Hello!

I'm considering purchasing an 02 Allroad Auto (Manuals seem to be hens teeth in Canada)

I understand it can have the following issues:

Tarbo failure (Design defect? w/ the k03 style turbo, k04 or aftermarket seems to be a decent upgrade route)
Airbag failure (Not entirely surprised, seems to be ~1k/corner to fix if it becomes an issue)
Something with the valvetrain? (Friend who works on audis says you can get a lot of tapping out of the valvetrain, which is an indicator something is on it's way out, and that this audi engine is supposedly slightly more prone to it?)
Laggy transmission (Can be fixed with a flash to the tiptronic tranny?)

Here's what I want from my Audi:

#1-100 COMFORT (Will evaluate this further on my test drive)
#101 Some pep & Power (May end up doing intake/turbos/IC/Flash)

I'd like to get the car up to ~400whp without too much drama or loss in drivability or noise. Understand I'd probably need a built motor/tranny at that point.

I just want a nice cruiser for winter (it's nasty here, AWD is required)

I'm thinking of replacing my Built STI (442awhp/470awtq) and my giant ford F350 diesel with an all-road.

I do a tiny bit of hauling (Allroad looks roomy, plus I think it has heated rear seats standard?) and shuttle friends around for lunches and stuff, so 4 doors is nice. Don't plan on towing trailers or anything.

It's a toss up for me between the Allroad, a V10 Touareg (maybe, but the diesel looks like an absolute DISASTER to repair when something in the engine fails, or an accessory needs replacing (heard 4+ hours for the generator I think)) or an older cayenne tarbo (Which after some reading, seems to have a ton of issues, specifically with coolant pipes in the valley).

So, All-road, good fit or not?

 

I've had an 05 allroad w 170 kms for about a year.

My personal experience and what I've noted from others is that this is a good vehicle for someone who is mechanicaly inclined. The issues you mentioned are just some of the issues with the allroad. Not if, but when you're suspension fails and / or your turbos fail be prepared to spend either some serious time and / or money.

Pros: comfort, style, drive, power
Cons: fuel economy, expensive parts and many of the repairs are painful DIYs

Don't expect to chip it to 400 and drive away. Getting to 400hp will likely costs you $5K. Truth is I wouldn't chip it anyway. I know it's 'safe' but people have seen failures after short periods of time.

If the car has an issue now, I would walk away unless you are getting an excellent deal.