First time owner of a new 2012 A4 I had no clue what the CVT transmission was. I had been test driving an A5 Quattro and at the last minute when I declined their best offer, I was shown an A4 (non-Quattro), or FWD. I took a short spin around the block and said it shifts pretty smooth and was never giving the CVT explanation.

Huge mistake!!! I have had conversations with Audi, the dealership I purchased the car and competitive dealerships. The best solution they came up with was to exchange it for a certified pre-owned equipped the way I wanted. My out of pocket cost ranged from $8-12K. The quattro is a $2100 add and the MMI has increased over $1K.

I believe the sales tactics to avoid talking about the CVT is criminal. I have learn to hate this CVT. I actually had an appointment to pick up a certified pre-owned 528 BMW and canceled that and took delivery on the Audi. What a mistake. I did learn one thing....Audi extends the warranty on their pre-owned to 6yrs 100K miles. It only cost me $3K for a 7yr 70K....what a deal

Will I ever own another Audi....It is unlikely. Will I own another BMW ?? I'm leaning towards Lexus/Acura. German cars my just suck. I haven't had great experience with Mercedes either. Should have kept the old Lexus.

 

Sorry for you but didn't you investigate the car before you bought it? There is tons of data on the web about this transmission . If it is such a problem just take the loss and move on. I assume you have learned a lesson here.

 

I did Not do my homework, you're right. As I stated I had no idea what a CVT was until 3-4 week after taking delivery. Isn't that sad coming from someone who researches the crap out of everything? The intention of the thread is simply raise awareness. I'm a 71 yro retired engineer...the problem it isn't as easy as "just take the loss and move on", however, lesson learned

 

hahaha.. oh man. first...
did the sales man do his job correctly?... no.. did he act like any other scum bag sales man?.... yes. he got his sale, he got his pay check...

did you do your job on doing research or asking questions?.. no on research.. questions idk i wasnt there...

second. it funny how you are pinning the blame on Audi. what did audi do? make a great car.. then offer it in FWD so it fits some people budget...

you are trying to say audi is a bad car when obviously you made the mistake your self....

i work on these cars every day and i choose to work on these cars every day. because, Audi is the number one selling luxury car world-wide. you dont get there by making **** cars

now in america the story chagnes juuust a little. audi out sells bmw and Benz no problem, no as much as it makes me want to throw up when i have to say this but Lexus does out sell audi for one reason only.. because the japanese have studied and researched the american market and change everything about them selfs and their cars to be able to survive this market.

and its funny how every other car copies audi with their LED lights and their " german tuned suspension" they can try as hard as they want but no one can make a car like Audi can.

Audi being a german car.. and germans being stubborn they will not change their herritage or who they are just to sell 200 more cars. Audi's are german not germircan.

obviously you drove the A5 and enjoyed it. probably a 2.0T with quattro
you obviously liked it. i dont think you should judge a company for a mistake that you made. i would look in a mirror be a little frustrated that you didnt look into the car.a nd then i would look at the sales man and tell him he is a dirty scum bag.

i am sorry that this happened to you, not trying to be an jerk about any of it. everytime i see someone in a FWD audi it makes me sad because they are not driving a real Audi.

look into talking to the head of the used car department, talk to him, explain the situation ( keep your cool) the more of a douche bag you act the less they will be willing to help you. see i they can help you get into a quattro.

and you will never look back at a bmw/ or lexus or what ever other jalopy you thought was a good car.

 

there are a lot of threads out there that are hating on CVT.
it is an interesting design.. a standard transmission that is operated by a comuter that shifts for you..

it is what it is. to this day i wish audi did not produce FWD cars.. but they have to have a verity to stay in the market.

i am sorry about your experiance, if you have any questions about the CVT tranmission you can PM me. i will be glad to answer any questions you have, i wouldnt suggest asking a salesman...

 

Ethan....man.
I guess I came off slamming Audi. Not my intention. I really meant to be slamming the sales tactic or there of the lack of explaining the CVT to us as new Audi customers. Don't get me wrong, I accept the stupidity award for not getting specific. Who knew these damn thing existed? Never heard of a CVT. I still think it is their "dirty little secret" or they would talk about it & tell you how great it is.

The Quattro is the real Audi. I like the car inside and out. I am adapting by driving in Sport Mod accept on the highway and I wouldn't be having this conversation if I had insisted on a Quattro.

Dealerships make a difference. I had much better response and way out from a larger dealer in the Atlanta area. I admit to over reacting. In the old days I bought what I could afford in payments and if I didn't like the car for some reason I'd just trade it back in for another. I was young and stupid, now I'm old with stupid tendencies, so please don't rub it in. Audi makes great cars. I not sure this is one of them. but we're going to try to make it work.

 

Now if they could build a car that doesn't consume oil it will be as good as a Lexus.

 

how is audi not better the lexus when audi out sells lexus worldwide. Also Lexus is Japanese car, we all know that, and what is the number one selling luxury vehicle... Audi.. weird they dont even like their own cars...

you really should do you research and educate your self before you try to bash a car.

audi has one motor that has oil consumption problems.. and do you know why it has oil consumption problems? you dont so let me give you some facts.

the only reason audi has oil consumption problem is due to the fact that the distributor for audi that supplies the piston rings shipped the wrong size piston rings and marked them as the right size.....

so mistake from the supplier, what does audi do.. they give every car with that problem a brand new motor.. oh how terrible. sure its inconvenient, but audi is taking care of their customers and i should also mention that audi is even replacing these motors if it is NOT under warranty.

i mean it hurts audi's image but at the same time they are more then taking care of their customers and owners of audi's.

also when you/re the most innovative car company there is.. there will be miss haps and bumps in the road.. or you can keep buying your 2013 lexus that JUST now has technology that Audi has had since 2002

 

Ethan......you're beginning to sound like the salesman that sold us this Audi with the freaked-up transmission. He refereed to my old Lexus as a glorified Toyota. Stated that Audi was a level 2 built car and Lexus was a level 3....level 1 I guess been a Lamborghini. Don't be a jerk. If Audi has resolved it's oil consumption problem why are my exhaust tip alway caked with black soot??? I have a friend with a Lexus that has 300K on the original motor, never had an issue of any kind. Come back to us when you've got evidence Audi motors can show that kind of longevity/reliability.

FYI...ya'll need to know Audi is also finicky about gas and you need to go to the toptiergas.com site. I find it interesting my Jeep Grand Cherokee, with a Penstar V6, can burn rot gut, haul a trailer, get 20-25 mpg and still shows no evidence of soot on the exhaust pipe. Imagine that....American car?

I should have read all the crap on this forum, read the problem reviews, and been a better informed consumer, but I suck, didn't because I didn't feel I needed to. These days, always do your homework no matter what you buy or how much you pay.

This forum is to inform....and I would like to see good success stories as well as things to watch out for.

 

OK sounds like a quality control problem. When you open your mind you'll find there are better options in the automotive world. You might want to go back to changing the customers oil before your supervisor catches you tying to type on a message board. Enjoy the day