Looking to buy an Audi Q7 3.0TDI

[dubbing]

Afternoon all, 

Firstly apologies if this has been covered before. 

I have been car enthusiast for many years, owning a range of VW's & BMW's. But now in a position where I feel a 4x4 would be best suited. I have taken a liking to the Audi Q7 and find myself keep coming back to them. 

I have a budget of £20,000 but would ideally like to spend less than this, if possible. It'd have to be something special for me to go over the budget, but wouldn't rule it out, if the right car came up. 

I am new to the Audi world, but would like it to have at least some S-Line spec.

• What are the running costs of owning a vehicle like this? 
• What are repair/maintenance costs like? 
• What are the common problems? 

I have seen some 2010 plate models onwards, and then seem to have a decent spec. 

Thanks in advance! 

[Steve Q]

Welcome to the forum kapil :) 

youll find the members on here are a friendly and helpful bunch :) 

good choice on choosing a Q7 as they are cracking cars! 

Your budget is very good so it shouldn't be too hard find a nice q7 :) 

as with any car check the service history. This should ideally be full on a car like this. If it has full Audi history then you can ring Audi to see what work has been carried out. 

Also if your looking at a 2010 model then I would say it will be due a cambelt and water pump change by now. Mainly due to age rather than mileage. If it hasn't been done it might be worth trying to haggle in a car your looking at. 

To be fair the 3.0tdi is a good engine but I know this engine did suffer with intake manifold swirl flap issue on the Audi A6 but not sure if this affects the q7 to be honest.

If the q7 is affected with this issue and it goes wrong, a repair kit can be purchased forbapprox £80. If you take it to Audi they will want to fit a new intake manifold which will cost approx £500 for the part alone! 

Again gearboxes are good but make sure that the gears change smoothly both in auto and manual as any issues can be costly to fix! 

One thing that is expensive for the q7 is tyres and they can be heavy on them. When looking at a potential car make sure the tyres have even tread on each tyre on that axle as uneven tyre wear can damage the Quattro system. And again the tyres should be matching on the axles. 

With the s line spec you get a lot of toys so make sure everything electrical works as they can be expensive to put right. 

When you are looking some of the more desirable options include panoramic sunroof, auto closing boot (button on the inside of the boot) and reverse camera  to name but a few. 

When you have found a car your interested in, ask the seller if you can get an independent vehicle inspection carried out. Companies such as the AA or RAC offer this service. If the seller refuses or is reluctant then you have to wonder what they or the car have to hide. 

Hope iv helped :) 

cheers

steve 

[Q7Dan2017]

Audi Q7 are a great car to drive and enjoy, running costs ur looking at, if you are a careful driver 34 mpg otherwise 25 to 30! Recomend getting it remaped if its a long term purchase getting to the 40mpg if ur careful! Tax is just under £600 a year but you have to expect that with engine / size of car and 7 seats. Insurance depends on you and if you shop around. Any thing else don't hesitate to ask 🖒

Regards

Dan