1985 Audi 5000 Wagon review from North America
"Despite its bad press of the time, I enjoyed this car and will be buying my fourth Audi next month"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Replaced heater core at 85k.
Replaced entire exhaust from cat down with (OEM) at 90k.
Front brakes at 90k.
Replaced gas pump relay and replaced CV boots at 95k.
Replaced hydraulic pump with a used unit at 150k.
Back brakes at 130k.
Replaced pneumatic controller with a used unit at 150k.
Replaced drivers door handle exterior at 155k.
Drivers window operator motor at 160k.
Second exhaust system (OEM) at 175k.
Replaced gas pump relay at 180K.
CV boots at 180k.
Replaced hydraulic pump with used unit at 185k.
Dress valves at 190k.
Replaced front brakes and rotors at 195k.
Replaced rear brake cylinders and drums (leaking), installed new pads while there at 200K.
Replaced distributor at 203k.
Cooling fan at 205K.
Gas pump replay at 210k.
Odometer stopped working at 213K... that was about 2 years ago.
Transmission failed at 230 replaced with rebuilt unit, also did transaxle.
Replaced muffler (OEM) @ 240K.
Replaced 6+ power window buttons over the life of the car.
4 repairs to the door wiring harness to repair broken wires.
Recharged air conditioning twice about 150k and 175k.
Air conditioning pneumatic controller (servo) failed at 200k... did not replace... regulated heat temp by adjusting the cable manually.
Roof liner began deteriorating about 200K as well.
General comments?
I loved this car. I am 6-3 tall and the ergonomics were perfect for me. The seat/steering wheel/pedal and arm rest configuration seemed to be tailor made especially the seat itself. More comfortable with much less fatigue than a Mercedes 500, Jaguar and Lexus on long trips over 6 hours. It was the most comfortable car I have driven.
Suspension was reasonably firm.
Power was somewhat disappointing, but the mileage was good.
The air conditioning system was plagued with numerous problems after 160k miles that became cost prohibitive to repair.
Reliability was excellent. In the 175k miles that I have owned the car it only needed towing once. Fortunately on two other occasions I was able to diagnose the gas pump relay failure and had a jumper wire handy to bypass the relay contacts.
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| Best balanced auto design ever!! |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Year of manufacture | 1985 |
| First year of ownership | 1989 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2001 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.2 gas Automatic |
| Performance marks | 8 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 10 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 10 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 9 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 9 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 75000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 230000 miles |
| Previous car | Audi 4000 |
| Date of Entry | 11th March, 2001 |