I looked long and hard to find the Audi. It is definitely on my "favorite cars I've ever owned" list. Even though I've owned the car since December of last year, I've continued to watch the market on these cars. One definite trend is that they seem to lose $3000-$5000 in value once they get over 100K miles.
As nice as the car was, I felt like I had insider stock market knowledge on a a stock that was about to drop 25% and needed to do something about it. That and several other factors (15 year old daughter about to get her permit, concerns about future repairs, etc.) made me decide to test the market with a Craigslist ad. Well, it went quickly.
I ended up under the gun yesterday just trying to track down something with wheels. After a fun filled day shopping for cars in the 116 degree heat, I finally came home with a 2014 Mazda3 S Touring hatchback. So far, I love it. It's faster and more nimble than the Audi with much more modern systems. Has some really amazing features. Never heard of "Rear Cross Traffic Alert," but was impressed when the car started beeping at me when I was backing out of my driveway this afternoon as one of my neighbors came flying around the corner.
Odds are I'll own another Audi someday. Could be an A4 wagon, Allroad, or Q5. The bank vault feeling of the A6 will definitely be missed, but I'm guessing I'll have the 3 for a while.
