without being a shop queen the last few years?

Assume - purchased new, oil changes every 5K miles, dealer service at the major intervals (15K/30/45 etc.), relaxed driving style (tires and brakes last 60K miles), 10-15K miles/year with a 3-4K mile road trip each year, and the usual 120K mile-ish shocks/struts/CV joint/suspension parts replacement.

We purchase new, treat them right, and expect to keep them 14-16 years. Our last 3 cars (Hondas/Acura) have performed admirably and I'd like to know if a new A6 would/could do as well. (Ok - so the Accord really liked a new muffler every 3 years and the Acura a new radiator every 5 yrs - but other than that, no major $1K+ repairs.)

Bob

It is Texas - flat and straight. My only relevant data points are my 92 Legend (equiv hp & wt), Michelin MXV4s, 205/60VR15, replaced at 70K, 50K, and 55K, and 99 Subaru Outback wagon (eqv AWD), OEM Michelin AT-somethings, 205/70R15, replaced a bit early at 55K.

I'm sure driving style has a lot to do with longevity. Does 17" rims, versus 15", make a big difference?

Curb weight 3479lbs for the Legend, and 4012lbs for the A6. A 533 lb difference will be noticeable on tires...the A6 is a heavy beast

Power for the legend's 3.0L was 200HP 210lb-ft the A6 is 255HP and 243 lb-ft.

In my experience AWD will afford you more even tire wear across all four tires, but it may ultimately be a faster wear than the lighter, less powerful Legend.

This is just my 2 cents. YMMV

IMHO, you need to seperate reliability and maintenance.

I think the A6 (or BMW and/or Mercedes) could go the distance, but you would have to take a European car ownership mindset. Basically head off as many problems before they crop up and snowball into something larger. This means lots of preventitive maintenance such as coolant and brake fluid flushes every 2 years, total under-car inspection every year - searching for leaks, torn rubber bushings or boots, and higher than usual wear in driveline components among other things. You need to be mechanically alert for new sounds or smells or how the car drives. Not paranoid, just not oblivious. It's all about being proactive.

I have 5 Alfa sedans, all of which have 100K miles, and one with 257K miles. They have reliably carried me all over the western US and Canada, braving -30C and spending weekends getting beaten upon at the racetrack in the desert. Are they reliable? Yes. Are they low maintenance? Not even remotely!

If you use the Japanese car owner mentality which is to do the basic oil changes as needed but then wait for something to break before fixing it, then you probably aren't going to enjoy owning a European luxury car of any kind. I switched from Japanese cars to European cars years ago, and haven't looked back. I like and rent Subarus and Mazdas, but I just can't get excited about the idea of owning one myself. The Japanese make some fantastic cars - but many of the good European cars have something intangible about them that gives each drive no matter how short, a sense of occasion. So you trade one quality (utter reliablity with low maintenance) for another (a tactile driving experience).

Is that what you're looking for in a car?

at 120ish HP, 2400 lbs, 80K first set, and the 86 Honda Civic 4WD Wagon, dismal 76 hp, 2600 lbs, a dissapointing 65K first set.

I'll give you the wear with extra weight (more like 3650lbs for the Legend, LS, auto, with big honking trailer hitch), though the extra HP and torque only cost when you use them. It's a rare day when I use even 1/2 throttle on the Legend - again, My driving style. No requirement here for the 4.2 V8. :^)

Bob

If you want long-term reliability and very low maintenance cost buy Japanese. We have two European cars. I wouldn't keep either one without a manufacturer's warranty. I know it doesn't make economic sense but I'd rather get a new car or buy a manufacturer's extended warranty than risk being hit with a large repair cost. And now that Audi will no longer offer free annual maintenance I figure they will charge $500 for each annual visit and for complying with TSBs issued since your last visit. You can have a Japanese car serviced at your local gas station for under $100 and rarely go back to the dealer.

going on a 2,000 road trip, get in the car right then, and uneventfully get to her destination. And for me to not even think about her having car trouble.


Is having the dealer perform All the AoA scheduled maintenance at each interval, any additional regular maintenance that dealer has found to be useful, replacing the scheduled along with the occasional worn-out bits, and resolving weird noises, smells, and new oil drops on the garage floor in a week or two, along with replacing cycle-limit parts (e.g. driveline/suspension parts) - enough?

