Seeking advice

[ksarauer]

Hey, I'm looking to buy a new (to me) 2012 A7. Last night as I was getting ready to pull the trigger on it I looked at the carfax and noticed the A/C compressor has been replaced 4 times. From the looks this isn't a cheap fix and it has me wondering if I'd be buying a problem or not... The car currently has 42,300 miles. It's also a really clean car and priced reasonable. The car is a Florida car and I'm from Minnesota if that would make a difference

Date . -- mileage . -- Service
9/28/2012 . -- 6391 . -- A/C Compressor replaced, Receiver/dryer replaced, refrigerant, etc...
6/28/2013 . -- 15755 . -- A/C Compressor replaced
12/20/2013 . -- 20960 . -- A/C Compressor replaced
2/27/2016 . -- 40043 . -- A/C Compressor replaced

Being it's a 2012 the dealer (used car lot) only includes a 30 day / 1000 mile warranty.

Should I be concerned?

[skooternb]

Hey, I'm looking to buy a new (to me) 2012 A7. Last night as I was getting ready to pull the trigger on it I looked at the carfax and noticed the A/C compressor has been replaced 4 times. From the looks this isn't a cheap fix and it has me wondering if I'd be buying a problem or not... The car currently has 42,300 miles. It's also a really clean car and priced reasonable. The car is a Florida car and I'm from Minnesota if that would make a difference

Date . -- mileage . -- Service
9/28/2012 . -- 6391 . -- A/C Compressor replaced, Receiver/dryer replaced, refrigerant, etc...
6/28/2013 . -- 15755 . -- A/C Compressor replaced
12/20/2013 . -- 20960 . -- A/C Compressor replaced
2/27/2016 . -- 40043 . -- A/C Compressor replaced

Being it's a 2012 the dealer (used car lot) only includes a 30 day / 1000 mile warranty.

Should I be concerned?

Seems to happen every 6-8 months... I would be a little cautious. Ask the dealer directly and see if they would also make a warranty exception if it goes within a year.

[yxri]

Very odd. If its a shady dealer, they properly just refilled the AC stuff and wrote down that the A/C Compressor was replaced. Then again sometimes shit just breaks. According to the carfax my cas turbo was replaced at 12k miles?? kinda weird,

[agent47]

I'd be careful tbh. Its not a one time issue- it has been happening repeatedly so there is something wrong unless like @yxri said that it might be a shady dealer. Dont step into a money pit. My 2013 A6 was spanking clean but once problems started, there was no end to it.

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[ksarauer]

Seems to happen every 6-8 months... I would be a little cautious. Ask the dealer directly and see if they would also make a warranty exception if it goes within a year.
Good point! I was gonna make a lower offer but I'm thinking having them cover the cost of a warranty package may be a better deal...


Very odd. If its a shady dealer, they properly just refilled the AC stuff and wrote down that the A/C Compressor was replaced. Then again sometimes shit just breaks. According to the carfax my cas turbo was replaced at 12k miles?? kinda weird,
The work was done by (what looks like) a rather large dealership in Florida called The Collection. I tried calling their service department to ask some questions regarding similar repairs and costs.
I also called a local dealer to get estimates for repair, and they don't recall any issues with the A/C but he did mention that if there were left over shavings in the lines and such it's possibly that it could continue to have issues, but again this was just hypothetical.


I'd be careful tbh. Its not a one time issue- it has been happening repeatedly so there is something wrong unless like @yxri said that it might be a shady dealer. Dont step into a money pit. My 2013 A6 was spanking clean but once problems started, there was no end to it.

That's my concern... I don't want a money pit and although you can never know up front, I'd like to have some sort of warm fuzzy rather than a worry every time I'm in the car. I have a 04 Durango that's got 250k on it and still running strong. Haven't had any issues with it, and it surly hasn't been babied either. Had a Murano a few years back that was an absolute money pit. Had to replace transfer case, transmission 3 months later, multiple A arms for wheel bearings, window motors, etc...All out of warranty... Definitely don't want a repeat of that!

[tenspeed]

Hey, I'm looking to buy a new (to me) 2012 A7. Last night as I was getting ready to pull the trigger on it I looked at the carfax and noticed the A/C compressor has been replaced 4 times. From the looks this isn't a cheap fix and it has me wondering if I'd be buying a problem or not... The car currently has 42,300 miles. It's also a really clean car and priced reasonable. The car is a Florida car and I'm from Minnesota if that would make a difference

Being it's a 2012 the dealer (used car lot) only includes a 30 day / 1000 mile warranty.

Should I be concerned?

I would pass on that car. There's something not right about the A/C-HVAC system if the compressor has been replaced four times under warranty.

We were looking at A7's a little over a year ago. Passed on several for various reasons and found one with 18K miles, a good service record and Audi care. There's a lot of fish in the sea.