Quattro Expense

There are some, the higher fuel use, more expensive oil changes, and when it comes to replacing tires you have to buy pairs not a single tire, so there are many factors that can make the Quatt. more expensive.

Reply to
Tha Ghee
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3 or 4%, already noted

Nope

Actually, you have to buy four at a time ;-) but on the up side the tires

*may* last longer than had they been mounted on a FWD or RWD car. Tire wear is phenomenally even in my experience...

/daytripper '00 s4 6spd

Reply to
daytripper

Ditto the even tire wear experience. Also, my A6Q wagons have been kind to tires - i.e. I get lots of miles out of my tires. (But I am a fairly conservative driver and keep the tires slightly over inflated.)

Bob

Reply to
eBob.com

I believe the original poster was looking for flaws in the Quattro system causing more expensive repair costs. As I and many more have testified, there are NO extra repair costs with the Quattro system.

More expensive oil changes? Why? While a Quattro will get 2 or 3 mpg less than the fwd Audi, the safety of the Quattro system, especially in inclement weather, far outweighs any piddly cost difference. In all the years I've driven Quattros, I have never had to replace tires prematurely because one failed. But, when I do replace them because of normal wear, I buy four (of course!) I've own front wheel drive cars that ate up the front tires much faster than a Quattro would, so any difference in cost would be minimal and again, the safety and performance of Quattro makes up the difference.

Dave

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Reply to
Dave LaCourse

Your local mech is uninformed. Long-term expense? If you factor in the 5% additional fuel cost, then maybe he'd have a point. Here's something that would blow his mind: In the Seattle/Portland area, the resale value on the quattro cars is so much higher that you come out AHEAD on fuel costs, FWD vs. AWD. If you keep the car a very long time, of course there will be a break-even.

Something not mentioned yet (well, that I haven't seen yet) is the

4-wheel alignment that should be done once every two years or so. The 2WD cars don't need a 4-wheel alignment unless you change suspension bits or hit something.

On the wet side of the Cascades, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a German car indy mechanic. I'm sure it's the same in the Great Wet North.

Considering that the car performs better in slippery conditions, and that you'd be able to avoid an accident better in those once-in-a-blue-moon snowfalls (like this winter) the quattro system might pay for itself the first time out. And then some.

The system is mechanically bulletproof, like the other folks have said. Be careful to look at the CV boots all around, every oil change (whether you change your own oil or not.) If they are whole, your CVs will last damn near forever. Actually, this is good advice for a FWD car as well, but since the quattro has an extra car-end of CV joints...

For me, the A4 1.8Tq has been a wonderful piece of equipment, with no real faults (a few burnt-out bulbs) and has been steadfast in it's winter service, both on snow tires and all-seasons. Warms up quick, gets around in crummy weather, stylish, and quite luxurious for a decent price. Add to that the fact that a light foot gives me about

28mpg (U.S. gallons), I'm damned happy with it. AND, if we ever decide to sell it (over my dead body), we'll at least get double of what a FWD car brings. At least, in SEA/PDX that's about what the differential is for a 7-year old FWD/AWD of same model. About.

-- Jonesy

Reply to
Jonesy

Thanks. I live north of the Cascades in once a year snow country. Damn stuff.

I am pretty much sold on the A4 1.8T Q; the rubber hits the road this weekend when I will test the FWD and AWD, sequentially. I am not too interested in looking at other vehicles so it will be (hopefully) negotiating the price. That part I wil enjoy.

Reply to
Richard Potato

I have been looking for the fly in the ointment, so to speak, about costs but it seems to be flyless, generally. I agree that the small cost associated with a) an Audi and b) a quattro are part of the deal with a slightly upmarket vehicle and the added saftety with said vehicle is much greater than the cost. In short, the additional cost of buying a vechicle with side air-curtains, > cabin rigidity, AWD etc for day to day use is marginal but in that .75 seconds when 'my' vehicle meets another vehicle or an immovable object, then the additional cost is well worth it. I am buying safety, ultimately and am willing to pay for it.

Reply to
Richard Potato

and when it >comes to replacing tires you have to buy pairs not a single tire, so there are many factors that can make the Quatt. more expensive.

call your local oil change places and they will charge you more, same class as 4x4, I bet the diff. is more than 3-4% look at a pickup with 4x4 it's more than 10%. more expensive insurance, and the tire thing is a big thing, in other cars the non-drive wheels get less wear so they last longer

Reply to
Tha Ghee

some local oil change places put them in the same category as normal 4x4s. if the Quatt. system goes out it's very expensive to fix more than a FWD/RWD car so that is a BIG extra expense. There is traction control that's similar to AWD, never said that the tires have premature wear rotate them and there will be no problem, just pointing out that all 4 have to be replaced that's a large expense

Reply to
Tha Ghee

just want you to know that you don't have to have AWD with electronics you can do that, just like the new G35 and not have the fuel loses, and Audi's aren't the more reliable cars on the road. that's all I wanted to point out.

Reply to
Tha Ghee

(?) I don't know where you live, but you are either misinformed and/or stupid. Oil changes here in New England cost the same, regardless what kind of a car. The Quattro drive has absolutely nothing to do with an oil change.

