I just spit up my coffee at a 75k service estimate.

[Cargo an]

I am only two months into S4 ownership so bear with me. I am approaching the 75k mark and thought I would email my local audi dealer to see what it would cost to have a 75k service done. I was quoted $897.00. WTF? Anyhow I politely deleted that email and got busy ordering all of the fluids and filters to do it myself. I saw this coming I guess, but wow I had no idea it would be that high. I can do all of it except checking for codes. I contacted an Indy shop who said they would check and clear any codes for $50 and do a complete safety inspection for free. That is more like it!

[Concavitor]

You get what you pay for.

[Audibot]

If it hasn't had its timing chain work done, just wait till that bill rolls around...

[Cargo an]

If it hasn't had its timing chain work done, just wait till that bill rolls around...

I should be ok for a while. The previous owner went through that misery for me. The motor is a new factory motor with only 16k on the clock. I will change the oil like it is a religion, baby it til it is warmed up, keep up on everything and hope for the best.

[Audibot]

You get what you pay for.

I disagree. You can get a lot of things done at indy shops for less than the dealer that yield the same quality. Things like fluid changes and brakes come to mind. Inspections, I would think, should be courtesy. "You gotta pay to play" doesn't really hold water here.

I should be ok for a while. The previous owner went through that misery for me. The motor is a new factory motor with only 16k on the clock. I will change the oil like it is a religion, baby it til it is warmed up, keep up on everything and hope for the best.

Nice! Motor is brand new, so you have tons of life left! Why was it changed out? Timing chain failure and/or compression loss?

[Mr.Wrong]

That's actually not terribly bad in comparison to what I've seen people get quoted&charged for the same thing. I believe someone on here got quoted right around $1200 mark LOL
Also you have brand new engine with only 16k at this point, so you should be trouble free for quite some time considering you'll be taking care of it like you mentioned above.
As far as service intervals, most of the stuff could be done in your own garage by yourself and we have a ton of support here to make it as easy as possible.

[name.goes.here]

I wouldn't be so quick to delete that email; take the quote to other Audi dealers, and they may try to beat that price to get the business.

Also, sign up with various dealers to receive service coupons. I actually get pretty good offers from my Audi dealer, including free tire rotations. Right now, my dealer is offering 15% off any service in excess of $500.

[Mr.Wrong]

I disagree. You can get a lot of things done at indy shops for less than the dealer that yield the same quality. Things like fluid changes and brakes come to mind. Inspections, I would think, should be courtesy. "You gotta pay to play" doesn't really hold water here.

I think it depends on what he was trying to say with his post. If it was that since you purchased an Audi you should expect to pay higher for service and parts or was it that if you bring it to the dealer you'll get a service worth the premium you'll pay? I'll agree with a former thought pattern, but it's not nessesarily true with the later one and there you're on point! There are a lot of competent Indy shops that'll perform same service work just as good as an Audi dealership or in many cases even better and for much less.

[Cargo an]

Good advice all. I had not thought about the dealer coupons.....I will look into that. It is true, there is a lot of good information on here in support of ownership. This forum is where I got most of my info on what fluids, parts and filters people prefer to use. The DIYs are good as well. That combined with the Bently manual that is on the way gives me the confidence to do a lot of things myself. But if the price is reasonable then I may still hit the dealer on occasion.

Audibot.....at 56,010 miles the engine experienced a "catastrophic failure" due to a timing chain. Apparently it was so bad that the dealer decided it would be cheaper to get a new engine from Germany then rebuild the ruined one. It was under CPO. The previous owner was very diligent in the care of the vehicle and a real conservative driver.......simple bad luck I guess.

[JimGreen]

I've always believed that no one does a better service than the cars owner........ Providing you have the skills and the tools to do it.

I've worked in workshops and watched tech's drain the oil, the moment the last drop has come out back goes the drain plug and it's refilled.

Me.... I make sure the engine is up to operating temperature, drain the oil, but then leave it for about 15 minutes to ensure every last drop is out.

I'll then check that the drain plug is of the magnetic type and if it's not I'll replace it with one.

I'll spend time cleaning the underside of the engine and check for any seeping gaskets and replace those too if they're needed.

I probably take twice the time to do the job, but I know it's done to my standards and not in a production line of getting as many cars through the door in a day as they can.

Do it yourself, take your time and if need be buy those specialist tools your likely to use on a regular basis and use quality replacement items (Oil, Filters etc).

[jhruzek]

One of the reasons for the high price is the labor involved in replacing the fan belt. I was told that requires the front end of the car to have to be removed.


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[JimmyBones]

One of the reasons for the high price is the labor involved in replacing the fan belt. I was told that requires the front end of the car to have to be removed.


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You mean the alternator belt. The fans are electric and the belt only spins the alternator unless you get a supercharger. That quote seems low if it includes the labor and parts to change out the belt.

[brad281]

Good advice all. I had not thought about the dealer coupons.....I will look into that. It is true, there is a lot of good information on here in support of ownership. This forum is where I got most of my info on what fluids, parts and filters people prefer to use. The DIYs are good as well. That combined with the Bently manual that is on the way gives me the confidence to do a lot of things myself. But if the price is reasonable then I may still hit the dealer on occasion.

Audibot.....at 56,010 miles the engine experienced a "catastrophic failure" due to a timing chain. Apparently it was so bad that the dealer decided it would be cheaper to get a new engine from Germany then rebuild the ruined one. It was under CPO. The previous owner was very diligent in the care of the vehicle and a real conservative driver.......simple bad luck I guess.

Is that the 3.0 TFSI motor?

[Cargo an]

Is that the 3.0 TFSI motor?

4.2L. V8

[ReUhssurance]

Damn man, I have to admit this thread has worried me a bit about the motor in the B7. I've been contemplating looking around for a B7 S4 recently but am admittedly on somewhat tight budget if I do.

[vacsimile]

You should see the cost of a 75k on an RS6. $2k+

[cheetah993]

Threads like this make me glad I can do my own maintenance. It has saved me literally thousands of dollars with this car in the past 2 years.

[mistral cytz]

Catastrophic engine failure due to timing components at such a low mileage and on a B7 is kind of scary! I'd love to know if warning signs other than the typical start up rattle were happening in this case? Hopefully a very rare situation though.

[JimGreen]

I think with the B6/B7 S4 you have to realize that it's a high performance saloon car and as a result your going to have high maintenance costs, especially if you don't do the work yourself. I had an E39 BMW M5 which is in the same era, same league as the S4, costs on maintenance on that were just the same as the S4. Admittedly they were easier to work on, but taking into account both cars have their odd issues and should those issues rear their ugly head (Audi V8 - Timing Tensioner Issues, BMW E39 M5 - Vanos Issues)...... they're both very equal on maintenance costs.

Both of these cars have reached the point where the good ones can still make sensible money, but the bad ones go for peanuts.

Just make sure you get a good one, or buy one with engine issues at peanut money and do the repairs yourself and you can end up with a great performance saloon still worth sensible money.