First time, short time... Usually people call into sports radio shows saying "First time, long time" LOL.

Just another new member in search of typical new member advice. I know my away around cars, especially Saturns and Jeeps. Here is my Jeep I did all the work (that can be done from a garage) myself:

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/266924...rand-cherokee/

Anyways, I recently got rid of my Saturn. Well, a year ago I guess LOL. I then landed a new job that turned my 5 mile commute to a 30 mile commute (93% highway). Well, needless to say, my Jeep after all the modifications, gets about 12 MPG highway LOL. Maybe even worse. So I need something that I am atleast getting double that, if not a little more. Otherwise I will be spending around $300 a month on gas alone.

So I said to myself "Self, you have wanted to get a nice car anyways, I guess it is about time to do that."

I am horribly against anything Asian. Do not get me wrong, I love Asians, love Anime, love their quirky game shows, even been known to get down to some Gangem Style. But I hate their cars. I think it is because I grew up during the first two rounds of Fast and the Furious.

I typically am against imports in general. However, having been born in Germany, I would consider it a domestic for me LOL. So I started looking at BMW 318's. Well, anyone who has one in decent shape wants $10,000 for them. So that went out the door. Plus they are RWD only. So I started looking at 325xi's. they are still in the running.

Then I thought, why not look at an Audi A4. They have the Quattro AWD. But then I started reading these horrible reviews, and I could not believe I was reading a review for a luxury vehicle.

The reviews basically threw Audi under the bus for being too expensive to maintain. At first I thought maybe it was just that review, then review after review kept saying the same thing, and that they broke contantly. So I thought maybe it was the website I was at. Nope!

So basically, I am looking to spend between $6000 and $9000, looking for around a 2004 model A4 Quattro. Am I dumb for even trying? Is the above average backyard mechanic not able to work on these themselves (I certainly do not wish to spend time with dealers)?

 

I'm sure that you would be able to find an A4 for that kind of money. The only thing to be mindful of is the timing belt. Most other things you should be able to do especially with the help from the forum. However, I can't really speak for the A4's since I bought an A6 right off the bat. Hope that helps.