Hello!

I'm in the market for a mid-size luxury sedan because a new job will have me driving all over New England. I currently own an 05 Jeep Grand Cherokee and with the HEMI, my mileage is about 12MPG. Needless to say - I want something a little more economic, sporty, and adept. I've owned a 9-5 before and loved it, however the 4wd component of the Audi A4 has me interested.

My needs are simple: Must be fun to drive, quick, quiet, reliable, and get 20MPG+. 4WD is not a requirement, but a nice to have. Neither the Saab or the A4 have easy in-dash navigation options - but I will need a built-in nav. I will also require the best ipod integration I can get.

I am looking for used - with a max of $20k. The Audi A4's I see online have about 30-40k miles.

1. Is this a good car for my needs?
2. Any ins and outs of specific years / engine sizes?
3. Anyone ever own a Saab 9-5 and have a good comparison for me?
4. any pictures of in-dash navs?
5. How many miles can I really go with one of these? I'll be doing a 36 month loan, and likely adding 40k a year in miles. I would like something of value at the end of 36 months - meaning it'll be sporting about 150k or higher in miles


Any opinions are welcome. Go ahead and bash the 9-5 idea if you want to - just tell me why you love the A4 so much.

Thank you!!!!

KB

 

Since you're in new england, 4 wheel drive is a huge plus.

Anything you drive 40k+ a year (thats insane!) should be on a strict maintainenece schedule. The Audi is very reliable when properly maintained.

Audi's are very tight and fun to drive.

You should get more than 20 mpg even with your foot in it all the time, much better than that on highway.

1. yes
2. Get as new as you can afford, preffereably with a warranty. Mainteneance is $$$$ on these. The turbo model is most fun, 6 cyl is most reliable. Def. get Quattro / manual.
3. dont know.
4. no
5. They do hold their value well, and it will last. Obviously very high miles hurts the value of any car, no matter what you buy.

 

If you liked your Saab youll love the A4. It can meet all your needs easily. A warranty is a great idea of course.

 

ive owned both, my family is a huge european car fam. ive had a 2000 9-5 aero and a 2002 9-5 aero. as well as my a4, my sisters both rock b6 a4's. if you plan on leaving the car stock, id go with the saab, as even an SE is faster than a 1.8t stock. the saabs are great highway cars, higher gearing, so you wont be revving out on meaningless HW trips. if you can find an aero, this is the saab to buy. the 9-5 is a 2.3 turbo so it has a bit more *****. moddifying is easy for either car, obviously the a4 has more mods available, but hirsch and sqr work wonders on the saabs.

 

if you're buying used, you're probably aware that saab is the depreciation king!! they're great cars and you'll get a better 9-5 used car buy than you'll ever get with an A4, which tend to retain their value better. also the 9-5 is a much larger car on the inside than the cramped A4, especially if you're hauling people in the back seat.

assuming you're ok with fwd as opposed to the optional quattro on the A4 (though don't forget alot of A4s on the road are fwd), i'd stick with a late model 9-5 V6 3.0t model. newer ones have the 2.3t with 220 hp. and if you can find one, the newer Aeros have 250hp.

again, i'm not saying which car is better, more reliable, faster etc. all i'm saying is that for the same price, you'll get a much nicer, well equipped 9-5 on the used market than an A4. and if i were buying used, that's what i'd do.

 

Good points... Except, for me, everytime i look at the interior of a Saab, i throw up in my mouth a little.[&:]

 

you're probably getting airsickness. saab.... born from jets....

 

Its not air sickness, its the Saab exterior that makes my stomach queasy.....

 

haha good one... But what I should have said was, Im pretty sure that Hellen Keller had a lot to do with the design of Saab's interior. They all resemble the 1987 Saab 900 interior too much, which in my oppinion is the ugliest car ever manufactured. Buying a Saab is like moving into a community where all your neighbors homes were forclosed on.
I like the Aero a lot when it came out, but as soon as i saw the interior i was completely turned off.
Actually, did they change the interior of the aero in 05? I just saw this: 9-2x aero (like it a lot)

 

Love my A4 in New England. Im from the boston area and spend a lot of time in upper New Hampshire. My A4 hasnt failed me yet.