were to decide to actually engineer cars that work for 150K before $hitting out on you.
Yeah the AUDI is: beautiful to look at, great to drive, good on gas--that being said they are $hit cars as far as I can tell.
If they just had a few things go wrong here and there I would be all over them by now--i just cant get over reading how--"Oh my engine is shot--oil sludge!" Oh my windows are rolling down as if they had a mind of their own!!!?! I mean WTF guy? Who really cares if there's 5% loss of ring contact or whatever if you car requires you to fix it every week. Its a shame that people here have to rationalize the ownership of these cars when deep down they're crap. What's the definition of a crap car--one that breaks down over and over and over--despite having excellent fit, finish, gaps and nice leather!

I am hoping that the 06 models and up are better cars----youd think after all these years Audi could figure out some basic working components and get their shit together---WTF---EVERYONE has blown coils? Everyone has sunroof issues? Window regulator issues? 1.8 timing belt issues? Oh yeah, I guess German timing belts are by their very nature less reliable than Japanese made rubber timing belts?!!? Hahhahah

I know I am gonna regret this purchase--oh well, maybe I will get "LUCKY"

Are you trying to say that Toyota's don't have parts that wear out? Like a TB? Yes, Audi's can be costly to maintain, but coil packs, window regulators, or any moving part will have a life expectancy; be it German, Japanese, Korean, anything!

Leaving my engine cover off and having no more bad coilpacks a year after i replaced one leads me to believe cp failure is related to heat building up under the cover.

issues
 

No, I am not saying that other cars dont have issues--I just dont understand why the Germans (or us for that matter) cannot design components that have a better life expectancy.
Id really like to get one of these cars--and I most likely will get an 03 or 04 A4.
Despite my apprehensions and the things I ve read , there must be a legion of people who feel their cars are worth it and are reliable enough.

My 02 3.0 has had the timing belt replaced and it needed to have the secondary air pump replaced to resolve a CEL. Other than that its been dead reliable since we bought it used a couple years ago...in that time we've put about 30k on it.

My 02 Nissan Altima which I replaced this car with (and I bought new with 16 miles on it) was a crap car. It had a tendency to die while driving in the first few thousand miles. the left rear door would freeze open in the winter so we just never used it, the engine flooded really easily and at the time we got rid of it (around 70k miles), it needed about $1500 worth of repairs to get an inspection sticker because half of the evaporative emissions control system had rotted away to nothing.

Any car can have issues...and all brands have cars with major issues at that. In an online forum you're likely to get generally a few types of posts...one is talking about the mods you've done to your car (often boosting power or handling...which sometimes can come at the expense of reliability) and the other looking for help to resolve a problem.

NoAudiGuy,

I'm confused....what exactly was the purpose of this thread? You say that Audi's are "shit cars" THEN DON"T BUY ONE. If you really thought they were shit cars, you wouldn't want one.

Salvage time
 

Well I didnt start the thread did I? No, go re-read the beginning, I just chimed in to say that these are shit reliable cars. We're all seduced by the looks and handling of the car--not much else. They're not even that fast--people have to go to huge lengths just to get some additional speed out of them. What gets me is that they're so unreliable. If the car looked different it wouldnt sell, period. No one would put up with what Audi owners have to deal with---they do so because its a unique looking car with great interior and handling. They are shit cars---however I am just as dumb as all the other owners who spend way too much on their car. I have devised an alternative means though. I am going the way of the salvage....... I am finding salvaged A4's for like $1500-3000, with repairs in the $2000-$4000 range (with used or salvaged parts) --pay some shop to rebuild--I can get into an A4 for $5K instead of 8-9K. That way if it blows from sludge, or tranny failure at 50000mi or some other such joke--I'm not hating life because I dropped $20K into a Deutsche Shite Pile. Will let the list know how it goes.

umm....yea, you did start this thread...you may have REFERENCED another thread, but you started this one (hense the fact that your post is the first one here)

So again I ask...what was the point of this thread? If you wanted to "chime in" on another thread....you should have done so on THAT thread (what a concept!!)

Anyone else think this guy is just a retarded douche bag?

you have no clue what you're talking about. since i actually own an audi maybe you can appreciate the fact that i haven't had any issues with it. i'm so confident in the cars durability that i will buy it out at the end of my lease next year.

this whole longevity brainwashing with japanese cars is total bs. i owned a lexus and it was a complete disaster. the other day i saw a newer acura blowing out white smoke from the exhaust. i figured it was due to the brilliant japanese engineering. brawn racing didn't win a single race until they swapped the honda engine for a BMW. if you want to get into reliability between makes, just look at the facts and not some heresay.

the sludge issue was due to people using conventional oil for the turbo'd engines. that would cause sludge with any make. so vw/audi had to issue statements recommending synthetic oil. then the sludge issue went away. go figure. half of the stories you hear are from lack of maintenance. if people can't afford to maintain their car, maybe they should take the bus instead.

Reliability problems w/ Audis
 

half of the stories you hear are from lack of maintenance. if people can't afford to maintain their car, maybe they should take the bus instead.

<<Ok lets address your point---while it is valid from a lot of perspectives--in many cases w/ the Audi--it isnt.
Coil packs--the same issue for fvcking 10 years!@!? WTF? Why cant this be figured out--instead Audi owners simply shrug their shoulders.
CVT Transmission--Transmissions blowing out with 50K? WTF? How do you properly maintain such a unit? We've seen stories of folks who change the fluid regularly--and it still blows!
All the B.S. electrical issues (windows, sunroofs, etc)--how are these remedied? These are maintenance issues?---These are $hitty engineering issues.
Front Suspension Arms on the earlier models--this part has to be replaced!!@??--Terrible engineering--This is a maintenance issue?
Coolant Leak issues--NEVER once have I had coolant issues like the ones seen in Audi's--OH I see---you need to replace these components regularly--got it--thats the maintenance issue you're grasping for.>>>


this whole longevity brainwashing with japanese cars is total bs. i owned a lexus and it was a complete disaster.

<<Wow, I guess you never went to college did you. Ever take statistics? Do you know the meaning of the words anecdotal evidence? hahhaha You had a bad experience w/ a Lexus--so TFW! If you went to www.carsurvey.org, or true delta.com or consumer reports you'd see that Lexus is at or near the TOP of reliability--doesnt get any better, Audi is busy wiping up the rear. You see with your sample size "n" of ONE, your experience means NOTHING.>>

the other day i saw a newer acura blowing out white smoke from the exhaust. i figured it was due to the brilliant japanese engineering.

<<How often are you going to see such a thing--in a statistically significant number--not many. How many times are you gonna see an A4 owner on the side of the road whose coilpacks have blown yet again--a much larger amount guy.>>

brawn racing didn't win a single race until they swapped the honda engine for a BMW. if you want to get into reliability between makes, just look at the facts and not some heresay.
<<WTF does racing have to do with this discussion guy? Get back to reality--we're talking about daily drivers here not racing issues--why dont you stay on the point of the thread? And Facts--yeah--again--go to a few of the aforementioned websites and see WTF you are talking about--the facts are that Japanese cars (and even some.....gasp!......US makes) are more reliable cars. If you cant see that and you are actually arguing against--you need to check your head and your engine light.>>

The Japanese have the reliability issues wired guy--sorry youre too blind to see it. Yeah the Audi drives and looks better, but when it comes to a car that you can always look to start and get you there--with this Audi I am going to buy---I'll definitely be glad that I have my backup truck. In addition I've been told to get the 2005.5-2009 w/ the 2.0T---thats the best I can hope for. Cross your fingers the local VW/Audi Tech told me. hhahhhahahhaha