Well, I've been looking for a car for quite some time now and have been unable to make up my mind. I own(ed) a 2001 A4 1.8T which was passed onto my brother. Although a little underpowered, the car is pretty fun to drive, but needed a lot of money in repairs. I need to buy a car within the next couple of weeks, but I've been unable to find something that completely satisfies me, and I think If I read another "comparison" thread my head is going to burst, so I figured I'd get your opinion(s) . That said, the car needs to meet these requirements:


1. AWD - Pennsylvania winters suck, and living on top of a big hill doesn't help, either.

2. Manual tranny

4. Price tag of under ~$21,000

5. Something reliable, preferably with a warranty.

6. An interior that won't make me cringe every time I get in the car.


I'd like something with a little more power than the A4, but that's not the deciding factor. In fact, the current contender is a certified B6 A4, as I would really, really prefer a reliable car with a warranty. I test drove a Legacy GT and liked it; it's cheaper, powerful, not bad looking and with just reprogramming can almost scrape 300hp. I also considered getting a B5 S4, but I'm by no means a mechanic, and have neither the time nor money to fix a car on my own, and from reading these forums, I understand that the 2.7T is not known for outstanding reliability . This car needs to last me the next 4-6 years. For that matter, the extend of my mods would be a chip, not much more. What do you guys think?

 

u have to be a maintenance freak and love workin on ur car to get the s4s they love to make u fix em

 

B6 Turbo is decent with chip but still a pricey fix. What else have you looked at? AWD will severly limit your options. You are looking at a bunch of Audis, Subarus, or a honky tonk truckin which case go Audi A4. You are def not an S4 guy if you don't like to turn the wrenches on a regular basis.



If you can do without AWD there are many more good options.
Suggestions: G35, IS300 both in the same class.
A nicely optioned Accord (EX - sunroof and leather) is nice though hard to find in stick. That is what I was originanally looking for before I bought my A4. Maintenance will rock and FWD though not great for laying down the power or handling, is much better in the snow than RWD.

 

Yeah... it has to be AWD, it's nearly impossible to get to my house in the winter without it. Unless someone else has other suggestions, it's really a battle between the A4 and the Legacy GT at this point... the Legacy is faster, cheaper and more reliable, yet the A4 is better looking and has a nicer interior... but a little 170hp 4-banger on a ~3500lb car just doesn't seem to fit. However, when I test drove a 2004 1.8T, it seemed faster and more responsive than my B5 1.8T. Is this my imagination, and can someone comment on the handling differences between the two?

 

The subaru is a better buy. Not only is it faster, cheaper, and more reliable, but it will also hold its resale value better. Audis are fat, underpowered, expensive, break more than they should, cost more to fix, and the resale value plummets and is under book value. But we love them anyway. I think the Audi inspires a lot more passion than any Subaru does.

Getting the A4 over 200 hp is easily done with a chip, but getting it up to 300 will take a lot more money than it will with the Subaru.

Don't know enough about the 04s to speak intelligently about the differences between it and a B5.

So whats it going to be, the smart choice or will you follow your heart and buy the Audi like the rest of us? Just think, you do already have a screen name on AudiForums. Wouldn't it be a waste to not use it all the timeto come in here and ask us whats wrong with your Audi because you bought a Suby instead? We all love owning our Audis, but the cars shortcomings are no secret. Why do you think this forum is so popular? hehe.

 

Well said TD.....well said.

 

I understand what you're saying, as I really like the Audi experience, but from an unbiased standpoint, saying it's better to buy the fatter, slower, more expensive and less reliable car because it "inspires passion"is just humorous [&:]. After all, since I would have Audi warranty coverage for the next 2-4 years, I would barely mod the thing....

 

audis dont depreciate bad at all. we bought my 2004cvt i had for 25 and we traded it back to the same dealership a year later for 23 and i put like 15000 miles on it and i got my new one used for 27 so the hold there value pretty good and the interiors are gorgous except my cvt was clothe but yea if u get the sport packageits awesome

 

audis dont depreciate bad at all. we bought my 2004cvt i had for 25 and we traded it back to the same dealership a year later for 23 and i put like 15000 miles on it and i got my new one used for 27 so the hold there value pretty good and the interiors are gorgous except my cvt was clothe but yea if u get the sport packageits awesome

 

Whoa, whoa, whoa, I didn't say it was better to buy the Audi, I said the Suby was a better buy. I love my Audi, but I can't encourage you to buy one over a Suby. I can encourage you to buy it over a Bimmer.

There are a bunch of reasons why I got an Audi, but my reasons are different than yours. I would never even consider a Subaru, even if it were half the price. That car just isn't my style, even though I am sure its a good car. So with the two cars you are considering, the smart choice is Subaru. For a lot of other people with different contenders, the Audi can win out.

And I don't know how beast got such a great deal from a dealer. In my experience, these things drop pretty hard. And then they don't even sell for book value a lot of times. Compare the Audi to a Honda. A Honda will sell over book value in many cases when you are talking about cars down in the 10k or less price range. An Audi will almost always sell under.