Litherman1

The curse of the impulse buyer. I used to drive only Audi 100 quattro's (had 3) and now looking to get back but into an Audi. Here's my problem, I found a gorgeous 2004 Allroad 2.7t automatic, with not even a nick in the paint for cheap money. The bad is the 243K on the odometer. Did I say it was spotless? So I sit down with my Audi mechanic and he begs me to run from the Allroads, not just this one. Insists that the automatic transmission will suffer a catastrophic failure any time now. Something about a clip that keeps some spring loaded parts in place that always fail. Any truth to this? Since I started looking at these I have found 5 others that all have blown trannies not related to the torque converter. ( Including 2 at his shop). I don't mind replacing the tranny but have grown concerned after reading about all the issue plaguing Audi's while doing research. Never had any issues with my 100's to speak of. Should I take a chance, except for the fear of the tranny the mileage doesn't scare me. I have only driven about 3000 miles in the last 2 years - the whole semi retired thing. I work at a craft brewery right next to my Audi mechanic, so that is a plus - he likes our beer.

thomhanes

well...I have had my 2004 Allroad 4.2L for 5 years, bought it in pristine condition with 67k miles from an Audi dealer in Lynnwood WA , I live in TX and bought this car sight unseen, flew up to Seattle in late April and started my trek back to Texas driving through a blizzard in Snoqualmie (sp) Pass and have been in love with this car ever since! I also had not one, but two 100s that I was very much enamored with... but there is something about the Allroads... I have had a few minor reliability things go wrong...front 'air bags' (shocks) went bad when it hit 100k ~$700 fix, had a universal belt failure that cost me an astonishing $1300 to fix from Porche-Audi specialists that got an exorbitant $/hr rate, I've had the usual maintenance stuff like coils and batteries, but all in all nothing major. With a 2.7L with 243k, I would EXPECT you will sometime soon replace the turbos, and the tranny, but who knows...the thing that I have found is that the cars that have been kept in fine cosmetic order USUALLY have also been kept in great mechanical order...in other words, they have not been ragged out by a testosterone filled road warrior who worked at Wal-Mart and couldn't afford to do proper maintenance or garage it!

-Thom Hanes 214-909-5189

hzcct

Hi,

You have two options.

The first...and the one I would suggest is...Run, don't walk away. I have a 2003 Allroad 2.7T (auto trans). I do just about all my work and while I have enjoyed the car and think it's a great concept and platform (adjustable suspension, great AWD, stylish, tons of room and extremely comfortable) it's a constant trickle of problems.

Your second option is to get the car and then expect to replace the trans and then about every 3 months deal with another issue. Resign yourself to the fact that you will spend money & time (cussing, scratching your head and having buyers remorse), along with non starting episodes and also nursing the car, in "limp mode", back home or to the nearest curb.

Just to give you an idea of what I'm talking about...mine has right at 199,989 miles on it. I've owned it about 4 years. In that time I have done the following
These were done to remedy issues that were obvious and strait forward (IE no codes or dash lights)
- replaced front half shafts/transaxles - DIY
- replaced upper control arms - DIY
- Replaced front air struts - DIY
- trans fluid/filter change x 2 - DIY
- replaced all 4 door mechanisms - DIY
- Timing belt/waterpump - Pro
- replaced snub motor mount - Pro
- Valve cover gaskets done - Pro

These were done for codes and dash lights that have been an intermittent pain in the *ss and still persist.
- replaced alternator - DIY
- replaced MAF - DIY
- replaced Throttle body - DIY
- replaced throttle pedal (which has a sensor that can throw codes) - DIY
- replaced throttle body boot - DIY
- replaced all coil packs - DIY
- replaced N80 turbo waste gate valves - DIY
- replaced all O2 sensor and installed spacer - DIY
- replaced brake switch - DIY
- rebuilt brake calipers - DIY
- replaced battery twice (these are notorious for killing batteries if they sit for a while) - DIY
- replaced cam position sensors - DIY
- replaced crank position sensor - DIY
- replaced secondary air pump - DIY
- replaced secondary air pump hoses - DIY
- made/replaced spider hose - DIY
And many more things, that are lost in the fog right now.
All the above items were replaced as a result of fault codes being thrown and the car either running light crap, stalling, dying, not starting, or being fixed...running great for a few hundred miles and then throwing codes and having issues again.

The frustration and time spent trying to figure out the ghost in the machine hasn't been worth the times this car has run well.
When it does run, its a great car and my favorite road trip car to date. However, that's like an abused woman saying, when he doesn't hit me, he's the nicest guy in the world and we are happy.
The issue (IMHO) is that one failing part (lets say a cam position sensor) can trigger the ECU to show codes for 6 other things...manifold pressure, throttle, throttle pedal position sensor, turbo pressure, etc. The ECU looks for values from every sensor, so rough idling will throw those values off for multiple areas/components of the motor/system.
Reading the threads should show you that finding the cause of a problem and fixing it (even when taken to the stealer-ship) is more luck and guess work, than strait forward diagnosis and repair.

Save your time and money and get something that won't have you putting in a beer pipeline to your mechanics shop. With the age and miles it has, you will just be playing a waiting game for a cracked vacuum hose, cracking/brittle electrical wires. or some other old failing part to go and the guessing game to begin.

I hope this helps you with your choice.

Litherman1

Thanks for the input. Basically what my mechanic told me,. He offered me his parts car for free as long as I didn't come to him for constant issues. As much as I like a challenge I got that out of my system with my Chevelle. Never traveled anywhere without my tool box.

Thx.

boston allroad

I had an 2004 stick and a now have 2005 auto------ still my favorite car of all time
I do Have a landcruiser that I can drive when the allroad breaks ---- I have replaced air bags but other than that they have been way more reliable than what I heard from other owners of allroads.

MrKid

Not sure where you're located, but I have a 40k rebuilt Tip in southern CT. If the car is that clean, might be worth it.

urs6_ma

Earlier allroads had fragile automatic transmissions. Later allroads have more robust transmissions.

An allroad is not a Toyota Camry...both good and bad. I have put some money into mine...and would do it again, gladly.

That having been said, you can buy a very nice allroad with half the mileage of your candidate in question for $4000. I paid $1700 for mine, with 115000 and some needs.