Are B6's constant money pits?

[Jamie p]

Ive not long had my 1.8t quattro and its been fighting me since the day i got it, i thought i had done the correct thing of buying a well specced and serviced car but in two months of owning it ive already had to spend money on:

Two new tyres due to the rear camber managing to destroy a set in 500 miles
Full camber and tracking set up due to above problem
coolant leak traced to thermostat flange leaking
water leak into footwell of drivers side due to someone being a bit too forcefull with removing the ecu cover in the past
and yesterday oil pressure warning came on and after the strip down it appears the usual carbon build up and sludge in the oil pick up pipe, so while the mechanics in there it would be stupid not to change the pump at the same time.

My last car was an R32 so im used to spending money on a car but i thought my first venture in audi motoring would have been more pleasant than this.

 

[crazy88]

Gutted for you mate! I know it probably doesn't help, but in the 3 years I have owned mine it has had a brake line done...and that's it. (There's obviously been servicing/ cambelt costs, but you expect these).

Hope it gets better for you soon though. At least it looks nice!

 

[the_cueball]

yes, I think they are... well mine is anyway... a right Friday afternoon shambles...

2 "careful" owners as well.... :wall:

cant wait to get rid of it.....

 

[colinurquhart]

Yeah definitely change the pump whilst in there.

 

[Smillie13]

I've had no problems with mines ..................... so far so fingers crossed

 

[the_cueball]

the build quality, fit and finish is miles behind an S8...

OK maybe a different market, and maybe I expected too much from my S4.... lol

 

[Ian2012]

Any car can be a money pit, it's all down to luck, audi's have there own inherrent design flaws, window regulators, rear wiper motors, thermostats, rear brake calipers seizing, the list goes on. I have put money into ours, that i didn't expect when i bought it too so you aren't alone. I am sure if this were a merc or bmw forum there would be similar comments.

Car manufacturers know exactly how long each part will last, cynical hmm yes

 

[Jamie p]

its because my brother had an s8 and it was lovely that swung me to buy it, thought i had done my homework with the history being good and it all checked out pretty well with previous receipts owners and the likes to top it off i had too buy tax for it the day the oil pressure lights came on lol.

theres only so much that can go wrong surely

 

[jp1]

Had my 1.8T 190, almost seven years. It's now done 150k miles. The only problems I have had is failure of:-

coil pack (about 6 now)
fuel pump
water pump (cambelt shredded but luckily no bent valves)
Rocker cover oil leak
split fuel line near fuel tank
crankcase breather (current problem)


For a car 10 years with 150k I don't think that is too bad.

 

[Andie0]

Had mine for a year and had no problems except for normal wear and tear... Bushes, ball joints etc

My 1.8t is running 240 bhp and data logged it today and is running sweetttt...

just got to look after it and do constant oil changes 3 changes already after1 year... Had all pipes off and have seen zero sludge so far hopefully if i keep it up i wont ever!!!! Get it all fixed and keep up the maintenace and hopefully this will be the end of your problems and enjoy your b6

 

[AlexGSi2000]

I thought exactly the same when I purchased mine - reliable Audi.
I should have done my research (especially since I purchased the 2.5TDi).

Not long after I purchased the car last year, I had to spend £1200 on engine parts (common issue is the cams wear)
Replaced a fair few bits after then also, some because I wanted to freshen things up (new suspension arms & bushes.etc) - other parts breaking, alternator, dual-mass flywheel.etc

Looking back I would have purchased a 1.8T, but like yourself I have always spent money on cars but thought the Audi would be a little easier on the wallet.
At the end of the day, the cars done 142,000 miles now - I tend to do 30,000 per year, not planning to get rid any time soon either.

I had a 2004 Vectra C before the A4 which I resented spending any money on - the thing needed a £200 intake manifold to make it good again, if it was the Audi I would have bought one straight away - but just left it!

 

[deano1978]

Just think of it as a hill,your nearly over it and your be due and good long happy run. We all get them mate at some piont.

