Audi reliability - is it really getting better?

[javadog]

I doubt even 1% of car owners have even heard of that site, let alone reported anything on it. So, probably not worth much...

I think if reliability is more important to you than the ownership experience, you need to consult the more mainstream quality watchdogs and pick the brand that you feel had the highest quality in the era that interests you. How a brand does today is less important than how it was doing when the car you're looking at was actually built.

Then, get a thorough PPI from a shop that knows what they are doing and roll the dice.

Buy a warranty, if it makes you feel better.

JR

[onewhippedpuppy]

Truedelta I think is a good source to establish what is a reliable car or not. Owners report on that website on the kind of problems they have had. As mentioned before there is no guarantee that anything mechanical will last forever.



Everybody has a degree of tolerance of what they can sustain in terms of car problems.

It is not the same for everybody.

Guy.

How many post on that website that are overjoyed with their car? See that's the problem with believing everything you read on the Internet. Someone upset with their car or dealership will go out of their way to post complaints. Someone happy with their car.....is happy with their car. How many people post, "hey my car did great today"?

[MRM]

Originally Posted by LeeH

Just for the record, what year and model? Miles?

I had an 03 RS6. I bought it from an Audi enthusiast who had some sort of after market performance enhancement business for Audis. It was in apparently perfect condition. I bought it in 2010 with about 70,000 miles and all major services completed. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

I sold it at the end of 2013 with a little over 100,000. In that time I had to replace the alternator, various oil lines where the fittings failed, the transmission, more electronics than I can remember, the turbo waste gates, a second trip to replace some sensors they didn't cover the first time around, rebuilding the struts every couple of seasons, things like that. On top of the stuff that broke (constantly) the regular maintenance was a nightmare and incredibly expensive. All in all I spent over $25,000 in repairs and maintenance. I traded it in on a BMW 535 for very little in return. Even then the dealership didn't really want to take it in on trade at all but they wanted to make the sale before year end. So in retrospect, it was well over a dollar a mile.

[nostatic]

So you bought a 7 year old performance variant with 70K from a modder and had to put money into it? I shall alert the media

[onewhippedpuppy]

I would LOVE to have an RS6. But I am terrified of the RS6.



Doesn't exactly look like easy access, does it? Part of my reasoning for purchasing a D2 S8 was the lack of sardine packaging. I did the serpentine belt and fan clutch without removing the front clip, no harder than any other modern car. Spark plugs were a 30 min affair. Putting a V8 into a car designed to fit a W12 makes for plenty of space.

[javadog]

I bought an '03 RS6 brand new in 2003. I sold it 7 years later. Not a single failure, on any part of the car, in the 7 years I owned it.

JR

[MRM]

Yes, it's scary to work on. I tried going to an independent and they screwed it up, so I was stuck with the dealership from then on. You pretty much have to pull the engine to work on anything.

Of course I knew that and the reputation of the RS6 in general, but like everyone else I thought I would be lucky. The only modification was to reflash the ECU and add a transmission cooler. None of the mods caused any problems. I do think I should have been expecting a high-maintenance/hi-performance car. I do not think I should have expected to spend F-car money just to drive it on the roads. The brand's hand-built halo car should hold up a bit better than that.

Java, you didn't happen to sell to a guy in Minnesota, did you? My PO didn't report any problems either, and had good records to back him up. By the time I was done with it there was little on my car that hadn't failed and been replaced. Maybe they were designed to last about 70,000 miles.

[RF5BPilot]

Part of the issue is deciding whether you want a "transportation appliance" or something with a bit more character. Traditionally, cars with more character require more maintenance where a transportation appliance emphasizes reliability. Neither is better; just find the right tool for what you have in mind. (Usually, the more character--the more maintenance up to scary proportions...)

Had a '99 A6. Nice car. Never anything other than routine maintenance. Excellent highway car. Didn't care for the tiptronic, though.

After one or two other cars, got a CPO 2012 A6. First year for the C7 model. Got the Premium Plus (intentionally) so it had somewhat fewer gadgets that could go bad over the years. This may be the best all-round car I've ever owned and shares Nothing with the '99 other than the model designation. Routinely gets 30mpg+ on the highway. No issues yet (but it's a young car).

Even this one has enough sensors (not made by Audi) that I bet one or more will go bad during the time I own the car. And therein lies the crux is--a lot of what gets repaired on the cars originally came from suppliers rather than the company itself.

[JavaBrewer]

My '01 TTC was one of the most reliable cars I have owned. Bought it CPO with 30K miles and it was my DD for 8 years and 80K miles. I did the timing belt and water pump at 65K. Had the dash cluster rebuilt for $350. Other than that routine maintenance.

