2019 Audi A6

[child of wonder]

Really like the new technology in the 2019 Audi A6 and reviews for it look great. Having always driven Fords, Toyotas, etc. I decided it's time to take the Audi plunge and put in an order for one with Prestige trim and all the fixens.

Any experienced Audi owners have any advice on purchasing and owning one? I plan to prepay for maintenance and am going to ask about an extended warranty. Although I've typically changed vehicles every 2-3 years, I hope to keep this one longer.

 

[Yuriman]

Extended warranty is definitely a good idea. Audi has one of the worst track records for reliability - though there is a lot of variation model to model. Some models (like the Q5) have almost Toyota-level reliability, at least by the metrics measured by dashboard-light.

Score for the older model A6:

 

[dasherHampton]

He's talking a 2019, no?

I have a friend who's been driving them since the 5000 days and he's super pumped about getting his 2019.

 

[compman25]

Funny, Consumer Reports says the opposite, ranking Audi 4th. https://www.consumerreports.org/car...ion/car-brands-reliability-how-they-stack-up/

 

[PricklyPete]

I’ve owned a couple Audi’s now, and have had great ownership experiences so far. Maintenance costs are high and don’t cheap out...otherwise, everything has been flawless from the vehicles through the service.

 

[Yuriman]

Funny, Consumer Reports says the opposite, ranking Audi 4th. https://www.consumerreports.org/car...ion/car-brands-reliability-how-they-stack-up/

It's worth noting that Dashboard-Light often reports "not enough data" on vehicles which are less than 5 years old. Consumer Reports has data on vehicles which have only been out for a few weeks or months. I also dug into the per-model reliability for Audi on Consumer Reports and found that most models and most years had either zero data, or the data was locked/restricted.

Take that as you will.

 

[Herr Kutz]

So you don’t decide to keep your cars longer until you pick an audi? This has to be a troll post.

 

[rstrohkirch]

So you don’t decide to keep your cars longer until you pick an audi? This has to be a troll post.

Perhaps he is just spending more on this one.

 

[Spicedaddy]

Get AudiCare, it's cheaper than paying maintenance every visit. Not sure it's still like this, but it boosts your residual on a lease by 1%, so basically pays for itself if you're leasing.

Extended warranty I wouldn't get right away. You can add that before your original warranty runs out if you decide to keep it long term.

 

[child of wonder]

So you don’t decide to keep your cars longer until you pick an audi? This has to be a troll post.

Prior to the Audi my cars were a 2016 Ford Fusion Titanium, 2013 Hyundai Sonata Limited 2.0T, and 2007 Honda Civic LE. The Honda was purchased for $8,900 back in 2010, the Sonata in 2012 for $29k, and the Fusion for $32,000 (lease) in 2015. My income has far outpaced my car spending and I like the idea of purchasing a top of the line vehicle and owning it for ~5 years rather than paying ridiculous 6.5% MN Sales Tax every 2-3 years.

 

[hans007]

i've had 2 audi's now. a 2010 A4 which I owned for 3 years new.... which blew an injector , had an exhaust replaced and burned tons of oil.

And my current 2017 A4 (yes i know why would i come back... but virtual cockpit). Have had the 2017 for 2 years now, and well... the Nav system died and had to be replaced, and very very occasionally while reversing on an incline the dual clutch grinds.

The cars have been well ok, they always give you a loaner, but even though I bought 2... I don't really keep my cars longer than 4 years . I wouldn't buy one I guess to keep "forever", but they decent enough cars otherwise. Neato electronics, and rather confidence inspiring stability and grip from quattro , a little understeery, and well I have no idea nor do I want to know how well they survive past say 5 years.

 

[hans007]

Get AudiCare, it's cheaper than paying maintenance every visit. Not sure it's still like this, but it boosts your residual on a lease by 1%, so basically pays for itself if you're leasing.

Extended warranty I wouldn't get right away. You can add that before your original warranty runs out if you decide to keep it long term.

Depends how much you drive but i'd generally agree. If you are going to lease and drive say 30k miles total, you probably shouldn't. If you have a car with a dual clutch definitely get it (I think the v6 a6 will have a DSG). The dual clutch maintenance alone costs about 80% of the total cost of audi care at 40k miles.

