2000 Audi A4 Quattro 2.8 from North America
Summary:
The car is a good performer, but unreliable
Faults:
My clutch wore out at 21,000 miles.
One headlight washer cover fell off; the other one is loose.
General Comments:
I have owned my 2000 Audi 2.8 Quattro since December 2000, when I bought it new from the dealer. Since my purchase, I have driven it only 21,000 miles (mainly on relatively short commuter trips). After recently noticing that my clutch was slipping, I took it to the dealer. The clutch was completely worn out. I was four months past the warranty period, and the dealer refused me any accommodation, even on replacement costs, and implied that it would not have been covered by the warranty anyway since it was in their view worn-out and not defective. I am an experienced driver of manual-shift cars, specifically a BMW 320i which I drove for 100,000 miles on the original clutch. My independent mechanic's evaluation (after I removed my car from the dealership to have the clutch replaced elsewhere) is that the Audi manual clutch is too small for the 2.8 Quattro. My evaluation is that the car is unreliable: the same evaluation published in Consumer Reports in their used car guide. My further evaluation of my Audi dealership (Rockville Porsche Audi) is that they are not sufficiently customer-oriented as they should be. They would have in fact have made more money if they kept me as a customer. I no longer want the car and will sell it as soon as the burning clutch smell dissipates.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 24th April, 2003
2nd Oct 2001, 12:02
I have an A4. In the past year the power steering has leaked fluid, the air conditioning has leaked coolant, and the battery has gone dead every time I didn't run it for 2 or more days.
The dealer does the least possible to patch it up and send me back on the road.
During the past 20 years my immediate family and I have owned three Audi cars. We bought them because they were stylish, comfortable, and performed well (when they ran). But two of the three have turned out to be lemons. Never again.