Zereldo

Hey, I've started my search for a used Audi Q7 as the winter month approaches. I currently drive a 2015 Jaguar XFS Portfolio that I purchased off of my father and planning on keeping it in the garage as a way to keep it away from the harsh winter month and road salt. I've established that my budget for a winter vehicle allows for a high mileage (140k to 200k+ KM) Audi Q7 ranging from 2007 to 2008 model year.

I've never owned an Audi before and my brief search shows that both the 3.6l FSIand 4.2l FSI are decent at high mileage. What can I expect from these vehicles, in term of reliability, winter performance and maintenance cost?

Fuel economy isn't a major deciding factor, given the 4.2l V8 is all around a better engine compared to the 3.6l V6 variant, then I'd be more than happy to go that route. As far as options go, I'm not spoiled for choice given the budget and prefer a basic model (lower KMs / newer model year) over a well equipped (older model with higher KMs).

My budget is about 8-11k (CAD) depending on bang for buck. In other words, I'd be willing to spend the higher end of my budget to get a vehicle with better equipment/lower KMs/newer year with all major work done as opposed to a cheaper one that may require substantial amount of work.

Owner with either variant of the engine may chime in and share their ownership experience and recommendation regarding my decision to get an Audi Q7 with such a low budget. I am planning on taking all potential purchase to an Audi dealer for Pre-Purcahse inspection (PPI), is there anything else I should look out for? Given the budget, what sort of Q7 should I expect to get in term of condition and mileage? (in Ontario, Canada). I understand the markets vary depending on the region.

Finally, I've also added the Audi A6 (C6) to my search with similar KMs and year ranging from 2007 to 2008 (3.2l FSI & 4.2l FSI). The 2009+ Models with the 3.0 TFSI are out of budget unfortunately.

Any and all help/advice would be deeply appreciated!

Cheers!

not2fast

As with any auto purchase, I would ask what is your top 3 requirements. That will push you in the right direction. That might eliminate the A6 pretty quickly.

I personally would think a Q7 with 3.6L would be underpowered. I think the 4.2L is barely enough.

Zereldo

Thanks for your response. I don't necessarily have any specific requirements, though if I were to push for three.
1) Vehicle reliable enough to not strand me from going to work (co-op).
2) AWD since we get a lot of snow
3) Prefer one with low maintenance cost. Having owned the Jaguar for 1 year (with CPO warranty), I've paid $1.6k out of pocket for basic service and sensor callibration.

I'm leaning towards the Q7 only because I find it decent looking and it being the only Audi I've driven in the past. The ride was smooth and floaty, and something I can appreciate after suffering the stiff ride of the XF on less than ideal roads b/w School and work.

tigerwillow1

I've had a 100k mile 2008 Q7 3.6 for a little over a year. The 3.6 engine has sufficient power, but that's just an opinion and everybody's is different. I have kind of a love-hate relationship with the car. When everything is working right, it's a comfortable, easy to drive, and great handling vehicle. The user interface for the gadgets (i.e. the MMI) is maddening. A $50 radio is much easier to operate, and a $100 portable GPS is tremendously easier to operate, and using them both at the same time is a rocket-scientist job. The automatic windshield wipers were usually doing the opposite of what I wanted. Fortunately the auto feature can be shut off with VCDS. Plan on a good maintenance budget if you don't do most of it DIY. Even an oil change generally runs over $150. If you do go DIY, a VCDS scan tool is a necessity. I've read over and over that the Q7 is very reliable. My experience doesn't agree with that. I'll list what I've needed to do over the year. It's just one piece of data for you:

1. Replaced outside mirror motor (diy, cost $126)
2. Repaired heater flap motor (diy, no cost, took ~4 hours. At mechanic, the labor would be a few hours and you'd be buying a new motor)
3. Fixed leaking sunroof drain (diy, no cost, took a few hours)
4. Transmission leak repaired (at indie mechanic, a little over $1k, not a total loss because fluid change was needed anyway)
5. Lane change assist module failed. Ebay used replacement was reasonable cost. Had to be recoded with VCDS. Calibration was close enough to use as-is. If calibration is needed, it's dealer-only for ~$750 (the few reports I found varied wildly in cost).
6. Cooling system leak where plastic pipe enters back of water pump housing. I'm still keeping an eye on this one.

