Faults:

Minor leak in the infamous hydraulic system. A banjo bolt with 2 seals had to be changed and clear the filters.

Transmission (original!) needs new oil seals and bearings.

Left front wheel bearing is ready to be replaced. Bearing has been bought already.

Multi-Function Sensor replaced. Some coolant had leaked there.

Some minor electric problems.

Some old plastic parts in body and interior have been cracked. Moldings and covers.

Surface rust in wheel arches from last winter. Original paint coat so it's understandable.

Hand brake has failed once. Nothing happened though.

General Comments:

Great 5cyl engine sounds on high rpm range.

Has never failed to start or run. Very reliable.

Runs about 1000 km (~620 miles) with full tank. With care and less worn engine even more.

Low oil consumption. No need to level up hydraulic oil (very rare). Gear oil leaks.

Even the FWD version is very good to drive in bad weather conditions at high speeds.

Easy to repair and maintenance. In the same time you change H4-bulbs in a modern Audi you could disassemble and rebuilt the whole front in typ44. Well, almost, but you get my point, right?

Relay modification required to get most of the average headlamps and to prevent electrical problems.

Seats haven't worn out and are still comfortable.

Faults:

The whole of the hydraulic system. First, the power steering rack leaked, which was the condition when I bought the car. However, I did not know that this is a typical fault in these cars. Second, after a half year driving, I had to change the "bomb", i.e. the hydraulic accumulator. Finally, after a year of usage a dummy seal (an o-ring) in the hydraulic pump leaked on a highway. I could not stop immediately. After changing the o-ring twice I eventually had to change the pump. All these three repairs have cost about 1600 euros, since the spare parts are quite expensive. Some leakage in motor oil has occurred recently. Also, one of the wheel bearings have been changed, but no other big problems during 18 months of ownership.

General Comments:

Although the cost of ownership is quite high, I really like this car. It is very roomy and nice to drive on the long distance trips. To me, it has enough power and fuel consumption is quite OK for a car of this size (on highway 8-9 l/100 km).

Because of the damned power steering (see the "gone wrong with this car" section above), the car is also quite easy to drive in a city traffic. A friend, who has lots of experience on Mercedes-Benz and has an old Audi 80, with a diesel engine commented after driving my car about 500 km's: "it is a little bit lazy, but runs like a tank through the blizzard".

On long trips, the drivers seat has caused some aches and problems for my back, but this might be an individual problem.

Faults:

Ignition switch broke at 165,000 km.

The hood lining has detached in places.

I replaced the water pump at 200,000 km.

Both front suspension inserts renewed at 221,000 km.

The steering rack has started to leak a little.

General Comments:

I find this car a pleasure to drive, even after owning it five years.

It appears to be very well put together, as it is still rattle free.

Fuel economy is not great when city motoring, however, highway is exceptional for a car its size.

The three stage transmission really kills the engine's performance.

The lumbar support is poor on the front seats.

Equipment levels on the EE model are very high.

Faults:

Computer now gives false alarms.

General Comments:

A TOOL! A wolf in sheeps clothing.. Get an auto box, even the 2.0 E can devastate most other cars from the traffic lights.. up to 30 mph of course! :O)

Looks better than a lot of newer cars.

Faults:

117,000 - 140,000 miles.

Hydraulic pump.

Self-levelling suspension shocks & valve.

Hydraulic leaks everywhere.

Noisy tappet when cold.

Intermittent electric windows.

Tailgate strut.

Cracked exhaust manifold.

General Comments:

Extremely smooth autobox (maybe too smooth?), excellent seats, quiet & pleasant ride make for a comfortable journey.

Bodywork is superb (no rust).

Ventilation is appalling.

Some parts are ridiculously expensive.

Some areas very difficult to work on. Still on original exhaust!

Faults:

Ran the car from new to over 100K miles with no mechanical problems. Used it to pull a 4MT forklift out of the mud.. good grunt.. However, the electronic display and cruise control didn't work from the first month, and was never replaced under the warranty...

General Comments:

The attitude of the dealer service network was abysmal, not only with regard to the electronic display and the cruise control, but with almost every visit to over eight dealers over seven years. Absolutely love the engineering, but would never buy from them again...

Faults:

Noisy tappets, cured by replacement.

Slave brake cylinder failed leaking hydraulic fluid into footwell, but the check computer told me 5 weeks before the level went low.

General Comments:

Did 130mph on a slightly slipping clutch, mental acceleration in 3rd gear. Fastest car I have driven. Major failing is it doesn`t have ABS.

I aim to own a Turbo Quattro or an A4/S4 in the future.