plokiu

Hello.

I am looking to buy a 2005 allroad 4.2 with 120,000 miles.

I understand the 4.2 allroads have timing chains so I am mostly concerned with timing chain related parts. (I know the timing chain itself will last for the life of the vehicle.)

If I decide to buy the car, what should I look for? Please give me some warnings and advice.

This would be my first German car ever; I've only driven Hondas and Lexuses so I am somewhat nervous about buying an aged German car.

Thank you.

Arondale7

First, I would say an allroad is not like most German cars. The suspension and maintenance is higher than average. I'm on my 3rd allroad. Even a well maintained allroad frequents the shop to be regularly serviced and maintained, unless you are prepared to do all work yourself. The auto-leveling sensors, for instance, go bad often. They are not difficult to replace, but be prepared to replace them if you own one of these cars.

I would never buy a used allroad without service records unless I was also prepared to swap the engine or replace the transmission. Both costly. That's just me. If you are buying for the first time, I would buy a lower mileage allroad, though something that has just had a 100K service is ok.... But still be prepared to drop some money on it... EVERY year. There are some people on here that replace their allroad air suspension with springs... But I don't like these allroaders (no offense guys). The suspension is what makes it unique. If you want a spring suspension and a wide body, buy an S6 avant. You will fall in love with that car. I'm actually put S6 interior in my allroad.

My biggest flag of caution when I read your post was its context. It's NOT like a Japanese car where you have a few infrequent services and as long as you regularly change the oil, no problems. No. Allroads are much higher maintenance than average.

But, if the increased costs of regular maintenance do not scare you and you have the money to properly maintain one, regularly change oil and filters, use the correct G12 coolant, then you will LOVE owning one. The 4.2 is a bit easier to work on, IMO. But the 2.7 has the highest horsepower potential for mods.

Also, remember these cars are not geared like an S6. They have a lower first gear and ratios are tighter. Your RPMs will be higher than expected at high speed. Thus, the allroad devours gas and requires 93 octane or the highest octane in your area. Compared to a Japanese car, expect your fuel costs to spike upward. It's not an economic car, especially the 4.2 allroad.

plokiu

Wow. Thank you very much for your awesome reply Arondale7.

You have addressed and answered all the questions and concerns I only had in my mind.

Your greatly detailed and well-warned advice is greatly appreciated.

I'd need to be more realistic about buying this vehicle, so I will put some more thoughts before I make a decision.

Again, thank you so much for your great reply.

snagitseven

I would echo what Arondale wrote. My wife's purchased new 2002 2.7t allroad has only 52K miles and looks almost like new (she uses it these days only to run errands) but in the 14 years we've owned the car, in the last 10 years since the warranty expired we've spent a nice chunk of change maintaining it. Drive shaft seals, brakes, control arms, air springs, MAF sensor, batteries, secondary air pump, full timing belt/water pump/tensioners, vacuum hose leak, etc., etc.

FYI, not all allroads had a timing chain - the 2.7t 6 cyl uses a timing belt. Note that timing chains aren't necessarily "forever" - I've read a few reports of them failing - a not inexpensive proposition.

In any case, they do require above average maintenance and are not cheap to fix. If this is your first Audi, I would reconsider buying an allroad with 120K miles. At the same time, my wife won't give hers up. A couple of years ago we road tested a new Q5 and she wasn't especially impressed. If you really want an allroad, try finding one with less miles and one that you can confirm has been well maintained. (Like my wife's but hers is not for sale ).

plokiu

Right. Since I don't want to spend the frequent and high maintenance cost, I am second guessing buying the high mileage old allroad.

Thank you so much for your advice!

plokiu

Above is my reply to snagitseven's comments.

snagitseven

You're welcome. See if you can find an allroad with lower mileage and a good service record. Good luck!