tubi

Does it cost much to maintain a new Audi like the B8 when it goes out of warranty if it's been well cared for during the first few years? Or hold onto your wallet if something breaks? I'm still undecided if I should finance or lease my next car. I've been leasing all my life so I have no idea how much it costs to maintain these German cars without warranty.

dpcompt

i have owned six audis and the drivetrains on all the cars have been fairly dependable. however, small items have needed fixing in several of the cars and would have been very expensive to fix. one example is the window regulator. around $600 plus labor to fix and a very common problem. i really enjoy my current audis, but i will consider purchasing warranty extensions when the time comes. the"cpo" program is a great way to purchase a used audi.
don

Turbo Freak

I kept my 1998 A4 1.8T 11 years.

Here is the maintenance that it required.

Price in CAN $, work done at an independant shop.

The B5 had a problem with control arm and bearing that were too small for the weight of the car. Clutch failed prematurely because of seal failure that made oil leaked in...

Total about $13,000 CAN in maintenance for about 11 years. Car had only 160,000 km when replaced (100,000 miles)

2003-06-03 Front brakes
2003-06-11 Water pump 59,835 km
2003-12-01 Bearing rear left
2005-05-24 Complete inspection + oil change $436.99
2005-09-28 timing belt $679.03
2006-01-05 coil spring + bearing rear left + rear brakes $1 019.67
2006-01-20 control arm $547.16
2006-03-01 rear right bearing $270.51
2006-03-24 clutch $1 515.95
2006-06-05 front right bearing $240.11
2006-06-13 temperature sensor + oil change $206.63
2006-07-25 Link arm $33.05
2006-09-14 control arm $419.83
2006-09-28 ABS computer + Light switch $1 331.63
2007-01-10 oil change $75.78
2007-06-12 Summer tune up $160.04
2007-11-19 Dip stick coude muffler $773.84
2008-02-28 catalytic converter repair $503.72
2008-04-17 vaccum lines (preventive), Right Rear CV joint, Front Left bearing $1 101.97
2008-10-09 Wipers linkage + rear brakes $888.27
2009-02-17 Summer oil change and tune up $124.16
2009-06-17 Valve cover gasket $449.67
2009-07-17 rear right bearing + AC refill $450.67
2009-07-18 rear left CV joint $347.93

Bob58

Audi A4s have come a long way in long term reliability since the B5 days. That's no knock on the B5 A4. There are many B5 A4s that are running around strong over 150,000 miles.

The design service life of any modern car is 150,000 miles.

If you go by only averages (weeding out the lemons and the uncannily reliable flukes) all modern cars are, fundamentally, reliable through 150,000 miles with proper routine maintenance performed.

Audi A4s are no exception.

Owning any model car past about 12 years and 150,000 miles is a pure crap shoot.

Will things break along the way to 150,000 miles? Probably.

With most A4s, those things that break are usually irritants like switch gear, window regulators, electrical gremlins....etc...and not usually strand you on the side of the road items.

Fixing those items that do break generally costs more on any German car than they do on a Ford or Toyota.

iflywoe

1 of the things i like about the tfsi, is that theres no timming belt, its got a chain!

Hobbes

I drove my 1997 A4 for 12+ years and 155,000 miles. I considered it to be very reliable. I don't have the numbers handy, but I don't think the maintenance costs were prohibitive, I know for a fact it was much cheaper to pay for scheduled maintenance and repairs than to make a car payment.

Being the analytical type that I am I frequently ran the numbers to see whether it was getting to be time for a new car, but from a financial standpoint I was always doing much better to keep my car than to get a new one. Paying $1,200 for some repairs and maintenance would seem high, until I realized that it had been 8 months since I had spent any money on the car at all.

Generally having an older paid-for car will be more cost-effective, it's just that the cash outlays come in chunks instead of even monthly payments.

Turbo Freak

Is that true for the 2.0T ???

dk1

Yes, for the new engine design.

NJRoadFan

It still has a water pump that has to be changed though. Although timing belts and water pumps can last a long time. My mechanic spent 6 hours a 1/3 of a tank of acetylene extracting the 22 year old factory original (!) water pump, timing belt, and idler pulley off of the 87 Audi I own. (I generally do my own repairs on that car, good thing I gave this job to a pro!) It only has about 106k on it, but its amazing nothing broke, leaked, or seized.

One thing that German cars are known for are expensive parts. Generally the cars run great as long as they are properly maintained. Stupid stuff also tends to break or wear out prematurely (B5 A4s were infamous for control arm and tie rod end problems). Major engine issues are rare, as are drivetrain issues. Transmissions are a crap shoot, but generally the manual gearboxes are bulletproof. Audi's "lifetime" automatic transmission fluid is kinda a silly concept though. Plenty of people have had their "lifetime" fluid changed at 100k and noticed much smoother shifting. Perhaps its planned obsolesce.

Also, Turbo Freak, where did you take your car to be repaired? Even taking into account the CAN$ exchange rate, those prices seem awfully high, even for a dealer.

Turbo Freak

Those prices includes labor and 15% tax, also some of those prices do not list all of what was done (often includes oil and filter change with Motul syntetic oil), but the main parts replaced during those service. Labour at $59/hour compared to the dealer who was $82 in 2002. I am scared to ask how much it is now !