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Audi A4?

NutmegCT

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Friend is looking for a used Audi A4 for his son. Son is 27, married, and prefers an automatic trans.

I wondered if anyone here has thoughts on the pro's and con's of the older A4s.

Thanks.
Tom M.
 

waltesefalcon

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I have no personal experience with newer used German cars but I did avoid buying an Audi awhile back because most of what I heard lines up with Mr. Neuman's assessment.
 

waltesefalcon

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I heard that they have a lot of faults that will send them back to the shop: everything from electrical issues to transmission and engine troubles. I'm guessing that they had some build quality problems for a few years.
 

Alfred E. Neuman

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I work on a different German make, but I have a friend who's a service advisor at an Audi dealer. From what I'm hearing, aside from the usual German car gremlins due to a hyper-complex computer networks controlling everything, there's an endemic issue with the timing chain on nearly all the Audi's. Either the tensioner loses pressure when the engine isn't running and providing oil pressure, or some other similar thing happens. End result is the possibility of slack timing chain at start-up, which can lead to jumped time.
I know this is an issue with certain MB engines as well, as I've installed updated chain tensioners with ant-drain valves to they don't lose pressure when the engine isn't running.
 

PAUL161

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One of my grandsons worked for a BMW dealer in Tulsa, he said he'd never own one, even if he could afford it. He said every day two or three came into the shop with something wrong! A lot of electrical problems. These are fairly new cars and top of the line models. :rolleyes:

Thing is, he said most owners are wealthy and just bring them to the dealer or have the dealer pick them up and get a doner car to use. They should have just bought one of the doner cars, their holding up! :highly_amused:
 

Popeye

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Great driving, great safety, great looks (IMO). Find an honest and intelligent mechanic.

German cats are more “persnickety”, due to the added electronics. But I think the extent is a little exaggerated. And I (my opinion) consider it a worthwhile safety trade off. My 2010 e91 dries the brakes for me when I drive through a puddle; the brake lights are brighter when I hit the brakes hard; I have dual rear fogs for heavy rain; and lots of little things that might make the different one day. (Not yet on 170k, but life is short and surprises happen.)
 

JPSmit

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If my wife's Mini (BMW) is anything to go buy, it has quirks that a car of that age/quality shouldn't have - and everything is more expensive and inaccessible than my Kia.
 

Bayless

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A couple of years back I wanted a BMW Z3. A friend who owned a Z4 at the time warned me not to get one unless it came with an extended warranty. He later traded that for a MB C class convertible and claimed it cost twice as much to maintain as the BMW so dumped it and went back to his MGB hobby instead. I bought the Saab instead.
 

Alfred E. Neuman

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I look at the "prestige" of German cars like this:
You're buying a car to drive every day, not some toy to drive when the weather is nice on the weekend. NO WAY would I put up with the reliability and maintenance hassles of a German car for $50-60k that I wouldn't tolerate on a Honda Civic for $25k.
I'm jaded because I see then all day every day. But our SA's typically tell new customers to plan on an average of ~4K a year to maintain and repair a M-B. There's not a chance I'd EVER budget that kind of scratch to keep a daily driver on the road, I don't care how much money I have.
 

waltesefalcon

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I think that as technology has supplanted workmanship the difference between "economy" and "prestige" models has become more esthetic than anything. The price of upkeep isn't worth the while on most of these "prestige" models from Europe.
 
OP
NutmegCT

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Interesting comparison of today versus "the good ol' days".

When my parents got their first Mercedes (a 1961 220S sedan), it had *no* problems for the ten years we owned it. Same for the 1960 190b my dad used as his daily commuter. The initial purchase costs of those cars were sometimes double what a similar Ford or Chevrolet would run - but the Ford or Chevrolet was usually back at the dealer's shop (or on jacks in the garage) when the Mercedes was still running smooth.

A distant memory:

https://www.mbzponton.org/valueadded/other/cusep1958.htm

I doubt we could say the same about a new Mercedes. Techno-wizardry, yes. Reliability, maybe not. Sad.
 

Alfred E. Neuman

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Best way I can put it is like this:
A 124 chassis E class in 1992 was somewhere north of $40k to start. A new 213 chassis E class is just north of $50k to start. So the price has held fairly constant. And several orders of magnitude more electronics and gizmos are in the new car. So for that price point to be similar, something had to give.

For the best of all worlds, I'd go with a 210 chassis E class with a 112 v6 or 113 v8. Last of the million mile engines. Literally can't kill that engine. But it's modern enough to have OBDII diagnostics so any little thing that does go wrong is easy to diag and fix. And a fairly clean engine with most modern emissions controls. Not all the info-tainment stuff to go belly up and cost thousands to fix.
 

pdplot

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I think the A4 is turbocharged.?? Remember, a supercharger is something that makes an engine do something it doesn't want to do. Like force-feeding a goose. I might lease one of those cars for three years under warranty but never buy one.
 

Bayless

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My first Mercedes in 1963 was a 1956 190SL that was very reliable but our 2 boys were getting too big to fit behind the seats so I traded it for a 1964 (I think) 220SE (also used) that was a great car and also very reliable needing no maintenance until a teenage girl T-boned it. After several years I finally got another, the 1973 450SE. I have been told that was the first of the more "mass produced" cars while the older ones were not so much. Anyway, it was still a really good car but considerably more expensive to maintain. Interestingly, the original price on the title of the 450 was $16,400, more than double the price of my dad's big fancy Buick. I think the price on a S-class today is closer to $100K.
 

LarryK

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I don't understand a 27 yr old wanting an A4 and not know anything about it. If you are mechanically inclined it is doable. Parts aren't cheap and diagnostic equipment will be needed.
 
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NutmegCT

NutmegCT

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I don't understand a 27 yr old wanting an A4 and not know anything about it. If you are mechanically inclined it is doable. Parts aren't cheap and diagnostic equipment will be needed.

Larry - you hit it on the nose. The 27 year old doesn't really want the car; his dad does. Dad bought him a used Alfa for college graduation five years ago; it was in dad's shop about half the time. Son got tired of using dad's spare (!) Alfa when the main one was down, so wants another car. Dad wants a classic with a classy reputation, so of course dad is looking for son's car. Son doesn't even know how to change oil, so dad drives 40 miles each way to do basic maintenance.

yeesh
 

LarryK

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It's how the millenials got started. Dad's excuse to get around Mom! :glee:
 

AngliaGT

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From what I've heard/seen,Audis are very high - tech.
They even have a heater for the windshield wiper fluid.What could
go wrong? - Everything!
I was wondering.Can you even buy a new car without a screen
in the dash?I'd pay extra to get one without it.
 
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