I'm thinking about buying a 2005 allroad 2.7 with 37,000 miles. I love the looks and the way the car drives and feels but am worried about the cost of maint and repairs. Can anybody inform me of your experience with this vehicle. Turbos,air suspension,things of that nature. Also any experiences with the Audi pre-owned certified warranty program. What does it cover? Thanks in advance.

 

CPO covers all repairs but not maintenance or wear & tear. Clink on "Audi Certified Warranty eBrochure" in the link:

http://www.audiusa.com/audi/us/en2/Certified_Audi.html

As far as the turbo's go, I think in 02 or 03 they beefed up an oil line to resolve an issue with them, and that seems to have resolved it. Another big issue is the torque converter, which they resolved with a different seal at some point, which should definitely be in place in an 05. The air springs do go out at some point (mine haven't yet at 84k) which can get pricey.

Do a search on these issues to get some ideas on costs & frequency. Probably the newer the year the better reliability wise, so an 05 should be a safer bet.

Personally, I've done OK, the only significant issues I've had are the torque converter (failed when I drove home from the dealer!) and the compressor for the air suspension, but both were covered by the CPO. I've got an 03 with 84k, had it since 52k.

It's a great car and does it all, but cost of ownership is up there. Then again, prices are so low now it kind of offsets that cost, if you look at it that way.

 

It's a marketing program for the dealers, many of whom reportedly do nothing much to bring cars up to CPO specifications before "certifying" them - figuring anything broke will fall under warranty, anything worn is your problem.
Don't buy a retailer's car without a thorough check like it's from any stranger: CV boots (not covered under CPO, some report), prop shaft seals, cam adjuster/cover gaskets, brake pads/rotors, tire condition (make a dealer give you any tire that does not sale "allroad" on it as a condition of sale!) - all these you need to have checked, plus usual body integrity and such.
Word to the wise, and it's what this forum does best for the community.

 

An '05 with low miles is a beautiful thing. I may be the only one, but my '04 has only had oil and tires for 70k. Most reliable car I've ever had so far.

Repairs can be breathtakingly costly. Turbos, suspension are big areas to be wary of. Great car, nothing comes close to being as versatile. Long trips are a particular pleasure, but mine is a daily driver.

 

CPO used ot be good, as the dealers would spend serious money doing closest scheduled maintenance, tires, brakes, betls, fluids, etc to "prep" the car for CPO.

Now they do almost nothing.....except charge $2500 for 2-year CPO and bill Audi back for problems they should have caught when certifying it. And YOU get to pay for maintenance/wear items they should have replaced as part of certification.

Bruce

 

My CPO was 6yrs/100k. The 6 yrs. starts from the 1st day in service, so a Sept. '04 in service date would give you a little over 2 years left. It could easily only reach 65k miles before the warranty runs out, then become very expensive.

We bought our '01 in May '04 @ 26k miles for $ 31k. Warranty ran out last April @ ~ 72k. CPO was a minor benefit, but CV joints/boots were considered "normal wear" at 48k. $ 1k repair. Alternator died 3 months after 6 year mark at $ 75k. $ 1k if done at dealer. And then there are tires. Figure 20k per set at best, even if you avoid the Audi spec'd allroad tires.

Now @ 82k, the air susp. bags blew. I posted about this last week and will do a followup. Audi did supply the $ 1,500 parts for free; we paid $ 700 labor. HOWEVER, now the dealer estimate for repairs/maint. is $ 9,100!!! Torque Converter $ 3k, 80k service $2k. Add a couple of seals, Aux coolant pump and bushings/tie rod ends and voila: $ 9,100.

We have loved this car but maintenance & repairs have gotten ridiculous - worse than any Alfa Romeo I ever owned. NO car should need over $ 14k in maint./repairs (and $ 25k depreciation) going from 26k miles to 82k miles. Carmax offered $ 5,500, dealer offered $ 8,500 on trade towards overpriced Passat. Can't ethically sell to an individual with the TC problem. And cosmetically the AR is great!

My '99 540iT Sport (93k miles) has cost a fraction of the AR's cost and has very few problems now.