4 years / 25,000 mile running costs

[Capt Ric]

I though it might be helpful, especially for those considering buying one of these cars to share my experience.
It may or may not be typical, and many of the available cars now are modified and have higher mileage.
I was somewhat daunted by the horror stories, especially DRC and gearboxes, but it need not be too horrific, but they are not cheap to run.
I spent a lot of time looking for one, had a couple inspected & rejected before deciding on this one which at the time was on 29,000 miles and appeared all good.
I made the mistake of not getting it inspected and did not spot the worn bushes & it developed a water leak from water pump & leaking front DRC within 6 months resulting in unexpected expense.
These were maintenance issues, rather than reliability and since then has been mostly good with the only failure being a brake booster valve (£22 part but lots of labour), A/C compressor, battery and radiator replacement.
My parts total includes winter wheels & tyres, tow bar and suspension & exhaust (all of which were not strictly needed)
Regular maintenance at Audi & Unit 20 includes engine & gearbox servicing & full cam belt change (on it's 4th from new) now at 54,000 miles, new brakes all round.
Labour includes some paintwork and valeting, to keep in good condition.
Grizz at unit 20 tells me it's one of the best 'standard' ones around, so may still be worth close to what I paid for it (if I was selling & I'm not)
I''ve kept a detailed spreadsheet of all cost, including insurances and estimated depreciation, which works out at £1.47 per mile over 25,000 miles / 4 years.
Main costs are as follow:
Fuel £8001 ; Parts £ 9280 ; labour £5307
So very well maintained by professionals and almost totally reliable. Obviously not cheap, but if you have the talent to do some of the work yourself & maybe there are potential savings to be had.
Possibly with depreciation not much of a factor, what else delivers so much all round ability an performance for the price?
If you're after one of these, my advice would be to get the best you can find, with good service history and have it checked over by someone who knows what to look for.
Hope this helps.

[Nobby]

Great insight into ownership. I'll update my spreadsheet and see what my sums are - don't think they are too dissimilar to yours Ric but I've done a few more miles

[Shoppinit]

Good post. I'd tell you how cheap mine is to run but I don't want to jinx it.

Nobby: you done your cams yet?

[Gripper1]

Costs Over 40 Months and 19,350 miles taken from the Pistonheads calculator.

Fuel (880 gallons @ 22 mpg): £4,798
Insurance: £610
Minor Breakdown: £780
Tyres: £940
Servicing/Repairs: £4,721
Tax: £796
Upgrades: £500
Total Running Costs: £8,347
Total: £13,145

I haven't factored in depreciation as I don't think there has been an appreciable amount as I bought bottom of the market at the time. The car has always thrown up lots of niggles with the odd breakdown, but on the whole has been relatively reliable. I have the AA parts and labour so the minor breakdown costs covering alternator and a sawn in 2 driveshaft were never paid by me.

So roughly £12.5K over 40 months= £312 a month.

For the same amount as a rough cost per month including fuel I could have had a Passat Estate TDi. I know which I'd rather rock around in

[Nobby]

Good post. I'd tell you how cheap mine is to run but I don't want to jinx it.

Nobby: you done your cams yet?

Nope Had carpal tunnel surgery on November and it still hurts like fook. Having the op on the other hand in March too

[Nobby]

Here's mine: Just over 3.5 years in.....

£13.90 per day
£0.86 per mile
Around 23k miles

General (including insurance, tax etc..): £2,924.00
Maintenance (including servicing, cambelt): £5,549.98
Tuning: £2,902.00
Fuel: £7,261.00

Total: £18,637.00

Thought it was more than that to be honest. I reckon I've probably saved a good £4-5k on labour though as I do everything myself.

[shadyraven]

As a North American, reading these lists of costs posted by UK owners is always a head scratching undertaking. The totals provided seem incredibly high, to the point where one has to conclude that the location where these cited cars are being operated and serviced (the UK) is a major factor in the overall cost of ownership... in addition to what is already (comparatively) an expensive car to own.

[IanH755]

Our fuel is obviously much higher here (equivalent to $6.30 a US Gal) but also, I think most "recommended" garages here charge around $100 an hour labour and Audi themselves charge close to $200 an hour. The actual parts seem to be about the same as buying stateside so no massive savings/costs there.

[the cueball]

Ive had mine for 3 years, only done 5k in it... currently costing £2.60 per mile.

I've done a lot of work, inc gearbox rebuild, MRC stage 2, door pins, radiator, alternator, water pump etc etc....

Costs about to go up again, as I'm just getting front and rear brakes, tyres and a service!

[Ian_C]

This thread shows why you shouldn't add it up!

I was lucky with my B6 S4, had very few problems unlike some people, bought it just serviced and only doing 5k a year, it didn't need a service for best part of two years, still came in at £2k including a set of tyres and a few tweaks, it soon adds up!

I don't think you can put a price on the V8 soundtrack though. A Mugello C5 Avant drove past my office window the other day, they still look stunning

[Shoppinit]

The B6 S4 are pretty solid cars though. Not much goes wrong, as long as you don't get unlucky with the timing chain tensioners.

[ahoooga]

This thread shows why you shouldn't add it up!

I don't think you can put a price on the V8 soundtrack though.

^^^
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