The situation: Parents want to get a boring Camry Hybrid to replace current Camry (which they love for comfort and reliability), and I'm pushing A3 TDI.

Dad's supposed (some hear-say) arguments against Audi:
-German maintenance is many times more costly than a Japanese
-Audi's (and VW's) reliability sucks
-Diesel engines are much harder to maintain (!!)

Now, I'm a huge Audi fan so I know much more about Audi than he does, but I've never owned one so my opinions are invalid. Coming from you Audi owners (especially A3, even better if TDI!), how would you respond to each of those points from your own experience (like avg maintenance costs/year, etc.)??

As well, are there any notable issues you've noticed with your Audi or Audi A3? As much as I love Audis, I don't want my parents hating their new baby. Looking at JD Power, reliability doesn't look too good .

The only advantage the A3 TDI has so far in my dad's eyes is the fuel economy, especially the car is expected to drive 2-3K a month. He doesn't care about performance and torque.

Thanks for your help!!

 

For the sake of the rest of the family, don't get Toyotas that will go full throttle on its own and kill everybody in the car along with anybody that might be in its path.

Diesels are not harder to maintain. They are much more reliable, that is why practically all trucks, buses, ships, trains run on diesel.

Japan invaded China and used Chinese for experiment and prostitution. They never confessed to wrongdoing and still deny it happened.

Japan is proxy for America in its attempt to circumvent China and keep it in its place.

Audi is a prestigious and respected brand in China, so if you get one, you don't have to lose face when telling people in China you have an Audi, otherwise, if you have Toyota, you would have to lie to them in order to save face.

 

Toyotas are reliable and comfortable cars. If your Dad is against Audi's and you convince him to get one and something goes wrong, then you will be in the dog house. For the sake of family harmony I'd let them buy what ever they want.

 

1) A diesel is more economical
2) A desiel is more reliable
3) Audi give you free sheduled maint (I think)
4) The Audi crashes better
5) The Audi is larger/more practical
6) The Toyota will depreciate more
7) You get fewer features for your money with the Toyota

 

Also, facts and figures mean nothing. Test drive both.

 

I have heard some reliabilty issues with the A3. A better option might be a VW TDI. German cars can be expensive to maintain if you cant do some of the work yourself.

/$0.02

 

My A3 TDI is only a couple of weeks old but I bought it because of superior fuel economy to hybrids (most hybrids get better city mpg than hwy mpg). So if he does a lot of driving in hwy miles he will notice a big difference.

Resale value is higher on the Audi
Diesels are more reliable and cost less to maintain
Audi offers 4 years of scheduled maintainance (not free but I got it thrown in my purchase, it costs 749$ which is less than you'd spend out of pocket for four years for sure.
The Audi looks better
The Audi is more fun to drive.