Aliwatson

Hi,
I found a clean 09 A4 premium plus with 65k mileage. The overall situations seems to be fine. But I keep hearing that Audis are horrible in maintenance costs and services. Not to mention mechanical failure. Any comment?

uberwgn

Ali, welcome aboard! Yes, Audis can be VERY expensive to maintain unless you've got a good local guy or intend to DIY. I am VERY pleased if I escape the dealer for less than $1,000.00 on any given day.


What is your past history with European autos and their related maintenance? What type of car do you consider reasonable in terms of maintenance costs?

Aliwatson

Thank you Uberwgn.
I don't have lot of experience with cars. But I'm and electrical engineer and I love dealing with such stuff. So I can handle basics like changing the oil or spark plugs or doing some examinations. Many things can be done by watching YouTube videos. What I'm concerned about is how regular these expenses are. I know it relies heavily on car's maintenance history and I will check the car with a trusted mechanic before buying it, but from what I've read so far, it seems such expenses comes out of nowhere and they are literally unavoidable.
I'm a student and of course a cheaper car like Toyota or Honda is more cost efficient, but I prefer to have a better car to enjoy, IF I know it won't require a $1K service like every couple of month or so.
So I was wondering about general experience of Audi owners from their cars.

uberwgn

The big repair bills only come when things start to go wrong. The basic maintenance isn't bad, especially if you DIY.


Is this car a 4 cylinder or 6 cylinder?

Aliwatson

4 cylinder.
And I have the carfax. I can PM it to you if you want.

Dr Awesome

If you are buying an '09 you should check if it has oil consumption, or if it has any stages of the oil consumption fixes. They should be covered by warranty (though I think the warranty period for oil consumption has ended, but you might still get it if your car needs it, just contact AoA). Maintenance is not bad on these if you have some tools, parts are parts and most things have DIY threads.

That being said, if you buy a car that has a major issue (transmission, timing chain, etc.) then that is much more difficult to do at home and it will cost some more than, say, a Chevy cobalt, if you go to the dealer.

urs6_ma

uberwon, if you're anywhere near metrowest Boston, I can recommend a great independent shop. They've taken care of my Audis for 25 years!

Aliwatson

Yeah I've heard a lot about that.
How can I know if this car has time chain rather than time belt?
I've searched for it, from 2009 all B8 models with 2.0t TFSI engines have time chain. But it seems that some also come with time belt.

Also, although the car is quattro (it is mentioned in carfax and the car has the quattro badge both on interior and exterior), it comes with CVT transmission. As far as I know quattro versions only comes with conventional Tiptronic transmission. Any idea?

treilley

I do not know of any 2.0 TFSI engines with timing belt.

If it has CVT tranny then it is not quattro. You can confirm this by looking at the engine orientation. I think Quattro engines are inline with the car and CVT(FWD) engines are across. You can also check to see if you have rear drive axles.

Oiram

Welcome, I ended up purchasing a 2009 Audi A4 Quattro last year with also around 65k miles. Its been working great so far and is a great car to have. But it can be a hassle when it comes to maintenance. I have actually been doing things myself such as changing break pads, oil changes, tire rotations, air filters, etc. and have not really paid a lot. I didn't really know much about Audis when I bought it but its been a learning experience.