[javadog]

Originally Posted by MRM

Yes, it's scary to work on.

The guys I know that work on these sorts of cars just roll their eyes when they hear these sorts of comments. I'd wager half the problems that people seem to have are related to incompetent technicians. Just because they do work on cars for a living doesn't mean they are not idiots. The guys I use are good and fast. They don't screw around. While the average DIY-er is wringing his hands about all the work that it takes to get to a part, these guys just do the work.

Originally Posted by MRM

Java, you didn't happen to sell to a guy in Minnesota, did you?

No, it stayed in Oklahoma. Minnesota is a bad place to own a car. Bad roads, harsh winters, etc. Wouldn't do that to one of my cars...

Originally Posted by MRM

Maybe they were designed to last about 70,000 miles.

Maybe you are just hard on ****?

JR

[Typ616]

2010 S4 here, CPO thank goodness (bought at 28K miles a year ago)... In the year + that I've had it, Transmission control module (mechatronics) @$4000, rear video camera (twice) with the line to it ($1500), MMI entertainment unit (not sure what bit), $$$, and I suspect it'll need control arms soon given the look of the bushings.

Friend with new 2013 S4 - Wheel bearings at 15K miles (!!!) and transmission - reprogrammed twice, replaced, also $$$$$ but under warranty.

So offhand I'd say no, not getting more reliable, but what a great car to drive under warranty !
I know mine goes for trade in the day before CPO warranty expires. And I'll get a stick and minimal electronics doodads, it should be more reliable specced that way (but on the S4, stick shifts miss out of the fabulous exhaust "farts" that DSG tranny forces the ECU to create)... The supercharged 3.0 engine is a beast, I love it ! If I can't get another S4 Ill get an A6 with that engine (if they come in stick). So much torque, on quattro, it would take something special to accelerate faster from 0->city speeds.

[techweenie]

I've participated in TrueDelta for years. The surveys cover all registered participants. The forum (like any forum) attracts the nutty 2%.

My '06 A3 was dead reliable except for a recall on some component of the turbo cooling system. I put 90K miles on it from new without a hiccup.

[porsche4life]

Plenty of room in this engine bay...

[wildthing]

This is why I leased my new A3. I'll let you know at the end if it's worth keeping or not.

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by techweenie

I've participated in TrueDelta for years. The surveys cover all registered participants. The forum (like any forum) attracts the nutty 2%.

My '06 A3 was dead reliable except for a recall on some component of the turbo cooling system. I put 90K miles on it from new without a hiccup.

I would think the CR survey would be a better sampling than web sites like True Delta. Sort of like Yelp. People who have a bad experience at a restaurant go there to vent.

[James Brown]

The problem is not the car but the people that think they can work on the car (or there lack of knowledge of the cars). There just nuts and bolts, real close and tight nuts and bolts. but nuts none the less. I had a SAI pump failing that cost just over $500 new. I took it apart and greased up everything and put it back in, still works well.
So in the end, its just mechanical parts, many many parts that need grease.

[DaveE]

We finally got rid of our '97 A6 for a 2012 A4 2.0T. Quattro is awesome for the western PA mountains. This is our 6th or 7th Audi. I'm not afraid of them.

And my Boxster has 212,000 miles on it. No IMS warning systems.

[LeeH]

Went to see the A6 wagon today. It's a "no go." As soon as I sat in the driver's seat, I knew it had been a smoker's car. Gunked up lighter confirmed what my nose already knew. Found an old Carfax in with the owner's manual showing that the car had been in two accidents. Not sure how bad they were. I could tell there had been some paint work in its past, but no other obvious signs of accident repair. Strike three... a/c was not putting out enough air. Don't know if the cabin filter was clogged or if something was broken, but a/c was definitely not up to Phoenix standards.

The cabin was definitely a nice place to be. Seats were awesome. Infotainment system was more intuitive than what I expected based on some reading. There were a few buttons on the dash that I would have had to look up in the manual to figure out their purpose in life. One I figured out by pressing... an electric glove box opener button??? Really? Seems like an unnecessary use of electronics, if there ever was one!

Would like to have driven it, but it had a low tire and was pretty much on fumes. Just didn't feel like messing with it in the afternoon heat.

[porsche4life]

That's a shame lee. . Looked like a nice car.

On to the next one, that's the thrill of the chase right?

[onewhippedpuppy]

Showing up to see a car and finding it with a low tire and no gas - that pretty much says it all, doesn't it?

If you want a fun sedan, I'll have a C63 next week.