Used Audi - Good Investment ?

If you get a turbo (which most likely you will) it's a pretty expensive part to replace. Some electric problems just like VW but otherwise solid cars. I prefer Mercedes-Benz and I had few old ones from late 80s to late 90s. The older ones are big, comfortable, plenty fast and hold up like tanks. I still regret selling my 92 400E.

Possible timing belt replacement = $$$$

No car is a "good investment." Except maybe right now some of the 1980s Japanese performance cars (CRX, MR2) that I feel will take off in value in the next 5-10 years. That said, I'm a little bit leery of late 90s/early 00's VWs and Audis because I think they're too much like Jaguar's of old: beautiful skins, great engines, well designed and appointed interiors, and rot underneath all of that to let them price them competitively.

The TT is a nightmare and the reliability is horrendous (and this is coming from a person who not only almost bought a pre-owned one, but still loves the car). The A4 had not only coil pack problems but window problems as well. Personally, if it was my wallet I would lease a new A4 with full warranty and just save myself the headache. The only real pro regarding the old B5 A4 is that its smaller and lighter than the current B7 and if you get Quattro and the MT6, probably more fun to drive. Just FYI: I currently have an 06’ A4 2.0T CVT (yeah…I know, I completely fucked up and should have gotten the MT6 Quattro…) Jon.

I suppose a car that is an "investment" would be one of those rather under-valued vintage cars.

Timing belts on these cars are about a grand, and should be done every 70K unless you have a very good warranty. Audi interiors are very nice, luxurious and spare at the same time. I've had great luck with my VW 1.8T over the last 6 years.

I own a 1998 A4, 2.8 Quattro, manual as well as a 2001 Allroad 2.7T, Quattro manual. Maintenance and repair costs should be comparable to other German makes, and generally higher than Japanese makes.
Timing belt replacement can cost less than a grand. I think I paid $700 to have the dealer replace the belt on my A4 a couple of years ago. The local Audi dealer labor rates did increase from $80/hour to $110 since then. It is harder to find a competent independent shop to work on your car since German cars are so much more complicated compared to Japanese and American models of the same year. If you can find a good independend shop for repairs and maintenance the ownership costs will not be that bad.

That said, if you are looking for a hassle-free experience you may wish to look at a car with an extended warranty or a recent model year still under factory 50,000 miles warranty/free maintenance plan. The free maintenance was discontinued for 2007 on Audi models though.

I highly recommend you read model specific forums here to get more of a feel for problem areas for the particular model year you are considering.

Audi World

If you are looking at TT there are the more powerfull 225HP/quattro models you would probably like better than 180HP/FWD model. You may also want to check out the special "Baseball glove" interior which some TTs come with which is just gorgeous.

With Audi a lot of problems are common to a particular model and year. For example, the B5 generation A4 usually need to have most of their front suspension bushings replaced at a cost of a few hundred dollars.

From 07’ on, Audi no longer provides the maintenance included with the car, but you can still purchase it (for $550 if memory serves me correctly), and IMHO its money well spent. Seriously though, if you are considering leasing, I would consider a BMW, they have much better lease rates and have full maintenance included with every car. Jon.

I think some Audis look better than BMWs and are far less ubiquitous.

Which is completely oblivious to the topic at hand.

Jon.

In this situation, for me, I would stay with an Asian car. Personally, I would not want to chance buying a 5-6 year old European car and then driving it for another 5 years (10-11 years old when all said and done). There will be exceptions and Audi is a fine company, but Japanese autos have a well earned reputation for reliability for a reason and Audi does not.

Just my two cents though.

I asked my friend once if he likes his Audi A4 and he said yes right away.
Then I asked would you buy another Audi then? He energetically said: "Never again!"
That is the extent of my research on Audis.

My close friend owns 1999 BMW coupe 5spd. He had a problem with window motor and oxygen sensor both under 100% warranty withing first 36,000 miles. Otherwise the car was trouble free. He still has it and put 60,00 miles on it. He is looking to buy another BMW coupe.

Look into smaller 5spd Lexus with 3.0L V6. I think it is a fare alternative to Audi.

There are two types of VW/Audi buyers: 1. Ones that are smart enough to read the reliability reports and heed the negative feedback but choose to ignore it because they like the car that much. 2. Those who stick their fingers in their eyes and scream "LALALALALA" so they can't hear a thing, all the way to the dealership.