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QUEST FOR A USED CAR CONTINUES: AUDI


Bubo

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I haven't given up on police cars

but thought I would look for other gas hogs that may be a good deal

with the current gas prices.

 

A6

Audi A6 Supercharged and A8 caught my eye

Full time 4 wheel drive for Midwest winters

 

I thought the supercharged A6 was a good work around for turbo failures

that take out both the exhaust system and air intake and fuel systems.

 

The most popular videos, lots of them, are timing chain replacements

After watching around a dozen of them I concluded the A6 was a lemon

Timing chain is on the rear of the engine

So both the trans and engine have to be removed to get at it.

Cost $7-8,000 every 50-100K miles if you are lucky

 

A8 Quatro

Next I thought non turbo, non Supercharged ?

 

V-8 also has the timing chain on the rear

which fails after 50-100K miles

$8,000 or more depending on other known engine problems.

 

Around 2010 Audi switched to a turbo V8 A-8

Top 5 failures did not list timing chain, interesting

Clogged oil tube is most common failure

- symptom is a failed turbo charger that takes out the exhaust and air and fuel system $8-10,000 repair

 

A-8 Air suspension is also good for 50K mi

Repair is around $6-8K, but may never really be reliable

Coil over kits for $1,200 are a popular replacement from a NC company

 

If I really had to have an Audi, it would have to be new and sell or trade it before the factory warranty expired.

 

Pass on all Audis

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Audis are amazing safe vehicles. Ive had a few i like the 4.2 engine. almost 10 quarts of oil in them.  Wife has crashed 2 of them one her fault the other was a F250 van loaded with gear, hit her and my son on the side they were sitting on and walked away. .She was sitting still and he was going about 40 and t boned my wives car. At 150 MPH they are grounded and feel safe. Dont care for the new a8s they are to big the A6 with a big engine is a solid car. go on youtube theres a video of an A8 going up a hill in the snow. its funny to see all the trucks and suvs spun out and it just has no problem handling the terrain....weaving around them as they sit stuck.

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An associate who's an Audi tech told me the Audi is a car only the rich can afford....after the warranty expires. It's not that they unreliable it the cost of regular maintenance parts. And IMHO (a 40+ year technician) do not use aftermarket parts in any vehicle with few exceptions. Buying used I'd seek out Japanese if imports are your game. Parts for them aren't cheap either but less frequently needed.

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1 hour ago, geezin' said:

An associate who's an Audi tech told me the Audi is a car only the rich can afford....after the warranty expires. It's not that they unreliable it the cost of regular maintenance parts. And IMHO (a 40+ year technician) do not use aftermarket parts in any vehicle with few exceptions. Buying used I'd seek out Japanese if imports are your game. Parts for them aren't cheap either but less frequently needed.

 

My experience applies to BMWs but is probably the same for Audi. It's not the parts that are expensive, it's the labor costs that are sky high. If you can DIY most repairs then owning one is not a lot more expensive than a Honda. However the key to getting a long and happy life with one is doing some research and getting ahead of part failures. Too many times one part failure can result in a cascade of part failures so knowing when to replace is important. That said I now drive a Subaru.

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I had mentioned in a previous thread I was looking at 4 door sedans preferably a V8. But did drive a couple certified  Mercedes V6 with twin turbos. Called a buddy, certified MB Master technician, for an opinion. Absolute first sentence from his mouth “how much warranty does it have left”. I was done. It’s the same with the other German marques - warranty, warranty, warranty. 

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@Bubo

Don't pass on the Germans so quickly, esp. after only checking on a few models. I'm in the market for a 2016+ Porsche Cayenne and have been finding it very hard to locate one that suits me perfectly. Seems that nobody really wants to sell the ones they own. I was really impressed with some of the Youtube videos showing them pulling jeeps out of the mud, then turning around and chugging up the mountain. Puts the Asian AWD market to shame in all instances. Oh, and they tow 7700lbs. Avoid the base model and enjoy 0-60 in sub 6secs. Buying used is sometimes great. Most of the problems are well known and likely were addressed and corrected by the previous owner.

 

 

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3 hours ago, JL Sargent said:

For real. American cars can go 300+K on factory chains.  :)

 

So do BMW's with chains.  I think they stopped using belts a long time ago.  The ones with belts took about 800 to do by a pro, but if you didn't keep up on the belt maintenance----well it's not cool when a timing belt breaks on an interference engine.

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3 hours ago, juniper said:

Audis are amazing safe vehicles. Ive had a few i like the 4.2 engine. almost 10 quarts of oil in them.  Wife has crashed 2 of them one her fault the other was a F250 van loaded with gear, hit her and my son on the side they were sitting on and walked away. .She was sitting still and he was going about 40 and t boned my wives car. At 150 MPH they are grounded and feel safe. Dont care for the new a8s they are to big the A6 with a big engine is a solid car. go on youtube theres a video of an A8 going up a hill in the snow. its funny to see all the trucks and suvs spun out and it just has no problem handling the terrain....weaving around them as they sit stuck.

4 wheel drive is an attraction

$8K repair bills are a repellent ....

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1 hour ago, richieb said:

I had mentioned in a previous thread I was looking at 4 door sedans preferably a V8. But did drive a couple certified  Mercedes V6 with twin turbos. Called a buddy, certified MB Master technician, for an opinion. Absolute first sentence from his mouth “how much warranty does it have left”. I was done. It’s the same with the other German marques - warranty, warranty, warranty. 

