Best Audi Years to Buy by Model
The best Audi years to buy: the 2010 A6, 2009 Q5 and 2012 A5 — the cleanest federal complaint records for each model. Years to skip include the 2017 Q7 and 2018 Q5. Based on 3,106 NHTSA owner complaints across 6 Audi models, rated model year by model year.
Source: NHTSA owner complaints, recall campaigns & service bulletins · Updated 2026-11-07 · By CarWhere Research · How we rate model years
Best Audi years, model by model
| Model | Best years | Years to skip | Years on record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audi A6 | 200920102011 | 2012201320162019 | 18 (2008–2025) |
| Audi Q7 | No standout year yet | 2017201820192021 | 18 (2008–2025) |
| Audi A8 | No standout year yet | 2013 | 18 (2008–2025) |
| Audi Q5 | 2009 | 201120182021 | 18 (2008–2025) |
| Audi A5 | 2012 | 2020 | 18 (2008–2025) |
| Audi A7 | No standout year yet | 2019 | 18 (2008–2025) |
Verdicts are each model’s own, rated against that model’s history; counts behind them are raw federal filings, not adjusted for sales volume.
The cleanest year for each Audi model
2010 Audi A6: 17 NHTSA owner complaints on record · all best-rated years: 2009, 2010 and 2011 · Best A6 years →
2009 Audi Q5: 30 NHTSA owner complaints on record · Best Q5 years →
2012 Audi A5: 22 NHTSA owner complaints on record · Best A5 years →
Years to skip, in detail
Frequently asked questions
What are the best Audi years to buy?
By model: A6 2009, 2010 and 2011; Q5 2009; A5 2012. Each matches that model's own best-years page, built from NHTSA owner-complaint and recall records.
Which Audi years should I skip?
By model: A6 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2019; Q7 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021; A8 2013; Q5 2011, 2018 and 2021; A5 2020; A7 2019. The full breakdown is on the Audi years-to-avoid page.
How are the best Audi years chosen?
Each model year's NHTSA owner complaints are weighted for severity, converted to a rate per year on the road and compared with the rest of that model's own history; the lowest rates among years with enough road time earn "best". Full method at /research/years-to-avoid/methodology.