Maintenance Costs
I am considering purchasing a used Audi A4 Quattro
and a friend warned me that parts and repairs are
very expensive on this car. I thought it might be
useful for pepole to post their experiences with
maintenance and repair costs on various vehicles
they've owned to help out others who consider this
before purchasing a vehicle.
My feedback is on my '94 Honda Civic LX. I bought
it used just over a year ago at 33,000 miles. It
is now just over 50,000 miles and has not had any
problems that have needed repairs. I had the
45,000 maintenance done and the front brakes
replaced for a total cost of about $180. Other
than that, nothing but 3,000 mile oil changes.
Does anybody have any feedback about the
maintenance and repair costs for an Audi A4
Quattro?
and a friend warned me that parts and repairs are
very expensive on this car. I thought it might be
useful for pepole to post their experiences with
maintenance and repair costs on various vehicles
they've owned to help out others who consider this
before purchasing a vehicle.
My feedback is on my '94 Honda Civic LX. I bought
it used just over a year ago at 33,000 miles. It
is now just over 50,000 miles and has not had any
problems that have needed repairs. I had the
45,000 maintenance done and the front brakes
replaced for a total cost of about $180. Other
than that, nothing but 3,000 mile oil changes.
Does anybody have any feedback about the
maintenance and repair costs for an Audi A4
Quattro?
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Comments
It now has 83k miles, and these are the repairs it's needed:
- replaced 2 clutches at $800 apiece.
- a rebuilt transmission at $1100
- two new driveshaft axles at $700 parts/labor
- a new master clutch cylinder at $65
- repair to power window (haven't done this yet)
- repair to unbind the climate control sliding lever (haven't done this yet, but dealer service rep said they had to tear down major parts of the car to fix it.)
I will admit that I do enjoy taking the car out to winding back roads and driving fast, but I have been careful not to abuse any mechanical components. I don't slip the clutch and I always wait until the clutch is fully in before shifting.
I am very discouraged by this car's reliability so far. Needless to say, I will not be buying a Nissan again soon.
Most differences in maintenance costs between cars is related to a) cost of parts, and b) quality of the car, so you need to judge these two factors separately.
In the Audi Quattro, parts are expensive, but on the positive side the Quattro AWD system is excellent and quite trouble-free. It's a quality German luxury car, not a Honda Civic, so of course it's going to cost more to maintain..it's more complex, the grade of materials is (usually) higher than the less expensive imports, and the production numbers versus a HOnda make parts production costs higher as well.
Also, costs vary model to model with the same make of car, so it's not a case of "all BMW parts are expensive"--some parts on some models are, and some are not. Here, too, comparative shopping for things like spark plug wires can save you a bundle. Blame Bosch, not BMW, they make these very high quality wires with elaborate connectors that cost a fortune..but they should last well into the car's life. But $400...no, no, don't pay that...you could probably get what you need for much less.
Of course, you could pay that $1,200 for a Mercedes Gullwing distributor cap...or alternator belts on a Ferrari at $100 apiece (and only 7mm!).
I spent over a $1000 bucks last year alone, and that was with a comprehensive extended warranty.
It's mostly been electrical, nothing mechanical at all. Since VW and Audi share parts you may reconsider. Although, they sure are fun to drive!
that not been broken and fixed.
Brakes - soft pedal
engine - noisy valves
steering - hard to turn
computer - failed
AC - leaked
power seats - stop moving
transmission - car sold as penny trade in
Every car has troubles now and then...hang out at the Mercedes dealer for the day and you'll probably see a new one coming in on the hook...even if 99.9% of the parts on your new car were perfect, that leaves about 15 parts that aren't. (if we assume 15,000 parts, which is about right). And even people who claim to have "perfect cars" are probably not noticing little things going wrong that don't effect overall reliability or are totally out of sight....their "15 parts" weren't so critical perhaps.
He also said that those quick lube places don't service VW's because they need this special oil filter. I find that hard to believe since there are so many jetta's out there.
If those filters that really hard to find and impossible to substitute, you can buy one at VW dealer and then go, change oil elsewhere.
I don't mind dealers oil changes, but they usually have inconvenient work schedule and tend to overprice labor cost. I wouldn’t go to quick lube places ether, because of quality of work.
My choice is neighborhood mechanic, whom I can trust, and who open Saturdays and nights. If you well acquitted with one, he might tell you then he can order this famous oil filter for you (and with 20% discount that mechanics use to get for parts they buying from dealers).
One of the conclusions is after a certain number of years, I forget the exact number (7 or 8 I think) costs go down. They go down because some things no longer get fixed. In my case, the costs for my 89 Civic over the past year have been about $250-300 dollars. Of course the A/C needs about $900 worth of work to be functional, so when it gets warm, the windows come down....
Perhaps on the East Coast, but not so much on the West Coast or in the Southwest. The West Coast has what seem to be a gazillion older models, all in varying states of repair/disrepair. They don't salt the roads here in the winter (no snow, anyhow), and the seasons aren't so harsh here.
I'd suggest that consideration be given to a new engine only if the car has been well-maintained over its lifetime, and if the car is generally considered to be a good model. (Example: Volvo 245 with a B21 or B230 engine or Toyota Celica with a 22R engine.)
Usually these well-maintained cars have had only one or two owners. Stay away from the cars that have had four or five owners. All it takes is one really negligent owner to screw up a car.
