[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by kaisen

Most of us have perceptions about cars that we hold onto, some indellibly burned into out minds. There's no doubt that Audi had a whole lotta issues in the early 2000s..... that was a decade ago!! They might be making the best cars in the world right now but those people can't let go of their perceptions that Audis have issues. I'm not sure if it's once bitten twice shy, but I do hear people say they'll never own another based on whatever bad one they had all those years ago. Not only Audi, but other makes too.

Some old timer on here swore off GM products based on a pop can welded into his door on a 1973 Vega (or something like that), roughly 40 YEARS AGO. Relevant today?

True, but in a world full of generally good cars to choose from, why give money to a company that screwed you over? If I have a negative experience with any company I try to avoid giving them any business, why reward them?

I had a '99 A4 5-speed FWD that I drove for about a year. It was far nicer inside than a BMW (which I find to be cheaply made), much more stylish than a comparable Mercedes but not as solidly built. It was a fun car to drive and got great MPG. I don't recall doing any major repairs, but I bought it immediately after it received a new turbo and a rebuilt head from the timing belt breaking before the change interval. I really pitied the previous owner. My biggest knock on them is their apparent quest to make maintenance access incredibly difficult for even simple work, everything seemed to be made from brittle plastic that crumbled when touched, and the high degree of complication.