Crazy long drain interval for 04 Audi 4.2l v8?

[dan87951]

There is a car I'm interested in buying which is a 2004 model year Audi (4.2l v8). When doing some research, I was absolutely shocked at what I found... The original owner bought the car new in 2004 but did not have the car's first oil change until 2010 at 3200 miles. The second oil change was done in 2013 at 14k miles. 6 years and 3200 original miles seems like a very long time on the original oil (Mobil 0w40 factory fill). My mind is telling me to run from this car because of the lack of oil changes. Should I be alarmed? I haven't seen the car in person and have only done research but the oil change history is a bit alarming... Thoughts?

 

[raytseng]

don't the audi's have a maintenance minder? I would suspect it did not go off so the oil is still "good".

I wouldn't run based on that fact. Drive the car, see if it seems fine to you.
You're getting a car with low miles. There's going to be some quirks. Is it also on the original tires that are now 10years old since there's only 14k miles on them?

 

[dan87951]

Tires have been replaced. Yes, there is a maintenance reminder but its based on mileage only.

I do work on my own cars and have a lift in my garage but afraid waiting this long on oil changes may have caused premature damage that I cannot see. Maybe ill make the drive to throw a set of eyes on it.

 

[HKPolice]

With such severe short tripping over so many years, expect more wear but shouldn't be any worse than a car with double/triple that mileage. Unless water accumulation was a big issue and the oil turned to milk chocolate.... This is a tough call.

 

[901Memphis]

Should be fine. If you're worried take a sample before you buy it and uoa it.

 

[crazyoildude]

i would stay clear of an audi anyway they are not always bad but they can get expensive

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: dan87951
Yes, there is a maintenance reminder but its based on mileage only.

Are you sure it's just based on mileage?
The reason I ask is that OCM on my older BMW also takes coolant temp' into consideration I believe. The reason I suspect this (unless someone knows definitively) is that a few years ago I only it for very short trips in the winter
with even the coolant often didn't get up to temperature. Then during the warmer months the car was hardly driven at all. After more than a year with under 3,000 kms (1,800 mi) the OCM indicated it was time to change the oil. Normally I can go to 16,000 kms and as long as 3
years. It's a different make but I would think the considerably newer Audi would have a more sophisticated OCM?

Is it possibly to talk to the original owner to determine the actual driving pattern and the reason for the low mileage. Was the car stored for any period of time? Is it a Michigan car that perhaps wasn't driven in the winter? That's actually what I look for in a used car.

 

[The Critic]

Yes, the Audi indicator in the US is based on mileage only. CATERHAM, you should know that or should have researched this before posting.

If I had to guess, this car was probably used as a weekend car so it likely saw a few long trips a month.

Given the usage pattern, it is probably fine. Just take a peek at the valve train thru the oil filler hole.

 

[dan87951]

Thanks for the feedback. The original owner used it as his weekend fun car and didn't put many miles on it. For the most part the car was rarely driven in the winter. Yea, I'm aware of Audi part prices but from what I can see they aren't all that different from other makes. At least I don't have to pay labor.

 

[KitaCam]

Few long runs is much preferred to many short ones...you're good to go (and have it inspected, of course)...

 

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted By: dan87951
Thanks for the feedback. The original owner used it as his weekend fun car and didn't put many miles on it. For the most part the car was rarely driven in the winter.


Based on that usage pattern, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[OneEyeJack]

A UOA would be interesting.

Remember, it's not just the price of parts to think about but the labor. Is there anything on an Audi that's simple and straight forward to work on?

Owning an Audi past the factory warranty can be one big gamble. In fact, it's getting to the point that owning any new car past the warranty can come back to bite you.

 

[rjundi]

Run!

 

[BAJA_05]

Dan7591, what is the asking price? Back in the late 90s I picked up a used Audi 5000 that sat for years I was told & could tell by all the tree sap on the car just where it was parked. The longer I drove the car after I changed all the fluids, tires, brakes, etc. The better the car ran. My point, if your getting it for a deal/steal -- maybe it would be a perfect weekend car for you also!!??