Should I keep or sell my A4 Avant?

I've got a 2004 Audi A4 Avant 1.9 TDi with 86,000 miles. It still looks smart, I like driving it and it has generally been reliable. The car got through its last MoT fine but on its latest service the garage picked up a range of minor repairs. Plus it now needs a new cambelt kit. The cost for everything will be £900.

I don't know whether it's best to pay and keep the A4 and hope it keeps going another five years, without huge repairs, or whether it's now time to replace it. We need fairly decent space as we have two young children and regularly need to transport small/medium furniture for my wife's small-scale business.

The car is used daily for lots of short runs as well as longer ones of up to 15 miles (once/twice a week), so am concerned about DPF issues if we buy a diesel. I have been thinking about the new Mazda CX-5, should I get one of these instead?

Asked on 1 February 2015 by JTCM

Answered by Honest John
I think the car is now telling you it's reached the end of its economic life. From now on you could be ploughing money into it continually and that will be money you can never recover. Mazda CX-5 diesels have a cylinder head, turbo and DPF system that is not only EU6 without additives, it makes them relatively immune to DPF problems. Same goes for the 1.6DCI Renault engine in the Qashqai.
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