SloopJohnB@mac.com

Mostly with Bosch (surprise?) bits.

But it all boils down to manufacturer specifications and tests to confirm their specs. I've worked on Peterbilt and Kenworth (PACCAR) trucks with electrics specified and tested for million mile service…the parts are often American made because the JDM and/or German markets simply won't make them. I've often wondered how Volvo or Mercedes trucks do. Something as simple as a 30/40amp relay should never never never fail…and yet they do. All you have to do is look at the contacts and see why although perhaps they're just simply overloaded rather than some schmuck Chinese company substituting an inferior or outright counterfeit part.

Airbag

I find this statement odd for me personally because I cant think of ANY electrical failures I have had on any of my Audis and I have run them to 350 and 404 thousand Kilomters respectively.

Sure I have had starter motors and alternators die but this is to be expected. The fine current carrying wire for the starter motor lead has fried on m bosch but all the germans use Bosch so nothing special there.

and the alternators just plain wore out .

maybe you feel the pain with this because you are not a very good troubleshooter of electrical issues ? not tying to dis you as we all have our forte. Personally I think these cars have "more" problems because these things are still running when the equivalent N/A car is already in the scrap heap and the owner has moved on to a new one.

Iso Raw

Get you some Control arms cv boots and window clips a new cluster lcd an abs controller and maybe catalytic convertor or 2 and you'll be ok audi the 2000-12 years anyway were legit anyway some of the newer TDI model owners may feel doomed though.

jcman

....so here we go.

I firmly believe that there are good and bad designs across all models and years, I factually believe these cars from day one being cared for and maintained the right way by one person who gives a hoot eliminates 90% of the problems, being a service tech for over 25yrs "not auto" I've seen plenty of crap work and it exists in all service industries so when it comes down to auto service I've never had to ask how lucky am I today with my car in someone's hands because I don't and never will.

Assuming this thread subject is a question my answer would be a question: How many times was the car in the dealership from day one like a perpetual habit? Did anyone ever hear about justifying one's existence or job?? or the classic: Did you really believe "be prepared to spend a few thousand in maintenance a year owning this car" that the dealer said???

The moral to this is work on your own stuff it will last and give less failure.

LarryJa

A couple of weeks ago, I bought my '06 A6 3.2.
I do ALL my own maintenance.
When I wanted a sportscar, I bought a porsche. The last one was a '73 911T Targa, that I had for 15yrs. I learned to tune the mechanical injection & did my own alignments. I loved it, but it was a casualty my of divorce.
Now, I'm a lot older & don't like getting in & out of sportscars as much. So, I studied audi sedans, their used market & maintenance for a while.
Eventually, I shopped from NYC to DC this winter for what I wanted.
I bought this black on black beauty. Got a VAG VAS interface, an XP laptop, Bentley & Haynes manuals. I, also, researched & selected the indy I'll use for stuff i don't want to do. Now, I'm all smiles & having fun.
This A6 cost me less to buy than the soulless 5spd Solara it replaces.
While, it'll take more maintenance than that Solara, I'm a semi-retired mechanical engineer. This is my joy. &, I'll bet in 5yrs, I'll have spent less on it's maintenence than 95% of similar owners. As stated earlier, getting good quality parts, new or used is key. Sourcing them, at best prices, will be my next learning. So far, eBay has been a big help, on the Audi, as well as the 35yr old Suzuki that I tour with.
I could have easily driven that 200k miles Solara another 100k miles for not a lot, but who wants to?

rocketman4321

Well, I love to drive my Audi, and a certain amount of maintenance is to be expected. Like jcman, I do my own, and that has generally been reasonable--a mistake or two over the years is on me, but between Bentley and this forum and 35 years of self-service I'm comfortable with almost anything. And we can all agree that good maintenance is essential on a bi-turbo car.

But many of the premature failures are not really subject to maintenance. Coolant temp sensor at 28k? (Warranty covered; did it myself again later in life.) Aux coolant pump leaking at 53k--and of course it's under the intake manifold to save $1.50 worth of hose. "Service position" for the alternator at 67k? Followed by the normally-100k O2 sensors at 69k. And of course we've been living with the failing dash display for a long time--on a car that's mostly garaged day and night (fewer, smaller temperature cycles). At 107k I've gone three rounds with the cam adjuster seals, and two with the tailshaft seal. (The latter has now been improved if you're will to spend big bucks for a new housing.)

All cars have quirks, or even a part or two they just can't seem to get right. Fair enough. The problem with Audi is that it has quite a collection of these (almost all of the list above are common failures) and they're obnoxious to service (O2 sensors, alternator, aux pump)--in some cases for no reason. But if you do your own work, at least these aren't expensive, and folks here are a huge help.

I did have a wandering eye lately--drove 3-6 year old A4, G37x, 328/335, Acura TLX (2015). Lexus IS250 and G350, and a very nice but aimed at something else Mazda 3. All are good cars in their way; each had a number of strengths. But the A4 was the best looks, driving, practicality and comfort of all (OK, comfort tied with the Lexus G, and the BMWs drive really well also), and after all the others I was glad to get back in my 15-year-old A6. And then I read about the A4 piston rings/oil consumption. So I'll be fixing a couple more things and sitting tight for now.