Bubo Posted December 11, 2021 Share Posted December 11, 2021 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted December 11, 2021 Share Posted December 11, 2021 I can see the need to change timing belts at those intervals, but timing chains? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted December 11, 2021 Share Posted December 11, 2021 18 minutes ago, oldtimer said: I can see the need to change timing belts at those intervals, but timing chains? For real. American cars can go 300+K on factory chains. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaudeJ1 Posted December 11, 2021 Share Posted December 11, 2021 so much for german engineering..... Timing belt on Honda V-tech 6 cylinder (best engine ever made) every 120,000 miles is only $1,000, including all new peripheral parts like water pump. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juniper Posted December 11, 2021 Share Posted December 11, 2021 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shiva Posted December 11, 2021 Share Posted December 11, 2021 Perhaps, another search question might be: What is the best used car for this amount of cash." lets hear What Doug has to say, "fun used deals under 30K. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geezin' Posted December 11, 2021 Share Posted December 11, 2021 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. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted December 11, 2021 Share Posted December 11, 2021 47 minutes ago, geezin' said: do not use aftermarket parts in any vehicle Impossible. That's all there is. Hell, even AC-Delco isn't real anymore!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tromprof Posted December 11, 2021 Share Posted December 11, 2021 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richieb Posted December 11, 2021 Share Posted December 11, 2021 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
314carpenter Posted December 11, 2021 Share Posted December 11, 2021 @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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted December 11, 2021 Share Posted December 11, 2021 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubo Posted December 11, 2021 Author Share Posted December 11, 2021 3 hours ago, oldtimer said: I can see the need to change timing belts at those intervals, but timing chains? They should buy engines from Ford or Chevy to get some reliability Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubo Posted December 11, 2021 Author Share Posted December 11, 2021 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 .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubo Posted December 11, 2021 Author Share Posted December 11, 2021 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubo Posted December 11, 2021 Author Share Posted December 11, 2021 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted December 11, 2021 Share Posted December 11, 2021 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. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubo Posted December 11, 2021 Author Share Posted December 11, 2021 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 ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubo Posted December 11, 2021 Author Share Posted December 11, 2021 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richieb Posted December 11, 2021 Share Posted December 11, 2021 1 hour ago, Bubo said: They should buy engines from Ford or Chevy to get some reliability I could bore you with a story about my 1999 Silverado w/62000 miles with a seized LS 5.3. But I won’t - 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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