' Apparently you haven't been reading this thread, or if you have, you have a reading impairment. Everyone has given testimony that Quattro never fails. It is bullet proof. I rallied two different Quattros over some miserable roads at speeds that would scare the hell out of you, with never a Quattro failure. In fact, I have never even *heard* of Quattro failing.

There is traction control that's

I'll tell ya what, Bunky. You get in your track-sheon control car, and I'll get in a beat to crap Audi Quattro, an old 130 bhp wheezer, and we'll race on some ice - using the same kind of tires. At the end of the day, you'll believe in Quattro.

never said that the tires have premature wear rotate them

Rotate your tires with your front driver. Quattro drivers do too. However, the skins on your front tires are going to wear a helluva lot faster than the tires on a Quattro. While it is true that the rear tires of a fwd receive less wear, the fronts receive twice the wear of a Q. You'll end up buying four tires for you fwd about the same time I'll buy four for my Qs.

Dave

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Reply to
Dave LaCourse

Go to smarter oil change places. Problem solved.

If the automatic transmission in your Yugo goes out, that'd be a HUGE expense for you. The question then is: do Yugo transmissions fail?

You've already been told the quattro (small q, please) system is not known to fail, hence the expense of replacing it for vast majority of owners is never incurred.

Can you say the same thing about your Yugo?

That statement reflects either an utter lack of understanding of what AWD means vs what traction control does, or it is simply an example of a poorly stated point. Your pick.

You brought up tires as an issue - don't make me go back and copy your original post or I'll get cranky. You have since been told that tire life may actually be superior with quattro.

No, that's not what you said. *I* pointed out that tires for a quattro are bought in fours. Whether a unrepairable tire can simply be replaced with a new but identical tire depends on wear, which in the end isn't all that different from 2WD...

/daytripper '00 s4 6spd

Reply to
daytripper

OK, but now I have a situation with snow tires where one was punctured in the side wall after 10k miles and replaced under road hazard warranty; will this one new tire create problems with my differential? My independent garage assures me it won't.

Reply to
xymergy

Wrong. Are you being intentionally obtuse on this matter, or do you routinely get robbed by your "local oil change places"?

Clue: The oil pan on my S4 is exactly in the same place as it is on a 32v NA FWD A4. And my dealer charges me exactly the same price as if I had a 32v NA FWD A4 and used the same oil.

Then you'd still be guessing wrong.

Clue: we're not talking about pickups.

Ah, you're throwing in some fresh red herring. Nice.

Pray tell us, exactly why an otherwise identical car of the same replacement cost would cost more to insure because all four wheels are driven?

No, it isn't a "big thing", unless you're driving a car too far above your financial condition. The average annualized cost of tires on a quattro car is most likely identical or better to the fwd version, due to the even tire wear, and for the same reason is likely as good as any rwd car of similar size and weight.

Hilarious! And so wrong. You've never seen the front tires on a Ford 2WD pickup truck with the "twin I-beam suspension" after 10K miles. If you had ever actually owned a RWD car for a few years you would never have come to that conclusion. And if you owned a FWD car you'd probably be sobbing about how quickly the front tires wear out.

Ya know, telling *quattro owners* how much it costs to maintain *their* quattro cars was a non-starter from the get-go. That you persist in your nonsense is telling...

/daytripper '00 s4 6spd

Reply to
daytripper

Then why all the beating-around-the-bush, twit. That is only your opinion. Mine is that Audi Quattro is far better than any comparable rice burner.

Dave

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Reply to
Dave LaCourse

Probably not. And, sidewall punctures/failures are rare, at least in my millions of miles of driving. Never experienced it. Dave

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Reply to
Dave LaCourse

Is that why Nissan has decided to produce a G35 AWD as well?

No one in this entire thread ever claimed that they are. The point of = this thread was to determine whether an A4 quattro was any more costly = to maintain than a A4 front-trak.

This has to be the funniest thing I've read in months. What does = quattro have to do with the cost of the oil change? The engine is the = same, it takes identical amount of oil and an identical oil filter. If = someone told you they're more expensive and you believed them, you only = have yourself to blame.

Hmm... so when it's time to replace your tires, you buy just one? And = wait how long to replace the rest? I usually find myself getting 4 new = tires, regardless if it's a FWD, RWD, or AWD. Rotating helps.

You did not show any. Please try again... Actually, don't bother - = you're clueless.

Pete

Reply to
Pete

trouble-free.

I agree, the possibility of Quattro failure should not be part of the buying decision. Heck, type in "Quattro failure" into google and see how many failures you can find.

Romy

Reply to
Romy

not at all, I do my own oil changes but they still charge a different amount for any cars with no standard drives. I've seen that it's a 3 mile difference that's more than 3-4% or is math not your strong suit. With AWD your more likely to drive different (not cautious) in inclimate weather, so higher insurance, call and see what they say. I highly doubt that buying 4 tires is the same cost as replacing two at a time, touché on the over means. You showed two cars and the last time I checked Ford + Tires is not something to compare and I've owned almost every type of car. I have a 02 A6

4.2 so I know a thing or about the cost of ownership, so ask before you ASSume. No nonsense just knowledge you should learn some.
Reply to
Tha Ghee

so a Audi is better than a Lexus, BMW, Acura, or Infiniti??

Reply to
Tha Ghee

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