I'm looking for a Q7 for a second car/ fun toy/ road trip machine.....Which Q7 would you buy?
Both have solid Carfaxes, with a very good lineage of maintenance at Audi dealers…

1) 2013 Q7 Quattro 3.0T premium plus. 106k miles.
Good maintenance record. 1 owner for the majority of miles (101k out of 106k)
Carfax shows in the last year front pads and rotors done/ engine timing /front cover gasket replaced/ water pump replaced. This was in the last 2000 miles.
Price is $10k

2) 2015 Q7 Quattro 3.0T premium plus. 89k miles
Very minor damage in 2018 to front passenger side. Looks fine on visual inspection.
1 owner for most all miles. All service done at Audi dealer. Rear pads/ rotors replaced at 78k. No other “major” work noted.
Price is $13,500.

I’m sort of leaning towards the 13 because it had the timing/gasket and water pump replaced. The miles don’t scare me, and I’m pretty good about keeping up with maintenance.
Thoughts?

 

I recently bought a Q7 to use as a workhorse. Lots of long-distance towing, loading up with work equipment, etc. It’s also useful as an occasional 7-seater.

My main car is an A6 Allroad. It’s slightly newer but basically same generation (which is useful because both cars are really similar to operate). I’ve owned the Allroad for around 10 years. I’ll probably get 3 or 4 years out of the Q7 and then if it has met expectations I will get another.

In comparison, the Allroad is much more fun to drive, a better road-trip car, more refined, the Bose in the Allroad is better, the ZF gearbox is much smoother. But the Q7 has features that the Allroad does not (higher towing capacity, fold flat seats and greater interior volume). The Q7 seems to suffer many more common issues and the build quality is markedly worse than the Allroad.

I chose the 3.0tdi Q7 because my Allroad has basically the same engine and it’s excellent. The 4.2tdi was a serious contender but in the UK they’re much rarer so less choice, they’re slightly more expensive, and adding the extra pair of cylinders makes access to the front of the engine much tighter. The 3.0tfsi is turning out to be a problematic engine at higher miles. Look for “VAG Technic” on youtube.

Audi makes some really nice cars but fun isn’t their strong point (another Bavarian manufacturer does this better) and across the Audi range the Q7 is probably one of the least fun. For similar size, an S8 would be way more fun and a better mile-muncher.

S-Line spec on the Q7 gives more supportive front seats. The 3-spoke wheel is ergonomically better but heating was not an option. Panoramic roof is lovely but leaks are common and wreak havoc with various electrical systems. The Bose stereo isn’t the best so I question how bad the non-Bose system sounds. Adaptive cruise control is a great feature for long trips. Air suspension is not the nightmare the scaremongers say it is, but poor diagnostics can make repairs expensive and frustrating.

There’s so little to choose between the two on your radar that I would scrutinise specification and then things like seat condition, wheel condition, brand and wear on tyres, etc. Look in spare wheel well for evidence of leaks. Make sure everything works. Check underneath for corrosion and oil. Because they both have the same engine, it should be easy to identify which is in better health just from sound, performance and appearance. Similarly, it will be clear by comparison if one has an unhappy transmission.

For similar money, and with a bit of searching, there’s probably a pristine gasoline 4.2 V8 out there.

 

The thing about the 3.0T engine is that you need to watch some video on what parts go south and when, as there are several items below the supercharger that all should be replaced when the S/C comes off the car, as well as the S/C oil being changed out, etc.

One of the bigger issues is owners who follow the (too long) extended Audi oil intervals typically begin to see oil consumption issues around this mileage point as relates to the low-tension piston rings used on these engines. Oil changes should be performed between 5k miles and 6500k miles, depending on how vehicle is used/driven. Owners who use the shorter/severe use oil change schedule don't have issues with early failures or increasing oil consumption from trapped/captured piston rings.

Be sure you get a pre-purchase inspection (PPI) performed on any Q7 or used Audi you interested in...it'll be well worth the cost to know exactly what you are getting yourself into, as the service records don't tell the whole story. For example, Audi does not change/service any of the driveline lubricants...EVER, so the fact it has always been Audi serviced means the oil was changed (at overly long intervals) and the brake fluid got changed every few years, coolant every five years, etc., and of course Audi upsells brakes replacements and whatever else they can think of or make up. The oil change intervals and the driveline lack of service and a strong PPI is what you want to pay attention to. Ask good questions regards to oil intervals and if the driveline (front/rear diffs/transfer case/transmission) ever got serviced, as Audi didn't change those.

I'd suggest a TDI variant, but that's a whole other skills/knowledge set. They do, however get much better fuel economy than the gas engine, tow effortlessly, love long distance road trips, and are very tune-able. Added a set of AT tires to mine and drove it through 20" fresh snow, and with the tuned ECU, yeah, it's major fun and perky too. If you stick to street performance tires you are missing out on a lot of capability with the Q7, regardless of engine choice.

 

Can you find out more detail on what exactly was done for the timing service on the '13. I would want to know where the service was performed and whether they only replaced the tensioners or if it was more extensive. Also, never buy a used audi or VW without doing an OBD 11 scan first.

 

yeah, but seller could of reset the codes as well prior to sale, like it happened to me.

 

If I was looking for a road trip car, I would definitely be looking at a TDI. The 3.0T just sucks down the fuel, and, really, this car has the interior/cargo space of a full-size sedan. So, why would I want to take a 50% fuel economy penalty when I could instead get something like a Lincoln Continental (or pick any other full size) that will give me just as much space? The TDI will give you 28-30 mpg pretty consistently if you're not hauling anything overhead or towed, but you can also add a cargo tray for more space and no penalty to economy. Granted, any of these cars are going to present maintenance issues either through age, mileage, neglect, or some combination of those. But, if you're looking to buy a car of this age and mileage, then you are also signing on for the added maintenance load.

I 100% agree that the drivetrain fluids are going to be your first hurdle. At 100K, a vehicle that was not a city roamer and didn't tow is likely not going to suffer long-term damage from original fluids, but use history matters on that.