what now... cost to repair is more than the car is worth

[CDN BCN]

hey everyone,

My poor B8 is near it's end... the cat's are blown, before the Cats i was blowing dark smoke out the exhaust (yes i had the PCV valve etc replaced only 2 years ago) and now i get a transmission warning from time to time (might have something to do with the cats though)
there is a CEL, i believe it's for the oxygen sensor downstream in the exhaust.
my question to the group... what have others done with their cars when the repairs get to be too costly?

i'm pretty sure i could part it and make a couple bucks that way. but it would be minimal at best.
i feel a dealership will basically laugh in my face if i tried to trade it in...
i've thought about donating it... but haven't look to much into it.

thank you in advance.

Steven

[BucDan]

I mean, you can get the Magnaflow Cats for like $1K each. Better than OEM that's required for CA that's 3K each.

Your dark smoke is likely your valve stem seals needing replace, assuming the smoke goes away after warm up. Else you're running rich.

The transmission, idk.

The O2 sensor shouldn't be too bad.

So maybe 6K in repairs.

If the repairs cost more than the car, and you're not attached to it. Time to list it and sell it. I mean, you might be able to get at least the cost of the repairs for the car, maybe a bit more.

[axisB8A4]

Sorry to hear that your B8 is near the end. I have been in a similar situation for the last year with my '09 A4.

Last winter I wound up picking up a '13 S4 and have relegated the A4 to driving around in the snow and hauling gear and dirty stuff around.

Something is really wrong with my rear driver side suspension that it makes a clunking noise but I haven't had the time to really look at it. It burns a quart of oil about every 600 miles. CEL is on and it has a bunch of codes related to the O2 sensors and misfires. I need to replace suspension bushings and ball joints probably (boots around the front look okay though). Basically a bunch of stuff but I can still drive it around town as a beater almost, although it pains me to call it that.

The way your car is now, can you still get it inspected and drive it as a second car? Could you use a second car?

It really depends on your situation but I would say for me that the car is worth keeping around as it's paid off and not much to insure. If you don't need a second car or can't keep one then unfortunately your best bet might be to sell it privately or part it out like you said.

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[axisB8A4]

Something that I neglected to ask, but do you want to replace the cats and O2 sensor(s) yourself?

I only keep my busted A4 around because I can work on it myself to get it to pass inspection. If you don't want to do that then definitely time to sell.

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[Nillious]

This is why maintaining issues is important. once you let multiple issues build up its big money. I always preach that maintaining these cars is essential so you don’t end up with a huge mess of issues that have to he repaired at once. You say b8 so assuming it’s 12 or older id just trade it and be done. The dealer will just take it to auction if its nice still drives you should still get a few grand id think. No sense in donating a car like this. Its just too expensive to fix for whoever ends up with it.

[sepheroth86]

Fix the car yourself, find a buddy to help, or find some local audi enthusiasts to see if someone can fix it for a fee.

[RPMtech147]

Buy a (20y/o)Camry. You can't afford to fix an Audi...sorry...I tell this to a lot of clients....usually Benz owners though.

"this car will bankrupt you...buy something else"

With that being said, if you love the VAG and have a place to work on it yourself...that changes the game......

[ak-s4]

Unless you're foolishly bringing this to dealers for repairs, the TCO is going to be pretty reasonable for what you're getting in return.
Even if you spent $10k in repairs to fix it up nice, what other vehicle could you get for $10k instead?
That would be how I would approach the decision. Unless you're just mentally done with the car, then I guess time to move on...

If you keep it, the "secret" is to learn more about the car and what is involved with various economical repairs, take a little time to locate used parts, find a mechanic that does side work, etc.

Moreover, f you got a diagnosis from a shop that likes everything perfect, then they are going to throw the kitchen sink at you for stuff they want to do to it. Why wouldn't they?? That is how they make money. Your job is to push back, ask questions, research, etc. If I had a nickel for every time I was told I needed new shocks, brakes, bushings, new seals, etc., I'd be a millionaire....

