Yep, the 3 is a very nice car - I'm not knocking it, I'm knocking your friend's driving abilities lol. Question though - do you think the S5 could take the new 335i, the twin turbo? From all accounts that I've seen, that's a seriously fast car.

 

I don't know about that. I haven't driven the new 335i, but I've heard all kinds of great things about them. The S5 has it by about 50 hp, but it's quattro and if I'm not mistaken just a bit heavier. I'm just not too crazy about BMW these days. The styling went to hell with the death of the E46. With the exception of the Z4 Coupe, I think every one of their cars is hideous. Hell, the front end of the new 3 series looks like some jap car. Bring back the quad headlamps and kidney grills. </rant>

 

I haven't driven it either, but I've seen one driven in anger, and it was an impressive sight - that thing took the hell off in a big hurry. The S5 has it by 54hp, you're right, but with the Quattro and the larger size, it probably does outweigh it by a fair amount. Style-wise, that's all subjective as you know. Personally, I love the look of the new 5 and 6 series, and the 7 has grown on me some (although I'd still love a prior-generation 740i Sport as a family car - I absolutely love that car). In what is a reversal for me, my least-favorite of the current models is the new 3. It's not "bad", but it does seem almost like they're trying too hard with its styling. The E46, for me, is the best-looking 3 series to date.

 

One thing I've learned from enthusiast forums is that the members are so enthusiastic about their cars that they more readily accept the common problems, do much of the work themselves, and know how to source parts for less cost as you pointed out. So to them (you/us) they don't seem so bad.

I live in the west side of LA which is definitely Audi country. A4's are everywhere, and they keep my local Audi tech quite busy. Did you catch the post where I mention that he keeps a pile of failed control arms to show his customers? He replaces 5 sets a week. That's not a lemon thing, it's a design flaw. Lots of people need new ones but don't know it because they don't make noise until they get really really bad. They typically start developing small cracks before the bushings make noise which becomes a safety issue - we replaced hers when the tech saw cracks, which are hard to see without a magnifying glass or loupe. And yes, I've seen an A4 with a collapsed front end parked on the freeway before so I know they can and do catastrophically fail.

One of my best friends had a 2002 A4 Quattro 1.8T. Wonderful car...when it wasn't in the shop for weeks at a time. Serious parts chucker, everything from the engine to the drivetrain to the interior electrics, it was one problem after another. After 4 years he gave up and bought a Honda.

Anyway, my dad was a mechanic, I practically grew up in his shop, and used to do all the work on my cars, including an engine rebuild. But I don't particulary enjoy it anymore, and sold off most of my tools long ago. Also, since OBDII hit the scene, diagnosing CEL's and engine problems has become a black art of reading a code and trying to figure out what it really means vs. what it says. In the end I'm sure I've saved money by using a tech experienced with the make and model than trying to deal with it on my own. One exception - someone here gave me great tip about blowing out the heater core with compressed air which is something I can do myself pretty easily. But I'm gonna outsource the cruise control for sure since it might be the module, might be the switch, or might be any number of things.

 

I like trying to compare my Miata to my A4 because the Miata is so spirited in comparison, even though it has almost 40hp less and no power steering

 

haha, i've taken out the thermostat on my car and it's no where near as hard as u describe it lol. u must have gigantic hands or something. all i did was take a screw driver, popped out the clip and pulled the thermostat out while avoiding the coolant geyser that came out. don't u wish u had some1 as crafty as me when u changed it lol

 

I totally agree with the point of the original post, whenever I feel like I am used to my A4, feel like its slow or whatever, I take my moms 97 Escort out for a spin. Spending just 15 mins in this bad boy and then going back to my Audi makes me fall in love with it all over again. Everything on the escort just feel sloppy, and the horrid acceleration from the buzzy 4 cylinder makes my 3.0 feel like a supercar in comparison.

 

lol i took my moms Ford Windstar van to pick up chinese food cause she had me boxed in (besides i woulda taken it any way cause ididdent want my car to smell) and i gaged when i sat in it and started it up, after getting about half way home on the way back i wanted to puke because the car was so bad compared to my A4

 

You make excellent points, and honestly you're right about them all. I agree that as an enthusiast, I look past or accept problems that, were I a typical consumer, would turn me off to the brand and have me shopping the competition. I did see your post about the control arm pile, and I am keeping that in mind. My control arms were changed by the prior owner about four months before I got the car, so I feel like, design flaw or not, I'm probably good to go on them for awhile longer, but I will inspect them as you were describing (I have a loupe) come springtime. That kind of information is what makes this type of forum valuable.

I agree that since the onset of OBD II, things have gotten very complex. I am not afraid of computers and electronics (I'm an electronics engineer by trade) but all the same, the more posts I read concerning CELs and fault codes, it really seems that the regulations have gone overboard in the required complexity of monitoring. Or at the very least, the programmers have been lax in their fault code descriptions. Most likely it's necessary - I know the day won't come for awhile that you'll be able to check a code when a CEL comes on, and see a result like "Pxxxx - your driver's front ABS sensor is bad - it's not the controller, it's the sensor" lol, but maybe at some point we'll get closer to that than we are now.

I'm a boost junkie from way back, and love the feel of a powerful turbocharged car, but I own a 2.8, and sometimes I'm glad I do, especially when I read posts about fault codes, and 19 out of 20 concern the 1.8T. I have no doubt that it's a fun car and a blast to drive when modded, and I'd consider getting one as a second car, but for a daily driver, I know myself, and I'd be out there boosting the hell out of it, and I would be one of those guys posting CEL after CEL as I pushed the limits of various parts on my way to building a monster. For a daily-driven primary car, it's not the car for me. That's why my 500+ hp 300ZX was a second car - I drove it almost daily, but I still considered it a toy, and it stayed home when the kids were with me, when the weather wasn't dry, or anytime I wanted a relaxed ride. Any 1.8T or B5 S4 I happen to own will invariably follow the Z down that same path. Thankfully, I'd have the ability to do that and still drive an Audi (my 2.8) the rest of the time.

 

Yep. The two best cars I have had were my Z and the A4, as far as my enjoyment of them. I knew I had gotten impressive cars when my father approved of them. He's in his mid-60s and despite having the means to own whatever car he wanted, he never really cared about cars beyond whether they a) were comfortable, b) were reliable, and c) got him from A to B without embarrassing him. When I finished the Z's twin-turbo build, I took him for a run on the highway and scared the hell out of him when it lit the tires up in 3rd at 60mph (he told me that, knowing my mindset, now he understood why I spent so much time building it). When I got the A4 and took him for a ride, he really liked the car and commended me for "growing up and selling the cruise missile for something a little more mortal." For any car to make enough impression on him that he'd actually praise it, tells me that it's quite a car.