These problems don't seem to be just any old maintenance.. Kind of worries me. So hey, I am buying it used. At about how many miles do the cars sort of go "down hill" so to say?

 

Depends, wildly. Sometimes you'll hit 200k before you know it, others you won't be sure you'll see 80,000. One thing is for sure, in my experience with them, they go amazing until the warrantee stops working, which stops working before it is expired (trust me, stealership 3-month warrantees are F%&KING WORTHLESS). If you want piece of mind, factor in $3,000-$5,000 for a 4-5 year aftermarket warrantee, but do your homework on those first. Some of those can be just as bad...

 

yea... i got a 2000 a8 w/ ~58k miles... car ran great till i got it back home (400 mile drive)... had the tranny work re-visited on warranty (seperate warranty on tranny) and then it ran great for a few weeks. then t-stat went bad (all in one morning) and caused overheating. got that fixed. car runs great again. but not when a/c is turned on, car overheats completely. assuming it may be a bad water pump, but i guess we'll see. jus expect to spend some money on repairs. they're fun to drive, but not quite as fun to pay for.

 

I have owned three Audi's and been to dealers in two seperate states. I have had nothing but great service and respect from both. Like the other owner said the dealer gave me a loaner (2008 A3) and the shuttle is free. Also they will wash your car and check for recalls even if you are having your oil changed. Try to find a dealer though that doesn't co-op with porsche, they seem to be a bit snobby. As far as cost for repairs, the only difference that I have noticed is the Labor rates from one state to another. For parts cost, come on there is no great difference between any great european car and most of the cost is from importing the part. Learn to do most of the work yourself. Its a German automobile and they are simple, and easy to work on. If you do a little research you will find the high failure parts can be replaced by a better aftermarket piece, that won't fail, on the performane market scene and believe it or not they are very reliable. With the Ford I owned I had to pull the dealerships teeth to get them to fix a warranty item. And then they still sent me a bill in the mail... Oh yah I have owned Toyotas and Nissans. With Audi you are now in a higher slass when it comes to taste in Automibles and the service is warranted so if you are not gatting it from your dealership let them Know and let Audi of NA hear an earful. Something will get done. My first two Audis were S4's and I now own an RS6. And wouldn't get rid of it for anything.

 

yea, i second that. i got my car back from the shop (from my previous post) and everything is good to go now. no complaints. just gotta continue to save cash for the preventative maintenance and basic scheduled maintenance that can be expected. And yea, like all of the other posters generally said, the drive, feel, fun, and safety felt with the Quattro system in an Audi makes it well worth the pain the ***... just gotta do whatcha gotta do. I had a nissan SE-R before this and it died due to a pre-cat failure that Nissan NA was fully aware of. After 4 months of battling with Nissan, they admitted they're fault but said they'd only replace the part that caused the engine failure rather than the whole engine. so yea, never buy a nissan... no matter what... not unless you have a serious warranty and document every little moderation in the performance of your car.