dssdmd

n trying to decide if I want an extended warranty for my wife's 2011 A4 with 17K miles and my just ordered 2013 A6 -3.0, a lot would depend on how many of you have paid over $2500.00 out of pocket after the original Audi warranty has expired on your car or previous AUDI'S you have owned. Not everyone keeps cars 6-7 years as I do, but what has been your experience. Consumers Report shows excellent repair histories for the 2011-12 A6's and good for the A4's. Seeing as the 2 warranties would cost over $5000.00 for 6 or 7 years or 100,000 miles, I think I should self insure. What has been your experience with high repair costs not covered? I do keep up with all required maintenance and have the Audi Care pack on the A4, and will get it on the A6.

lliejk

I bought one for my 90 CQ for 100K miles, used it to R&R a knock sensor. That was it.

Did not get one for either my 95 S6, my wife's 95 90 SQ or my 08 S6. The two older cars have 192K and 150K respectively and I have done much of the work on both (the older S6 is going through an engine rebuild now due to a cracked head - a known issue with the turbo AAN's) from the EGR valve on the 95 90 to brakes and other straightforward items on all 3.

While I don't have as detailed a record as I should, I think that most issues have occurred after 100K, although my AMI has appeared to have fried on my 08 S6 (67K miles) so if it covers electronics, that would be a good chunk of the warranty cost there. Mechanically I have had no issues so far and other than brakes & tires, I have not had to do anything to it but oil changes and put gas in it.

Not as detailed as you probably need, but that has been my experience over the 4 Audis I have owned.

Ed

habu

I bought the Audi Pure Platinum coverage with a $100 deductible for my Avant at 4 years and 32k mi. I paid $2,000 because the car had less than 35k mi. At 6 years and 2 months the Driver Info Display started to fail intermittently. The dealer replaced the Instrument Cluster, cost $1,250. I had contacted Audi USA on another matter prior to the repair and because I was ordering a 2013 TT my contact there covered the $100 deductible. I now see the extended coverage cost as $250 per year or $20 a month since I used the coverage. When the coverage ends this April I will self insure up to $10,000 until the car is 10 years old because I like the car and could not replace it now for less than $30,000 unless I wanted to take a step down in comfort and performance.

hanshy5

The higher the mileage the higher the cost. You'll probably be safe to 100k after that is when things start getting expensive. My A4 daily driver (265k) has probably cost me ~$4000 a year on average servicing.

thomas1978

so far my 08 feels like my old C5 A6, there is always something that needs to fixed. If not for warranty (bought the car 4 months before it expires) i will be closing on $3k for repairs and maintenance (i was cheap with tires 18" for $560). Bought the car with 30k in sep. 2011 and now i'm at 51k. Not to mention there is a already oil leaking in the back of the engine.

Edward'TLS

The Audi engineers are genius. They designed their vehicles such that most tend to start requiring frequent repairs at around the end of the 4th year, right when the standard 4-year factory warranty is about to expire.

Therefore, it is meaningless to look at reliable data for 1-3 years old Audi vehicles, since they don't truly represent what's gonna happen another couple years down the road.

So unless you aren't planning to keep your Audi for longer than 4 years, it is highly advisable to buy extended warranty.

beep-beep

I had 1996 A6 wagon until it was 16 years old with 194K miles on it. Nothing happened to it until about 12 years old. I have 2006 A6 wagon (6y/o) right now with 118K miles on it. Navigation broke and this pretty much it. Nothing what extended warranty would be useful for.

Edward'TLS

^^^^^

Lucky you.

My now-sold '97 A4 had rang up almost 2x the cost of buying extended warranty, in total repair expenses. During the final year of the 7-year extended warranty coverage, the "check engine" light would come on every time I took the A4 out for a long trip. Needless to say, I traded it in ASAP after the extended warranty ran out.

Now my '05 A6 is working it's way up to get my full money's worth on the 10-year extended warranty. Repaired items include transmission, power door lock, multiple oil leaks, etc.

r1racer

If you can afford it buy it...that simple. The peace of mind alone is worth it IMO. I've had about 7k in repairs in 3 1/2 years. Half of which I probably would have lived with (oil leaks) or fixed myself if not under warranty. Overall, Audi seems to be more reliable than in the past but when **** breaks dealer repairs & parts are just ridiculously expensive.

odoboyusa

I'd like to add one simple but important criteria to the list: if your car has a crammed engine bay (like a v8 or v10) the labor needed for the same operations is significantly more. For example replacing a starter on a 3.2 C6 is about two pages in Bentley where on the 4.2 C6 it's about 10 pages and it's a lot more involved. Labor is expensive, especially at the dealer so it's worth considering.