m1964

Sadly but without regrets, we sold our 2010 Q5 and got a 2018 GL 300.
We both loved the ride in Q5. The GLC feels less connected to the road and also feels more like an SUV, unlike the Q5 that felt almost like a sedan.
BUT: even though I spent probably close to $1K on repairs in 2021 alone, the Q needed about $2K more to bring it to a good driving condition.
So I decided to let it go, even though my wife loved the ride.
About a year ago, a shop owner told me, "When you start fixing you Audi, you will never finish".
Apparently, he was right.
I will not list here all the repairs that I have done myself or had mechanics do.
However, I advise all Audi owners not to keep their loved vehicles beyond 7-8 years/75K miles.
Good luck to all of you, and happy holidays!

Norskie

Yep, that's been both mine and friends and families experience with German cars. General advice is "don't own it outside warranty unless you have deep pockets or enjoy wrenching".

So far my SQ5 (83k) has only needed control arms ($600, my labor + alignment) besides regular maintenance things. Crossing my fingers that the 3.0SC+ZF8 lives up to it's reputation as Audi's more reliable drivetrain (low bar to clear....)

I've concluded that for German vehicles, "high mileage" starts at around 75k.

B6_Dolphin

Once I heard about "sudden onset oil consumption" effecting the B8.5 A4/Allroad w/2.0 TFSI, I started looking for a replacement in the Spring 2021.

My '15 AR, which I initially leased than bought at the end of the lease period, only had 51k miles, but I was seeing too many reports in the Audi forums about oil consumption popping up after 65-75k miles. Granted, I always changed the oil & filter every 5k miles w/Castrol 0W40, but apparently the oil control rings were still subject to carbon coking, despite the favorable maintenance history and what was thought of as a MY2014 and earlier problem.

With a generous offer by CarMax, I shipped off the AR and now have a '21 SQ5 Sportback Prestige.

nordicb

The era of long lasting stuff is long gone. Cars of last decade or perhaps even a little older are just consumables like ink in the printer.

Avant4Adam

Have to say that hasn’t been my experience. I’ve been driving Audi’s since 2003, and aside from being very consistent with scheduled maintenance and expected wear and tear items, there hasn’t been anything out of the ordinary as far as escalating maintenance costs.

KevinGary

Based on my experience, when you hit 130k miles you should save your money and sell ASAP.

Allan Mandell

Agree completely. Our 2015 Q5 P+ Sline is trouble free at 71K miles. Our 2004 Infiniti is also trouble free at 18 years and 115K miles. Must be good Carma!

Avant4Adam

I am at 132k. I’ll keep you posted

A6Gary

I have owned 7 VAG vehicles (2 VWs, 5 Audis) since 1976. The highest mileage I have had on any of these vehicles is my current 2006 A6 Avant, which is approaching 103K miles. Since I purchased this A6 in 2008, the highest repair cost that I have experienced was to replace the ECM due the PIA P2404 defect (I have replace other body parts that were discretionary). The other part I had to replace was the left front wheel bearing at a low mileage (76K miles). However, the 3.2L engine still has the original timing chain tensionsers, valve cover gaskets, camshaft cradle sealant, oil filter seal, etc., which are known problem areas that will eventually require R&R. So, following KevinGary's recommendation, I should sell this A6 in prior to the ~130K mile mark, which is good advice.

The other Audi that we currently own is a '14 Q5 with a 2.0L TFSI engine with ~73K miles that was purchased new. For the Q5, the only repair that has been required was to replace the PCV assembly. However, the biggest issue for this engine is the timing chain assembly wearing ("stretching") prematurely, which is ~2.0K repair. For the other VAG cars, they were sold with less than ~70K miles. Other than the normal maintenance items, the cost to maintain hasn't been too bad (knock-on-wood!), except that replacement parts are expensive. For a comparison, I am still driving a 1998 Dodge Ram 1500 w/ a 3.9L V6 that now has 243K miles on the original engine and manual transmission. This Dodge hasn't required any major repairs since acquiring it in 2000. Unless you are good a DIYer and/or have extensive financial resources, you shouldn't own a German luxury vehicle (Audi, BMW, MB) beyond the warranty period, IMHO.

Norskie

We had a 2002 A6 with the 3.0 and it incurred more than $7k in repairs between 80k and 100k. Half that was for things like AC compressors, cracked wiper fluid bottle, various electrical problems, transmission leak, two wheel and one shaft bearing, etc. But the biggest culprit was when the CEL came on because one O2 sensor was dying. We were quoted $3800 from Audi to replace it, because of the 10-20 hours of labor to remove the exhaust, and once they had that out we should replace all four O2 sensor ($250 each!) and the catalytic converters ($1500). This was my lesson on how Audi engineers make regular maintenance items difficult/expensive and I swore never to buy another Audi (our A4 with a 1.8T was a disaster @ 105k too, but that's a different story).

The timing chain replacement is just an expense and part of the required maintenance and you can keep an eye on it and prepare to sell or save for the repair. But on the 2.0T I'd be far more concerned about the potential for oil consumption requiring ring (or engine) replacement.

That's good advice!

My SQ5 just passed 80k. I've looked into trading it for something else but I can't find anything I like more ... well, a 6spd B8 S4 maybe, but that doesn't solve the problem of owning a high-mileage German vehicle outside of a warranty.