El Helge

Hello,
I have problems with my door lock (A6 Avant 2003, 3.0 Quattro) and I am considering changing the door latch. I was looking for replacement parts online and I found a couple of locks for approximately 30$ (for example on ebay and ). And on the other hand, I found it for 460$ on https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/oes-genuine-door-lock-o3000423752oes/11846808-P?navigationPath=L1*14919|L2*14990|L3*15441. My gut feeling tells me that 30$ is too cheap and 460$ is too expensive. Does anyone have experience with these parts or even bough from the sellers l linked? I am happy for every piece of advice I can get.

Thank you guys
best d

Harleyguy

Check some after market suppliers ECS Tuning, AutohausAZ, Blau Parts, etc. The chances are that Advance Auto sourced the part from one of these sources and marked up the price. You will find a wide variation in prices on Audi parts based on where you look. As a rule some of the lower prices will no doubt be cheaply made Asian "knock-off" parts that may or may not fit, may or may not function, etc. You didn't provide much detail as to your problem. One of the big problems is broken or damaged wiring at the flex point where wiring bundle spans from the "A" pillar to the door near the door hinges. Just sayin'. Parts swapping to chase problems can get expensive in short order.

georgeb944

I installed one of the (chinese) $35 door latches, only to have it fail on me (would not open). It took a lot of time and ingenuity to get the door open, after which I installed an OE (used) latch. I have had no problems since. Just be aware that the latch may fail on you and you may have to work around it until you can get it replaced.

johnkk

I also installed a $39.99 version for front passenger door shipped directly from China about 3 weeks ago. After being fine for 2 weeks, a couple of days ago opening the door from the outside required a quick hard pull. Inside opening still works fine as does microswitch signal to interior lights, which was the original problem. Yesterday I pulled the door card and lubed all metal moving parts that I could reach with my spray white grease nozzle, and tried to work it in. Opening eventually improved,

Sounds like George is right and I should have looked for a used OEM part. Dreading the thought of the interior door pull failing.

ECS wants $390 for OEM and their $65 Hudson is only for the driver side. Lots of used OEM in the $50 range. Part for passenger side 4B183701G. Also 4B183701H shows up, maybe an improved update. Driver side is 4B1837015G.

El Helge

Thank you all for the responses. I guess I will go for an used OEM part - it sounds most reasonable.
@Harleyguy: The driver door doesn't latch if you just close the door, it will jump back open. You need to be super gentle while closing it. I think the only way around is to exchange the latch.