Potential Major Repair Costs

[Conker]

I'm UK based and my car will be out of manufacturer's warranty later in the year
If I decide to keep it I'm wondering a) what the costs would be for any big time problems such as engine or gearbox replacement and b) are there yet any good independents out there now competing with the franchised Audi dealers in respect of maintenance/repair ?

[mark25]

I am in the same position as you, my warranty is up in march, I can get a 3 year extended warranty for 3,300. Still deciding if its definatley worth it.

[M3R8]

If you go to a stealer to get any out of warranty done, or even a simple oil change, expect to pay a hefty premium. Find a small, independent, friendly and capable shop.

[mngolfer]

I know of one member on this forum that paid $450 for an oil change at a dealer. Just think what the costs will be if it is something significant! I would not own an R8 without the extended warranty. If something breaks the car will not be the only thing broke.

[mark25]

I know of one member on this forum that paid $450 for an oil change at a dealer. Just think what the costs will be if it is something significant! I would not own an R8 without the extended warranty. If something breaks the car will not be the only thing broke.

Do you mean the oil service? Mine cost about $900. I thought this was cheap tho for a supercar service you only need once every 20,000 miles.

[randombloke]

was that $900 definitely for the oil service not the inspection service?

I know audi UK quote up to 20k (variable) on the oil service and 20k (fixed) for the inspection service under the longlife service schedule, but genuinely didn't anyone was getting close to that as the actual mileage between oil services on the r8.

I run mine under the inspection service schedule which is fixed to 10k/12mths oil service and 20k/2 years inspection service.

I run my servicing under the audi maintenance agreement, but I was quoted £425 (~$700) oil and £600 (~$1k) inspection back when I bought the car in 2008.

[Conker]

I am in the same position as you, my warranty is up in march, I can get a 3 year extended warranty for 3,300. Still deciding if its definatley worth it.

Mark , do you mean a full 3 years for £3,300 (i.e £1100 per year) ?

If so I would think that is actually a very good deal especially if there is no upper restriction per claim.........most aftermarket warranties have a maximum claim of £5000 which is of course almost pointless because if you have one very significant bill in the three year period then the compensation would amount to only net £1700

I love the car, but not enough to splash out £30K or more for a blown engine (I'd probably then hate the car if that happened) nor am I so smitten that I would want to spend the same amount to simply swap mine for a new R8 (mine has done only 7000 miles so to me it still feels exactly like a new one !)
If I can't get a decent warranty I guess the money will be better spent on switching to something different like a new Aston or Porsche ?

[S&W 10]

I know of one member on this forum that paid $450 for an oil change at a dealer. ...

Would that be me?

I believe there was an added fee for attempting to locate a wind whistle that they never found and they may have charged me a bit more for leaving a screw out, which came from who knows where (it came flying out from under the passenger seat when firmly braking a few days ago).
Yep, the only dealership in this part of Oklahoma has reeeeally great customer care and service!.

[M3R8]

Where I am here in central Europe the stealer charges 33 Euros (thankfully including VAT) per liter of the oil we need. Since we need 10+L that's 330 Euros only for oil not including stealership work which would be at least another 80 Euros.

I bought a 20L canister of Castrol Edge of the spec we need for 150 Euros including shipping and will show up with that to the dealer.

Whomever is stupid enough to pay insane amounts for oil changes on their "supercar" should just continue doing so. I won't do it by principle alone even if I have to get my hands dirty - there's nothing wrong in that.

[BlueSander]

Somewhere in this forums I saw a tutorial on how to change the oil at home. It takes less than 30 minutes once you get used to it.