An X-Type!!!! I am laughing my A$$ off...you realize that car is based on the Ford Contour -right? I would rather buy a 1989 Honda Civic with wind up windows and 95hp.

BTW The X-Type was just listed as one of the worst "50 Cars" EVER produced by Time Magazine.

Peritus...you really need to re-think your strategy, buy hey its your money....!

HAHAHAHAH I just found the article from Time... Hey, I like Ford Contours! (kidding).

A business case is not the same as wisdom. Certainly, Jaguar needed an entry-luxury model to compete against the BMW 3-series and Mercedes-Benz C-class. Yes, the company, owned by Ford, had access to a very successful world car platform, the Mondeo, which Americans knew as the Ford Contour. There was money to be saved. But in its attempt to turn the front-drive compact car into an "all-wheel drive" sports sedan, Jaguar ran smack into the limits of platform engineering. The result was the English version of the Cadillac Cimarron, a tarted-up insult to a once-proud marque and a financial disaster for the company. It hardly matters that the X-Type was not that bad a car. Young affluent buyers had the feeling they were somehow being grifted. They were.

The BMW 7 Series is on that list too!

I like mine. A bit of a tank, but that's why I bought it for the wife and kid (in addition to it being adjustable enough for her). It did have a transmission fault during warranty, but nothing else major/unexpected other than routine maintenance. Of course, (knock on wood) we are at relatively low miles, so all of that could change I suppose....

Yes, the X-Type was a bad mistake. You can fool some people some of the time with a car like that (putting a Jag nameplate on a Ford chassis), but people ALWAYS catch on.

The X-Type was of course supposed to be a higher volume car for Jag. Sales did OK the first year (before people figured it out), but went downhill fairly quickly.

This year, they have only sold a couple thousand. Yearly sales have declined something like 80% from the first year.

People who are still buying them now are going to be really bummed when they find out that it is being DISCONTINUED by Jag. Yep, it's been acknowledged by Jag as a mistake, and shot dead. That is going to kill what is left of the little value they have as used cars.

I have not looked at the odometer for awhile, but I think our A6 2.7T now has about 130,000 miles on it and it seems I have most of the bugs out of it. While I do not look forward to doing future repairs, after lowering it and putting the bigger wheels on it, I like it.

Last winter we took it on a family ski trip drove the last two hours on the return trip in what the local news called a blizzard. I must say that these cars are VERY solid in the snow. My wife always griped about her rear wheel drive BMW 325 in the winter, but she never complained at all last winter in the Audi. That alone is worth something. :D

pic from last years ski trip the day we left for New York (I had just installed RS6 wheels, but had not lowered it yet)
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1193144146.jpg

My 03' Allroad 61k no problems

http://home.comcast.net/~sramnit/allroad1.jpg

My 06' A6 notice white truck in picture one, it rolled out of the driveway and totaled the A6 while I had it parked in front of my house.

http://home.comcast.net/~sramnit/Audi1.jpg

I had the pleasure of a Subary Outback rental car. They were out of ultra-compacts (I always rent the cheapest thing I can) and they gave me an outback.

This was a generation ago at this point I think. The interior was acceptable- not up to Honda standards, but just fine. The engine note is kinda nice (it was the boxer 4). Not terribly fast. We were at a place called salt-spring island somewhere North of Seattle. Lots of dirt-road up the mountain kind of driving. Winding, sweeping dirt road turns... I played rally driver and it was quite a blast, and the car was pretty damn good. Subarus are pretty nice I think.

How do you plan obsolescence in a modern day German road car? Pack it with a ton of electronic, computerized components as well as a ton of intricate mechanical features that will fail over time thus causing the owner to go back to the stealer over and over again forcing the owner to consider leasing (or buying) a new one. These cars are spectacular when all the components work the way they were designed to. I would never buy a modern German car without it being under some sort of warranty. (I own a Mercedes – same crap issues)

If you delete the highlighted text from your post it would still be appropriate.

Well folks, as a result of this thread I started, and the many varying opinions, but most especially having found out that the X-Type is a Jagifyed Coutour, I've made up my mind on getting an 2004' A6.

I test drove a silver sport edition 04' A6 today (BBS wheels and sport seats) with 40,000 miles. Now, I need to price shop. There are so many good deals in the U.S., but finding one, doing a PPI, etc and getting it transported here is a major pain.

I'll let you know what happens.

Thanks for all the info so far, and keep it coming.

Welcome to the love hate relationship. :D

No doubt that the first big snowstorm, you will feel nothing but love. Audis annihilate the snow.

Just don't roll down your windows if it would be really bad if they got stuck down there. :p

Driving my mother's Audi 100 on the Thruway in the winter with the driver's window open was a nearly religious experience. From then on, when it was cold I opened the door to pay tolls. Lesson learned.