The air conditioning did give out last summer, however, so one could add $300-$800 to that figure. I'm saving the money towards an air-conditioned HOUSE, however. And it might prove cheaper to have an aftermarket sunroof put in anyways.
Car is a 1993 Audi 90 FWD (2.8 V-6).
I bought this car used in June of 1996 with 35K, now has 65K.
Maintenance has been expensive, but I like the way the car drives, so I am OK (so far at least).
New Catalytic at 50K (car has two, only one failed) Cost: $1000 parts and labor
Timing, and Serpentine belt replacement at 52K, total cost about $600 (they were not broken, I just decided to replace them early).
New lens for taillight -- $150
Water Pump: $200 including installation
Resistor pack for fan (climate control fan), $200 parts and labor.
All oil changes can be done at Jiffy Lube without problems.
The stereo is now starting to fail, but this should be fairly routine ...
I wish to purchase a 1998 or 1999 Neon for my wife. I hope to get some feedback on performance, reliability, and noise problems from owners. Any advise please?
You want trouble-free motoring, then spend that $250 a month or whatever to buy the new Honda...(probably more than that with insurance).
Neons? I think they're really fun to drive, especially with the larger engine...I wouldn't worry about reliability so much, that's what the warranty is for. Sure, you may be making more trips to the dealer than your neighbor with the Tercel, but you'll be having so much more fun driving. It's not like the Neon is a total dog, or something...it's not a Yugo or a ....well, never mind.
This car is still a fantastic ride: relatively quiet, solid handling, and extremely reliable. The only roadside problem I've had was a dead alternator 2 years ago. The best part is that the car has reached the bottom of its depreciation curve. As long as I keep it in relatively good condition, it should maintain its meager $2,500 value.
As I would have to spend over $20K to buy a better new car (not to mention the CA tax, annual 1.5% VLF, and higher insurance), I believe that spending $1,800/year on this car is a great deal.
I thought that was awfully high, what with all of the folks in this forum who say things like "I drove 100,000 miles on my car with nothing but oil changes, new tires, a tune-up" and so I've felt a bit disgruntled.
But now I see where Intellichoice (whoever they are) projects maintenance and repair costs over the *next* 5 years for a 1993 Civic at about $1400-$1600 per year, which seems more in line with my experience to date. I'm curious as to whether there are other folks out there with older Hondas,Toyotas, or other (relatively) reliable makes who've had similar experiences.
In case you're wondering, at the moment I'm looking at unloading my car before I have to put another $1400 into the exhaust system and the A/C (personally, I don't consider A/C optional in the Washington, DC area). I do expect that interest, depreciation, and other new-car costs would probably be greater than what I'd into my '87 over the next few years--even choosing a low-ownership-cost vehicle, another Honda Civic or maybe a Saturn SW2, I'm pretty sure our total car costs will go up.
But my wife rebels at the idea of our putting another $1400 at one time into a 12-year-old economy car, and there *is* something to be said for driving a new '99 as opposed to a rattling '87 that's beginning to show signs of rust.
During the period when you are paying for the financed cost of the home or vehicle, it's a dead heat, at best!
I think I'll keep this car till 200K!
Check out Microsoft Carpoint. Go to the personal auto page and enter your make, maodel and year. They give maintenance estimates up to 120 or 150K for most cars, and they give you a decription of the service as well. They will also send you e-mail updates to tell you it's time for maintenence.
I drove Honda, Toyota, Subaru, VW, Dodge, Mazda(current one). Honda, VW, Subaru had very expensive parts and labor. Believe or not I did not put any dime on my Dodge. Mazda is a complete problem, I will dump it as quick as possible.
I have decided to go with domestic, at least parts are very cheap....
Parts are expensive for Japanese cars, but in the long run, that somewhat balances with the few hassles the cars give. The Camry SHOULD be more reliable with so few miles on it. Did you have this car inspected before buying it? Maybe next time an inspection could detect problems before you buy.
Mazda can't even be mentioned in the same sentence with Honda and Toyota as far as reliability goes.
Buying a used car doesn't mean buying with "someone else's junk", if you buy it from reliable sources. I had a good experience buying a used 83 Pont 6000 ste from a friend at 65,000 miles. The car finally died at 210 k miles with reasonable anticipated repairs, battery, tires, cv boots, alternators (life warranty from pep-boy), a/c compressor (life warranty from pep-boy), radiators. The key issue is luck and how previous owner treat it.
Things I can do myself, oil change, brakes, exhaust, plugs, plug wires, filters, etc. Things I can't do, cv boots, alignment, air conditioning, timing belt, etc. The total cost evens out nicely over several years.
guitarzan
Community Leader/Vans Conference
Thanks, Carrnutt
Also, the resale on these has been terrible!
I am bying that 318 ti - and I got BMW financing with 6.9% APR - unimaginable for any other almost 5 years old car. It's lower than for the brand new Honda. That's their program for "certified pre-owned". You can get even 2.9 % if you're buying 96-97 7-series. But it's not financing that appeals(very competitive rates I would say) - it's that driving pleasure that those cars give you every time you turn the key. Drive safely and stay cool.
and there are tons of performance add ons for it if you want to go that way.
good luck with your bimmer, you are gonna love it...
yea, i know the "it looks small" theory... but it's bigger on the inside than it looks...