Kurt,

For what it's worth, I have owned both Audis and BMWs for the last twenty years. I currently have 5 of each in the family fleet. On average, my experience has been that the Audis were more reliable and less costly than the BMWs. In fact, the most reliable car I have ever owned was a 2000 Audi S4 that required zero repairs in the 4+ years and 50k miles I had it. My latest Audi, is also completely problem free after 2 1/2 years.

And I agree, they have nothing to do with Porsches and never have, really. One data point, nothing more.

JR

Funny, I just replaced a Tercel with an 11 year old Volvo Turbo wagon. Not exactly low maintenance. IMO, Go low maintence and give your Porsche the time and money she deserves.

I have been VERY pleased with my VW R32. 240 normally-aspirated hp, AWD, 6-sp, great brakes, IRS, Koenig seats, fantastic steering wheel, hatchback versatility, limited production, etc.

I have put about 22,000 virtually trouble-free miles on mine. I don't know what the used price would be, but I would guess you might find one in the high teens. However, they will likely be somewhat hard to find -- they only made 5,000 for the U.S. & they were only sold in the 2004 MY.

Doug