Used Audi Q5 What to look for
 

Hi everyone, New to the Audi scene but looks like a nice vehicle. The one I'm looking at is an 09 Q5 3.2 Quatro premium. It has 121,396 miles. Any advice on what to check or look out for would be greatly appreciated. I will probably go test drive it on Saturday. Thanks in advance, Steve

I would be looking for an extended warranty. LOL

Yeah I would bring it to a solid Audi or German shop and get a full Pre Purchase Inspection. Test drives and Carfax are just tip of the iceberg.

A year ago I bought a 2011 3.2 Premium Plus with 104,000 miles. Warranty for drivetrain and electric was also purchased. Have not needed to use it. Car has been solid for 14k miles.

Make sure to check the sunroof works properly, and all the other electronic bits. Brakes can be expensive so make sure the pads have plenty of wear left on them before purchase, or work with seller for replacement.

My car threw a check engine light once, I found I had a faulty coil pack. It was a cheap fix and from what I read this is somewhat common on Audis.

The direct injection design of the engine can cause carbon build up so make sure to use a fuel system cleaner like Chevron Techron every 8 weeks to help keep the injectors running smoothly. Also would be good to purchase an OBD II scan tool to help diagnose any issues without a trip to the dealer.

Sorry for the long rant. Good luck!

Me, I would never buy a Audi, BMW, MB with 100k but that's just me.

120k+ miles, and I'd say you'd want to know that all the transmission and differential fluids and brake fluid were changed. The brakes multiple times. The 2009 IIRC had oil consumption and other issues, some addressed by factory programs, others possibly not done. You'd want to pull the list of programs and recalls and make sure all have been applied to the car. And as others said, WARRANTY because Audi's can get expensive. I have no intention of keeping mine for that long--and that's knowing it is getting all maintenance.

I bought a '10 recently and found the following defects:

Sunroof drains leaked (check rear corners of headliner for water stains)
Parking module faulty (remove right-side access panel in cargo area and inspect for water damage (sunroof drains again))
No heat at idle (replaced aux coolant pump)
No A/C (not fixed yet)
Faulty drivers door lock (replaced lock actuator module)
Faulty A/C pressure temperature sensor (replaced sensor)
etc

In short, be prepared. Scan with VCDS before you buy. If you have your heart set on an Audi and know you're going to buy one, just go ahead and buy VCDS first. That way you can take it with you and scan all the cars you look at before you buy them! Wish I'd thought to do that, but if I had, I probably wouldn't have bought this Q5. It's pretty good now though after I fixed most of that stuff.

Hey, I'll sell ya my 14 SQ5!

Thanks for the input guys! Didn't really like the one I looked at but there is another one in town that has 85,800 on it. Asking 13K for it. 2.0T engine. Anything particular to watch out for on the 2.0? Thanks again!

Look out for not as much fun! I wouldn't hurry as more and more 16's will be coming of their lease and into the market.

Depends very much on the year. IIRC the 2.0t for 2009-2012 had a number of recalls and programs involving oil consumption and timing (chains? tensioners?) so there may or may not have been repairs done, or to be concerned about.