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

Oh lord..........:p Search and you'll find a lot, none of it good. Jim Cesiro's experiences are particularly interesting.

Anecdotal or universal? Checking edmunds now.

Real world experience? Here you go. ;)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?t=424526&highlight=audi

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?

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.

:D 25K would buy me two nice cars and neither would be an Audi.

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

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.

Any other recommendations for 25K or less fun reliable low mileage cars???

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.

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.

Listen to this man!!! Listen to him!

Get a used Acura TL. Great, reliable cars, and you can buy a pretty nice one for $25K.

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.

That's what I'd recommend... check this one out as an example... an '05 with 61K on it for $19.9K:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=251942031&dealer_id=1328420&ca r_year=2005&rdm=1226613292175&model=TL&num_records =25&systime=&make2=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&start _year=1981&keywordsfyc=&keywordsfyc=&keywordsrep=& keywordsrep=&engine=&certified=&body_code=0&fuel=& awsp=false&search_type=both&distance=100&marketZip Error=false&search_lang=en&showZipError=n&make=ACU RA&keywords_display=&color=&page_location=findacar %3A%3Aispsearchform&min_price=&drive=&default_sort =priceDESC&seller_type=b&max_mileage=&style_flag=1 &sort_type=priceDESC&address=29204&advanced=&end_y ear=2009&doors=&transmission=&max_price=&cardist=8 3

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.

Hell, post away about BMW's vs Audis.... Won't irritate me a bit as I am done with my nightmare. ;)

Anybody want to buy mine? I'll make you a deal. Nice reliable car . . . :cool:

Ian

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?