2013 Audi Q5 for Rs 16 lakh: Worth buying?

The SUV was imported 8 years ago at Rs 70 lakh, however, the price has dropped massively since.

BHPian MrSDey recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I am considering buying a used Audi Q5 for a quoted price of around 16 lakh, late 2013 top-end model, 3.0 TDi, white colour, pristine condition - and a low crrr-crrr sound heard just once or twice if you are outside and near the engine.

The car has been serviced at Audi service centre throughout, invoices are available, 19-inch Pirellis, sunroof, 46k km driven, the first owner.

Apparently, this was an imported car and had cost Rs 70 lakh. In 8 years, it has come down to Rs 16 lakh.

Is it VFM to buy used luxury cars? How much can I expect to pay in routine maintenance of this car - how much for brake pads, timing belts, and less expensive things - and how much for a serious overhaul?

Compared to a new Audi Q5 - which I am never going to buy - how different will be the driving and ownership experience of this used Q5?

Here's what BHPian VW2010 had to say about the matter:

My mechanic advised me to stay away from Q5. Q3 is what he recommended. The above model is 8 years old. While from 70L, 16L seems a steal, from my perspective you are buying a white elephant. These cars depreciate faster than a Ford. The upkeep may not be high except for that dreaded gearbox.

If you have a budget of 20L(16+4) ready to spend for a serious overhaul, start searching for Q3's unless you need a slightly bigger car. My mechanic is JP (Germantech in Chennai) and he earlier worked in VW, Audi, and Lamborghini. According to him from his experience in these service centres, the Q3 is definitely a better buy than Q5 for reliability. I am not going to investigate that with him and I trust his judgement in these things.

You will not have a drastic change in driving experience between these two cars. In fact, Q3 may be more fun to drive and that Quattro is very powerful.

Here's what BHPian IshaanIan had to say about the matter:

Having scoured the second-hand market for alternatives to a new S-Cross, vehicles that have easy ingress/egress, are practical and well built as this would be for my parents, I discovered that a used BMW X1 poses serious value in the "luxury SUV" segment. Perhaps people mocked the looks too much of the 1st gen car (myself included) but the dynamic capability upgrade over a fat Audi, more than makes up for it IMO. Also, a Yeti might be the more practical used VAG diesel SUV/crossover option.

Here's what BHPian lamborghini had to say about the matter:

Luxury Car Depreciation is like that, unfortunately, more so since this is a discontinued model, which didn't really set sales charts on fire.

Firstly, make sure this is a 3.0 TDI, and not a 30TDi. IIRC around this time (2013/2014) Audi went in and changed the naming of their engine specs with some calculation around the G force.
So while the 3.0 TDi is a nice 6 cylinder which will plaster a smile on your face even compared to the new Q5 (2.0 TSi / 2.0 TDi only), the 30TDi is a 2.0 TDi which is just about adequate - heck, I'd advise you to buy a low run Tiguan TDI by stretching your budget over the 30 TDi.

Coming to the Q5: The Crr Crr noise could be a belt on its way out and around this time some rubber components and the like need to be worked on. I would peg maintenance to be in the range of Rs. 1L - 2L a year as over time suspension, etc. would need to be changed.

The Tyres themselves will cost over Rs. 1L for a set given they are 19".

IIRC the Q5 is a fairly simple car, without a much-complicated kit. If it hasn't needed much work in terms of repairs, it should continue serving you reliably but will need some serious downtime in getting spares (up to 1 month) & will require wear and tear related work.

I wouldn't recommend such a car as the only car in the household, and if you're tight on maintenance.

Compared to the new Q5: the new Q5 has nicer interiors, is a little more engaging to drive, and looks miles better. However, if this is a 3.0TDi - this car will easily beat the new Q5 & peers in terms of performance and if in good nick will be 90% of the driving experience.

However, I would also urge you to look for lower run Tiguans as well if you are ambivalent about performance. It's going to be newer (and hopefully under warranty), comes with similar equipment, arguably nicer interiors (design v/s quality), similar space, etc. You may have to pay upwards of Rs. 20L for a good example, but you will make up for it long-term when it comes to maintenance.

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