So yesterday I called up my friendly local Audi dealer service rep, Josh, where all of my maintenance and repairs have been performed on Brunnhilde since I bought her in March of 2003. I asked for, and he provided me with, a .pdf file of all the repairs done on my car since I bought her.

Ouch.

I bought Brunnhilde when she had 43,000 miles on her for $17,000 and since then I've paid a little over $11,000 to the dealer for repairs and maintenance. She now has 120,000 miles on her.

I feel like a tool and a fool for paying so much to have someone else keep my baby running.

Well no more, dammnit. My Bentley guide arrived in the mail yesterday, and my small skill set and tool set are growing every day.

I'm 45 years old, graying, joints creaking....but I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to pay it anymore!

 

rudy.....Ruuuuudy......RUUUUUDY!

Glad you decided to join the dark side lol

 

DIY FTMFW!

Did these cars really cost $17K back in '03? Amazing...

 

Hell yeah, the sticker on her in 1999 was $35,000. She's fully loaded, even has....wait for it....a CASSETTE player. LOL!

Everytime something else breaks on her, I start ogling things like this: http://www.eurocarsus.com/html/used-...0Sedan/&id=644

But the wife needs a new vehicle first, so I'm going to have to nurse Brunnhilde along for another year or so.

 

Haha... Now my wife drives the $35K car ('09 Maxima), and hopefully, by the end of the year, I will have me an '04 S4. Bought the A4 almost 2 years ago for 4,500...

Once I have that for a few years, my eyes are on an '07 RS4. I need the price to come down on that a little more, and I need to make a little more money...

 

jdahlen24, which dealership do you got to? is there on in Rochester or do you come up to the cities? i live in STP, 10mins from maplewood audi.

 

I go to Park Place Motors, the only Audi dealer within 70 miles. I hate everything about them except for the Audi service rep, Josh Kern, who is a great guy. He has never tried to upsell me on stuff I didn't need, and has always treated me well. Luckily for me, he's been there the whole time I've owned Brunnhilde.

Their hourly rate on labor is outrageous, of course, but now you know why I'm fixing things myself these days. Even if I can afford the repairs, that doesn't mean I should keep shelling out that kind of money for something I can fix myself. Besides, every dollar I save by fixing Brunnhilde myself gets me closer to my next, newer A4.

 

and that money add's up fast

list parts you need and we all will help you find those ultra low walmart prices

 

jdahlen24, i know its a long *** drive for you but i just found a mechanic out in Stillwater they said basically 780 for timing belt replacement for my 2000 1.8tqm.

520 labor and 250for parts.(that's for their parts. Its about 100% equivalent kit to the ECS kit)
not cheap however, my Woodbury mechanic told me 1200 as well as my dealer. i made sure they were Audi certified of coarse. the cheapest I've come across doing TC searches was 900 at an aftermarket place in like Eagan or soemthing.
just thought id let ya know.

 

Thanks, man. I know there will be jobs that are going to be over my skill set or my above my PITA tolerance, so this is great to know.

If you wouldn't mind sending me their info in a PM I'd appreciate it.