Greetings,
I am relatively new to TDIs. I previously owned a 2004 Jetta TDI, but sold it and bought a 1998 Audi A6, 2.5L V6 TDI. I liked the more luxurious body and bigger space for the family – even though it’s an older car. I knew when I bought it that this was an Audi that was built for the German market – not built for the North American market. The German-Canadian guy I bought it from had imported it directly to Canada himself. He was upfront about this but when I asked him about parts, he said most things were fairly easy to get, but some parts might have to be sourced directly from Germany. Within a few months, the fuel pump went. It took my mechanic a while to figure out how to deal with it and I ended up having to order a reconditioned pump off eBay Austria. The car was off the road for muuuuch too long. Now I’m having trouble even finding the most basic parts, like oil and fuel filters. I love the car, but regret the challenge of buying parts for this car built for the European market, with slight differences with the models built for North America.
I’m wondering two things. First, if others have similar models (built for the German market) and how you have handled parts purchasing and where you are sourcing parts from. Second, is there some kind of “master list” of parts so I don’t have to struggle with finding part numbers every time I need something fixed. I happen to have a friend in Germany right now and he is going to an Audi dealer there for me to try to get some part numbers for a CV boot and wheel bearings.
I’m working with a very reputable VW/Audi specialist mechanic just outside of Winnipeg (Steel Brothers) but even they have a hard time sourcing parts for this car.
While I love the car, this parts issue is really frustrating me. Thanks for any input you folks can provide.
[FONT="]Matt[/FONT]
I am relatively new to TDIs. I previously owned a 2004 Jetta TDI, but sold it and bought a 1998 Audi A6, 2.5L V6 TDI. I liked the more luxurious body and bigger space for the family – even though it’s an older car. I knew when I bought it that this was an Audi that was built for the German market – not built for the North American market. The German-Canadian guy I bought it from had imported it directly to Canada himself. He was upfront about this but when I asked him about parts, he said most things were fairly easy to get, but some parts might have to be sourced directly from Germany. Within a few months, the fuel pump went. It took my mechanic a while to figure out how to deal with it and I ended up having to order a reconditioned pump off eBay Austria. The car was off the road for muuuuch too long. Now I’m having trouble even finding the most basic parts, like oil and fuel filters. I love the car, but regret the challenge of buying parts for this car built for the European market, with slight differences with the models built for North America.
I’m wondering two things. First, if others have similar models (built for the German market) and how you have handled parts purchasing and where you are sourcing parts from. Second, is there some kind of “master list” of parts so I don’t have to struggle with finding part numbers every time I need something fixed. I happen to have a friend in Germany right now and he is going to an Audi dealer there for me to try to get some part numbers for a CV boot and wheel bearings.
I’m working with a very reputable VW/Audi specialist mechanic just outside of Winnipeg (Steel Brothers) but even they have a hard time sourcing parts for this car.
While I love the car, this parts issue is really frustrating me. Thanks for any input you folks can provide.
[FONT="]Matt[/FONT]
