Cost of Ownership of an Audi

promethius

Is the cost of ownership of an Audi (A4 for example) rank in relation to say Mercedes, BMW, Volkswagen, Toyota & Honda?
I’m thinking things like timing belts, brakes, labour etc for a car from the late nineties early noughties.
Thanks!!

mike65

Main service items are pretty much of a muchness, your main concern should where you buy the parts - Audi main dealers are not cheap but there are several alternatives
GSF, Otto Parts, German Car Parts, Eurocarparts, AVS Car Parts etc.

Mike.

promethius

thanks mike, in general i've heard bmw and merc are very expensive to run, would you put audi up there with them or are they more in the volkswagen cost bracket?

Seth Brundle

I would put them alongside a VW given that many components are the same. However, are they that much more than BMW/Merc? I don't know. My 523i doesn't really cost much and I do much of whats needed myself.
Audis have a nasty timing belt charge which newer BMWs don't! It will largely depend on your final choice of car - some are very relaible whilst others will have something go every week.

ArseBurger

kbannon wrote: »

Audis have a nasty timing belt charge

Not really. I had an OEM belt done on a 2003 A4 for €200 including man hours. It all depends what garage you use - as with any car. If you use a dealer you're always gonna get screwed irrelevant of German manufacturer.

Terrontress

You could get the car serviced in a VW or Skoda garage as most of the parts on the common or garden engines are the same.

Phone up P&R Motors in Newry and ask them for their service price. Then phone Foster Motor Co.

The difference will shock you.

Plug

kbannon wrote: »

I would put them alongside a VW given that many components are the same. However, are they that much more than BMW/Merc? I don't know.

The parts come in the same boxes aswel for audi, VW, Skoda and Seat.
No different from mercs or Beamers except for the likes of the RS4 and big models.
I hear BMW in Waterford cost between €120 and €150 an hour for labour, anyone know if this is true?

Seth Brundle

ArseBurger wrote: »

Not really. I had an OEM belt done on a 2003 A4 for €200 including man hours. It all depends what garage you use - as with any car. If you use a dealer you're always gonna get screwed irrelevant of German manufacturer.

Grand so - I was of the belief that they were quite time consuming.

Stephen

Plug wrote: »

The parts come in the same boxes aswel for audi, VW, Skoda and Seat.
No different from mercs or Beamers except for the likes of the RS4 and big models.
I hear BMW in Waterford cost between €120 and €150 an hour for labour, anyone know if this is true?

Sounds about right. When my father had a 3 series he got it serviced there once and swore to never go back. From then on he used an independent garage in Kilkenny and had no problems whatsoever.

Seth Brundle

I don't know about waterford rates but for a main dealer esp. BMW €120 to €150 is 'reasonable'. I would not use a main dealer for my car - based on experience an apprentice 'does' the work.

-Chris-

Afaik, in terms of warranty, it's far more important to use official parts than to have the car repaired at a franchised dealer.

That being said, there are often software updates and non-safety related "recalls" that aren't notified to the driver, rather just done when the car is in the garage. If you get your car serviced with an independent you won't have this support.

JHMEG

Stephen wrote: »

Sounds about right. When my father had a 3 series he got it serviced there once and swore to never go back.

+1.

My father-in-law had a BMW, a 520, and used to get it serviced there. All I can say is disaster zone, and stay away. All the problems, both car and dealer, went away when he got an Avensis.