q5dave

2011 Q5 2.0T owner here with 15,000 coming up soon. car was purchased with 7500 miles on it so it was supposed to have the 5000 mile service done before i bought it. I changed oil and filter (oem audi filter and mobil one 0W40 synthetic) at 8000 miles as a precaution just in case it wasn't done.
Audi care is $800 and I don't have a problem paying that if its really worth it. My dilemma is it a worth while thing to do or should I change my own oil,air filters, rotate tires,brakes, change plugs etc myself. I'm capable of doing these things myself but when it comes to computer related items I don't have experience and a VAG unit either. I could purchase one if necessary i suppose.
I did my own service or my RX330 and ran it to 214,000 before I traded it for my Q. I had a mechanic do the plugs as it was a v6 and the back side plugs were more than I cared to do. the the 2.0 it wouldn't be a problem for me. I've had bad experiences with other dealers doing service on vehicles and motorcycles in the past. as low and dirty as the oil was when I changed it at 8000 miles I doubt it was ever changed by the dealer anyway, and it was down half way on the oil gage on the nav screen. doesn't appear tires were ever rotated either as the fronts have less tread than rears. Audicare doesn't cover tire rotations either.
So i would like to here from the people on here about what they think about this, preferably you guys /gals that are capable of doing it yourself.
Thanks
Dave

Reggie

I have a similar experience as you as we went from a RX300 to the Q. I sold it wth 125k miles and did all the oil changes and filters myself. but the major service items I had Lexus or a independent shop do them.. Those rear plugs are bitch.

I always have warranty service done by Audi. I do drive to Denver for a better shop than my local dealer.

tenspeed

Since my closest dealer is a hour away, I'll perform my own maintenance.

Reggie

it takes me a hour to drive to Denver

lmariorod

We got Audicare when we signed for the car but knew that we could get it anytime after the included 5k service. Reasons I'm glad we got Audicare:

1-Didn't worry about changing the oil and filter for most of the warranty period. Had read on forums that Audi/VW were not customer friendly when it came to gray areas of warranty service. Knew that if they performed most of the service during the warranty period, warranty issues should not have been a problem.

2- They performed TSB's that I was unaware of, ie. software upgrades and updated DRL modules.

3- Top off of fluids...coolant, windshield and car wash. Also insisted they change my plastic water pump before it failed. All this was done when taking it in for scheduled Audicare.

Reasons I would NOT get Audicare again if I were to get another Audi.
1-Dealer is 45 minutes away.
2-Sub par Service writers.
3-Don't feel my cabin filter is changed, even though its an included service, and mentioned to service writers.
4- Would prefer to pour my own oil and filter change @ 5k to 7500 since the oil in this 3.2 turns black within days of being changed.

Hope this helps.

rick480

I have done all my own maintnance, it is not a big deal. If you don't have a vag-com you can find a friend or neighbor with one to reset the service light. (oil you can reset yourself). Unfortunately you do need to take it in to the dealer once in a while to get any service bulletins done, and you can't depend on the Audi website to tell you what recalls/service bulletins there are.

askani

Reggie,

I am also from Northern CO, what issues have you had with the local dealer and where do you go in Denver?

Thanks

Reggie

I'll send you a email. But I use Prestige - the techs there are better trained and was the only dealer in the Rocky Mountain region to send techs to the training for the RS6