Frugal Or Foolish? Study Shows Audi Models Can Cost Over 30% More To Maintain Than Similar BMW Or Mercedes

I really don't care for AUDI but this is not stopping their sales, worldwide they are killing it and in the US they are slowly coming back.

If reliability was an indicator of sales, Audi would be far behind Mercedes-Benz and BMW but instead Audi is right on BMW's heels and ahead of Mercedes-Benz for the fourth straight year on a global level.

People don't buy German luxury cars based on their reliability, they buy them primarily due to other factors such as design, interior luxury, technology, innovation etc.

In those categories, Audi offers just as much or more than BMW and Mercedes-Benz. With its new design strategy set to preview in less than 2 months, Audi will be firing on all cylinders. Interior luxury, technology, innovation and driving dynamics are Audi strengths but design was perhaps too boring and similar. With design set to change, Audi will be unstoppable.

Let's see, your patting Audi on the back for being ahead of Mercedes for 4 years, while Mercedes held the TOP SPOT for DECADES...

Congratulate Audi when they get a decade under their belt at the top or in this case at least 5 years. They made a bet on China which worked out unfortunately they are scratching their heads at how fast Mercedes and BMW were able to jump on the China bandwagon and now Mercedes is consistently outpacing Audi's growth.

With boosted CLA inventory, C Class & GLA launch, you better bet Audi is sweating and has pretty much lost hope of catching Benz in the states

More like Buick, what with there difference in designs from a VW. Mercury was just a badge engineered piece of crap that unions were willing to continue to fight for until it became evident that it was a redundant marque.

I won't comment on details. All I will say is that as much as I've grown to love my current Audi for driving enjoyment, I have just about ZERO interest in getting into another one at this time.

I've had 6 Mercedes, 2 BMW's and one Audi A6 a 2003 Silver Quattro... it was probably my favorite of the bunch.. the design, it was really a beautiful car. That said, I've not been impressed (enough to spend my own money) on any other Audi. The A3 vs CLA is a no brainer though the A3 easily. Just because a car sells well doesn't mean its the best car out there...

The European luxury brands are like, slavery. They expect you to be loyal to them, and expect you to pay the amount that they ask. So basically, the European luxury brands are the kings and queens, and the customers are the knights or peasants for their kings and queens.

On the other hand, the Japanese cars are the ones who are loyal to their customers. They try to work hard, and try to be as reliable as possible and also try to be as affordable as possible for their owners.

And the American.....well, Cadillac is pricey (For No Reason Whatsoever), reliability is non-existent & No brand power (Did you guys notice how many auto journalists compare Cadillac XTS to Hyundai Equus?)

Basically the American brands are like, Hillbillies trying to wear business suits and pretending to be someone that they are not. And ask the customers to pay them the price that they never even deserve to earn.

And if people say "That is way too overpriced.", those hillbillies will tell you "Oh, don't ya kno we use' to be da superpawa, son? Caddy and Lincun use' t be da best brands in da worl', son"

And the Europeans basically just laugh at them. Not with them.

I don't necessary agree with this article. My wife has a Mercedes GLK SUV. So we take it in for it FIRST service the other day. The Service Manager says, "The first MB service (called "A" service) is $350 dollars (which was basically an oil change), and the second service (called "B" service) will be $500 dollars.

My Audi has been STOUT in terms of reliability and haven't had any issues. My first oil change was INCLUDED and there after they are $85 dollars (but they gave a $20 dollar rebate coupon from Castrol). So the cost of my Audi service compared to my Benz isn't anywhere close to Benz expensive service.

The article deals more with repairs and reliability than servicing, factor in your anecdotal evidence to their statistically generated findings, and you have the conclusion that Mercedes' expensive servicing routine keeps the car out of the garage for longer, with less severe problems when it does go in.

@gkearns56, wondering how many miles you have on your A6?

Car4Life, Audi is not sitting still either. How about the new Q7 and A4 models set to debut next year and brand-new A9, Q4, Q6 and Q8 models set to launch over the next 24 months.

Audi understands Mercedes-Benz is adding new models and growing and in order to maintain its position or overtake BMW, it too will have to expand its model range, which is exactly what it is doing.

If you're an Audi dealer, you know just how much your revenue is dependent on the service department...A LOT! Audi's make a profit at the point of sale, BUT they are as--if not more--lucrative for the revenue generated by warranty work and unscheduled maintenance once the warranty ends.

Audis are great cars, but buying one is moronic. LEASE it and dump it is my advice.

Audi is in some trouble in the USA because sales lag WAY behind Mercedes/BMW. Cadillac moves more metal than Audi.

Leasing one isn't exactly the greatest idea either, Darringer. That's all I'll say at this time.

More precisely, if you lease it, don't go past 2 years, maybe 3. Trust me.

@cidflekken If a person leases a car--any brand--they should NOT go past 3 years. Leases of 5 years are a bad idea on all accounts.

"When it comes to simple work - routine servicing, or wear parts such as brakes and exhausts - estimates across all three brands are comparable.

The biggest variation occurs when comparing transmission.

Cambelt changes also showed the same trend, as well as requests for ‘Engine Parts’ - a broad category of repairs typically requiring more ‘involved’ work."

Hard to dig down very much since this is just a summary article. Transmission cost differential might be explained, at least in part, by 4WD vs 2WD. IT remains unclear why woking on an Audis, transimission aside, would be significantly more complex than the others.

@cidflekken: I just ordered my new 2015 Audi S6, I have immediate family who work for Audi in Auburn Hills, Michigan and get an employee-family discount. Two vehicles ago my Audi had 147K miles and didn't do anything major regarding repairs; just routine maintenance stuff. My last Audi A6 had a little over 61K and not one problem. (I also have Toyota truck I use to bum around in).

I've owned BMW, MB and ANY German model is going to be expensive to maintain. You simply say MB and you can add 50% for routine maintenance. If you want the BEST reliability, then buy a Japanese car (I've owned quite a few of those and was happy, when I was a teenager 40 years ago. I now prefer the performance and handling of BMW or Audi's of the German brands.

At what mileage did you replace the brakes/rotors on your last A6?