mts

Got a friend getting ready to purchase an S5. He was telling me about it in mixed company last night and another gentleman went mental about the poor build quality and basically how the world would end if he bought one.

I've always heard about poor quality/reliability with Audi's but never owned one. It also seems like I had read some articles in recent years that indicated an improvment in the quality/reliability of the more recent models.

I've owned a Cayenne so I do know what it's like to have a new vehicle spend 2 of the first 6 months of ownership in the shop.

So, for those Audi drivers, what has your experience been like?

Dbltime

Dont have the answer but todays news said Audi is overtaking Mercedes in luxury volume sales and is expected to pass BMW within 12 months. Must be doing something right. Good looking body styles.

911SLOW

Had a '00 first gen S3, it now has 315,000km..
yes 315k and it still works.

Build quality 12/10

Driving 0,2/10

https://rennlist.com/forums/8905571-post3.html

User 52121

*shrug*

I had a '90 Passat, a '00 Jetta, and still own a '03 GTI 1.8T. (Volkswagens, but they share lots of stuff between VW and Audi.)

I also owned a 2007 A4, and now currently own a 2005 A6.

With the exception of the Passat, which was a huge bundle of issues (though I believe it was probably an abused car prior to my ownership) all of my VAG products have been great. In fact I sold the 2000 Jetta to my dad - it now has almost 310,000 miles on it and still runs like a champ.

Stay on top of the service and there really shouldn't be any issues. They're not as tolerant of poor maintenance as, say, a Corolla... but I've never had anything come up that was unusual.

EDIT: If there was one piece of advice I'd give... do the research before selecting a dealer. A crap dealer will make your life miserable.

One of Twenty

2011 has been thew year of the CEL for the RSSex. Nothing major. . .just a pain I'm my ***. Ar now has 25k on the odometer. Bought it with 12.5k. . .

bill d cat

I don't have the answer either, but Audi's "frequency of repair" charts don't look much worse than anything else from Europe.

If gentleman #2 came from a Toyota/Lexus he'd probably be disappointed.

I don't think Audis have ever been described as cheap to run, but that is a different issue and this is a Porsche board, so we're all used to throwing wads of money out the window.

One of Twenty

Can't spell. . .or type well, for that matter on the ****Berry. . .

Jay Wellwood

From my angle with 2 A4's and an S6 to report on, my experience with all 3 vehicles has been great.

No issues with quality whatsoever. I firmly believe that my S6 is the best daily driver I've ever owned at this point in my life.

YMMV

perfectlap

I find Audi styling to be exact opposite of what I like. They strike me as generic, sterile and un-inspiring. I have similar feelings about VW's but at least Audi have much better interiors. Actually I think Audi makes the nicest steering wheel among BMW/Merc/Porsche/VW.

My Porsche specialist fixes everything, and I mean everything, from Europe except Audis. Which tells me me never to touch one unless its at least CPO.

Gaspasser19

I have a 2008 S8 that I picked up as a CPO with 22K miles. It's the most satisfying car I've ever owned. About 16K blissful miles driven in the past two years with a few minor issues that were quickly resolved by a very customer service oriented dealer. As was stated above, the quality of the dealer can have a lot to do with the overall ownership experience.
There are so many advanced features in this car that must be controlled by expensive little computer modules and "Audi only" bits that I have nightmares about owning one out of warranty. I've decided that the driving experience is so great that I'll deal with that when I get there in Nov. 2013.
As was stated above, if your friend is coming from a Japanese car, they will likely be unhappy with the Audi experience as Japanese cars are reliable but have no soul. German cars are improving in the reliability department but are infinitely more satisfying to drive. Good luck to your friend, the S5 is a sexy ride.

dontnow

We had a 2001 A6, traded it in on a 2005 X5. Kept the Audi until ~65k. All free maint until 50k, after warr ran out, we replaced a cv boot, which Audi paid 1/2 of. Overall a great car. My wife wants an A5 once I pay down the new Wrangler. She had an 08 Lexus ES and didn't like it at all compared to the Audi.

HTH.

User 4621

I've owned an 01 MB E series, 09 Audi A3, 93 and 02 BMW M5, 10 BMW 335i coupe, and various Porsche 911's from long nose to 997.

Of the bunch, the best reliability was the 993 and 997 by far.
The MB was great until about 110K miles and then is just started falling apart.
The early M5 was still like new at 76K miles when I sold it, even the thick buffalo hide seats were unwrinkled. The 02 was a barely tolerable and I got rid of it after only a year. The 335i is the biggest piece of junk of the bunch and I will probably never own another new BMW. The Audi had a specific issue with the high pressure fuel system, other than that it was fine. To their credit they gave me a loaner that was superior to my car since the repair took a few weeks.

This is of course anecdotal, but based on my direct ownership experience, I would:
Lease and return a new MB
Own a new Porsche or Audi
Avoid a new BMW
Buy an old BMW or Porsche outright to keep

Realize that most modern European engines now have very high pressure direct fuel injection which has been very problematic for several brands.

Moral of the story is that marques change over time. People will give you advice based on decades old experience. MB used to be a tank, not any more. BMW used to be a drivers car, now the 5 series consistently loses out to its competitors in driving excitement and handling, and boring old Audi has the most modern styling.

For my next car I'm seriously considering an Audi A6 or A7, they are the best overall package for my needs. Although if I could afford it I'd also consider a CLS63.

SMTCapeCod

Not new production, but I had a 2002 A6 w/ 4.2L V8 that I ran up to about 120K miles.

THing was absolutely bullet proof. Interior quality was simply outstanding.
I think I did a tie rod, but I blame the roads- they are severe in some areas I operated through.

Time will tell, but I plan to go gunning for an S5 once someone else takes the fat end of the depreciation hit.

odurandina

my first Audi had an Audi 100 block. that was a '70s era car. bulletproof with zero issues. drove it forever until i clanged it hard off a curbstone in a snowstorm. still sad about it many years later. '80s cars weren't so good. '90s cars were much better. heard the recent cars are the best ever.

69gaugeman

Have a 98 A4 and a 01 A6 with the 4.2 V8. Both cars have cost me almost nothing to drive for the last 25k km.... Have a 1993 Audi 90 with 300k km that won't die....