Why The Audi A6 Is So Expensive To Maintain

The Audi A6 has been in continuous production now for over 30 years, with the first model appearing during the early 1990s. While newer Audi A6 models have big ambitions in terms of tech, are notably more luxurious, and, as Car and Driver found out, significantly faster than the original generation, the basic brief for the nameplate hasn't changed. Decades on, the A6 is still a luxurious midsize model, and it continues to sit between the more cost-effective A3 and A5, and the uber-luxurious A8 in Audi's comprehensive and, as of recently, SUV-dominated line-up.

While infotainment, styling, and powertrains change from one generation of the Audi A6 to the next, one thing that owners are finding a constant is the cost to maintain such a model. Unfortunately for them, the A6 has proven to be quite a financial drain when it comes to keeping it in tip-top shape, and we're interested in why that is exactly. Chiefly, it's because the A6 is brimming with luxurious extras, which of course cost a pretty penny to repair and replace, but Audi models in general are eye-wateringly expensive to run and maintain, when compared to more mainstream brands, such as Toyota and Honda.

The most reliable way to discover how owners feel about the running costs of Audi models is to ask them directly. That's exactly what one user on Reddit did, when questioning the purchase of an older A3, and numerous A6 owners piped in with their own experience-backed responses. One owner stated "I have driven nothing but A6s since 2004. I keep my cars long, about 13 years. We had an issue where my 2011 Audi needed 2 control arms. Audi wanted $1600 each. At that point you wonder if keeping the car is worth it". This post was only made in 2024, and so the above owner boasted 20 years of A6-running experience at the time. Clearly, they feel that the A6 is not a cheap car to keep going, but yet the positives still surely outweigh the negatives, considering they haven't steered away from the nameplate for such a long time.

Another A6 owner chimed in to add "I am on my first A6 and I love it. I too was put off from using the dealers when quoted $1,600 to do the front brakes". It's evident that using main dealer branches for maintenance will quickly see bills soar, so being able to work on the car yourself is a huge plus. On the bright side, changing the oil yourself at home is easy enough, and a great place to start when looking to start saving money on maintenance bills.

So, it's been established then that running and maintaining an Audi A6 isn't cheap, and the reasons are clear, too. Not only are main dealer-sourced parts extortionate, but the A6 is a left-field choice for Americans, which likely means fewer technicians know how to work on them. As is typical for more specialized fields, those who are trained to work on them can charge a premium, which means Audi technicians will typically have higher labor rates than technicians who specialize in more mainstream models.

Third-party reliability sites also back up these claims, with CarEdge suggesting that an Audi A6 will require $10,015 across the first 10 years of ownership to be thrown at it in terms of maintenance and repairs, which is marginally more than average for a luxurious sedan. Compare that with $5,503, which is the average amount of cash required to keep a Toyota model on the road and in good health, and it's clear to see that the A6 is considerably more expensive to repair and maintain than more mass-produced commuter cars. Furthermore, RepairPal estimates that $913 worth of annual repairs and maintenance bills will be required from A6 owners, tallying up nicely with the estimate provided by CarEdge.