bradykp

there's a difference between negative bias remarks and true negative remarks.

i have a friend with an audi a4 who visits the service center frequently. he's had 3 recall notices in 2 years for minor issues (not a big deal) and he's had more than a few trips for electronic issues.

at the same time, i went to school with various people who had audi's and vw's and they had the same problems. i would say about half of the people i know with audi and vw experience the frequent trips to the service center.

they do seem to have gotten better with recent model years though (didnt they have one model that customers complained appeared to accelerate on its own at times?). my friends with newer audi a4s have not had problems(yet).

that being said, either way, once out of warranty, any issue is so costly to repair, it'd be insane to own it at that point in case anything went wrong.

i have respect for a lot of different vehicles, and i'd love to drive an audi for the driving experience, but the service experience is what has kept me away so far. we'll see when i pick another car 2-3 years from now if i tire of the tsx.

i'm not a gung ho japanese car lover either. i think the TSX is a sweet unique car, that is fun to drive for the type of car it is. i'd like to get a sportier car as my next car, but don't want an unreliable car.

i love a lot of american cars, as i've had great experience with them, but i understand why people have opinions against them, because they also have quality issues.

difference with american cars is, when out of warranty, parts are so cheap, it's not that big of a deal to fix issues. german cars are expensive to maintain outside of warranty. i may find out how honda/acura is outside warranty, but from what i've gathered here, if they do break, fixing them is not outrageously expensive.

toyota/lexus seems slightly better than german cars, but still expensive to fix outside of warranty. toyota/lexus from what i've seen really don't break though (girlfriend had a 93 camry, i had an 86 camry, future in laws have a 4runner, uncle has an avalon, dad has an es300).

sauceman

I'd venture to say that has to be a constant pretty much everywhere around car forums.

MadMac

my neighbor just bought an A3 yesterday. i went over and checked it out and was really impressed with it. He took me for a drive in the thing and I have to say i'm really impressed. He didn't let me drive but hey it was his new baby. He just picked it up yesterday. Anyway I hope he has good luck with his Audi for years to come. But I will say this, the thing had really good pick up and on turns it felt really good. I was kinda shocked the way he was driving since its in its break in period. But anyway my friend's mom who has a Passat Wagon has nothing but electrical problems with the car (its been in the shop 5 times for electrical issues. Just recently all her lights went out. When she stepped on the brake pedal the headlights would turn on!?) that she is ready to trade it in for a Nissan Xterra which i think would be a good idea! So hopfully he doesn't get the service blues in a few years.

aaronng

Quality and reliability are 2 different things. Japanese cars usually have middle range quality (hard plastics, vinyl-leather, fake woodgrain trim, chromed plastic door handles) and very good reliability. European cars on the other hand go for quality (real leather for the dadhboard! soft plastics that are padded and do not scratch easily, real wood pieces, aluminium/chrome steel handles) but are not as good in the reliability department as the Japanese.

junktionfet

I could stop you from buying one. I used to be an Audi dealer tech Although that was back in the late 90s.

vidgamer

I saw the A3 at the mall yesterday. Pretty cute!

As for chipping VW/Audis, I recall looking into that a year or two ago. It was scary how many people on one of their forums were talking about pinging, and seemingly ignoring it and using their chips anyway. I recall thinking that pinging doesn't exactly bode well for long term reliability....

I suspect that the A3 is fast even without a chip, but people always want more....

MadMac

yeah the A3 felt pretty impressive for a station wagon. The A3 is for his wife actually as he drives one of those funky new Toyota FJ Cruisers in weird Blue/White. That SUV is something else! I honestly really dig that thing. I've seen him bring home doors, lawn mower, dogs, large items, etc... in that thing and it just looks really "useful" and fun looking. He said he had to pay sticker for the FJ as it is rare and extreamly popular i guess. He took me for a ride in that a while ago and I just remember "I want this thing!" but not over a TSX but maybe in the future. I do need an SUV probably next year...I'm sure the FJ will outlast the A3 hahahaha.