Thats what I've done with the last 4 cars and would continue to do with an Audi (or any new car for that matter). Do I have the right European maintenance mindset?


I agree with April that maintenance is Part of the way to get reliability. You could make a Yugo 100% reliable - by replacing all the parts each and every day! But at some point, using continual maintenance to correct bad design, engineering, material and/or assembly of the parts and pieces just makes the product unusable - at least to me.

Is a better question then - "Is AoA maintenance schedule and intervals enough to meet my 15 year, 175k mile requirement?"

Bob

and I get a thrill of anticipation. Usually end up going to the store 20 miles away by way of the most amusing onramps, offramps, and freeway transitions;-) My A3 isn't quite that exciting, but then it's far easier and comfortable to drive.

The Alfa with 257K went to the Yukon twice, and only stranded me once with a bad wheel bearing after hammering for weeks on rutted gravel roads. Sure, I'd throw the usual collection of fluids and emergency repair items in the car for long trips, but thankfully almost all of the items which have failed unexpectedly have been few and far in between - and the same items that go out on any older car like battery, starter, etc. Now that was a very half-baked engineered car - not like an Audi.

You can buy a Toyota and have oil sludge that halts the engine in the middle of nowhere. You can buy a Honda and have one of the versions that has the bad transmission - leaving you stranded as well. My last Toyota stranded me far more often than the Alfa ever did. It never hurts to be prepared no matter what you drive.

So you need to weigh the price of stove bolt reliability vs a little driving excitement in your life. There are times and places where one makes more sense than the next. Only you can answer which one works for you.

Can I get long term reliability with medium maintenance cost? Say $1k/yr on average with the occasional higher bump for big scheduled maintenance years?

> I wouldn't keep either one without a manufacturer's (extended) warranty.

First thing out of the Jaguar, BMW, and Audi sales guys mouth in response to my "will it last 15 years" was "get the extended warranty".

Seems to be a theme, what with all the 2007 warranty posts and hardly any of this forum's members with a 1999 or earlier Audi still in the garage. I'll just need to keep that extra warranty cost in mind.

Bob

People in the current or near current model forums have different priorities and outlook than folks who keep the cars a long time.

http://forums.audiworld.com/a6100/msgs/51421.phtml

http://forums.audiworld.com/a6100/msgs/50052.phtml

http://forums.audiworld.com/a6100/msgs/43282.phtml

http://forums.audiworld.com/a6100/msgs/34453.phtml<ul><li><a href="http://forums.audiworld.com/a6100/">http://forums.audiworld.com/a6100/</a</li></ul>

We have a bunch of people that service their Audi vehicles here and have well over 150k on the clock. One gentleman in particular has a 2000 A6 2.7 with over 200k on the clock. I'm always asking him about the car (he's in every 2 months or so for an oil change) and he has never been stranded. Keep up with the schedule, modify it for your type of driving and you should be fine. Pretty much any new car on the road today will last for 200k as long as you maintain it.

electronics going. Electronics are not Audi's strongest department.

<center><img src="http://images.forbes.com/images/2005/07/01/1_0705feat.jpg"></center><p>
<ul><li><a href="http://www.forbes.com/vehicles/2005/07/05/luxury-cars-vehicles-lifestyle-cx_dl_0705feat.html?partner=msn">Forbes List of Unreliable Luxury Cars</a></li></ul>

doesn't have excessive maintenance costs (I do all of it), and doesn't have an extended warranty. Yes, it is very low mileage (now approaching 59K), but doing regular maintenance does prevent the "big" ticket repair costs. If you take decent care of any car (especially a German sports sedan/Avant), you should be able to easily ring out 150K - 250K miles of it.

<ul><li><a href="http://forums.audiworld.com/a6/msgs/599668.phtml">http://forums.audiworld.com/a6/msgs/599668.phtml</a</li></ul>

Well, if you never drive over 100 mph,or corner over 0.5 g, there are some S-rated tires that will make it.

<center><img src="http://www.eurocarsintl.homestead.com/files/passat2.jpg"></center><p>my Passat 32B is going to be 19 years this coming summer... its on a second engine, 3rd clutch and its going to be 160,000 miles soon.

Family car bought new and always stayed wit us. Not problematic at all, of course a water pump here, new brakes there, but mostly reliable.<ul><li><a href="http://www.eurocarsintl.homestead.com/passat.html">Check it</a></li></ul>