2006 Audi 2.0T Quattro w/ 109k miles - longevity/maintenance

[Starlorde6]

I'm fully aware every car is different due to how well you take care of it, and I ALWAYS maintain regulary, never waiting for an oil change, too. I'm currently at 109,000 with it and have already replaced the 3 major parts that had issues in 2006/2007 A4s, including the timing belt and all the bells and whistles that went with the belt. In the next couple of months, I've been informed I have to replace the Intake CAM, vacuum pump, right upper control arm bushings, as well as right inner CU boots. All of these repairs are going to cost me $3,360 with labor included, which would be about the same price I would get if I sold the car. My question is if I do all those repairs, should I be prepared for more expensive maintenance work down the line? Or should I go ahead and sell the car? I've put $4,000 in repairs/maintenance since August.

 

[NutBucket]

So if I read this right, you spent $4k for a timing belt replacement?

A camshaft needs replacement? That's a new one for me. The other items sound reasonable for a car with 100k miles on it. Like you said, you can sell the car and get a few k but then how much would a replacement cost. Given these aren't major malfunctions the math still works in favor of keeping the car.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

OMG german car blowing up at 100k miles alert!

Lemme guess you took it to the Audi stealership........

Find an indie mechanic who specializes in german metal. Otherwise dump the car.

 

[Starlorde6]

On the 2006 and 2007 Audis, Audi gave a manufacture warranty on the CAM for up to 10 years or 100k miles. My ten years literally expires today.

The timing belt was $2,300ish. the $4k included new brake pads, some oil leakage, and a new driver arm.

 

[NutBucket]

Yeah, way too much.

Did you ask about "forgiveness" if you will on the cam repair? If you're just outside that window most manufacturers would would do the repair as a goodwill gesture.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I'm fully aware every car is different due to how well you take care of it, and I ALWAYS maintain regulary, never waiting for an oil change, too. I'm currently at 109,000 with it and have already replaced the 3 major parts that had issues in 2006/2007 A4s, including the timing belt and all the bells and whistles that went with the belt. In the next couple of months, I've been informed I have to replace the Intake CAM, vacuum pump, right upper control arm bushings, as well as right inner CU boots. All of these repairs are going to cost me $3,360 with labor included, which would be about the same price I would get if I sold the car. My question is if I do all those repairs, should I be prepared for more expensive maintenance work down the line? Or should I go ahead and sell the car? I've put $4,000 in repairs/maintenance since August.

It's an Audi. You should always be prepared for more expensive maintenance work no matter what you just had fixed.

This is why I will NEVER EVER buy an Audi.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Literally today? If they told you that you needed to replace the camshaft while it was still under warranty, you should have done it immediately. Never put off until tomorrow what somebody else will pay for today.

But I also think you need to get a second opinion. Find an indie mechanic (or two) who work on Audis and get a quote from them.

And finally, I think you should double-check some of this stuff yourself. For instance, if CV boots aren't cracked and leaking, there's no need to replace them - they're sealed, and frequently last a lot longer than 10 years / 100k miles. Small crack? Filling a cracked CV boot with replacement grease and sealing it with adhesive is also a DIY-able repair. (Although you should double-check your work for a couple weeks to make sure it held.)

Control arms on most cars are easy to get to, and the bushing will have some play in them if they need to be replaced - so, again, easy to double-check yourself, although I wouldn't DIY that one.

If the camshaft or vacuum pump is bad, I'd expect you'd have a check engine light on? Have the guy at Autozone pull the codes maybe - just in case your dash light is burned out.

You should still get rid of the car, because VW products from that era are fun-to-drive maintenance nightmares, but you can get more years out of it if you play it smart.

 

[thesmokingman]

Holy shit $4k for a timing belt? Now a camshaft, how the fuck do you lose a camshaft? How in the hell do they know a camshaft is bad??

What shop is this? It smells way fishy.

 

[bruceb]

Have a shop run a compression test. If all cylinders are very close in readings and not too far off the manufacturer specs for the engine, then your camshaft is fine. And just does a Vacuum Pump for on that car ? Again, it can be tested with a gauge to see what it is putting out or how much actual Vacuum it can draw. At that point it can be determined if it needs replacement.

 

[Insomniator]

Just don't ever go to the dealer again.

You'll prob pay half anywhere else, and some of the problems the dealer mentioned probably won't even be true.

That being said I've never heard anyone say its cheap to keep a 10 year old Audi running.

 

[Starlorde6]

Literally today? If they told you that you needed to replace the camshaft while it was still under warranty, you should have done it immediately. Never put off until tomorrow what somebody else will pay for today.

But I also think you need to get a second opinion. Find an indie mechanic (or two) who work on Audis and get a quote from them.

And finally, I think you should double-check some of this stuff yourself. For instance, if CV boots aren't cracked and leaking, there's no need to replace them - they're sealed, and frequently last a lot longer than 10 years / 100k miles. Small crack? Filling a cracked CV boot with replacement grease and sealing it with adhesive is also a DIY-able repair. (Although you should double-check your work for a couple weeks to make sure it held.)

Control arms on most cars are easy to get to, and the bushing will have some play in them if they need to be replaced - so, again, easy to double-check yourself, although I wouldn't DIY that one.

If the camshaft or vacuum pump is bad, I'd expect you'd have a check engine light on? Have the guy at Autozone pull the codes maybe - just in case your dash light is burned out.