[hardfive]

just did a bunch of work. Got quoted 5k to do half of it. Just gotta decide if its worth owning and if it is learn how to do it yourself. Nice group of enthusiasts so while you might not have the experience, there is almost certainly a diy to go along with the service manual.

And I redid my pcv 2 years ago, had black smoke, redid it along with a lot of other work but pcv looked fine. Also did the pcv breather hose that connects to your intake and now im smoke free. Thought mine was valve seals as mentioned above but my issues were definitly resolved.

Good luck.

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[sepheroth86]

just did a bunch of work. Got quoted 5k to do half of it. Just gotta decide if its worth owning and if it is learn how to do it yourself. Nice group of enthusiasts so while you might not have the experience, there is almost certainly a diy to go along with the service manual.

And I redid my pcv 2 years ago, had black smoke, redid it along with a lot of other work but pcv looked fine. Also did the pcv breather hose that connects to your intake and now im smoke free. Thought mine was valve seals as mentioned above but my issues were definitly resolved.

Good luck.

I was planning on doing a somewhat major service to mine and definitely was not looking forward to it, then the cat broke at the flange and forced my hand.

I have never done so much work on an Audi before. I have done plenty of wrenching on much more simple cars.

Services performed:

PCV, PCV hoses, water pump, thermostat, vacuum pump, carbon clean, removed and gutted cats, rewelded cat flanges, fluidampr w 189 ring, serpentine belt, supercharger belt, JHM hx, 034 engine mounts, oil cooler gasket, GCA honeycomb grille.

It was a lot of work and pretty overwhelming at first, but now I am familiar with the car and how everything works and wouldn't hesitate to tackle it again. It actually wasn't as terrible as I was initially thinking.

OP, you can do it!!! Just take your time and research what you need ahead of time so you are not waiting for parts/tools like I did!

[hardfive]

I was planning on doing a somewhat major service to mine and definitely was not looking forward to it, then the cat broke at the flange and forced my hand.

I have never done so much work on an Audi before. I have done plenty of wrenching on much more simple cars.

Services performed:

PCV, PCV hoses, water pump, thermostat, vacuum pump, carbon clean, removed and gutted cats, rewelded cat flanges, fluidampr w 189 ring, serpentine belt, supercharger belt, JHM hx, 034 engine mounts, oil cooler gasket, GCA honeycomb grille.

It was a lot of work and pretty overwhelming at first, but now I am familiar with the car and how everything works and wouldn't hesitate to tackle it again. It actually wasn't as terrible as I was initially thinking.

OP, you can do it!!! Just take your time and research what you need ahead of time so you are not waiting for parts/tools like I did!

Yeah. My list was pretty similar. Put test pipes on a few years ago, so nothing there but did valve cover gaskets and total rebuild of sc. Basically everything on the way to a carbon clean was cleaned, rebuilt, or replaced.

Actually considering a q7 to replace our mdx as the 2017 still uses the 3.0 and I basically touched every part between my swap and major maintenance. Im too cheap to pay someone to service a euro it seems so getting one with the 3.0 semms like the right ticket.

And for as much greif as people give Audi, I actually find most of there bolts/fastners are easy to access if you know where they are. Hard to find sometimes, but not awful to work on once you know, if that makes sense.

Definitely doable op. But yes on parts research. I spent a few weeks as I'd be missing some small gasket and have to wait a week for FCP to get it to me.

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[B8S4OZ]

I had strange 02 sensor issues. A full ECU reset resolved the issues for me. However mine is the 3.0tfsi.

[CDN BCN]

thank you everyone for your responses!

believe me, if i felt it was worth putting the money into it i would! This has been the most fun car i've had.

the cost to repair wouldn't be so bad if the labour rate wasn't a factor. i love to work on cars but these repairs are more than i personally would take on.
I tried the O2 sensor with no luck. the black smoke is a regular thing, not just when the engine is cold.
the PCV, hoses etc were replaced 2 years ago. it helped with the black smoke and slowed down the amount of oil i was burning, but now i'm back to a quart every 500-750 miles.

one option would to be to keep it as a project car...

thank you again everyone!