ok-- going waaaaay out on a limb here, but looking for some feedback from Audi owners and enthusiasts. I REAALLY want to pull the trigger on a 2010 A4 prestige quatro with the B&O, etc. But man-- I'm just not feeling the love. The car is unique, has AWD (good for when I head north to the winter cabin with a few inches of snow on the ground, etc.) and has a very nice interior design-- world class, etc. Decent performance (would be nicer with an extra 20-30 hp!), and the turbo helps in high altitude performance.

BUT-- reliability issues out the kazooo-- power steering issues, electrical issues, headlight leakage, wind noises or front end vibrations-- gawd-- what is this car, a Yugo! And-- an 8 speed transmission---- why? I can't imagine ever needing more than 6. My 997 does just fine with 6, and my wife's 2006 beetle (what can I say...) even does well at 7,000 feet with a 6 speed. What is the reilability of an 8 speed that shifts all day long after 50,000 miles-- and gawd what would the service and repair costs be???

I am not belittling any owner of this car-- and I'm not expecting japanese reliability, I guess-- but I'm having great difficulty spending a premium on a car with a rep-- as determined by my research on this and other forums-- for such poor reliability and quality. And then to hear the stories of poor dealer service and backup in the event of issues... Really having a tough time trying to purchase a car surrounded by all these issues..... I thought the Germans delivered premium engineering and performance???

Again-- no offense intended towards any owner of an Audi-- and I hope I don't get banned from the forum-- but I am going through angst and searching for logic and an understanding...

 

When you choose your next car, please let us know what model / make it is. I'm curious to see what you consider a 'reliable' car since my 2010 A4 has had zero problems in 7k miles.

 

I agree totally with what you ate going through, I have owned Audis since 1980, and have had a love/hate relationship with most of them. However, when the weather turns bad, and you see cars and SUV's in the ditch and you are zipping merrily by with the stereo blasting without any noticeable slip/slide, you will appreciate your S4. It is kind of like my labrador, he is always getting into troube, but you can't help loving him. If you want Japanese reliability and Lexus type service, I would not recommend any German car much less an Audi. I do think that this forum (like most) is skewed because people that are having no problems with the car or service simply are not going to post, so you are hearing from all the squeaky wheels, so to speak.

 

are you on crack? where did you come up with these? the power steering is state of the art electromagnetic...no power steering pump and maintenance. headlight leakage? i've never had any moisture in the headlights and i wash my car with a pressure hose quite often. the road noise is fantastic and i'm not sure what you're talking about with front end vibrations. are the tires balanced?

for the scheduled maintenance i bought the audi care package and had it rolled into my monthly payments. japanese reliability is a myth based on their excessive marketing. it's amazing what PR can do to a brand. i'll buy nothing other than german. both of my cars are great and i've had no issues.

 

My wife and I shopped for quite awhile before settling on the A4. It was that or something Japanese. But ever since we brought our A4 home we fight over who gets to drive it for the day. We didn't know this was going to happen until we owned it. It has character and personality beyond any car we have owned in the past. It is robust, intuitive, and fun. Yet underneath that it is safe and easy on gas. What more could we ask for?

 

Norton, since you have a 997 and VW Bug, you should be familiar with the VW family products and not be surprised by their reliabilities / issues. Mattsedona has a great point about the typical negativity of the forum messages. No one would post a message saying "hey my car is running perfectly fine today".
I think you should try the S4. I bet you will be impressed by the B8 S4 with S-Tronic and sport diff. Think of it as an 997 C4 with PDK and a usable back seat, but half the price. No, it is not a Porsche but it surely can run.
Btw, my other car is a 996 C2...

 

I also agree with mattsedona. Generally the negative reviews you've found online are from the people who have/had problems with the cars. Of course, there are lemons out there like on every other models but I would say these cars have been pretty reliable when it comes to it.

I mostly spend time on the B5 section (the model that I own) which I purchased brand new. Up until today, it's still running fine with no huge problems even after it has been modified.

 

i'm pretty sure the later 2011 models are gonna come with the updated control arms that will take care of the vibration. my 2010 doesn't have any vibrations. what is headlight leakage? as far as the 8 speed goes, i'm not very sure on that setup either. i rly haven't heard that many problems besides the vibrations and intake manifold. what else are you looking at besides audi?

 

Thanks one and all for thoughtful and credible feedback... You may all be right about the most visible and traumatic problems being pointed out on these forums. And the gent who mentioned VW issues was spot on-- I vigorously tried to talk my wife out of a beetle convertable after logging onto a forum and finding 600 questions on issues-- seriously!!! But I didn't have much choice on that one-- if you know what I mean (even after only 16k miles we had to replace a tiptronic sensor-- tranny wouldn't shift manually). Still-- an economy car like a beetle is more understandable for reliability issues than an upscale car-- like an Audi. The headlight leakage and condensation issue I think I was alerted to on Audi World?? I am trying to stay away from a BMW because everyone has one and kooky idrive type stuff, etc. Japan doesn't offer AWD in an upscale package. So-- that's why I'm tormented-- it almost seems like Audi or nothing... Oh--well, life is full of decisions.. At least I'm not trapped in the bottom of a mine or something!!!

 

norton, you can get a Lexus GS wih AWD...if that's what you want to call it - nothing beats the little q, but I digress. Honestly, I think most would agree that Lexus is the best luxury Japanese brand, but in my opinion it can't hold a candle to Audi or even BMW. I've driven them all and Audi is by far the better manufacturer.

The best way to look at the reliability issues is Japanese cars only really use older technology that has been proven, whereas, German cars use more cutting edge technology that is tested through the consumers. You might have less issues with a Lexus, but it is already behind in terms of the capabilities of a German car.

If you want a really nice car that you can be proud of get an Audi, but remember that it is a German car and you just need to take better care of it with maintenance. If you are going to second guess your decision with every minor maintenance trip, maybe you would be better off with an also-ran Lexus.