Johns

Reliability can be a problem for any car maker. Audi/VW has had problems with a larger percentage of their cars than some other makes, but not all of their cars have problems. Honda/Acura has problems with a smaller percentage of their cars but some have issues.

My wife's TSX has 64,000 miles on it. It has been in for service many times in the last 3 years. Warped rotors (twice in the first 20,000), failed dashboard lights that required 3 visits to get fixed to our satisfaction, squeaks and rattles in the door and windshield, rattle from the air conditionor compressor that the service dept. kept saying was normal untill I lost it and they finally fixed it, recall for wiring harness problem in the trunk, power windows that slow to a crawl on some days and work fine on other days.

Now I have met other TSX owners at the service dept. that have had their own numorous problems, but this does not make Acura an unreliable car.

You have a larger chance of a problem with an Audi/ VW, but you still have a chance of a problem with and Acura/ Honda.

Drive what you love and cross your fingers. It's a car not a religion. By the way, we still love the TSX.

bibby

Bias opinions on Audi/VW? I think people here are not being bias, a lot (not representing all) of peeps here are just telling from their experience. If someone were to ask about reliability on a Lexus, I don't think there will be nearly as much complaint. I used to own a VW and have friends that have Audis etc. I personally love the A3 and know the potential of that little 2.0T. (used to have a 1.8T). The car is a blast to drive, the materials and design is more elegant. If it isn't the reliability issue, heck, I am probably driving an A3 right now. However, reliability has been a big issue. In some magazine, both VW and Audi have ranked below average out of all cars in general. And I had my car for 5 years (Passat) and at the end, it was in the shop more than I had it and I just kept paying for the car to be in the shop. I've never beatened it and I've pampered like it my own kid. I don't even race with it! Personal bias? Could be. But my relatives and friends who has owned a Audi/VW are pretty much experiencing similar issues and I've gone to the shop so much that I've been friends with the Service Manager and even he...had to admit their cars have reliability issues. My gf works at Audi, and even she has to agreed with it. For the past 6-7 years now, I've been really close with VW/Audi products..and in general, they're GREAT cars. If you don't mind paying a lot for fixing and not having your car after a couple years, then A3 is the car for you. If you're planning to keep it in the long run, I would really suggest looking at the IS250. That's my two cents. Cheers!

xizor

the apple doesn't fall far from the tree

TSX isn't without its annoyances, but I think most will agree that's all they are, annoyances. The TSX wont strand you and won't put you in danger. Sure the annoyances add up, the warped rotors and clicking clutch were top on the list, but at the end of the day my car starts, doesn't limp home and the eletronics work. Honda/Acura will really be on a another level of quality when it can iron out those annoyances

ck123

these are minor issues though, when you look at audi, most of their problems consist of drivetrain and electrical.

Johns

I agree that our problems with TSX are more annoyances than strand you by the side of the road problems. The reason I made my statement is this. Before owning my Mercedes C230 and my Wife's TSX, we owned 6 VWs between us. 87 Golf, 90 Corrado, 92 Passat, 97 Jetta and 2000 Passat. The only problem we ever had was with the 87 Golf which had a hot start problem. None of the other VWs ever left us stranded and actually none of the others ever had a major problem

I sold the Corrado with 200,000 and it was still running great with the original clutch, shocks, and only two repairs to the engine (water pump at 120,000 and motor mounts at 160,000).

People will say I am just lucky, but I don't think I could be that lucky with 5 cars

Also, before I bought my Mercedes, everyone said you are out of your mind. Unreliable. I bought it because it served my needs well (hatchback) rides great, and had the features I wanted. After 68,000 miles it has never had a problem (I take that back, I had a check engine light after the first 2000 miles. A bad vacuum hose).

All is good, just don't deny yourself a car you really like, unless it has Yugo level reliability issues or you really need to have that extra level of security a Honda/Acura, Lexus/Toyota, Subaru, etc, gives.