Slash8915

iTrader: (21)

So I've been looking for a 2nd car, and I've been looking at Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Infiniti, ect. Everyone tells me to stay away from Mercedes, BMW, and Infiniti because the repair costs will make me go broke. I REALLY like the new Audi A6, and people say repair costs on them aren't too bad since they are made by VW.

Does anyone own a newer Audi? What's your take on them? Are they reliable?

99whitez28

Its kinda backwards...Audi can be expensive while the Infiniti brand is probally the cheapest of the bunch being Nissan made. Especially if you go turbo on an Audi, they can make you go broke.

white man

iTrader: (1)

They seem to have Le Mans down and R18 is very reliable. Street wise i here a lot about power train problems.

My dad would agree with staying away from Mercedes. He bought our mom a 07 C350 brand new and that car has been in the shop for something new every other month since they got it. Hasn't been reliable nor cheap to fix. Think a CTS may be replacing that car.

-Ross-

iTrader: (2)

I like the looks of them.

The newer S4 with the blown V6 is pretty badass.



13.1 @ 109mph bone stock

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNJ8He9EtDY

Texfinn

iTrader: (39)

Out of the ones you listed I would say my least favorite would actually be Audi. Even though it is essentially VW, it does not mean they aren't prone to problems. Also, what model Audi/MB/BMW are you looking at and how much you are looking to spend? That makes a big difference, too.

All of the Germans, Audi included, will need some preventive maintenance to keep them going. Especially BMW (cooling system and suspension bushing overhauls every 60K miles, or so). A verifiable service history is very important. They will definitely eat a hole in your wallet if you have to take them to a dealer every time something is needed. Either do stuff yourself or find a good indy to do the work. Parts are not really that much more expensive than on something else.

I have two MBs and a BMW in my family and in addition to regular oil changes the only money I have spent in the last 12+ months is 50 bucks for a lower intake boot on the 330i to get rid of SES light. Nothing else. Nor do they need anything at the moment, either.

I'm going to rebuild the cooling system on the BMW in the next few months before my daughter leaves for college. Parts are about 400 bucks (water pump, hoses, expansion tank, thermostat etc.) and a few hours of my own labor. At a dealer that could easily be 1000+, and then some.

5w20

iTrader: (21)

Infiniti is the cheapest to repair the easiest to work on IMO. I also think its the most reliable of those...

I don't understand how the German's like using plastic in any part of the cooling system because that **** always leaks.

hiram007

iTrader: (19)

Audi by far is the best buy. I bought my wife an S5 for Valentines day last year, Black M6 w/red interior and its great, she loves it, wouldnt have it any other way. S5's are also rare as hell. You see A4's and A5's galore but you never see any S5's. Till this point, zero problems.

Just about everyone and their dog has a BMW and is super played out. My friend has one and was kinda pissed that people dont really appreciate it. Whenever we go out, people drool over the S5. My friend usually gets the "oh, that's nice" remarks, no wow factor whatsoever. They dont look terrible but they are definitely not as bad *** looking as an Audi from any angle, side, front, or rear, not to mentioned the LED's look killer.

Mercedes to me just looks like crap. As far as Infinity, my wife's friend has one and it's nice, definitely the best bang for your buck in luxury vehicles, thats why alot of people have them.

Go with the Audi.

NV my V

i have an infiniti m45 sport that's awesome and never had any issues. interested? lol...the m45 has a nice luxury feel and i love the way it drives, but after I got the cts-v, i was like ehhh...i don't need all the fancy stuff and it's so boring to drive now. It's definitely a nice car, just not as fun when compared to my caddy.

Daez

The new A6 looks bad ***, but I would have a hard time trusting any German car.. all of their cars have horrible reliability issues(Typically somewhat small things, but constant, and costly). I'm in a heavy hunt for a car right now, and have been doing tons of research.. can't make a decision(Mind you, all the cars I'm looking at are from 2002-2009ish.. so I'm not sure how they have improved over the years).

DAVE00

iTrader: (10)

I have a BMW 330i as my DD and love the car. Picked up an 04' 5 years ago as a CPO from BMW and have been very happy. The car is reliable, easy to work on, parts can be a bit pricey (but can be had a vendors on line for good prices), Very Very fun to drive, good gas milage and looks great. Here is my car for reference:



Needless to say I will be looking for another BMW in the future.

05 GSXR 1XXX

iTrader: (16)

Had a 2005 c230 kompressor thankfully everything was under warranty.. That car went in the shop a lot! Only good thing about driving a Benz when you bring it to the dealer they treat you like royalty lol

Cam72aro

iTrader: (28)

I worked for Bmw for 9 years up until a year ago. I worked at an Indepedent for 7 months that did a lot of Audi Vw work. I work for Mercedes now. Pm me if you need any questions answered. All are good cars, just have to pay to play. People think that driving a luxury car is just buying the car and not spending money on maintenance, wrong. Its costs a decent amount on all of them to keep them going.

whatsa347

iTrader: (6)

I had a girlfriend that buy an s4 s line convertible new, the cooling was a joke. Had a thermostat go out on me one night when we were out, thankfully it was in the 20's and it didn't overheat. Oh had one of the intercoolers mess up on us one night a week after that. Not to mention the COUNTLESS leaks we had in the engine compartment. A week later she was in a 128i, to this day she still hasn't regretted it. Sucks because the Audi was a nice car, a damn nice car. FWIW you can buy a new 5.0 for 24,XXX out the door all said and done.

99CamVanillaTop

iTrader: (2)

If your looking for something for performance and luxury I would looked at a used 335i. Weve put about 40k on ours, nothing out of the ordinary besides and 02 sensor, brakes, tires, oil, nothing that would **** you off. Plenty of aftermarket for the twin-t-v6. The only issue i know with the n54 motor is the fuel pump but bmw has a 120k warranty on that part alone.

slayer_taunu

iTrader: (3)

audi has definitely improved their appearance, IMO.

when i was in college, i had a summer job as the lot guy for a porsche/audi dealership's service department. I dunno if their quality has gone up/down since then, but when i was there, it was mostly the 96-02 cars, and i dont think they ever left that dealership for under $1000-1500.

one notorious problem that would happen to the A4's, was that the water pumps would seize up, and since there is one belt for both the timing and the accessories, it would cause valves to bend when the pulleys starting skipping. i saw 3-4 cars in 2.5 months have to get engines replaced because of that.

also, according to consumer reports (as of the issue i read 2 years ago), VW/Audi is amongst the worst for reliablity ratings (along with jaguar and land rover)