Hi Folks,
I'm looking for some info on the Audi ownership experience, specifically reliability.
I've been a Subaru fan for the last 12 years and 2 years ago bought a 2005 Legacy GT turbo wagon. I've put my trust in Subaru reliability and avoided Audi because I felt they had a spotty reputation, but lately my Legacy has been consuming oil (only 18k on it), so my faith in Subaru has been shaken.
I realize this is an Audi board so you're probably biased towards Audis, but I'm looking for some honest opinions on reliabilty and repair issues. I don't want to "jump from the frying pan into the fire."
Just to give you some background, I used to have a 2001 BMW 330i so I'm no stranger to German cars, and I want power so I'm looking at the 3.2 FSI (and am currently gun-shy of turbos).
Can any of you shed any light? Also, can you refer me to other useful boards?
Thanks.

I love the car. It's been through 2 Canadian winters and all the snow and slush. Excellent. To be fair, the car is still "new", so I don't expect anything bad for a few years yet. It behaves great even at -30C. And yesterday, it was fine at +30C...so no temperature related issues.

No major issues, just a few minor gripes all dealt with by my fantastic dealer. Like you, I did not want to go "turbo". For two reasons, I plan to keep the car a long time, and 2, deliberately did not want the "temptation" to chip the car. Although, for me, if I could not get a manual transmission for the 3.2, I'd get the 2.0T...I don't like any of the current automatic trannys...including the DSG. You may not care.

Minor Issues were:

1. key fob acting up. Replaced for free. No issues since.

2. Condensation in headlight assembly. Replaced by dealer for free.

3. Cracked "fake leather" seat bolster. Not an uncommon Audi issue. Seat cover replaced fro free by dealer.

4. Driver side window scratched easily with plastic ice scraper. Dealer was no help, but I didn't push the issue.

No issues at all with any drivetrain or suspension parts.

Overall Experience

The 3.2 is a great motor. Technically, it's not as sexy as the 2.0T (I mean, 255HP from 3.1L is not a stretch) but the motor never lugs...even at a snails pace in 4th gear. Smoother than the 2.0T, but not night and day. If you want gas economy, the 2.0T is a better choice. The car in general has been wonderful...it does everything I want it to. It holds a lot of gear inside, plus, I put a Thule box on the roof in winter, and bike racks on in summer. The built-in rails are great.

For me, the only real complaints I have are:

1. stupid arm-rest / parking brake design. Common on all A4s. In an otherwise brilliant interior, this one thing galls me.

2. Temp controls for cabin are buttons, not dials.

3. I had to get the sunroof for certain options. I don't like sunroofs.

I looked at the various Subarus before getting the Avant. I looked at the Sube H6 cars, but only an auto tranny was available. The car also felt "tinny" and not nearly as solid as the Audi (or a VW golf for that matter).

I have come to believe a few things with cars. One, you tend to get what you pay for in the long run. If you plan to hold on to the car, get the Audi. Second, I know people who have had Subes that have lasted forever, and some that have died in the first few years. Same stories with the Audi. There is a certain amount of luck. If your local Audi dealer has a good reputation (check first!) you should have no issues.

I'm 33k miles into my second Audi. The first was a 2001, 1.8T and is still running fine with no major problems (I stay in touch with the owner, and she had a minor vacuum leak). On the 2006, I have not had a single issue - just oil changes, tire rotations, etc. I like keeping the car clean and therefore find the brake dust from stock pads an annoynace (just switched to Hawk pads, as I did on the 2001).

I can understand being gun-shy of turbos, but the K03 in the 2.0T engine is relatively; modest. Feed the engine synthetic oil, give it a brief cool-down after hard driving.

Between the two A4's, I have almost 90,000 miles personally, including 6 track events, with no major failures at all. Only a minor issue on the 2001, and I forget what it was - but it didn't cost much or leave me stranded.

The 2.0T has one of the best tradeoffs of performance and gas mileage on the market - of any brand. I have some common mods (chip and exhaust), but the mileage has suffered not at all.

The other board would be audizine.com, but this is my regular read.

Good luck - report back if you get an Audi.

I shouldn't say it, but after 48K miles, I have only had one issue with my 2006 3.2 A4 Avant with 6MT. They performed an ECU software update to correct difficult cold starting. Runs perfect ever since. The 3.2 is a great engine and reminds me of the 2.7T in my old allroad. Unlike the 2.8 in my previous A4s, the 3.2 likes to rev, especially after you have about 10K miles on it. Also unlike my previous Audis, it doesn't use a drop of oil between 5K mile changes. I plan to keep this one to 200K and it should make it without major problems.

Thanks to all those who responded. Your experiences will figure into my future decision. in the mean time I'll continue to read this board and pick up tips.

FWIW.. don't dismiss the 2.0T out of hand.

I have had many, many Audi's (starting in the late 80's with a 4000s) Of note, a V8 Quatrro, a 6SP TT roadster... my least favorite Audi ever was an '06 A4 Convertible, 3.0 (6 cyl) with an Auto trans. YUCK!

The 3.0 (can't speak for the 3.2, mind you) was a heavier engine, which in my opinion affected the driving dynamic of that car in a bad way. The 6's tend to be not that much faster, weigh more, and feel like less fun to drive.

I currently have 2 A4's ... my wife's '06 Avant S-line, 2.0 6 sp stick might well be one of the best Audi's I have yet driven. Its flat out fun to drive, tracks like a shark, and is plenty quick enough for any daily driver. PLUS it gets great mileage.

Make sure you drive both the 2.0 and 3.2 before you dive in !

W

Background:
I was coming from Audi's narrow angle V6 in the 2004 TT with DSG, and before that a 2.7T S4 with a Tip.

Apporach:
Because of this, I had to drive both, but I was leaning toward the 3.2 V6 Avant for the same reason you (dagama10) pointed out.

Decision:
After driving the cars multiple times, back to back, under various driving conditions, it was clear to me the 2.0T was the way to go.

Reasons:
1) The 2.0T felt nimble. You could actually feel the better weight distribution and the car felt more tossable.

2) Tuning potential. Although, the car comes from the factory with good power that has a very useable low to mid range band of torque, which is well suited for city driving, I knew the 2.0T motor had more potential for tweaking than the 3.2 motor. Not that I am a power hungry, get-every-last-HP-possible-from-the-car-mod-hungry nut or even a shade tree mechanic that enjoys getting his hands dirty on the weekend (contrary, I like to keep things clean - detailing my cars), but I read and knew how responsive forced induction cars can be to just an intake and exhaust, which can help even things out between the 2.0T and 3.2 motors. Of course, a reflash on a 2.0T motor has a huge effect on performance and may even give it the edge. Not to mention, the 2.0T had a good derived history from the award wining 1.8T motor and with FSI technology now onboard, I felt this was the motor to have from Audi.

3) Gas mileage. Little did I know when I got the car how much I would end up loving the gas mileage in this car, where it easily beats our V6 cars we have/had by 10%-15% on avg. Over a year that can really add up.

Summary:
Like you have already read, do your research, drive the cars (back to back, if possible) and enjoy the search.

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Hi folks,
Well you were all so encouraging that I'm now the proud owner of a 2007 Dolphin Gray 3.2 Avant with 23k miles.
Really enjoying it so far - much more solid than my Legacy (duh), quicker, and better mileage.
Thanks All!
(BTW, I changed my screen name.)