# is the allroad a good car, really?



## naomim (Aug 22, 2008)

we are a family of 3 (19 month old baby) looking to get a new car. we've always been drawn to audis but always owned saabs and vws instead. we're now looking for a reliable car with more room that handles well in the snow (we live in portland but head up skiing) and isn't an SUV or a gashog (to satisfy the environmentalist within).
it seems we keep coming across reports that question reliability and maintenance costs--2 things we don't really want to deal with with a small child.
any opinions on whether a 2004 or 2005 allroad makes sense for us, or should we just go for an A4 or volvo v5?


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## eurocars (Mar 10, 2004)

*Re: is the allroad a good car, really? (naomim)*

I have looked an looked and *CANNOT* find a replacement for my 2001 allroad.
My opinion is an allroad will not work for you for 3 reasons you mentioned:
1) you don't want a "gashog" - 16/22 is not good mileage
2) reliability - I've been lucky, remember it is an Audi
3) maintenance cost - yes this can add to thousands quickly
Those three did not deter me from my purchase and like I said - I have yet to find a replacement.
Good luck. If you do decide to buy, I hope you find a good one - *after your first drive you'll understand.*


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## vr6ninja (Mar 20, 2007)

*Re: is the allroad a good car, really? (eurocars)*

I live in Portland as well and love my allroad. I do have to admit that there have been some maintenance costs involved. When I bought the car I was lucky, the seller witnessed the faulty air suspension and replaced it before i bought it. I bought the car at 58k and currently am at about 73k.
Since then I've:
Replaced all Pads, Front Rotors and Tires: $1600
Had a CV boot replaced: $350
Had AC leak into rear foot well fixed: $120
I'm up for a Timing Belt now, hopefully I can afford it by 75k.
My Tire Pressure Monitors need to be replaced as well.
I love the car and couldn't imagine trading it for anything else. So while it's got some maintenance costs I'm willing to fork the money. If you don't want to deal with the air ride suspension you might want to think about an A6 Avant. Basically the allroad has twice the spot welds, Air Ride Suspension, Wide Body Kit, and a few other details. allroadfaq.com is a great website for info.
I hope this helps. I get about 18 City/24 Highway and I fill with plus by the way.


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## pendulum (Apr 29, 2001)

*Re: is the allroad a good car, really? (vr6ninja)*

i'll say what ninja said...
if you want the allroad's versatility, but not the threat of possibly having maintenance costs, get the A6 Avant. it has regular suspension (no airbags to replace or compressor to go out), it has a naturally aspirated 6-cylinder engine (not as fast, but no turbos to go out either), and otherwise its basically the same car.
chalk me up as another allroad owner that couldn't imagine owning another car. i love my car, it looks great, and its SO functional it hurts. if you don't mind risking having some maintenance issues down the road, get the allroad - you won't regret it.... but if you're uber-conservative and having ANY threat of a problem down the road, get the A6 Avant. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif
i get about 17/24 but i have the APR stage 1 program (a more aggressive tune that ups the boost on the turbos). The only maintenance i've had to do is replace an O2 sensor ($400) and rebuild the torque converter (a seal failed on it), $2200 with labor. 
i haven't had to replace any air suspension parts yet, but what i can tell you is this - if you are looking for an allroad, find one where the owner always left the air suspension on level 1 or 2. (there are 4 levels, 4 being the highest). the thing is the air suspension is controlled by speed... so if they leave it on "4", it goes up and down constantly when you move, making the compressor work harder.... this hastens the ability for it to fail. if you leave your bags on setting 1 or 2, you GREATLY reduce the chance for failure. i know two guys with 100k on their allroads that have never replaced their air suspension.


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## vr6ninja (Mar 20, 2007)

*Re: is the allroad a good car, really? (BabyFoodYellowGTI)*


_Quote, originally posted by *BabyFoodYellowGTI* »_...the thing is the air suspension is controlled by speed... so if they leave it on "4", it goes up and down constantly when you move, making the compressor work harder.... this hastens the ability for it to fail. if you leave your bags on setting 1 or 2, you GREATLY reduce the chance for failure. i know two guys with 100k on their allroads that have never replaced their air suspension.









I don't mean to send this thread off to another topic but I do have one question based on what was mentioned above. I've heard that if you leave your suspension in one mode all the time it will essentially leave a wear spot where the bag sits. Similar to when you store a car and the pressure in the tires are low, leaving a worn spot on the tires because the car sat on them for so long. Is that something to be worried about or not as much as the compressor and components going out?

__
Image uploading. Refresh page to view


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## pendulum (Apr 29, 2001)

*Re: is the allroad a good car, really? (vr6ninja)*

that may be true, but i don't think that would be nearly as bad as the alternative. (lesser of two evils). like i said, all the allroad owners i've talked to, the dealership's service dept, and a couple of service techs i know all tell me the same thing - most of the air system failures is from excessive use, people leaving it on 4.
what you say could very well be true, but its significantly better and cheaper than the alternative. and of personal experiences, my two friends that have over 100k on their allroads have not had to change or replace anything on their airbag systems and they've always left them on 1 and 2.


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## vr6ninja (Mar 20, 2007)

*Re: is the allroad a good car, really? (BabyFoodYellowGTI)*

I try to learn something new everyday, got that covered today. Very insightful and good to know, I usually run at 1 or 2 but don't go higher unless I'm offroading or going through some bad construction. Thanks for the side bar.


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## spandea (Dec 17, 2003)

*Re: is the allroad a good car, really? (naomim)*

as the other guys have said, it's an amazing car. i love mine. it's so unique, i guess that's part of the attraction. i knew exactly what i was looking at when i bought it. i had done the research. yes, there's a bit more to an AR than there is to an A6 avant. more parts comes more things to potentially break. mine is at 72k and have not ever had a problems with it (knock on wood). it's killer in the snow as well. even in the deep stuff. good luck with your decision. oh, and for your other 2 choices ... A4 avant with the 1.8T/2.0T chipped will get great mileage. volvo = ford = no. imo


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## G60 Carat (May 14, 2004)

I'll second what BabyFoodYellowGTI said.
Avoid the Allroad and get the A6 Avant. It's alittle more basic, and therefore less costly to maintain.
My advice is to get a 2004+ A6 Avant. Unless you getting a Manual Trans, then any year A6 Avant. The seal in the Tiptronic trans wasn;t addressed and changed until 2004+ so that's why, because even if you catch that seal early, it's going to cost a few thousand just to pull the trans, change the torque converter seal, and do a trans service (expensive VW/Audi fluid+ filter) And if you don't catch it early (ie. ignore the check engine light) you will be out a whole trans, and that bill will easily crest the $5-7K mark. The Irony is, you can buy a running 2001 A6 Avant for under 10K.....










_Modified by G60 Carat at 10:58 AM 8-29-2008_


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## pendulum (Apr 29, 2001)

*Re: (G60 Carat)*


_Quote, originally posted by *G60 Carat* »_ The Irony is, you can buy a running 2001 A6 Avant for under 10K.....










therein lies a GREAT deal actually.... on the standard A6 avants (non-allroads), the engine & drivetrain is bulletproof sans that one seal on the torque converter.
you could buy a high-mileage A6 avant 2.8 on the cheap (under $10k), pay the $2k or so to have that seal replaced (rebuild) on the torque converter, and you'd have a great car that will run a long time. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif
EDIT: and that's assuming the TC goes on the car. just because they have failed on some cars doesn't mean they will on all cars.







you could get lucky and get one that either A) won't fail, or B) had already been replaced by previous owner. something to think about.... 


_Modified by BabyFoodYellowGTI at 10:00 AM 8-29-2008_


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