fmondaymorninga6

Ok I tend to agree with the first poster on here.

I've had an 80 1.8 carburetted for 4 years and all that went was the rubber mount for the carb. Followed by a A4 2.6 v6 non quattro avant - we did 105K miles together. Usual small stuff as well as a CV joint as the boot had split before I got it.

I've now got a 1.8T A6 that I done 26K in (notice I never said we)... here is the list...

Faulty door window clips
seized windscreen wiper mech
Failed front wheel bearings
Drivers side rear door stuck in safe mode (still is)
maf failure
crankshaft position sensor failure
Coil pack failure
major Oil sludge occurence - luckily the top camshaft adjuster is ok (touch wood) but it was still a weekend and 200 quid to sort this out
ABS sensor failure(s)
corroded (and leaking) radiator
Drivers side headlight misting up (strangley a cracked housing) and before you ask it was happening before I took the front off the car to sort out the oil sludge.

I never did part with my old A4 - after 2 years it's still in the garage. As the next poster said - I will cut my losses - sell it and put the money towards a replacement clutch and engine for the A4 and get it back on the road. Nothing wrong with the old engine except it is getting a bit worn and is smoking a bit. Plenty of low mileage ones knocking about... or maybe a full conversion to a 1.9tdi redline engine... Waddya think guys?

There's a couple of independent audi garages out there I get my bits from who have said they have noticed an appreciable drop in the longevity of these cars and their components of late (that's the cleaned up and civilised quote )

m000035

Like most front wheel drive cars this is to put the transaxle inline with the front wheels. But it doesn't look as odd with transverse engine designs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transverse_engine (Note the exception of "some Audis.")

Most Audis have Longitudinal engine designs. Audi engines have always (from the 70's anyway) been further forward than most cars. My '78 5000 had a in-line 5 cylinder. the radiator was off to the side and the front of the engine was 1 to 2 inches behind the grille! I just pulled a few clips and removed the grill to get access to change the timing belt and water pump. I really liked that car.

PPGOAL

Purchased used with 37k and now have 160k, mostly highway. Chipped at 80k, clutch and flywheel replaced at 90k. Only other problems were an alternator at 75k and front axle boots at 150k. I did seal off the headlight washers years ago since they kept leaking and I have a sticking rear window, probably a broken guide. Not bad for a 10 year old, high mileage vehicle with 3x the accessories of any other car I have ever owned. Still have original battery and shocks. Almost forgot, had to replace one brake bulb three years ago. Damn POS.

Gomer

Did you ever go to a party and some of your buds point out a HOT babe. After that someone will enevitably say, yea but she's high maintance and out of your leauge. Now that wallflower over there will talk to you and you have a much better chance of scoring.You my friend are now dating a hottie, dump her for a domestic or get used to buying her presents.
Really though how many thousands of these are in circulation at there age in relation to the "problems" that you read about.This site is full of people that love their rides. You will not get this kind of passion with your Accords, Camrys, Etc, you know ,the "wallflowers" So as was mentioned, with all the DYI info and everything else that is offered here- love it or leave it.

monkeytronic

Just for grins, why is having the engine so far forward a problem for you?

I take it that you also have a problem with Subarus too because Subarus, like Audis, also have their entire engines located forward of the front wheel centerline for the exact same reason why Audis do, right?

FWIW contrary to common misconception, Audis are no more front heavy than the typical transverse engined FWD car and in many cases are actually better balanced weight-wise front-to-rear than the typical FWD car because Audi uses lightweight aluminium front-end components and body panels to shift the weight bias to the rear.

2.7Lturbo

a jet costs millions if not billions of dollars, and they are a bitch to maintain and pay for. gotta pay to play, the more complex/performence. the more you have to maintain. the front end suspension on the a6 is light years ahead of its time. the biturbo v6/8 are another example of quality precision engineering

MikeLancaster

agreed... and its worth it

Audi42LV8

I cant find a better car to yet suite me. BMW's are too sporty, rides rough, interior looks out dated and plain than higher maintenance costs puts BMW out of the spot for a daily driver, even though I love the handling and sportiness (sometimes just want a neutral car that does both comfort & handle)

Next, Mercedes - Haha were to start from the horrible quality, ultra high maintenance costs, grandma smooth ride, bad electrical recalls and issues. From what I remember on ConsumerReports.com, Mercedes was 3rd FROM THE BOTTOM on reliability. Their engines were never good, interior WAS great until Mercedes decided to cut quality and reliability costs in 1998 which from there on, was junk. Luckily to hear that they renewed spending and they say quality and reliability can be found on the new S-Class and E-Class.

Then, Japanese cars. Which offers amazing reliability they offer little of anything else. Where they are strong in one area, they aren't anywhere else. Interiors seemed very useless, not a lot of features and cool gadgets. Engines were always reliable and efficient, but never powerful. I've owned everyone of these cars, so I talk from experience. Low maintenance costs, fuel economy and good resale value makes them a great buy. But obviously we chose something that fits our needs:

Audi - Let's just say its Mercedes and BMW combined, and what I mean by that is you get the luxury of a Mercedes and sportiness of BMW. Thats why when anyone compares say a A4, C300, and 328i for Speed and Handling its BMW, Audi, than Mercedes. Value, Build Quality, Practicality and such is Audi. CarandDriver, MotorTrend, and Edmunds say the Interior Design and Quality of the Audi is unmatched. Its practical, for those who want best of both worlds but live in a state or country with road conditions that would require more tractions like Quattro, xDrive, or 4matic. But, than again Audi fits perfect, fits the bill and honestly I dont mind paying a bit more than a JDM car, cause I know my A6 fits me and offeres me features, luxury, and performance like no JDM can.

SloopJohnB@mac.com

Yes. OMFG! ROFLMAO! I didn't invent 'go ugly early' but I was sure accused of it. Got my face slapped a lot but also got a lot. Ended up marrying a nice girl who is now hot cougar (and actually unaware of it/shy about it). The secret is hot girls are generally very insecure underneath which is also related to their high maintenance.

Ben Franklin, I think, said, "All cats are grey in the dark."

The trouble with hot babes is that every other swinging Richard is thinking about it if not actively cruising it and it drives up the price of poozy in Dixie. Unless you actually enjoy having every swinging Richard lusting after your MILF you gotta just let it go and not think about it....

Redneck Truck

I love the analogy of cars to beautiful women, first made when the Lamborghini Countach was on the news, way back in the day.

I would argue that so many of the problems are caused by maintenance, or lack thereof. If you keep the car in a garage and not a forest, you don't get the clogged sunroof drains and cowl that cause so many major electrical issues, you don't get the broken, brittle interior trim, and you don't get the headlight fading. If you don't keep the right fluids in it, it's bound to fail. And IMHO, if you don't get out and drive it once in a while (not just idle around town and on the highway), things probably get gummy. Can anyone second that?

Comparing my A6 to my Golf side to side (same year FWIW), the Audi is so much more technologically advanced. It uses aluminum instead of steel wherever practical. It's got an ingenious bumper mounting system like a BMW. It has a multilink front suspension, also aluminum, which couldn't hurt the ride. It performs, stops, and likely handles better than the same year Trans Am, a lighter car earmarked for high performance and "muscle". And it does it all quietly and with finesse. Plus it has all wheel drive, gets great gas mileage compared to its American counterpart, and given it is maintained properly, is considerably more reliable.

The worst of it is, I paid the same for my A6 as I did for my Golf.