Cost of maintaining my 10-year-old Audi A6: Got a major service done

I prefer an FNG to do the work for me and they absolutely do not mind me sourcing the parts.

BHPian bigbearddriver recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

A lot of Team-BHP members have had this question about how much maintaining an old German car costs in reality. I sincerely hope that this post helps such people understand the modalities in detail.

I recently did a major service of my 2013 Audi A6 2.0 TDI Premium Plus FWD CVT (Multitronic Transmission).

Below is a summary of all the parts that I changed and how much it cost me in labour. Wherever a description is necessary, I have added it.

1. Engine Oil - Mobil 0w40, 5 litre and Coolant - VW G12 EVO (7 litres)

Cost for engine oil: INR 800 per litre, total cost INR 4000.

Cost for coolant: INR 375 per litre, total cost INR 2625

2. Oil filter - Wix.

Cost: INR 450, Fuel Filter - Wix.

Cost: INR 2000

3. Cabin Air Filter - Mann

Cost: INR 2000

3. Air Filter - Wix

Cost: INR 2000

Description: After changing the air filter, I got an increased mileage of 2-3 kmp/l. Although mileage shouldn’t matter if you are driving a mean German machine, this car is my daily and I am happy that it helped.

4. Brake Pads - Brembo

Cost: INR 10,000 set of front and rear

5. Disc skimming

Cost: INR 2000

Description: Even after skimming the discs, the discs are still under the width recommended by Audi. I will use these discs for another year or so and get them changed when extremely necessary. I feel a slight vibration at high speed sometimes and I suspect that the discs are the culprit. The vibration is very insignificant and hence I am ignoring it currently.

5. Throttle body cleaner

Cost: INR 450

Description: I felt a lack of pick-up and the car felt a bit low on power. Cleaning the throttle body helped improve it.

6. Timing Kit - Dayco

Cost: INR 7000 which includes the timing belt, tensioners and other required bearings

Description: The car has been driven only 75,000 km. Audi recommends replacing the timing belt at 1,50,000 km. The reason for me to change the timing belt earlier is that kits are not the only factor here, but age matters too. At the end of the day it is rubber and rubber deteriorates with time. I did not want the engine to be damaged in the case of the timing belt breaking and damaging valves/pistons. To save the car from a possible catastrophe, this was a very small price to pay.

7. Water Pump - VW OEM

Cost: INR 6500

Description: The water pump was last changed in 2018. It was in good condition, but if you are getting the car opened for timing, it makes sense to change the water pump as well. The process is the same because of the complicated location of the timing belt in VW Audi Skoda 2.0 TDI engines. Hence I went ahead and got it changed.

8. Engine Mounts - Corteco

Cost: INR 13500 for a set of 2

Description: Both the mounts were almost broken and it was time for the car to get a new set of mounts. I used to face a lot of vibrations and jerks. Flooring the car was a nightmare with the knocking sound and whatnot. After changing the mounts, I see a significant improvement. The vibration in the cabin is now negligible. There was a very weird jerk in bumper-to-bumper traffic, but now it has almost disappeared. I had suspected that it was a transmission issue and it definitely looked like one, but it turned out that the bad mounts were the culprit.

9. Transmission Mount - Febi Bilstein

Cost: INR 4500

Description: The transmission mount was in a similar condition as the engine mounts. I can see a significant difference in changing the gears. Earlier there was a slight jerk while shifting the transmission from D to N or R to N and vice versa. The jerk has now disappeared.

10. Front right shock-up, bushing and air suspension balloon - GOLD Taiwan

Cost: INR 35,000

Description: This was an unexpected expense. Driving a car with air suspension on Indian roads is a nightmare. I had already changed the other 3 sides in the last few years and I had expected that this would give up on me sometime. After changing this, it feels like the car is gliding on the poor pothole-filled roads of our country.

11. Front-right ABS Sensor

Cost: INR 2000

Description: I got Christmas tree lights on the dashboard. Air Suspension fault, TPMS fault, Parking Brake fault, ESC fault etc. As a German car owner, the first thing that you should learn is that you shouldn’t panic. I have OBDEleven with me and I always keep it in the car. I deleted the codes and drove back 250 km back home to Mumbai from Mahabaleshwar. The suspect was the front right ABS Sensor. The codes didn’t come for 2-3 days and I ignored it. The reason for the code to come was a small drive in heavy rains, which had apparently caused a short circuit in the sensor. ABS Sensors in German cars are infamously notorious. Long story short, I got the sensor changed and all of these codes never showed me their face again.

1. Total cost for parts, including disc skimming: INR 92,025
2. Total cost for delivery of parts: INR 2000 (I had ordered them at separate intervals, and this is what I paid for intra-city delivery)
3. Total cost for labour: INR 22,000
4. The way my car looks and drives after all of this is priceless.

Grand total: INR 1,16,025

Note: I like to source all the parts on my own as I cannot trust anyone else to do it for me. I prefer an FNG to do the work for me and they absolutely do not mind me sourcing the parts.

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