Audi: A nice ride with a hefty price tag

I own a 2004 Audi A6 Quattro with a 3.0 liter engine. I've had it for about 2.5 years. I like the car, it looks nice, drives well and is comfortable. But it is also expensive. It now has 72,000 miles on it and when I purchased it, the mileage was around 40,000. It has been into the dealership numerous times since then with expensive repairs. The most recent was last January when I blew a valve cover gasket. I had it towed to the dealership and for around $2,000, they replaced the valve covers. I felt as though I dodged a bullet since I thought I was lucky to have not completely seized the motor.

A few months later, I'm at the dealer getting recall work performed. The sales guy comes out and tells me that my valve covers are leaking. After informing him that I recently spent $2,000 having them repaired, he agreed to do the job over, correctly this time.

Since that time, I've had intermittent problems. The engine light comes on and stays on for sometimes days or weeks at a time, then mysteriously goes out like everything is normal. But more recently, it has been misfiring when cold. The misfire goes away after 10-15 seconds and everything seems fine again. Well, a few months ago I had to add anti-freeze to its 'sealed' cooling system. That's not supposed to happen. Ive added coolant three times since then and even had to add a half quart of oil although it was 9,000 miles since my last oil change. I've never had to add oil either.

So I finally broke down and brought it back to Carousel Audi in Minneapolis. The sales guy cals me and tells me that either my head gasket is leaking or the engine block is cracked and anti-freeze can be seen dripping into a cylinder when they inserted a camera. Head gasket estimate is just a hair under $2,000. The engine block estimate is $10,300! The car is probably only worth about $14,000! The sales guy doesn't want to make a recommendation because if I do the less expensive head gasket repair, it might not solve the problem and then I'm still on the hook for another $10,300 to replace the block.

I pick the car up in disgust and don't know what I'm going to do yet. Then I call an independent repair shop that I had been referred to months earlier. We talk and after explaining the diagnosis, he tells me that particular motor is terrible and not designed to last more than 100,000 miles. There is a design flaw where Audi inserted screws into the heads and they will eventually give out. Audi only used that motor for 18 months before scrapping it but he can do a permanent fix for about $1,500. If the problem is not the head gaskets, he can weld the block crack if it exists.

I'm talking with my brother the next day telling him about it and he says that his mechanic told him the exact same thing about the motor. He has a similar car with the same engine and is currently in the process of dumping it.

I bring my car to the mechanic to have the motor fixed and decided to ask, "Would simply adding radiator sealant ruin anything?"

"No, and it might stop the leak and solve your leaking problem but you still have a motor that is going to break in about 20,000 miles."

I told him to add the sealant, tighten the screws on the heads and change the oil. $240 later it appears that the leak has been stopped and the car is operating as designed.

Time to put it up for sale.