As far as reliability goes, how reliable is the Audi A4 compared to the C-Class, 3 Series, Q50 etc.?

This will be my first Audi, first luxury german car ever (only had Toyotas up to this date). I am planning on getting the 2017 Audi A4 with the new virtual cockpit. How much so I expect to dish out every year on maintenance while in warranty and once the initial factory warranty runs out?

I've always been told to never buy a new car within the first 3 years so the company can smooth out all the issues with the car. Does this come into play with the new 2017 Audi A4? My main concern is the virtual cockpit, from what I have been told this is new to the A4. Has there been any issues with it on the TT?

Thanks!

 

Hello,
Being with Audi for 3 months now and coming from a BMW, I got to tell you; Audi is a lot more reliable than any current BMW, I also have clients with 12 years old Audis that have over 150k miles and they are running solid. If you can wrench one car, then you shouldn't worry much about the maintenance. The new A4 has t hit the show rooms yet but TT with virtual cockpit didn't see to have any sort of problems or any client having a complaint about the functionality of the Virtual cockpit. It looks nice and the new A4 and Q7 are going to hav them.
Go test drive one and see how much you like it. Again coming from a Japanese car to a German, your maintenance will be a bit higher than the Japanese but that's the price that comes wi getting a German car.
If I was you I would lease it and if I like it then I can purchase it or if you like a lot of Audi clients are, lease it and after 3 years get a newer one and keep your pay net the same o slightly less depending on what you jump into.
In all cases I wish you best of luck and I hope I can be further help if I can.

 

The new A4 I have coming next month is my 4th company car as an Audi. I've had a BMW 520d, a Mercedes C220d .... they are all good but the Audi has not once....not once let me down. I had turbo hoses exploding off the Beemer, I had brake issues with the Merc....

For me Audi is excellent.
It's the choice for the person who likes quality but doesn't like to shout about it too much.

 

well said, I couldn't have said it better. Also Audi has just got rated #1 car with consumers report based on above average reliability and crash ratings

 

Hey there:

First time posting...and also a newly-minted A4 owner I ended up purchasing a 2015 w/ 10K miles on it. I had my choices narrowed down to a 3 series, a Lexus IS250, an Acura TLX, and the A4. After a great deal of research, it became apparent that the A4 provides a pretty near-perfect mix of what you might be looking for. From comfort to timeless styling to performance across the boards, everyone from experts to regular buyers say about the same thing...and that is you don't really get much better. The only one that gives it a run is the 3 series, but reliability just isn't as good.

I also generally don't make any large purchases without the help of Consumer Reports and JD Powers. For reference, CR gives the 2015 solid orange circles across every category (Engine Issues, Cooling, Electical, Drive System, Brakes, Paint, Power Equipment, etc.) and, across all years averaged gives it a 'Better than average' in reliability. The 2017 is currently in test, but I can't imagine that much would change except for perhaps some of the electrical and technology-based systems.

Also...FWIW out of those I just listed, Lexus and the Acura did NOT come as recommended...which surprised me. But both the 3 and the A4 did, outranking them easily.

I too had owned only Japanese cars until about 4 years ago when I bought a VW Golf TDI (unfortunately...as it turns out :/...) It is DEFINITELY a different owner experience (better, in my opinion...just from a pure 'driving satisfaction' POV)...and it's ultimately what led me to pick the A4. And you are very right when you need to set your expectations for maintenance costs. But the way I've justified at (at least in my head) is that if you enjoy driving, then it seems like it's worth it to pay a little extra for a better overall experience.

The 2017s are sharp! Good luck!

 

You are looking at Consumers reports which I like. Except that most new cars have solid orange "well above average" in the most recent years. Look at the A4 ratings in the earlier years in that chart. I think 09, 10, 11) Full black circles in minor and major engine problems and others meaning much worse than average. In fact, they recommend that you stay away from those years as a used car.

 

Hey there:

Fair points. Before I respond to them, the original post was talking about a '17 A4...so brand new. I bought used. The only corollary I was making between the two was that the '15s and '16s appear to be very reliably rated on CR, and there doesn't seem to be a huge difference between the older and new (though there are differences...)...so I think you can reasonably expect that reliability should be consistent. Plus, they've been building the same basic car for...what...7-8 years now? I'd hope they have it down!

Anyway...other responses below...

I disagree. For sake of comparing apples-to-apples, I have pulled up used A4, an IS, a TL, a new TLX (no used), a 3 series, an S60, a CLA, and a Q50. I've chosen to keep the range 14 - 15 (no need to go back earlier because I'd rather stay close to the guy's originally indicated desire for a 17')

A4: Solid orange across the boards on reliability across all systems, but for some reason it averages it out to a half-orange (better than average)
IS: Half-orange on body integrity and audio system...and for some reason here it's solid orange for the average.
Acura TL: The '14 gets half-orange on climate, paint, and audio and average is half-orange.
TLX: Wow. POOR predicted reliability, -92. I don't know that I necessarily agree with that one, simply because I have a hard time believing that Honda would release that crap of a product. But...we won't get into that here
3 Series: Empty circle...average overall. Empty circle for audio. And while they are great cars to drive, 3s and 'reliability' are traditionally not synonymous.
S60: Fuel system and audio half-orange, half-orange average
CLA: Garbage (my opinion, no offense meant). Dark circle average (much worse than average reliability), transmission, drive, body integrity...all empty to dark circles. You might as well light a pile of money on fire in the middle of your yard and proceed to BBQ.
Q50: Same as the CLA. That's too bad given how awesome the G series was. Suspension, body integrity, audio...average to below average. Dark circle for overall.

Totally agree! It's funny; it's like they stumbled around for 3 years and then, by '12, they started to finalize the secret sauce! Things really get ironed out by '14'. I made a conscious decision not to buy anything below a '14.

I think that's a pretty safe rule for a majority of German vehicles (exception being Mercedes)...unless you're one who enjoys working on cars. I have a friend who has an '08 M3 that he is CONSTANTLY working on, and he loves it. To each their own.

Sorry...not at all being argumentative with you! There is definitely some nuance to account for though. And I still draw the same conclusion, which is some of the listed vehicles do a couple of things better than the A4, but the A4 ties it all up in a nice neat not super-flashy / classy package and hands it over to you with a pretty good reliability record if you're buying with a certain range of years.

 

I think yore missing the point. I still think CR shows that The A4 clearly gets more problematic with age as opposed to let's say a Lexus Es350.
CR clearly shows the A4 has major engine problems as they age. If you go by the red/black circles, it's showing that the TLX is not necessarily unreliable as a whole but just compared to other 2015 models. Even though it has a full black circle and not recommended, it has more reds and less blacks than an 08 A6 which is recommended. That's because they're comparing like years. While the A6 has worse marks than the 2015 TLX, the A6 compares favorably to other 08 models. Overall, you want reliability, go for a Japanese. The Germans will most undoubtedly be less reliable but ultimately more fun to drive. My 06 Lexus SC430 was bulletproof . Traded it in for a 13 MB E350 Cab (wife wanted it), I hope I don't regret it.

 

Who's more reliable, BMW, Audi or Mercedes-Benz?

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