Audi - keep up very expensive?

All cars are expensive to maintain these days... Whoever said a major Mercedes service (B Service) costs R800-R900 is smoking some strong stuff. (Or maybe that's on the service plan?) I've had 2 of those done so far and they were R5000 and R9000 respectively. An "A" service is about R2-3k. That said, I used to have a Jetta and even a small service on that was never below R4000 either. Mercedes parts are some of the cheapest I've seen (cost R1200 for an alternator a few years ago, vs a few grand (I think R4000) for a Toyota), but their labour rates make up the difference. Volkswagen, Toyota etc. tend to charge insane prices for parts but their labour is a lot cheaper. A colleague recently had a major service done (including replacing a cambelt) to his Land Cruiser and it was just under R11k.

With especially German luxury cars with lots of electronics, sensors, computers etc. it's best to go to the dealers since they know what they're doing and what to look for. Don't know about Audi's but with Mercedes dealerships you get fantastic service as well, and if they didn't fix your issues they will get it sorted without charging more and telling you sob stories. As others have said though, it's much cheaper with a service plan on a new car. Of course, then you're paying a few thousand every month for years on end anyways... :D
 
froot said:
@ Derrick

Phoned a private service dept last year (specialising in Merc but does other cars too) and the Merc dealer actually ended up being cheaper. Problem is at times that they have to buy the parts from the dealers....
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On the odd occasion dealers will be cheaper, but I'm willing to bet that those times are few and far between. But yes, if even private guys need to go through the dealer you might as well use them (well depending on labour charge).

Cerebus - The second one you linked... Too much mileage and Turbo, not a good combo IMHO. It might be good for another 100,000kms...but I really do doubt it.

The first one looks like a good deal, but it's an auto so it will be heavy on juice especially around town. I bought my current Audi at highish mileage (in my case 175,000 i think) and if given the opportunity I'd do it again because I've been lucky. However an auto station wagon with 193000kms wouldn't be my first choice.
 
@TJ99

Paid R1100 for an alternator in November.
Labour was R600/hour, which is the same as I paid at a private service dept last year for another car.
 
I must have a very different mercedes.. because the "B" service on my mercedes is an oil change and filter change... if someone told me that would cost R2k I'd tell them to get stuffed....
 
I'd be wary of buying a decade-old high(er)-end car, simply because the things that will start going wrong because of age will invariably cost you a whack. Take the Beemer we sold recently as an example: a 2000 523i in stunning condition. The ABS control module packed up, which knocks out your traction control and ABS (obviously). It's a little black Bosch-branded box with a teeny PC board and 8 solenoids that costs... wait for it... R10k. Near 20% of the car's value in a single component...

My advice would be to lower your sights and look for a suitable 3-5 year old car.
 
B.O.F.H. said:
I must have a very different mercedes.. because the "B" service on my mercedes is an oil change and filter change... if someone told me that would cost R2k I'd tell them to get stuffed....
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Filters, oil, think two brake pads and sparkplugs. Can't remember if there was more.
The service itself was R1k. The parts and respective labour was R1900.
 
froot said:
Filters, oil, think two brake pads and sparkplugs. Can't remember if there was more.
The service itself was R1k. The parts and respective labour was R1900.
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Ok, that makes more sense.. according to the book though its just Oil and Oil Filter...

Plus I did my brakes 3 weeks ago anyway....
 
froot said:
@TJ99

Paid R1100 for an alternator in November.
Labour was R600/hour, which is the same as I paid at a private service dept last year for another car.
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Oh ok.. see, parts are cheap. Both dealerships I use have labour costs allocated by the item of work they do, not by how long it takes. For example "remove 4 wheels" is a fixed cost, "replace aircon filter" another. I never even know how many hours it took them, the invoicing system just has a code that the service advisor punches in based on the work done.

B.O.F.H - it's a little more than that, here's a more complete list. http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w208-clk-class/1247706-service-b-service.html

Bear in mind that about every 2nd service they also replace some brake pads etc, if you don't do all 4 at once.
 
TJ99 said:
Oh ok.. see, parts are cheap. Both dealerships I use have labour costs allocated by the item of work they do, not by how long it takes. For example "remove 4 wheels" is a fixed cost, "replace aircon filter" another. I never even know how many hours it took them, the invoicing system just has a code that the service advisor punches in based on the work done.

