Hello,

I bought a 2001 A6 2.7t about 8 months ago for 8,900. The car had 96,000 miles on it.

Currently, it has 122,500 miles. Since purchasing, I have: Replaced the alternator, serpintine belt and belt tensioner, p/s pump, and auxillary water pump. These fixits plus some other randoms comes out to about 2,000 dollars worth of repairs.

To make matters worse, right now, I have to take care of the following repairs: Replace passangers side Catalytic converter ($900), the valve cover gaskets and a cam seal ($1200) as well as an o2 sensor ($100).

My question to the older and experienced members...

Is it worth keeping this car (hate to even say it) and paying these fee's... or just "band-aiding" it up and getting out now.

Id really appreciate some hard thought feedback... the responses will definatly infuence my decision.

Thanks,
TwinTurboSixer

 

Do you like the car? If so, fix it and move on...otherwise you could go out and purchase another car for $9,000 and pay to repair the problems with that one.

OH - and while you're having the valve cover gaskets and cam seals you might as well do the timing belt and water pump. You don't want it to fail or you'll be looking at $5,000 to fix it then (ask me how I know).

 

to be completely honest, i would definatley keep the car. if its in really good condition otherwise, its worth it.. to each one his own personal opinion. if your putting all that money into it to keep it up, its worth it.. because then you have piece of mind knowing those things are taken care of. you can also do some cosmetic upgrades if its a little dull and that makes it look 5 times better.. like the s-line or ultrasport rims make the car look so much newer and more classy/sporty, but thats just my opinion. Also when you plan on selling the car further down the road it will be more reasuring to the buyer and you having all the records and it will make it worth a little bit more.

 

Once you fix the major problems on these cars they run amazing (knock on wood). I went through that period where it just seemed like everything was going wrong. Honestly Id look around for a better quote on the cam seals. That sounds VERY high for that job. My tech quoted me 11 hours for changing the intake cams, cam seals (exhaust and intake... make sure the idiot who does the job replaces both.) , gaskets, and the full timing belt job (water pump ect.). Shop around.. but if it is financially binding you down, I'd say move on to another car that may have cheaper repairs. Repairs are going to occur on every car if you like it or not ;p

 

If you like how the car drives, then I would keep it. You pretty much covered or will cover the majority of the things that can go wrong with it. Once you take care of that stuff, it should last you a long time.

Also, unless you go get a Honda or a Toyota, you will run into the same type of issues with your new used car.

BTW, unless the cam seal replacement is for the front ones, $1200 seems high.

 

Get the BentleyPublishers.com Audi shop manual CD from
http://www.motorbookguy.com
Learn to use it and the forum to fix you Audi for a fraction of what you have been paying.
From www.blauparts.com you can get the timing belt kit and tool rental.
You may "google" for just about anything.
You need to find out why the passenger side catalytic converter is going bad. Perhaps the pasenger side head gasket is bad. If this is the case, then it should be done at the same time as the timing belt.

 

Who do you have working on the car?MR MAGOO? it sounds like a parts replacing extravaganza?


Have you had the following work done;
Timing belt, Tensioner, rollers
Waterpump and thermostat
Transmission service
Are the CV-Joints clicking-boots worn or cracked?
final drive serviced
brake fluid changed
Are you going to fix the problem thet caused the catalytic converter to go bad?

If your eyes are wide right now -There's your sign!

Acam seal as in 1, who does that? 1200 bucks are you anywhere near Florida I am getting an itchy palm.

If your not going to find a new mechanic you will be happier and wealthier in certified preowned they are advertising CPO A4's like crazy here.
YOU NEED A WARRANTY or a TOOL BOX. Unless you work at AIG then just tack it on to the bail-out money

 

You have to find a new mechanic. The one you have seems to be telling you that it is FOREIGN, you must have money, I'll take all you have.

50 bucks in parts, he seems to be charging you a couple hundred an hour labor, maybe because he is learning how to do it on your FOREIGN car. AND, you are driving a FOREIGN car, so you must have money.

If the car did have the TB and other parts replaced at 60 or 70 thou, you definitely do need to replace them again at 120 some thou. This is one of the best better safe than sorry fixes you can do.

Cheers,

George

 

twinturbosixer,
Been there done that! these cars require expensive maintenance and its worse if the last owner didnt take care of it. If it helps your decision after I did just about everything you listed plus some of the other things listed in this thread I went on to get 189k with no problems. The only thing I didnt see anyone mention here is that you need to check the condition of the turbos. Pull a lower boost line off and see if you are blowing oil. The two turbos are under the engine and the whole engine must be droped to fix them. Also years 2000-2003 had oil feed line (turbo) issues if the regular oil changes were missed. It is about 4500 at the dealer so factor that in. Good Luck!!!!

 

Ditto on everything said here except sell it...

The cost of the work you quoted is high. An important factor in owning an Audi is either being able to do it yourself and/or having a good trusted mechanic. I have both so owning an Audi is a great experience for me.