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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: So. Cal.
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Audi?
My sister is in need of a car - her trusty old Infinity is dying. How are Audi's these days? Any real world experience? I have heard bad things about electronic gremlins in the past - but I suppose all new vehicles have such sophisticated systems there's bound to be problems.
Two being considered: 2007 Audi A4 3.2 quattro Cabriolet $27,850 2006 Audi A4 1.8T Cabriolet w/ Premium pkg $25,000 All opinions welcome. TIA
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David 1972 911T/S MFI Survivor |
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Oh lord..........
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‘07 Mazda RX8-8 Past: 911T, 911SC, Carrera, 951s, 955, 996s, 987s, 986s, 997s, BMW 5x, C36, C63, XJR, S8, Maserati Coupe, GT500, etc |
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Anecdotal or universal? Checking edmunds now.
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David 1972 911T/S MFI Survivor |
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German autos: '79 911 SC, '87 951, '03 330i, '08 Cayenne, '13 Cayenne 0% Liberal Men do not quit playing because they get old.... They get old because they quit playing. |
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I don't think anything from VAG in the last 10 years can be called reliable. Just the electric gremlins make a British car look sane. Then there's been a number of design issues that the company won't stand behind, like 1.8T engine sludge, timing belts that snap before their change interval, coil packs with a lifespan that is measured in months, suspension bushings that wear out at 30k, that kind of stuff. They're beautiful cars that typically drive very well, but I wouldn't recommend one to anyone. Jim Cesiro had a nearly new A6 that was the second coming of Christine, Tim Hancock had an older A6 2.7TT that was a maintenance and repair nightmare. Maybe they'll chime in.
Why not a BMW or Mercedes convertible?
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‘07 Mazda RX8-8 Past: 911T, 911SC, Carrera, 951s, 955, 996s, 987s, 986s, 997s, BMW 5x, C36, C63, XJR, S8, Maserati Coupe, GT500, etc |
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I just can't understand why anyone with $25K+ in their pocket would even consider buying an Audi, when there are so many good cars available for that kind of coin.
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Quote:
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German autos: '79 911 SC, '87 951, '03 330i, '08 Cayenne, '13 Cayenne 0% Liberal Men do not quit playing because they get old.... They get old because they quit playing. |
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Ok, in defense of Audi (don't hit me Tim LOL).. My 2001 1.8L Quatro has 180k on it, virtually with no problems.. Not what I would call a great DIY car but it's been reliable and I'd buy another A4
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"Todd" 98 Tahoe ,2007 Saturn Vue 86 930 black and stock, 80 930 blue tracdog 91 Spec Miata (yeah I race a chick car) "life"ll kill ya" Warren Zevon |
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For $25k, I would go with an E46 330 convertible with about 20-30K miles.
Actually, I would go with an E46 M3 convertible with 50K miles.
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Garrett Living and Thriving |
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Any other recommendations for 25K or less fun reliable low mileage cars???
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David 1972 911T/S MFI Survivor |
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Sedan, coupe, convertible........? What is she looking for? Generally speaking the most reliable will be Japanese, but they might not be quite as much fun. If I had a non-car savvy sister in that situation, I'd probably push her towards an Infiniti, Lexus, or Acura.
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‘07 Mazda RX8-8 Past: 911T, 911SC, Carrera, 951s, 955, 996s, 987s, 986s, 997s, BMW 5x, C36, C63, XJR, S8, Maserati Coupe, GT500, etc |
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Quote:
I just paid 14k for a 77k mileage '03 BMW 330i with sport/premium/winter package. It is like new. Surely one could find an even newer one with fewer miles for less than 20k... even more so if you also look at 325's. I have not looked much at Japanese cars lately, so I can't comment on what they are going for. Audis are fine cars to drive, but they can cost you a fortune to repair once the warranty expires.
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German autos: '79 911 SC, '87 951, '03 330i, '08 Cayenne, '13 Cayenne 0% Liberal Men do not quit playing because they get old.... They get old because they quit playing. |
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Listen to this man!!! Listen to him!
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Ole Skool - wouldn't have it any other way |
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Get a used Acura TL. Great, reliable cars, and you can buy a pretty nice one for $25K.
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Steve Wilwerding 1998 3.4L Zenith Blue Boxster 2009 Meteor Gray Cayenne |
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I know I'm an outlier on this board, but my 2005 Audi S4 has been bulletproof to 60,000 miles. Perhaps the best is yet to come.
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I too, go against the grain here. Our 3 yrs with our 02 A4 has been very good. We had warranty for the first two but the cost would have been about $1K. We spent about $1K again two months ago.
The last 3 years with our 00 323i BMW has averaged over $2.5K per year. It is in the shop today to get the friggin' airbag light off. The airbag light is factory set to go off every year (at the cost of $1K per visit). A sensor mat in the seat one year. The seatbelt heads last May when I was going to sell it. Now I AM going to dump it & the light is on again. Now it's a seatbelt return mech. And on & on. Just to irritate the Audi Haters here I was thinking earlier about posting my lastest BMW horrors & titling it: BMW: The Ultimate Wallet Suckage. So like I said, my experience is the opposite of the majority here. Ian PS Can you tell I'm pissed about paying a $1600 bill for a car just to sell it for ~$7K? But it wouldn't pass a safety check without it.
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'87 Carrera Cab ----- “Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.” A. Einstein ----- |
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Quote:
Hell, post away about BMW's vs Audis.... Won't irritate me a bit as I am done with my nightmare. ![]()
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German autos: '79 911 SC, '87 951, '03 330i, '08 Cayenne, '13 Cayenne 0% Liberal Men do not quit playing because they get old.... They get old because they quit playing. |
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Anybody want to buy mine? I'll make you a deal. Nice reliable car . . .
![]() Ian
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'87 Carrera Cab ----- “Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.” A. Einstein ----- |
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If it was a stick and had sport/premium/winter package, I would have bought it if the price was right.... unfortunately I already bought a 330i last week. On second thought, if the price is right, Iwould not mind latching onto one for me to drive. I can handle fixing a few small issues and code resets (childs play compared to any engine or suspension work on an Audi), what are you asking for it?
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German autos: '79 911 SC, '87 951, '03 330i, '08 Cayenne, '13 Cayenne 0% Liberal Men do not quit playing because they get old.... They get old because they quit playing. |
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