You should still get rid of the car, because VW products from that era are fun-to-drive maintenance nightmares, but you can get more years out of it if you play it smart.

Unfortunately the Audi dealership will only repair the CAM if it's broken.

I've been going to an indie mechanic for the last 2 years after the Audi dealership practically raped me on a couple of repairs. This mechanic and his team all used to work for Audi. They're recommending to replace it before it breaks in order not to cause further damage and repairs.

The CV boots and vacuum pump are both leaking. I'm not a mechanic savvy person by any means

 

[bruceb]

A little research says the 2006 Audi had a batch of defective camshaft forgings. So yes, it might break. See post #2 in link below

http://www.audiworld.com/forums/a4-b7-platform-discussion-69/2006-a4-2-0-camshaft-problem-2785947/

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Unfortunately the Audi dealership will only repair the CAM if it's broken.

I've been going to an indie mechanic for the last 2 years after the Audi dealership practically raped me on a couple of repairs. This mechanic and his team all used to work for Audi. They're recommending to replace it before it breaks in order not to cause further damage and repairs.

The CV boots and vacuum pump are both leaking. I'm not a mechanic savvy person by any means

..what's their labor rate? (And what are they charging for parts - a quick google shows those parts at about $700 total.)

Know what? Screw it. Sell it to some sucker and go buy a Civic Si or something.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Don't these have notoriously unreliable and expensive to fix suspension as well?

 

[thesmokingman]

A little research says the 2006 Audi had a batch of defective camshaft forgings. So yes, it might break. See post #2 in link below

http://www.audiworld.com/forums/a4-b7-platform-discussion-69/2006-a4-2-0-camshaft-problem-2785947/

I see so it's a known defect.

Then in that case shouldn't the dealer/AUDI be on the hook to replace before it breaks? Wouldn't they have tracked down the vins of the affected cars?

 

[JMapleton]

German cars are for leasing, not buying. Lease a new one then dump it.

 

[DeviousTrap]

I see so it's a known defect.

Then in that case shouldn't the dealer/AUDI be on the hook to replace before it breaks? Wouldn't they have tracked down the vins of the affected cars?

Yes, they extended the warranties on this for 10 years. It's a known issue, but not a huge deal. At this point, you should know if you have an issue or not. The easiest way to check is people replace the cam follower (a $20 part) and check it for wear. If you have wear, you go to the Audi dealer and they'd take care of it for you. You pay them 1 hour of labor to take a look at it since you have no error codes, once they see the damage, you'll get everything repaired.

OP--I have the same car as you, actually as my "reliable" DD. I spent $600 on the a timing belt and water-pump a few months ago, whoever charged you $2,300 took you to the cleaners. Suspension parts a wear item on any car. Go get a second opinion.

 

[ultimatebob]

So if I read this right, you spent $4k for a timing belt replacement?

Yeah, that's about what I was quoted for my 2003 Audi A4 V6. That was after I paid $600 to get the radio fixed, and $100 for a replacement change tray. Yeah... $100 for the damn change tray. I unloaded the car at that point.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

$800+ fuel pump for a coworker's 2001 (IIRC) A8

 

[BW86]

Camshaft is probably bad because the high pressure fuel pump cam follower was never changed or you have a recalled camshaft that they extended the warranty for.

Having owned a few Audis I wouldn't own one unless you can do the work yourself or you don't mind paying a bit more $$ for maintenance.

Also, don't go to the dealership, go to an indie shop that specializes in vw/audi

 

[madoka]

Holy shit $4k for a timing belt? Now a camshaft, how the fuck do you lose a camshaft? How in the hell do they know a camshaft is bad??

What shop is this? It smells way fishy.

While this is about the S4, it seems to be applicable:

http://jalopnik.com/here-s-why-the-v8-audi-s4-is-an-awful-used-car-1676466510

Well, here's the thing: there's no such thing as "not so bad" in the world of used Audi repairs. According to this excellent summary of the problem over on the Audi forums, an Audi dealer charges around eight grand to fix this issue. You want to do it yourself? No problem. The parts alone are three grand, and then you have to consider the hours you'll spend under the car, covered in grease, wondering why the hell Audi designed this vehicle so that it could only be fixed by a creature the size of a cicada.

 

[thesmokingman]

While this is about the S4, it seems to be applicable:

http://jalopnik.com/here-s-why-the-v8-audi-s4-is-an-awful-used-car-1676466510

Yea, not similar considering it's a VW group motor. It's a simple iron block 4 banger. It should not cost what it cost to fix. I imagine its what Saab 92x owners must feel taking their car

Spoiler

Subaru

to their Saab dealer when the same fix is peanuts in reality...

The Audi-engineered EA888 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder has served the Volkswagen Group well, having made its way into just about every VW and Audi since 2008, when it started replacing the EA113 that debuted in the 2005 A4. There are a few versions of this iron-block journeyman, which is used in both transverse and longitudinal applications, but they are all very similar.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/audi-g...urbo-four-and-the-sq5’s-twin-turbo-diesel-v6/

 

[tHa ShIzNiT]

Looks like the B8 engine comes in at 2007 so you'll be missing that by a year, but the B8 is world renowned for its oil burning tendencies. You'd have to add another liter every 500 miles.