Audi - What is the Real Deal with these cars?

I don't get how Audi's are getting a bad rap but VW's don't? They're the same damn car.

dankspeed wrote: I don't get how Audi's are getting a bad rap but VW's don't? They're the same damn car.

Huh? You should read this board more often. VWs get as bad of a rap, if not worse, than Audi. The VAG group as a whole, largely.

No, my comments from Audi aren't from personal experience, but I hear from shops about the...cough, cough...quality of Audi. That's enough for me to steer clear.

I do have a hankering for the first gen allroad. 2.7 turbo awd lifted a bit wagon? Sounds great. Too bad the motors like to push seals out after a tune cause 400hp sounds like a load of fun. Maybe I should buy two and make one out of them haha.

Okay I'm going to be honest here. Op, why don't you just get the reliable v8 rwd sedan we all know you want/need and be happy? Mercury marauder or if you really must press your luck maybe one of those gnarly cheap Mercedes with those magical 3 letters

In reply to chiodos:

All those choices are on the table.

In regards to the V8 it depends on the year. Earlier ones had the timing set up on the front of the engine, those are good, later ones had them on the rear of the engine, those are bad.

Typical VAG product. They are comfy places to be and look good, but have their share of issues, just like any other mainstream VAG product. Suspension wise I have been told they are over damped and under sprung. As said before it is the Cadillac version of the VW VAG product.

All I know is the A7 looks magnificent, even on the back of a rollback going to the shop. Best looking VAG product IMHO.

I like saying VAG product.

VAG product.

Just like any other luxury German car that's depreciated, buy the best one you can find. That's NOT the cheapest one, that's the one that's been properly maintained.

If you buy one that's been taken care of, they're solid cars. If you buy one that's been neglected, they're money pits. That goes for Audi's, BMW's, Benz's, etc, etc...

VAG Product

dean1484 wrote: In reply to Klayfish: I like odd ball cars. I also keep a backup appliance around. I also read your post like so many other I see on the web. No real experience but restating the supposed inevitably of disaster with these cars. I get the feeling that Audi is no worse than any other premium car. Why do Subaru's get a pass when they all seem to need head gaskets at 100k. Or 944s with there infamous timing belt. I get the feeling that with Audi they have a couple bad eggs in terms of design that have tainted the reputation of all there cars and motors. That is the point of this thread. To try and sort out internet myth and legend from fact with respect to these cars.

Just by saying this you already have displayed more patience, tolerance for repairs, and maturity then the majority of the VAG haters and general public. In short, you sound like you could handle being an Audi owner. It's a love/hate affair for most of us who have owned one. You know that yes, E36 M3 can hit the fan, but the driving experience has generally been good enough to out weight the risk. Older Subaru owners knew they were going to drop up to $3k on a head gasket, BMWs are expensive to own failure prone cars as well, and so on. If you like the car enough, you put up with it's issues. If you want 100% reliability then get a damn Camry. Having an enthusiast orientated car isn't about reliability, it's about having FUN. Hell, I sold a 98 Jetta with a 12v VR6 because it needed timing chains. I bought ANOTHER 12v VR6 Jetta 2 years later because I missed having a car with that motor that much, and I did end up paying for that repair.

I personally haven't owned an Audi yet because it's probably not the best idea to buy one used with the age and kind of mileage it would take for me to be able to afford it, but as a VW owner I've always admired them.

In reply to Klayfish:

I think you misunderstood. A few of the early posters were saying Audi cars get a bad rap and their not so bad. I do read the boards here and vw get a very bad rap.I'm just saying they should be equally good or bad.

I have found that for shared chassis, it seems the VW models have more weird issues. Like the Bosch ABS unit, have done many Golf/Jettas where they pull the data bus down when it engages. I have never seen this happen on Audis that use the exact same module.

Curious.

Also? WHY YOU PUT IT THERE VWAG? YOU MEAN. It's way way down buried under F and U.

I've done plenty of Audi ABS units. So don't worry they're just as crappy under the 4 rings.

I have lots of bad things to say about Audis since I've been working on them for 20 years. I've also been criticized for doing as much because apparently I "only see the broken ones".

I'll just say that the 4.2 V8 is one of the more reliable powertrains in them. Relatively speaking that's not saying much, but whatever.

Stay clear of the 2.7T. The power they make is tempting, but maintenance is crap.