 

[madmike01uk]

All cars for me are going to be money pits (unless I bought brand new). I like my cars to be 100% am a little OCD about getting things right. The only thing the ****** me off about my B6 is the small rust issues, unfortunately it was raining when I bought mine and I didn't spot them, going to be getting it sorted in a coming weeks along with a few other issues.

As someone else said, it's like going up a hill to get it perfect then hopefully a long descent before it needs anything else spending on it.

I do love the car though

 

[Audi Doodah]

Ya pays ya money, ya takes ya chance!

My Avant sport has cost me a few quid since I've got it. Wrong size brake discs on front, then removing two seized wheel nuts to get to the brakes! Now discovered my rear damper bumper stops are shot so the dampers etc are to be replaced. At the end of the day Audis are a top spec car and, if like mine, it's done high mileage (146K) then there going to be costs incurred in keeping it in tip-top condition. Not to mention all the mods that can be done!

My previous car was a '99 Vectra diesel that cost me £3300 with 141k on the clock and gave me 10 years trouble free motoring with nothing more than running costs and I DID NOT look after it. It got to 214k when the cam chain snapped at 90 on the motorway.

It's the luck of the draw, I guess

 

[rjm180]

Absolutely

 

[neils4]

Ive not long had my 1.8t quattro and its been fighting me since the day i got it, i thought i had done the correct thing of buying a well specced and serviced car but in two months of owning it ive already had to spend money on:

Two new tyres due to the rear camber managing to destroy a set in 500 miles
Full camber and tracking set up due to above problem
coolant leak traced to thermostat flange leaking
water leak into footwell of drivers side due to someone being a bit too forcefull with removing the ecu cover in the past
and yesterday oil pressure warning came on and after the strip down it appears the usual carbon build up and sludge in the oil pick up pipe, so while the mechanics in there it would be stupid not to change the pump at the same time.

My last car was an R32 so im used to spending money on a car but i thought my first venture in audi motoring would have been more pleasant than this.

So, Jamie... someone. presumably not you, managed to **** the car into something hard enough to disturb the rear geometry...

It has a coolant leak from a thermostat gasket... some hamfisted monkey damaged the ECU cover... and no-one bothered to change the oil often, or drop the sump to clean the strainer if they couldn't be bothered to change the oil. And that's somehow Audi's fault?

Doesn't sound like it to me?

Hope it gets better from here, but any second hand car is going to near some 'stuff' doing if you are fastidious and the last owners weren't.

And at leat you know the strainer and pump have been done now!

 

[Mike_B]

Absolutely

Yep. I ran an old Mondeo for near on 5 years - it cost me £1.66 a day overall - repairs, servicing, depreciation etc, but not inc fuel, ins, tax obviously. Given I bought it from a dealer, and sold it privatly, I reckon I did rather well overall and had some seriously cheap motoring. Especially so as it never let me down! It rattled a bit, had quite a lot of rust when I punted it on with near enough 140k on the clock - but it didn't use any oil between services - well, maybe a litre, unlike my Audi, which takes 1 ltr every 3k.

My '53 plate A4 has had a lot of money spent on it in the nearly 2 years I've had it. But it's an Audi, not a ford. I expect it to cost me rather more than £1.66 a day.

We get drawn into thinking a "high end" motor will be more reliable and forget that when sophisticated cars like Audis go wrong, they cost (lots) more to fix. Age, poor previous maintenance, bad design (rear / front wipers, window regulators) all cost to fix. I rather think that too many Audi's are bought by people who can't afford to maintain them propelry, and us 3rd / 4th generation owners then pick up the results.

It's all part of the territory. I miss my ford - sometimes - usually when I have a garage bill to pay. But in reality, the Audi is a much nicer drive. And there's a reason for that.

Mike.

 

[rjm180]

This month:

In the bodyshop having both front wings replaced due to rust on the arches. It never ends. Still love it though, just.

