Drive shaft replacement: Is it covered?

Hello,

I've been experiencing a problem for some time now, where after driving for a longer distance, my vehicle starts to vibrate or shake significantly when accelerating in the 4th and 5th gears. This issue only occurs when I've driven a distance of about 70 km, which is why no workshop could help me. The first time I went to a workshop, I was told to have the tires balanced. However, over the months, this problem has become more frequent and occurs earlier, so that this weekend, while driving on the highway, I could hardly stay in my seat when accelerating.
This morning, I visited my friendly VAG dealer again, and after a test drive, he was convinced that the tires were not the problem, and he wanted to take a closer look. Now I received a call saying that the left drive shaft probably has too much play and needs to be replaced.
Can someone tell me if I can still get this fixed for free, considering I reported the problem 6 months ago, but it was unfortunately ignored by the VAG dealer.

I drive an A6 AFN with 81 kW, manufactured in June 1999, and it has now covered 85,000 km.

I would be very grateful for your help.

I would say yes, that's how it was with my G4. They fixed it under warranty up to 100,000 km. It's important that you reported it a long time ago. Let me know what the outcome is.

The mechanic had to order the drive shaft yesterday. I hope this solves the problem, as the shaft is being replaced more or less as a precaution. Can anyone tell me how much play a drive shaft is supposed to have, and would it be a good idea to replace the second drive shaft at the same time?
If everything goes well, I'll get my car back tonight, and I'll keep you updated.

I got my vehicle back on Wednesday after it was repaired, and I have to say, it's running great. It's a completely new driving experience.
Okay, now for the bad news: Audi will only cover approximately 20% of the cost as a goodwill gesture. However, I need to correct myself: my car was registered on April 29, 1999, and the repair was carried out on May 27th. Unfortunately, this means the vehicle is one month too old to qualify for the goodwill program. Although I already reported this exact problem to a VAG dealer last autumn. Is this acceptable?

'I received a letter today with the usual text: '...after a thorough review, we regret to inform you...' In short, Audi will not pay anything. Audi has contributed approximately 20% of the costs, but unfortunately, that leaves 80% for me, which amounts to 400 euros.'
Okay, I have to say I'm a bit disappointed with Audi's customer service. Just because my workshop wasn't able to detect the problem during the warranty period, I now have to pay for it. That's sad. Can anyone tell me why I should even bother going to an Audi dealership for any problems in the future? Well, there are other manufacturers that make cars, and it can't possibly get any worse. After having problems with my first A6, and now experiencing them with the second one, I think it's probably time to switch brands.
A disappointed Audi customer.