While Audi gets a bad rap with regular cars, is the R8 the most reliable modern supercar?

A friend has had an A4 wagon for well over 14 years, if not all of this century (so long I don't recall the year off hand). It has been a great car for him. It has the better part of 150k miles, mostly short trips in the northeast, with rough roads and stop and go traffic.

My mechanic owns one and he makes most of his money fixing bmws and a benz here and there.

They are pricey but so are the rest of the bigger German cars. The A6 and bigger are nice cars. The engine is in the right orientation and they are not too cramped.

The A7 is a work of art. More cars should have that hatch (Ford Fusion or Chevy Impala could pull it off).

They are too pricey for me for a sedan. IF I was to buy an expensive european car, it would be an Audi. If you can swing it the A7 is just so cool looking.

Most of what I work on are Chevys because most of the cars on the road are Chevys. That said, I think the 3400 and 3800 are awesome engines, they are nigh bulletproof as long as you address the intake gaskets correctly when the OE gasket fails at 40-60k. Then they can be ignored forevermore.

I know someone who claims they are garbage, because he works in a junkyard and the engine is always why the cars go to the junkyard. Well, sure, you see the ones that get neglected. I see the ones that get better than reactive maintenance, or outright ignored until it stops moving under its own power...

I have owned my 2001 A4 a.8T manual sport quattro since new. 90k miles and very little spent on repairs, just maintenance and replacing wear items. I think they can be reliable, but they need to be cared for. Treat them like crap, or like a Toyota, and it will cost you. That said, I would bet most used examples were not well maintained based on what I have seen - I have a friend who seems to be a glutton for punishment as he keeps buying high mileage examples with no maintenance records and little evidence of previous owner care from shady characters who sell on Craigslist only. He always ends up putting lots of parts in them and driving the piss out of them until they finally have a catastrophic failure and get towed to the crusher. These kind of cars are probably what gives Audi it bad rep.

The problem with overlong OCIs is not just engine sludge/wear but also, assuming the car gets serviced instead of getting an oil drain at fill at whatever Kwik-Loob has the cheapest coupon that month, the car doesn't get inspected nearly as often. You catch more things giving the car a thorough inspection every 3k miles instead of every 10k. You catch things before they become tow truck worthy if you look every 3k vs. every 10k.

Funny. VW built a reputation in the US for making well built cars during the aircooled era, when their cars WERE crap, because they had a strong dealer network and a maintenance and inspection schedule that caught Issues before they became Problems.

Now, they have the exact opposite, and their reputation is that of building crap. Coincidence?

Maybe it is just adds to the B5 theory, but after my wife drove a 2001 Passat for 5 years/80K+ miles I swore to never buy a VW/Audi again. It also went through two full sets of front control arms due to ball joints failing. The water pump impeller was cracked completely in 1/2 when I replaced it at 71K miles, it fell apart when I removed it… no idea how that stayed together in the car. The last straw was when the alarm module, which is mounted in the driver’s door failed leaving my 8 month pregnant wife stranded with our 2 year old son. It got traded in for a Honda Pilot the next week. Every one of those problems turned out to be common problems when I looked into them, everyone one of them a design flaw in my mind, none having to do with neglected maintenance. With that being said, I did really enjoy driving that car. If the A6’s didn’t have as many problems, maybe it would be worth it…

SlowNB wrote: Maybe it is just adds to the B5 theory, but after my wife drove a 2001 Passat for 5 years/80K+ miles I swore to never buy a VW/Audi again. It also went through two full sets of front control arms due to ball joints failing. The water pump impeller was cracked completely in 1/2 when I replaced it at 71K miles, it fell apart when I removed it… no idea how that stayed together in the car. The last straw was when the alarm module, which is mounted in the driver’s door failed leaving my 8 month pregnant wife stranded with our 2 year old son. It got traded in for a Honda Pilot the next week. Every one of those problems turned out to be common problems when I looked into them, everyone one of them a design flaw in my mind, none having to do with neglected maintenance. With that being said, I did really enjoy driving that car. If the A6’s didn’t have as many problems, maybe it would be worth it…

I owned an 02 passat 1.8t fwd. Car had plenty of issues. Maintenance is key. I hate the damn water impeller on these engines made of plastic that just shatters. The interior isn't as nice as I've seen.

I would totally purchase an s4/s3/s5/s6 if I had the money.