 

[Slinepete]

Had a very similar start with my 1.8t s line had oil pressure light the day I got it lol but all serviced and pump done and then 6 months on cambelt water pump and another service touch wood it's been great just a bad start but know how you feel I felt like setting it on fire tbh

 

[krisavant]

Window regulator for mine in the last 12 month and I'm expecting the other side to snap any minute now. Other than that all fine.
The 1.9 tdi all good as expected.

 

[quattrojames]

I think there are two issues here; firstly the age of the cars, even the newest B6 is approaching 9 years of age now, and secondly the fact that you're on here means you're an enthusiast, and more likely to notice/rectify any issues.

From reading these pages you'll see that everyone generally tends to suffer the same issues.

 

[KevM3]

mines all done ive rectified all its minor faults ,just needs a new owner now as im trying to sell it

 

[AudidriverA4]

Have my 2004 B6 1.9 tdi for just over a year now, in the one year I've owned it apart from servicing, tyres etc, I had to spend £130 on repairs bought with just less than 98,000 on it miles now running with 116,000 miles.

 

[dpbayly]

Mines been a money pit BUT only by choice not by needs,

Just listed and added up everything I've spent since picking my motor up last August I've dropped £3754 that's without my BBK if i had actually had to part with money buying them new that would have jumped up to £4854 the motor cost me £3000 so that's a grand total of £6754 I've actually parted with scary when you think about it.

But i still would do it all again the same way, maintenance wise inc service parts Its been £431 and only 1 item has actually broke and let me down and that was a headlight ballast at a cost of £210 so really not that bad.

Saying that mines the 3.0V6 so not known for unreliable issues.

 

[Jules]

This month:

In the bodyshop having both front wings replaced due to rust on the arches. It never ends. Still love it though, just.

How much is that going to cost, mine are going as well thought about getting mine replaced?

 

[dpbayly]

How much is that going to cost, mine are going as well thought about getting mine replaced?

Replaced one of mine when I first pick it up, it will save you a decent amount of cash if you pick the wings up your self and fit them (not hard to do) then hand it over to a paint shop to paint, I grabbed my wing from euro car parts around £54 a side that's for the OEM quality ones they do a cheaper option but I wouldn't bother entertaining them to be honest the OEM quality one I got was top notch and a perfect fit and I Waxoyl coated the underside before fitting so should last well.

 

[madmike01uk]

Wings are a lot more than that now from ECP, oem quality ones are £132 a side.

 

[the_cueball]

I think there are two issues here; firstly the age of the cars, even the newest B6 is approaching 9 years of age now, and secondly the fact that you're on here means you're an enthusiast, and more likely to notice/rectify any issues.

From reading these pages you'll see that everyone generally tends to suffer the same issues.

both good points to be fair....

its when you rock up to the Audi main stealer, open your bonnet and say, I need that missing cap and screw please, things get bad... lol

£3.68 later and my OCD is calm for a few days!!!

 

[dpbayly]

Wings are a lot more than that now from ECP, oem quality ones are £132 a side.

Blimey I've just checked my invoice and part number and on the 30/10/12 it cost me £50.40 and like you said now there £132 WTF Ive heard of inflation but what's that all about????

 

[rjm180]

Also having the front bumper, rear bumper and bonnet re painted as they were starting to show their age and a few other minor bits are being sorted too.

 

[the_cueball]

Ahhhh, they don't look half bad sometimes though....

 

[madmike01uk]

They still look smart for what they are worth, most people think I paid £3k more than I actually did for mine. Once the body work is sorted I just need the wheels refurbed and she will be mint.

Had a clunking on the rear which was down to a rear pad that had come away from the backing plate, £15 from ECP happy days. Just ordered a new CTS due to a fault code and a dipstick as mine is breaking apart.

Ive only owned it a month lol.

 

[jutlis 3.0]

yes , trust me they are constant money pits. I was starting to feel bad as i hadn't spent anything on it for a couple of months but then the gear linkage decided to self-destruct so it was business as usual! still love it though

 

[the_cueball]

well thank g0d, or satan, or whoever... but my shambles of a S4 is now gone!!!!

I'll never touch a B6 again...