Master_Mark

im looking to purchase an audi A4. im just looking to get a glimpse of what the average cost of maintaining the car would be like. gas, oil change, the whole 9. anybody help, please. thanks

Reggie

So you will need to do a timing belt change, water pump, tensioner, and thermostat every 60K miles (and if the car you buy can not verify when it was last done then you need to have it done immediately) - this can be US$1-1.6K. Oil changes are done every 5K and use a synthetic (lots of personal preference on this - I have used Mobil 1 0-40wt in my 98' A4.

Best bet is to find a good shop that specializes in Audis and have them preinspect the car and take it to them for all the work. A lot of the work you can do your self and there are writeups here in the forum to walk you through the work.

turbo510

Do you intend to do your own maintenance? Aside from a few trouble spots that tend to affect most B5s, these cars are not difficult to maintain. Reggie's suggestion to have a mechanic familiar with these A4s is a good idea. What type of A4 are you looking at; Quatto or FWD, automatic or manual, turbo 1.8 or V6 2.8, sedan or wagon? There's pros and cons for each.

As to cost for maintenance, you mentioned gas and oil changes. Again as said before, use synthetic oil (and especially if a 1.8T engine), German filters such as Mann. Do it yourself for maybe $40. Fuel use varies, 20-25 mpg is in the ballpark. What it costs to maintain is hard to predict; mine has about 204,000 miles, but not much has needed replacing, wheel bearings and front control arms being the only major things. So it has averaged a few hundred dollars per year, for parts which I typically buy from online sources. Keep in mind that just about any B5 series A4 will have over 100K.