Audi A4 or Euro Luxury?

[yfin]

I work for Audi and know of only one main concern on that model - multitronic transmission control units.

Alfa's are notorious for electrics

How much does it cost to change the cambelt and water pump on these models? Given that you usually need to remove the complete front end of the car on the VW/Audi for such work (headlights and all) I wouldn't be surprised if your answer is $1500 to $2000 from the Audi dealer.

The Euro would never have such scheduled servicing costs with its chain set up. Advantage Honda.

[yfin]

Are you sure? In my Alfa you had only to remove the front wheel and wheel-well guard to get access to the cambelt. I'd expect access on an Audi to be similar.

That is an Alfa - this is Audi / VW! They make the job very difficult so that dealers do the work at extraordinary costs. Most non dealer mechanics can't even do the cambelt change on these vehicles as special (read expensive) Audi/VW specific tools are required.

[Miz_II_Die_IV]

Hi there, previously i have owned a 2003 Euro Lux. When it first came out. I bought that brand new for 45k. after 2 years i upgraded to a 2005 b7 Audi A4. Tho that wasnt the top mof the range model it was jsut the standard 2.0lt auto. Now i have downgraded back to the Euro in the LUX again but this time an 06. Pretty much explains the situation already. I obviously prefer the Euro. The Audi to me was just becos it was an "AUDI". Compare the 2 with power, luxury i prefer th Euro. I guess the shape of the B7 is nice but thats about it. The body is way to heavy for the power it produced. Very slow. I thought about upgrading it ith a mod chip but it was way to much for very little. Interior, i still liked the Euro better. Much more comfortable, alot more extras. By this i am stating the B7. Correct me if im wrong but the interior of the B7 i much nicer than the B6. (hence it is newer). Oh and obviously to maintain well the Audi was a killer. Will the servicing. Much Much more pricey. I only took the car to audi for service because i was unaware of any other places that are good. (The way i see it is that if i can afford a 40k+ car obivously didnt want to give it to anybody to service it). With the Euro i actually dont take it to Honda but to Hanny's which is a reputable honda service centre. So yeah... Considering i serive my car every 5000k is does do alot of damage to my pockets... LOL... anything else u need to know jsut drop me a line...

T.T ^_^

[curik]

Thats why I said don't get the CVT FWD audis. Get the 1.8T. The 2.0 is just simply rubbish and if you get one it's like stretching yourself beyond what you are capable with. Never ever buy a base model 320i/ C180K Classic/ A4 2.0. The 2.0T is the sweetest one. Servicing the audi at a dealer will be costly, and I recommend you servicing it at an audi specialist.

So the conclusion is, you can only compare a new euro with a USED A4 (B6 or B7). You cannot compare the euro with a new A4. Look at the segments in Car of The Year awards, the A4, 3 series, and C class are put in the "Premium cars", whereas the euro is in the "Medium sedan" classification together with the Mazda 6, Ford Mondeo, and Toyota Camry.

[Exar Kun]

How much does it cost to change the cambelt and water pump on these models? Given that you usually need to remove the complete front end of the car on the VW/Audi for such work (headlights and all) I wouldn't be surprised if your answer is $1500 to $2000 from the Audi dealer.

The Euro would never have such scheduled servicing costs with its chain set up. Advantage Honda.

60,000km timing belt change is typically $1200 from a dealer. Chuck in the water pump, thermostat etc plus the major service that's due at the same time and it's an easy $1500-$1600 from an Audi dealer. An Audi specialist (who I'd much rather take the car to anyway) is around $1000 to $1200 for the lot. Still pricey. The V6 models have longer intervals than the turbos for the big stuff but the turbos are where Audi is at.

All FWD A4s are rubbish. I wouldn't touch them with a 20' pole. As stated before, Quattro is awesome though (real Quattro, not the Haldex setup on the A3).

In terms of quality of Audis. It's true that they weren't so good. And it's only really the B7 that has had them starting to come good in the A4 range. B5s and B6s had a lot of issues with a lot of things. Audi were a long way behind BMW and Merc for reliability until recently. A BMW 3 is a much cheaper used car ownership proposition than a used A4. Of course, the interior on the Audi shits all over the Beemer.

I like the security of a warranty these days although I still miss my old B5 A4 at times. So smooooth.

[IAMVTEC]

The 2.0 A4 is a piece of rubbish(for the money) I've ridden horses that were faster, never seen throttle response so pathetic in my life, worse than Corollas. Tet to the 2.0turbo and then it's interesting but I still prefer the Euro for feel and looks.

[tony1234]

So much$$ and effort for a timing belt change.I wouldnt' touch an Audi either,heard too many horror stories eg.aircon repair $4-5K WTF!rotor replacement at 50K,$1500,that's just bullshit.

[yfin]

Thanks for the factual information.

So much for having to dismantle the entire front end:

"Given that you usually need to remove the complete front end of the car on the VW/Audi for such work (headlights and all)'

Err that is the preferred way to do the job as access to the front of the engine is not easy without moving the front end. See pics of V6 VW Passat cambelt change - I have been told they use the same process on the 1.8T too as it is easier. As you can see bumper off, radiator removed ....

Do you believe it now? It is a ridiculous design.

http://www.volkwerke.com.au/JobGallery/passatcam.html

Volkswagen Passat V6 Cambelts (Timing Belt) require the front end of the car to be pulled forward which requires the front bumper removed. This particular Passat is at the beginning of the re-assembly process, its new cambelt has been fitted.

[tony1234]

What a joke,just for timing belt change.At 60K as well!!

[NeoNode]

Current model VW's say for eg. Golf have like 8 bolts holding the front on, when you remove those bolts, the whole front comes off as one.

[curik]

Its not ridiculous. It's due to the orientation of the engine and little space to replace the belts. All honda engines are transverse except the S2000. But the S2000 is designed for optimal weight distribution hence the engine is pushed back further, which creates a huge space in the engine bay. Whereas the VW and Audi have compact engine bay and squeezing things up in there is quite difficult. But man, every car has its weaknesses. Would this deter you from buying such a car? Just because its something troublesome that requires change every 100K Kms?

[groovetek]

tony... of course there are horror stories... and if one owns a 2nd hand audi and it's no longer under warranty, and takes their car back to audi for repairs they should be shot in the head.

at the same time; audi is very reliable... yes IN THE CASE where something does go wrong, it costs a fortune through audi, but there are many audi specialist mechanics around that don't charge a fortune.

my cambelt major service cost me $700 in parts and labour.

i had new set of rotors and pads put in the car when i bought it, and are in great condition... i bought the car at 120k kms and it's now at 170k... i'm sure the rotors could last another 50k km.

i've only had to repalce 2 things that have gone wrong... and both didn't really "go wrong", they wore out. these things were the steering tie-rod ends, and front right wheel bearing.

oil/filter change is simple. timing belt is every 80k, not 60k.

i don't want to start a debate, but the B6 1.8TQ shits on any euro. period.

interior quality is not even comparable... the use of soft materials rather than plain plastic is like night and day.

i don't have a b6, so i'm not being biased here, but it's in a different league... there is a reason why the B6 1.8TQ's were like $70k , and euro lux's are $40k. the extra $30k goes into the better engine (+ amazing tuning potential), better drivetrain (quattro), better build quality and much better interior.

don't get me wrong, euro is a great car; had i decided to buy a new sedan i woudl have bought one at the time, but in the end i settled for an A4.