B.O.F.H - it's a little more than that, here's a more complete list. http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w208-clk-class/1247706-service-b-service.html

Bear in mind that about every 2nd service they also replace some brake pads etc, if you don't do all 4 at once.
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Yup. They have labor at Rx/hour, and then they have "time units @ 15min" allocated. At the end of the day I suspect they have a standard time allocation per action.

Cereberus, at the end of the day you can pretty much look at the Mercedes info above to closely estimate Audi services, as there are really very little differences between them (not 100% accurate, but pretty much).

I just replace the bulbs (headlamp/fogs/brakes) myself, it costs me R15 and 5min where a dealer will charge you around R120-R200 :D
 
ChilliGirl said:
any of the nicer vehicles are expensive to maintain.

Make sure you get a good say 5 year motorplan & then sell it just before that's over & get another one...
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And how much does that cost you in terms of depreciation and interest if you're financing? My calcs on my car show it's always cheaper to drive a car until it dies, even the nicer vehicles. Motorplan isn't saving you money, even if your service sets you back thousands of rands.
 
froot said:
I just replace the bulbs (headlamp/fogs/brakes) myself, it costs me R15 and 5min where a dealer will charge you around R120-R200 :D
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Learned this the hard way too. The bulbs for the rear lights, even from the Merc dealer, are about R20-30 each. Then a few hundred for labour to install. I wouldn't recommend mucking around with the ESP/ABS system or the airbags yourself though...

Edit: fastesthamster, completely agree. It's madness to buy a new car at SA prices, especially on finance. I'm actually surprised how many people do it. If you can afford it cash, you'll still obviously lose massive amounts on depreciation, but not as much. Buying an older, nice car will be cheaper and usually give you a better experience than some brand-new plastic box built by 9-year olds in Korea or Malaysia or wherever.
 
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fastesthamster said:
Motorplan isn't saving you money, even if your service sets you back thousands of rands.
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How do you get to that? The 120-150k motorplan extension would have cost us R10k.
The B and A services in that period cost us R16000, which would have been fully covered both services.

TJ99 said:
Learned this the hard way too. The bulbs for the rear lights, even from the Merc dealer, are about R20-30 each. Then a few hundred for labour to install. I wouldn't recommend mucking around with the ESP/ABS system or the airbags yourself though...
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:D
Only time I ever had them replace a bulb (lately) was when there was a busted wire. Then they replaced my working bulb :(
Yeah you don't play around with the fancy tech, generally only the dealers know how to work with those....
 
cerebus said:
We are have been looking into getting the Audi Avant(station wagon) due to family needs. BUT, we keep hearing that the Audi is so expensive to maintain. Is that correct, and such a big deal? We have been seeing so many beautiful Audi's second hand, and would just love one! Thanks!
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Is it the Audi 1.8T 140kw? Red T
If it is and you have no mechanical knowledge dont buy it.

Its not VERY expensive to maintain if you know how, Goldwagen has most parts for it.
 
HapticSimian said:
I'd be wary of buying a decade-old high(er)-end car, simply because the things that will start going wrong because of age will invariably cost you a whack. Take the Beemer we sold recently as an example: a 2000 523i in stunning condition. The ABS control module packed up, which knocks out your traction control and ABS (obviously). It's a little black Bosch-branded box with a teeny PC board and 8 solenoids that costs... wait for it... R10k. Near 20% of the car's value in a single component...

My advice would be to lower your sights and look for a suitable 3-5 year old car.
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...and that is exactly why I got rid of my Audi and got myself a Uno that's not only super cheap to maintain myself, but also fuel efficient. Modern cars have to many things that can go wrong with them and are expensive to get fixed.

Sent from a galaxy far, far away...
 
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TDI... I'd at the very least get it checked out by a mechanic first....
 
B.O.F.H. said:
TDI... I'd at the very least get it checked out by a mechanic first....
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+1. Have a mechanic looksie at the important bits. You don't want nasties popping up in the future because you didn't see it.

My sister has the Golf version of that Audi and it runs like a dream. Got around 150'000 on the clock.
 
Buy a new one, I bought my 3rd Audi in August, don't think I'll ever buy anything else
 
B.O.F.H. said:
TDI... I'd at the very least get it checked out by a mechanic first....
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+1

Not my first choice of car, though I don't like old, high mileage diesels so don't pay too much attention to me.
 
froot said:
How do you get to that? The 120-150k motorplan extension would have cost us R10k.
The B and A services in that period cost us R16000, which would have been fully covered both services.
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I'm referring to buying new cars every five years just so that you're covered by Motorplan.
 
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