I have a 98 Avant 2.8 Quattro w/Tip and I love it. I like Subarus, don't get me wrong, but for similar prices, you can get a lot more in an Audi, plus solid construction andbetter styling. It may be a bit more to take care of as far as maintenance goes, but an Audi just feels better. My car is 9 yrs old and solid as a rock, despite its flaws (which I gotta get fixed; not the car's fault). Drive a 9 year old Subie and see what I mean. Heck, compare a 98 Audi and a 2004 Sube and you feel the difference!

 

id go with the subaru, will just as good in the snow, and its new... which will probably mean longer warrenty
there is alot of maintence involved with the audi, and if you dont keep up with it or arent willing to spend afew hundred or thousand every once in a while then the car wont last nearly as long.
the audi is a great car, very comfortable and very stylish, but if you dont take care of it (meaning oil changes every 3-5 thousand it will have sludge problems, or if the timing belt isnt done 60-70 thousand miles it will probably break and bend most of the valves, which will cost a boat load to fix)

ultimatly the choice is yours if it were up to me, and pick a newer car over a used one anyday

as far as engine choices the 1.8 is good on gas, and has plenty of power to move the car around
the 2.8 or 3.0 also moves the car around very well and would expect less maintence
as far as the 2.7t.. thats probably not the best choice for you, very quick car but the turbos are very expensive to replace

 

Guys, I test drove the car today. It is really nice. I checked, no rocks or bugs in the radiator. No spots of rust. Seats look new. The gaps all over the car look uniform. As execpted from a 9k mille car. It drove nicely and felt solid. Currently I drivea Buick Century 2003, it has 175 hp, 6 cyl engine, and it feels a bit more peppy than the Audi. (Don't knock the buick it is a good go around car at a very inexpensive price I put about 70k on it already).

Some of you have mentioned the maintnance costs. I would assume $60 to $80per oil change every 5k miles (if using syntetic oil).How much on average is the timing belt going to cost to replace?

Any way, the car looks good and the price is right (about $23k) with 3 plus guarantee).

 

I think the oil change price you mentioned is at the dealer.
If you change it outside of the dealer, it would cost somewhere around 30 bucks.
Timing belt would range from about 800-1000.