 

Same highly rated body shop I took the T-bone Taurus cop car too

I also mentioned Audi to him when he finished laughing at the T-bone

 

"If the factory warranty is finished, don't buy it" ... too expensive to repair

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28 minutes ago, 314carpenter said:

@Bubo

Don't pass on the Germans so quickly, esp. after only checking on a few models. I'm in the market for a 2016+ Porsche Cayenne and have been finding it very hard to locate one that suits me perfectly. Seems that nobody really wants to sell the ones they own. I was really impressed with some of the Youtube videos showing them pulling jeeps out of the mud, then turning around and chugging up the mountain. Puts the Asian AWD market to shame in all instances. Oh, and they tow 7700lbs. Avoid the base model and enjoy 0-60 in sub 6secs. Buying used is sometimes great. Most of the problems are well known and likely were addressed and corrected by the previous owner.

 

 

10 bay German car repair shop I visited West of Chicago Burbs

to look at a Cayman they had in the  lot.

 

Owner, younger guy, told me Porsch was the most reliable of the German cars nowdays

reliability being a relative term.

 

Cayman 6 cylinder is like 7-1 weight to horse power

not quite  motorcycle, but getting there

Latest Corvette is also in this range.

 

PS

My Infinity G-37 IPL Coupe is also in the 10-1 range

I can barly control it if I start pushing it

guessing 0-100 mph in 2 blocks

 

PORSCHE-Cayman-S--987--491_35.jpg

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I'm starting to keep eye open for a new (probably new) car.  Hard for me to shake a stick at Camry.

 

Wife bought one in 2005 which is now my car.  Just turned 276,000 miles.  Other than maintaining it... an A/C "resistor" thingy that allows the blower fan to operate at intermittent speeds verses full on or totally off.... I don't know that I've got much more into it for maintaining things.  I took it once in for a new timing chain AND a brake job.  They said it didn't need a timing (what I thought was a BELT, since it has a chain) so that was fine.  Also said my brakes were fine.

 

Let me reword that.....I'm still on my original brakes and pads.  I do a lot of 'highway' (country) driving and I coast to slow....so I'm easy on brakes.  Heck, my Miata had near 200,000 before I put brakes on it.  

 

Hard for me to look somewhere else when I pull the trigger.

 

 

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12 minutes ago, Coytee said:

I'm starting to keep eye open for a new (probably new) car.  Hard for me to shake a stick at Camry.

 

Wife bought one in 2005 which is now my car.  Just turned 276,000 miles.  Other than maintaining it... an A/C "resistor" thingy that allows the blower fan to operate at intermittent speeds verses full on or totally off.... I don't know that I've got much more into it for maintaining things.  I took it once in for a new timing chain AND a brake job.  They said it didn't need a timing (what I thought was a BELT, since it has a chain) so that was fine.  Also said my brakes were fine.

 

Let me reword that.....I'm still on my original brakes and pads.  I do a lot of 'highway' (country) driving and I coast to slow....so I'm easy on brakes.  Heck, my Miata had near 200,000 before I put brakes on it.  

 

Hard for me to look somewhere else when I pull the trigger.

 

 

 

I'm still driving my 2003 4 cylinder Camry

only 105K mi on it

Sadly the rockers have terminal rust, not worth fixing $6K est

 

Brother purchased approx 2010, two lemon engine changes later

it works OK

Not the same car as the 2003-2006 models

 

2 Years ago I walked into a Toyota Dealer to purchase a new Camry and leave

Materials have been cheapened and leg room reduced with the absurd Island the manufactures have installed to prevent man spreading, no other identifiable purpose. The island in the Taurus was even worse, taller longer giant empty cavity to take space away.

 

The large TV screen in the middle of the dash is a giant distraction, should be banned.

So sadly, it's not your father's Toyota, it went downhill

Honda Accord seems to win top spot

I still haven't looked at it......

 

Hoping to land a gas hog

since I drive so few miles per year and now have 2 cars and motorcycle

 

Hyundai Sonata non turbo 190 HP,

gets the highest marks in the Camry Accord space from friends with repair shops and shop managers I know. Layout under the hood is superb as is the warranty. Yesterday's Camry ?

 

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2 hours ago, tromprof said:

 

My experience applies to BMWs but is probably the same for Audi. It's not the parts that are expensive, it's the labor costs that are sky high. If you can DIY most repairs then owning one is not a lot more expensive than a Honda. However the key to getting a long and happy life with one is doing some research and getting ahead of part failures. Too many times one part failure can result in a cascade of part failures so knowing when to replace is important. That said I now drive a Subaru.

 

My uncle (Repair shop owner extraordinaire)

years ago told me to buy a used Merc 300SD 1982

I found a Certified car with 30K mi on it and pulled the trigger for $15K

 

Frame rails rotted out, or I would still be driving it

Same repair costs as a Chevy for lots of stuff

Intelligent parts shopping yielded 75% parts discounts for German parts, no star on them

 

When it was time for a new car

Uncle told me no Merc Cars

My $300 water pump repair on a new model would be $2,500 on a 300E

You have to remove the front bumper

 

Told me Camry, 2003 so I pulled the trigger on a new one

So did my mother and brother

All had a great experience with superb reliability and few repairs.

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