The German car manufacturer Audi has been making luxury vehicles and vehicle parts for over a hundred years now. Modern Audi models are seen as some of the most innovative and reliable cars on the road. But how long can an Audi actually last? The answer to that question depends upon a number of factors which we will be exploring here. We will also be looking at the Audi in comparison with many of the other car manufacturers and see just how this make measures up against the competition according to consumer reporting agencies and auto experts. But let’s start by taking a look at some of the factors that affect how long the car will last in general.
Vehicle Maintenance
The first thing that you need to know is that with the right vehicle maintenance, it is theoretically possible to make a modern vehicle run forever. Of course, that’s not really feasible or necessary, particularly because people love buying new cars just like they love upgrading their electronics and appliances. But with a reasonable amount of maintenance, a modern vehicle can last to somewhere between a 150,000 to 200,000 miles. That number is based on taking really good care of the car, doing all of the maintenance that is required and recommended; and replacing your audi parts as soon as they start to wear out.
But all cars are not created equal, and the more the reputation that an automaker has for creating cars that will last, the higher the chances of reaching 200,000 miles or above. The truth is, most cars are expected to last for an average of ten years on the road, which is also an average of about 100,000 miles for the standard amount of miles traveled per year of 10K. In fact, according to Polk Research, that number was just eight years in 1995. It has been rising in the past two decades, but not nearly as much as you would expect. Right now, Polk estimates that the average lifespan of a car is just eleven years, which is an increase of just three years, after more than two decades of automobile research and manufacturing advances.
How Audi Stacks Up
So, how does Audi stack up against the average? The first thing the any Audi owner will tell you is that the reason that the vehicle manufacturer has such a good reputation for longevity is partially due to the fact that the parts are so high quality. That also means that the parts are going to be more expensive than the ones that you would find at your local parts store, but that’s a fair tradeoff when it means that they are going to last a lot longer. When it comes to how Audi stacks up against the competition, in general the car manufacturer does exceptionally well, consistently being placed among the top contenders for longevity among vehicle manufacturers.
Consumer Reports
The rating organization Consumer Reports was conceived and started more than eighty years ago. Initially, they used the print medium to publish their findings on everything from vehicles to appliances and everything in between. Most of the reporting from Consumer Reports is now done via the web. But the agency has earned a reputation as one of the most trusted sources for consumer information by both the consumers themselves and experts from a variety of fields.
Consumer Reports consistently puts Audi near the top of their longevity charts. For example, in 2017, Audi was placed in the number four spot on a chart of nearly 30 vehicle manufacturers. That happened because Consumer Reports tested Audi vehicles as well as those from other brands and figured out which ones were going to last the longest. In 2018, Audi could once again be found in the number four spot among the list of dozens of vehicle manufacturers. This is led many people to choose Audi as their vehicle manufacturer of choice, and there is no doubt that if an agency with nearly a century of evaluating vehicles for consumers has rated Audi consistently within the top five of vehicle manufacturers for longevity, it is definitely one of the longest lasting brands currently available.
Audi Loyalists
Customer loyalty is one of the things that you can use as a barometer to judge how reliable car manufacturer is. If you go on the Internet, and you find people that are loyal to a specific vehicle model that they own but not necessarily the overall brand, then you can surmise that the manufacturer has created some good models but also an equal amount of bad models. But if the consumer is loyal to the overall brand, then you can bet that most of the vehicles manufactured by that automaker were extremely high-quality and reliable. That’s exactly the case with Audi.
If you go online, the auto forums and various social media gathering sites among car enthusiasts will reflect this. You will find a lot of people saying that they have owned several different Audi models, and that they are planning on staying loyal to the brand for the foreseeable future. Audi is just one of a few vehicle manufacturers that have this distinction. You can also look up Consumer Reports on individual Audi models for the current year and you will see that ratings are pretty high across the board. Consumer Reports chooses a best and least reliable model for each brand during the manufacturing year, and even the least reliable model listed for Audi has ratings that blow many other makes and models out of the water.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is that there is a great deal of evidence to suggest that Audi is one of the most reliable vehicle manufacturers currently in existence. Between professional agencies that rate vehicles, magazine articles that rank automobiles by reliability and consumers that are loyal to the Audi brand, you can see that buying and Audi is going to be a decision that you will not regret, and one that results in a reliable vehicle for decades to come.
I have owned 5 audio so far.
The cars are good till about 180,000.
You must keep up with the maintenance or other problems will start to occur.
Some engineering was missed on a couple of components. Example using a plastic 8 cent pipe between the oil cooler and aluminum engine block on the v8 4.2 liter.
Overall great cars well engineered fun to drive.
John i really like the A6 3.0L about 2010 OR 2011 I can get one for about $10k and the milage will be about 50k what do you think of these vehicles – comments please
In response to how many miles an AUDI will last, my 1986 AUDI 5000 Cs Quattro had the odometer give out at 997,158 km., but I drove it for another 6 monrhs, so well over 1 million km (~750,000 miles). My 2002 TT roadster went for about 450,000 km (~280,000 miles). I am notoriously bad at following maintenance schedules
I have owned 3 A6 Avant over the last 15 years and there reliability has been on par with my wife’s Merc. All had warrantee work the 2005 A6 Avant purchases at 18 month old “drowned” its MMI system (rear left) and that was replaced under warrantee by the supplying dealer. Other work was done under warrantee. The largest surprises bill was when one of the fuel injectors failed and the fix was to replace all 6 with a cost of £3500. This was at 10years old at 56KMiles on a vehicle with a book value of £4800. There was NO support from the dealer or Audi so very expensive.
My current A6 Avant 2012 3LTR BiTDI is every thing I like about the A6 surefooted and a great way to get from A to B quickly and comfortably just eats the miles. It also has some much heralded technology Google Maps and send destination to car BUT as or 1st Jan 2013 this no longer functions and Audi says the car is now too old to run the system! Feels like cars might start becoming obsolete through the manufactures failure to offer/ensure software support in the same way as they are required to for physical componentry! Such a pity love the car loosing my love for the company!
Hi everyone. I need some advice. There is a 2007 Audi A6 · 3.2 Quattro Sedan 4D that has gone 186k miles, and needs a new bumper. The price is $3000. I know it’s not ideal, but it is the only car within my price range that I could find that had a back up camera (which I need). I am a college student so I cannot afford anything more than $4000-4500 at the moment. I do not expect to drive this car for more than 4 or 5 years maximum. Do you think it would be a good investment?
Nothing is for sure except death and taxes, so if i were you i would hold on to my finances until i can get the car i want,. so no matter what car you get your going to have to spend money on it, so save and get what you want you’ll be happier if you did. I bought my wife a brand new 2015 audi a3. she loves it so were saving now for a down payment on a 2020-23 audi a5. sport back.. The a3 is paid for in out standing condition, so We were glad we got what we wanted we were both happy we bought the car we wanted and now were getting another car we want.