Rusticgrain

Hey all, new guy here. I知 thinking about picking up a b8 and just wondering how reliable these are over all. I work in the auto auction world so opportunity is there for me to grab one at wholesale and putting some serious thought in it. The one I知 currently looking at is a 2010 a4 premium, 2.0 Quattro with the manual transmission. Low mileage, (120k km) and appears to be well kept. I致e read a lot about oil consumption and timing chain/tensioners. Other than that, pretty reliable rides? I think I can buy it right (perks of the job) but just want to know if I知 looking at a reasonably reliable car. I know anything 13 years old is going to need some work/recon and parts aren稚 the cheapest but I definitely love the looks of them and can deal with occasional costs so long as I知 not waiting on a tow truck.

Rusticgrain

I should add, I知 comfortable wrenching on my own stuff, just not overly familiar with Audi as there痴 not many around my area.

uberwgn

The oil consumption problem and the timing chain/tensioner would make a 2010MY car an instant DO NOT BUY on most peoples' list, Rustic.

punkncat

A couple of things I would add, in that you may already have noticed you will need some special tools both to work on the car as well as to read codes and such. A lot of shops don't have the tools or the desire to work on these. Even the local oil change places won't touch it both due to the "no dipstick" issue alongside the scanner needed to reset the service warning. Also of consideration is the fact that many service items such as a new battery or even doing the rear brakes require the scanner to do or utilize. In a lot of ways these are just VW with a more expensive badge.

Super fun car to drive and IMO they still look like that 'new' generation of cars. I carry around a 5qt jug of the proper oil, a measuring cup, funnel and a roll of paper towels. It is not unknown for these cars to use upwards of a quart of oil every 300 or so miles (and even more) under spirited driving.

I wouldn't go so far as to say absolutely don't buy one, particularly if you are getting it WELL below market value. It is important that you understand what you are getting into.

Rusticgrain

Thanks for the responses. The more I've been reading on it the more I think I'll hold out. Maybe I'll keep an eye out for a newer model. definitely think my next ride will be and Audi, just need to figure out which model/year I want to keep an eye out for. Thanks

SMac770

Either the engine works or it doesn't. If it does, then you can check the state of the tensioner extension / tensioner type as well as for any wastegate rattle from the turbo to see if those might be upcoming costs (not bad if you do it yourself, 5-9 hours labor bill if you need a shop to do them). But the thing you can never check is whether the oil consumption issue will develop with the piston rings. That'll just happen if/when it happens, though it seems often to be in the 70k-80k range, ie right around what that one is. Only if you can confirm the pistons have already been replaced for the oil consumption issue, or you're prepared to undertake that task when it becomes necessary, should you consider a B8 A4/A5/Q5 with an EA888 Gen2 2.0T engine (CAE gas only and CPM flex fuel). Minus the piston ring issue, the rest is all "normal" stuff. You say 6MT, so state of the clutch, I know nothing about such things.

Rusticgrain

There's a local independent guy who specializes in VW and Audi's, though not many Audi's around my immediate area, so I will have access to it if needed. Though I'm more likely to pick up the tools to work on it myself where feasible. This one runs well, so there's that. If it hasn't developed a consumption issue yet, how fast do they typically progress from being down a little to needing to dig into pistons/rings? I guess worst case, buying at wholesale, I can probably move it without too much of a loss if it needs serious work.

SMac770

Mine had no issue up to the 75k oil change, never even thought about the oil. But I had to add a quart before 80k, then another before 82k, then progressive from there. Probably three more quarts by 83.3k when I took it in and they did the stage 1 (replaced my original black cap with new white cap). Made it 655 miles this time, but still well short of acceptable. Rings/pistons replaced at 84k. These are all in miles, not km.