Zereldo

Thanks for your response! I'd probably end up with a 100k Miles (160K KM) vehicle myself. I would prefer a burly V8 over the V6 though not at the cost of higher maintenance and higher engine component failure rate. The user interface is no biggie in my case, so far I can connect my phone, and play music; a reversing camera would be nice as well, unless it was standard?
The automatic windshield wiper, was it the courtesy wipe that bugged you? or were they malfunctioning? As for the list of things that needed repair and replacing, my only concern is with the drive train (Engine components, transmission) so it's not a compulsory cost I have to incur. In other words, I can live w/o a side view mirror motor going bad, though try and fix it myself when and if able. Cant say the same about engine/transmission. I'll look into various scan tools needed to work on a Audi. As far as the Q7s' image as being a reliable vehicle, a lot of my friends have attested to it being the case.*Fingers crossed*

Was there a particular reason you went for the 2008 model as opposed to an 07? Its common understanding that one should avoid first year production cars as they have kinks and glitches that need taken care of. I'm currently eyeing a 2007 Q7 V8 with 150k KM and a 2008 Q7 V6 with 210k KM, the 2008 is about a grand more expensive. Both according to the advertisement are well taken care off with no accidents or issues as they stand.

Thanks for taking the time to list out all the fixes and costs, it does give me a better idea as to what I can expect to spend maintaining it. Oil change for $150 is a treat compared to $600 I spent on my current vehicle.

tigerwillow1

The wiper issue was with the rain sensor operation. It was always wiping a mostly dry windshield too often, or not wiping a wet one often enough. I like the courtesy wipe. I avoided m.y. 2007 because of the oil pump bolt failure issue with the v6, supposedly fixed for m.y. 2008. Not an issue with the v8. (I specifically wanted the v6.) The v8 uses an Aisin transmission as opposed to the ZF used with the v6. I've heard the leak I had at the electrical connector is very common, but I do not know if that applies to the Aisin box. One thing I can tell you for sure is that the Aisin ATF is a whole lot cheaper than the ZF ATF. Both transmissions have the lousy fill the ATF from the bottom with the engine running procedure, and no way to check the ATF level.

Zereldo

Noted. I am familiar with ZF transmission, though never heard of "ATF" before (the more I know). There is a lot I'm missing then, and need to catch up on my research as I'm due to test drive both Q7s mentioned above in about a week. From the sound of it, I should avoid an 07 V6 for good measure; however, do you reckon the "oil pump bolt failure" would've been/can be fixeds under a recall? Or there never was one? I ask this since majority of the low KM Q7s are 07 V6s.
Finally, would an Audi tech be able to tell if either the ZF or ATF suffered through/or is prone to a leak during PPI?

Zereldo

Has anyone cross shopped b/w a used first gen Audi Q7 and first gen face lifted Porsche Cayenne V6?
As far as I know, they share the same platform with subtle differences. Is the 3.6l V6 the same found in the Audi Q7? Transmission? This may not be the best place to ask this, though appreciate any input.

tigerwillow1

ATF = Automatic transmission fluid. Audi says it's a lifetime fill. Most sane people don't believe it and would say it should be changed in a 100,000 mile car.

As far as a recall goes, if you search for "vw oil pump bolt failure" or "audi oil pump bolt failure", you'll find a lot of people that say it should have had a recall. But it didn't. A preventative fix is very expensive because the trans has to come out, possibly the engine, too. If it actually fails, there's a good chance the engine is destroyed. When I was looking, I considered the 2007 v6 to be a ticking time bomb. I'd expect the Cayenne v6 to have the same oil pump bolt. I don't know which transmission you'd find in the Cayenne. The Touareg I believe continued with the Aisin 6 speed after Audi switched to ZF. All of the 8 speeds boxes in vag cars, I believe, are ZF.

One place to start reading about the oil pump bolt is here: 3.6 Oil Bolt Failure: Reference Material .

Zereldo

Understood, I mixed up ATF with Aisin, thinking ATF was a form of transmission unit. I'll be avoiding an 07 V6 for sure then, especially high mileage ones. Do you know when Audi switched over to 8 Speed ZF in both V6 and V8 Q7? Not necessarily relevant to my search since I cant afford models past 2009 anyway, just curious. Didn't find anything on the Cayenne having any issues with oil pump bolt. Thanks again, i'm taking note of all the concerns and potential issues and will be discussing it with my mechanic.