That's pretty much been my experience with my Ford. You're inevitably going to have problems. It's just a matter of whether you consider them significant. That's why I'm always a little suspicious of these polls that ask people whether they've had problems and they say "no." Do they really mean "no," or are they simply discounting the significance of the problems?
I've spent a lot of money having maintenance done on my car--brakes, belts, etc. All that doesn't count, though. It's to be expected on any vehicle.
The nice thing about Audi is when you Lease, all service and maintainence issues are covered 100%...exceptions are tires (unless defective) and any self-inflicted damage.
So we have spent virtually nothing for the past 5 years. Of course, it's built into the price of the car, and thus the lease payment (nothing is FREE!) but at least you know what that is and you have no variable expenses during the life of the lease while under warranty, which is 48 mo/48,000 miles.