I want an audi!

[Roland]

If of course you live in Germany, an Audi is a much better choice.
Cheaper and more Audi dealer/mechanics.

In Holland cars (especially German ones) are much more expensive than in Germany...but amarican cars are even more expensive.
What I was wondering (and seeing that you are an expert) are there troubles with car motors because in the US the petrol is usually lower in octane number?
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Motor troubles these days, in ANY car, revolve around two items:
Engine oil, and timing belts. Failure to do either will kill your car. Guess how many people don't do either? :P

Outside of that, it's very rare to hurt a motor in a car, outside of extensive abuse (i.e. over-revving, running without sufficient coolant, or allowing a head-gasket to blow / leak). But those two above things are very common problems, unfortunately, and are the cause of most of the motor troubles we see. When the timing belt goes, the engine goes, too, very often in an explosive manner (a valve usually gets shot through one of the pistons, due to the sudden "stop" of the engine; imagine not wearing a seatbelt when you crash your car head-on into a telephone pole, and you'll get the idea of what it's like when a car loses its timing belt).

Not changing the engine oil at proper intervals, and in some cases, not using the proper type of oil (i.e. synthetic versus regular), can cause what's known as a "sludge motor". Oil breaks down over time due to use (i.e. heat, time, etc.), and thus turns into this sludgy gunk that pools at the bottom of the oil pan. This very often not only means the engine isn't running with a full amount of oil, but more often than not the oil pump tubes are set near the bottom of the oil pan, and thus they start to suck up this sludge. This clogs the oil pumps, further reducing oil flow, and eventually cases extensive engine wear due to lack of lubrication. Sooner or later, that engine will simply seize up. One other problem, though, occurs when you finally DO change the oil: fresh oil has detergents in it, just like gasoline, to keep the engine clean. Putting in fresh oil after extended periods of time without changing the oil will lead to the above scenario, only MUCH faster. It's not uncommon to hear of someone changing their oil, and within two weeks the motor completely seizes. This is due to the fact that the fresh oil cleans out a portion of all the sludge, and thus it gets sucked right into the oil pump, where it clogs it up. Oil stops flowing the engine, and voila! One dead engine.

These oil problems are further compounded by most newer cars requiring synthetic oil (which not all places carry, or even know about; Jiffy Lube especially seems to be a big target for this), which is itself much more expensive than regular oil - sometimes twice as much. Also adding to the problem are all these car manufacturers building cars specified to go 5,000, 7,500, or even 10,000 miles on a single oil change. This in itself isn't so bad, as it offets the higher cost of the oil. But when you do get your oil changed, if you use improper oil, and then you go that 5,000, or 7,500, or 10,000 miles on it, the oil was not designed for such high mileage, and thus breaks down much faster, leading to the problem outlined above.

The best advice I can recommend to anyone, with any car (new or old), is this: follow those service records! Do not miss any. The cost of missing one can be far greater than the cost incurred by doing it. Don't miss oil changes. Don't put in the wrong type or grade of oil. And don't forget to do those timing belts, especially when most dealers do the first few for free!