 

[Hans Gruber]

If Audi had bumper to bumper warranties for the first 5 or 6 years of ownership included in purchase price. Everybody would be driving a German car. I always say lease a German car and cry every 3 years when you have to return it and do it all over again for another 3 years.

 

[DaTT]

Depends how much you drive but i'd generally agree. If you are going to lease and drive say 30k miles total, you probably shouldn't. If you have a car with a dual clutch definitely get it (I think the v6 a6 will have a DSG). The dual clutch maintenance alone costs about 80% of the total cost of audi care at 40k miles.

I can attest to this. DSG service is about $500, on top of the actual service which is about $500.

I bought a 2014 S5 with 59k km on it in December of 2017. I now have 92k km, here are the issues I have had and my car was purchased without warranty:
- Check Engine Light (carbon build up, cost about $250 to fix, Audi Canada paid the majority of the cost)
- A/C High Pressure switch (cost about $250)
- Front Brakes, pads and rotors (cost about $700)
- A/C Condenser (cost about $1400, however dealership is in talks with Audi Canada to cover some of the cost)

The only cost that bothers me is the A/C Condenser. All in all, the 30+k I have put on in the past 8 months have been quite enjoyable. I will buy another Audi.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I have a subscription to consumer reports. They rate the A4 5/5 for reliability and the A6 3/5.

 

[tsupersonic]

If you're going to own a German car long term (5-20 years), get ready to spend money. The costs that you spend for regular maintenance, is going to be more expensive than your Toyota/Honda/Ford, not to mention break/fix costs. Find a reputable shop that won't gouge you on prices. There are also other costs that are higher than your mainstream brands including fuel costs (typically less mpg, premium fuel required), insurance costs, etc.

When they are functioning normally, German premium brands are very fun, luxurious, and pleasant.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Congrats on the new ride. It's great to treat yourself to a great car.

When they are functioning normally, German premium brands are very fun, luxurious, and pleasant.

+1 I would never own a german car out of warranty. Only ever had one but she was a shop queen. I put up with it because, well, yeah that E46 with the sport suspension could really dance.

 

[dasherHampton]

For all of the horror stories you read on the internet there's a guy like me who's never had any major issues with an out-of-warranty German luxury car. I've owned 6 in my life.

I struggle to even recall an acquaintance who's gotten true lemon. I know a guy who had issues with a mid 2000's Z4 but not enough for him to dump it.

Of course: all the people I know are sticklers for absolute regular maintenance which helps a ton, I'm sure.

 

[child of wonder]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I'm leaning towards lease now simply because it'd be nice not to shell out $40,000 just to make the monthly payments more reasonable if I buy, not to mention the $5,000 in MN sales tax! Plus this will be my daily driver and I plan to put 15,000-18,000 miles a year on it which means that 5 year, 50,000 mile warranty will expire in about 3 years anyway.

 

[child of wonder]

Car is arriving tomorrow and I pick it up Friday! Pumped! Will post pictures.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Congrats. BTW, Minnesota (I live there too) gets you one way or the other. You pay tax on the lease payment. At least you dont have to cough it up all at once, and maybe you only have to pay tax on the difference between the capital cost and the residual, not sure about that.

 

[child of wonder]

Congrats. BTW, Minnesota (I live there too) gets you one way or the other. You pay tax on the lease payment. At least you dont have to cough it up all at once, and maybe you only have to pay tax on the difference between the capital cost and the residual, not sure about that.

Yes, sales tax only applies to purchase price minus residual. Saves me about $2,000. Being a new model with an engine that has gone from a supercharger to a turbo, I think I'll drive this for the 3 years and then turn it back in. Don't feel like being a guinea pig beyond that.

When I moved to MN 9 years ago from SD, the biggest thing that floored me was vehicle registration. It looks like the state of MN wants $952/year from me for the privilege of driving this car!

 

[child of wonder]

Getting detailed and checked over and I pick it up tomorrow!

 

[PricklyPete]

Beautiful! Looks fantastic.

 

[child of wonder]

As I approached a round-about the car slowed itself down automatically from 55 to 20mph. I steered through and it went right back up to 55. Never touched the brake or accelerator.

This thing is bad ass. So much technology.