2001 Audi A4 Quatro review from North America

Within a week of owning the car I discovered that the rear seat belt was broken. Of course this type of service can never be done on a Saturday so it involved me dropping the car after work and needing a rental and picking it up after work the next day. This is a hassle.

Within the first year of ownership the clutch pedal broke. I was coming home on a major highway late at night and was stuck in third gear. When I got home I had to force it into neutral to stop and park. The next morning I could not start the car because I could not engage the pedal to put it in gear. I missed a morning at work becuase I had to wait for the tow truck and then get a rental.

Within the first year my wiper fluid container developed a crack and leaked constantly. I was told it was cracked when I went in for routine servicing. When I instructed the dealer to order a new one and make arrangements to install it all of a sudden it was not cracked. I believe he must have just patched it. That's OK because they couldn't replace it on Saturday and I would have had to drop it in the evening and get a rental and then pick it up the next day!

At 55,000 miles, without warning, my oil light beeped and was blinking red. I got off the nearest exit and attempted to make it to the nearest service station. As I was at a red light the car stopped. It turned out it was a defective part that connected to the timing belt. The part broke, the timing belt slipped and the engine seized! I was 5,000 miles out of warranty. I had to pay $200 to be towed to the nearest Audi dealer, which was not my dealer, $800 for the rental car for 2 weeks and 25% of the $5000 bill to replace the engine even though they admitted it was not my fault and there was nothing I could have done to prevent it from happening.

The new engine has 7,000 miles on it. The other day I was coming home from a long trip and the oil light beeped and started blinking. I drove the Audi to the nearest Hyundai dealer and traded it in on a Santa Fe! Not only will I never buy another Audi, but I will tell everyone and anyone who will listen not to as well.

Numerous bent rims and flat tires. The low profile tires and rims may look pretty, but cannot withstand the most minor road imperfections.

The car was comfortable and shifted well. It was excellent in the snow. It was a nice looking car. However, my life is too hectic to own something so unreliable especially at that price.