2006 AUDI A6

Most Luxurious 98,000 mile life disposable car

Comfort Rating: 2 Performance Rating: 2 Interior Rating: 1 Reliability Rating: 1 Safety Rating: 2 Technology Rating: 1 Value Rating: 1

Ok, well we loved this car, then hate this car, then love this car, and so on... It all comes down to reasonable and prudent reliability and quality of materials. This was a 24000 mile pre-owned Audi certified car we purchased. Driven lightly for the last 5-6 years, garage kept 1/2-2/3 of the time owned. What's good? Performance, feel, and overall car experience were favorable. Fuel economy is outstanding, especially highway. Car has generally been trouble free, or so I thought (see What's Bad). What's Bad? Where to start. 1) Service intervals - we have had this into Audi every 10K per suggested and every time we leave with no less than a $400 bill gone for what I would have normally thought was a Jiffy Lube type $65 event. They ALWAYS find something wrong that needs to be fixed or replaced, or updated - and being a good Audi owner I comply since I want my Audi to be in top shape all the time. 2) Absolutely $%## poor quality of materials on interior knobs, dials, and trim. Just google it and you will see lots of people with delaminated interior trim. Audi chooses to turn the other way though and does not recall this to fix an obvious mfg defect. Its a calculated risk for them I assume thinking not enough care - I do and on this alone, I will never buy Audi again. I tried to sell my car (which is otherwise in great shape) and everyone was turned off by paint peeling off of the various knobs and dials. 3) Power Steering - Developed a leak at 65K miles. Too expensive to repair on my quickly depreciating car - no return on investment there, so just keep adding the $30/pint Audi fluid as need be. 4) Oil Use - uses about 1 US Quart of $8 synthetic oil every 4K miles. No matter what they say, this seems excessive. My Ford Explorer had 200K and used 1/3 of that. 5) Technology - Even in 2006, simple things like AUX jacks should be available. There is no way to connect a device other than Radio Frequency Module - which suck. My 2002 Corolla was better than that. 6) Navigation is ok, not great. Its so outdated and Audi wants you to pay $300+ for their map update CDs....residual income for them I guess. 7) Battery - The $180 battery that goes with this only makes it about 12-14 months then dies. Get a good one with a warranty since you will be using it A LOT. 8) And now for the 95,000 interval (I had to wait to 98,000...shame on me). Remember that the car has been factory serviced every 10K since 24K miles.... 8a) Windshield washer pump was shorted out $400 - had to fix this since its a safety item. 8b) windshield washer blades - there are no auto store or aftermarklets available. Audi must provide these @ $60. 8c) Oil and filter change @ $400. Up to $800 now. 8d) take a guess...bad battery $180 (I declined since mine is Autozone and under warranty). 8e) Motor mounts are bad (huh?) - $1300 - I declined. 8f) Adaptive headlight sensor error - must remove front end to check it $1200 (for a light that is still shining? LOL) - I declined. 8g) Rear brake light error - tech tried to check this but the lens covers were too brittle. New ones cost $1200 - again LOL - I declined. 8h) Front end bushings need replaced - $1800 - I declined. 8i) Oil leak noticed around timing and valve cover - $1500 - I declined. I stop them here. This $6,500 car is way past its service life at 98,000 miles. Didn't even make it to 100K - wow for a $65K automobile. I share my experience with the first person I see who I knew had a A3 with 50,000 miles on it. They just traded theirs in after their service call quoted them thousands of dollars in very similar repairs and failures. Different dealership, different auto groups so no suspicion there. I assume its just a fact that an Audi is disposable ($0 value) after 8-10 years or 50-90K miles. Well, I hear scrap metal is $3/100 pounds so there is that.....