How expensive are R36's to maintain?

[whichonetoget]

Do many things go wrong with them and are they significantly more expensive to maintain compared to a GTI?

Looking for a comfortable GT car with a bit of power around the $10k mark at the moment.

[Umai Naa!!]

In short, yes they're expensive to maintain.

AWD system and DSG that need servicing, then there's the 6 double platinum plugs as well.

Engine parts, just about everything is genuine only.

[kamold]

I wouldn't be buying an R36 for $10k. Would be in pretty strung out shape at that price I would think.

As Umai Naa has said (he knows, being a qualified mechanic with many years of experience with these cars) they have some complicated parts. If the DSG, mechatronics, Haldex, rear diff, or any other major parts fail you're possibly in for a reasonable repair bill.

With that said if you look after them, get them serviced by someone who knows them well (like Umai naa) and are prepared to do your research then they can be very rewarding. Can say I've enjoyed my ownership immensely and have learnt a heap getting mine to where I have it now.

[Umai Naa!!]

DSG filter is geniune only. There are some cheap ones out there, but they're garbage.

Haldex oil is genuine only, unless you want to get it freighted from a Haldex agent overseas, and pay way more. It's ~$60 a bottle from your local VW dealer.

Commonly-replaced coolant flange on the back of the head is genuine only, but only $30 or so, plus the o-ring from VW.

Sump is genuine only. Don't ever break this. Mega dollars.

Front crank seal plate is genuine only. Seal isn't available seperately, and if you did manage to match one up, you'd end up breaking the plate digging the old one out anyway.

Spark plugs, NGK is the only decent OEM offering, but hard to get locally unless you wait for them from overseas. Other option is Autolite, which are not that great, and also difficult to pin down a full set of six. They take a very specific plug that isn't shared with anything else.

Filters are a no-brainer. A few decent OEM offerings out there. Oil and cabin are shared with Golf, Tiguan, etc. Air filter is the same as a Mk5 Golf R32. Water pumps and radiators I can get OEM locally at reasonable prices too.

[Captain Courteous]

I'm in a somewhat similar situation to the OP.
Looking into wagons at present, deciding between a MY08 R36 and a 2012 A4 2.0 TFSI (both come into budget, around $22k) - From what I can tell so far both are good examples, just a matter of checking them out in person etc.

So both are AWD & DSG. Is it safe to assume similar maintenance costs for the Audi too?

Mileage for reference: A4 = 88k kms & R36 = 100k kms
The wagon will be our family hauler/daily doing 15k kms average annually..

I also have the Q5 on my list, but there are none currently on sale that turn me on.

Cheers guys.

[Felixrising]

If you ever want to get some extra torque and power out of the engine, the 2.0 TFSI has tuning potential compared to the naturally aspirated R36 which has practically no potential outside of bolting on a supercharger

The R36 wagon is fine for a family, I have two baby seats in the rear seat which doesn't leave much space for anyone else (petite people could use the remaining seat) and there is 1m x 1m boot space which fits a double pram plus shopping just fine.

I have no experience of the 2012 A4 2.0TFSI though. Umai Naa is a VW mechanic so can probably give an idea of service costs between each.

[Umai Naa!!]

They're fairly similar, but you'll probably have more engine troubles with the 2L TFSI motor, which is the same as the Mk6 Golf GTI. Timing chains, oil leaks, water pumps, intake manifolds, carbon build-up, and so on.

[Captain Courteous]

The R36 wagon is fine for a family, I have two baby seats in the rear seat which doesn't leave much space for anyone else (petite people could use the remaining seat) and there is 1m x 1m boot space which fits a double pram plus shopping just fine.

Sounds perfect for us, we just have the one rear facing seat. I'm coming from a mk6 GTI which we were intending to keep, but realise now we simply need more boot space.

They're fairly similar, but you'll probably have more engine troubles with the 2L TFSI motor, which is the same as the Mk6 Golf GTI. Timing chains, oil leaks, water pumps, intake manifolds, carbon build-up, and so on.

Good to know. Our previous VAG cars have all been new, so this would be our first 2nd hand purchase. Only issue we had with the GTI was the oil consumption, but knew this going into it so managed accordingly. I was of the opinion that the issue with the chains was sorted by 2012 which was our MY, so when looking for a 2.0 EA888 A4 I was only searching for 2012 onwards. Is my information wrong?

I really am on the fence between the two. Pros and cons for both.

If it were you, which would you pick??

[IanPGonzaga]

iv'e heard the PCV diaphragm in the cam cover tends to go?

[Captain Courteous]

I'm pretty set on the R36 now, however the one I had my eye on sold last weekend ffs.

Two things pushed me toward the VW over the Audi:
- From what I can tell (and happy to be corrected on this one) there's no ISOFix mounts in the rear. Deal breaker for the wife.
- There is ISO on the 2012 and up models, but they introduced that Stop-Start tech which I have a hatred for. Deal breaker for me!

To answer the OP, from my point of view with a second hand car (even a new car) go in with the mind set that something will potentially go wrong with it - and do I have the coin set aside for when it does? Find a good specialist you like and get the car looked at and serviced there. If you want to be a hero and do stuff yourself (I'm guilty of this) only work on the stuff you are 110% sure of.

But yeah, cars, bikes, kids, my drinking habit etc. Everything is expensive. Life.