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View Full Version : Please Help 2005-2007 A4 Avant Quattro



dvoodoo
08-03-2011, 01:08 AM
I have been looking to get myself my first Audi over the last month or so and have pretty much settled on getting myself the A4 Avant Quattro, I do a lot of skiing and Mountain Biking hence the Avant quattro being the sensible option for me http://www.audifans.net/modules/Forums/images/smiles/smile.gif

question i have is around the expected maintenance budgets and key things to consider when going to view one and also what to expect over the coming years. There are a few decent ones about with mixed mileage from 60k to 100k within the sort of price bracket that I want to spend.

I have heard some horror stories about the maintenance costs and was quotted 2900 per annum for the extended warranty on a 55 plate 3.0 avant quattro which seemed excessive as the similar warranty on a similar age of M3 was less than a 1/3 of that. Which has alarm bells going for what to expect the annual costs to be. I am pretty flexible when it comes to petrol v diesel and 2.0 or 3.0 however my preference has been for the 3.0 diesel so far.

Any guidance on things to look out for and also a idea of what to budget for annual maintenance (excluding the unknowns which i can imagine its how long is a piece of string) would be greatly appreciated.

mikeybutch
09-03-2011, 08:59 PM
I think most prefer the 2.0TDI as the costs are lower but it has a cambelt and the 3.0TDI is chain driven.We run 2 2.5TDI quattros and spend less than £1000 pa on each but nothing major has gone wrong

keemaklan
10-03-2011, 09:03 PM
How much have you got to spend?

The 2.0 Tdi's come in 140 or 170 bhp lumps.

The 140 being the more economical version, with not much to go wrong (except the BLB engine)

The 170 being more powerful out of the two, but it has a DPF which scares a lot of people away who don't do lots of motorway miles, its less economical but has better power and a cool twin exhaust to go with it.

The 3.0 Tdi's are excellent power machines with effortless amounts of torque. They come with DPF's also but do very acceptable levels of economy for such a powerful car. Hopefully the 3l crew will pop along soon to tell you how good they are!


Quattro + 3.0 TDI remapped will be pretty damn nippy.

s-express
10-03-2011, 09:25 PM
as a new 3.0 tdi owner and a speed freak, I was intending on getting it remapped straight away. however, those plans are on hold as it really does shift, and sounds nice too!
Torque is totally effortless - me likey

mini-mad-matt
10-03-2011, 09:45 PM
I love my 170, but beware of the crap economy that it delivers. Also the dreaded injector problem. I Sometimes wish that I'd gone for the 3.0. By the way, with you saying you would like a Quattro, I'm pretty sure you can't get the Quattro in the 140 diesel in a B7.
Cheers

Road Rocket
11-03-2011, 01:23 PM
I've owned a 3.0TDI A4 Avant (B7) for over a year now and can only say this is the best car I've had. Although it is very quick as standard I had it remapped by SharkPerformance and it is now just awesome. The thing that makes all the difference is the massive torque coupled with the quatrro drive. The V6 engine is one of the best in its class - exceptionally powerful, smooth and quiet, very different from the 2.0TDI which, although good, "in comparison" to the V6 sounds almost agricultural.


I never bother with warranties as most are not worth the paper they are written on. Save the money for anything that goes wrong. The only things to go wrong with mine was I required new reprogrammed keys and just recently had the glow plugs and battery replaced but at 85,000 miles that's not too bad. Running costs are reasonable for an engine this size (around 30 - 35mpg if driven briskly) I get slightly less because I just love the exhilerating acceleration etc. These Audis are not as frugal on fuel as BMW similar model diesels - although the beemers are absolute crap in snow and ice.

I change wheels each spring and autumn between summer and winter tyres because living rural in the Pennine hills the winter tyres make a big difference. If you intend visiting the snowy hills for skiing I suggest winter tyres will give you maximum traction.

Mike2.0TQ
11-03-2011, 08:02 PM
Hi,

How many miles do you do - no-one has mentioned the petrol options available to you and you haven't necessarily said you want a diesel?

I originally had my heart set on a 3.0TDI but due to the cost of them to buy and given the miles I do it was more practical to get a 2.0TFSI, not sure what the real world performance differences are but I expect that they are similar?

We bought extended warranty on our (It is a Quattro) and it was 320 quid or there-abouts.

Mike.

dvoodoo
11-03-2011, 10:19 PM
Hi,

How many miles do you do - no-one has mentioned the petrol options available to you and you haven't necessarily said you want a diesel?

I originally had my heart set on a 3.0TDI but due to the cost of them to buy and given the miles I do it was more practical to get a 2.0TFSI, not sure what the real world performance differences are but I expect that they are similar?

We bought extended warranty on our (It is a Quattro) and it was 320 quid or there-abouts.

Mike.

Yea I was tempted by the Petrol version also but had heard so many good stories about the 3.0 TDI i was tempted to just go for that. Average annual mileage is about 15k however this is likely to be more next year with a few alpine trips planned. The key thing is the quattro and avant as needed for snow and space. The other thing I am not sure about is to go auto or manual, was planning manual as heard some bad stories about getting the auto moving in snow but also read there are ways to get around this also.

Road Rocket
11-03-2011, 11:57 PM
"The other thing I am not sure about is to go auto or manual, was planning manual as heard some bad stories about getting the auto moving in snow but also read there are ways to get around this also."

I have the auto 3.0TDI and have never heard of or experienced any problem getting going in the snow. As I live high in the Pennines at the bottom of a steep lane I can claim experience in getting out of severe drifts this winter and can only say nothing stopped the quattro combined with winter tyres even on quite deep snow and ice. And if you're that worried about the auto consider that it has Tiptronic so you can revert to semi-manual if you want - I've never needed to do so even in the most severe conditions.

But there's the rub - WINTER TYRES!! They will succeed where summer tyres will spin even with 4WD. That's where so many drivers go wrong, they think that 4WD will work on any slippery surface but it's just not so. A 2WD fitted with winter tyres in many cases will out-class a 4WD with summer tyres. It's not just the tyre tread but the hardness of the rubber that renders summer tyres poor in low temperatures and especially on snow and ice.