YuppieCL

I'm curious about the 05 S4 6MT in particular. I need a reliable car, but it also needs to be quick and AWD.

But how is Audi Service compared to Acura Service?
What are their failure rates, major problems, known issues?.... especially in the long run as I'd be keeping any car until 100k miles.

btw, Is it me or does the cabriolet look like ass?

EmuMessenger

I happen to like the cabriolet. The navigation system is awful. The handling will probably not be what you expect.

Roles reversed, I might consider the Volvo S60-R 6MT in place of the S4. Awesome brakes, good navigation system and really nice seats.

Good luck.

stuckthrotle

Audi service and parts are $$$$$$$.

CLovis

avoid

jdone

As a former Audi owner I totally agree. The folks in our city who owned the Audi dealership also owned the Honda dealership next door. Their hourly labor rate on my Audi as exactly twice as much as the rate on Hondas-WTF! Having said that, my Audi was a great car to drive.

If you really need awd forget the S4 unless you put Blizzaks or Alpins on it for winter use. Pure performance machine, not a Jeep. Also don't forget the ground clearance issue-ain't much under an S4.

Crazy88

Audi is a nice, understated alternative to Mercedes or BMW

GreenMonster

Audi's are ghey, just ask

pgatour1

good cars, great handling, classy interior.

I have driven the A4 probably for 1000 miles, and in all different weather...and I liked it a lot. Everything except for the lack of headroom.

Only problems I have heard, are with the electronics. But since it is covered under warranty and a known issue, then who cares.

scalbert

Service experience will vary per region so you will really need to ask someone local their experience.

I used Nalley Acura and now Nalley Audi here in Atlanta, and there is no comparison in service quality. The Audi service is far superior in relations. I never paid either for work but I suspect the Audi will be more costly. But that also depends on the region.

The B6 S4 is a fine vehicle and less prone to powertrain issues than the B5 S4. They occasionally have some electrical issues with minor thing such as displays, etc. But the warranty would take care of that. I would suggest getting the car and when the regular warranty is about up (and you plan on keeping it) get the CPO warranty added. That way you will be covered up to 100k miles and early on all of the maintenance is included.

gocubsgo55

I love Audi, great technology, interior materials, and looks (new Audi A6 is SWEET )

They can be underpowered, though, and the upkeep is a bish as pointed out earlier.

YuppieCL

mmm... just saw (read about) the new '06 S4....




http://www.caranddriver.com/article....&page_number=1

i think i'll wait. i hate getting something right before they change the whole design. i'd rather be one of the first to have the new body style... i'm hoping they'll be available during the summer.

DEI99662

Audis are good cars, but they are expensive to fix.

masmole

I like Audis a lot. I've had three of them. '99 A4 1.8T, '01 S4, and now an '05 S4. Yes they've been more problemmatic than the average car I've owned but nothing to cause any headaches. IMO, there are many other endearing characteristics of Audis that will easily forgive its little faults. No car is perfect and no car manufacturer offers a more complete package than Audi as of late. Best interior of any car hands down, AWD, power, excellent handling and steering, great shifter. What more can you ask for? The '01 S4 I had was the most problemmatic of the three.... probably because it had 2 turbos and the fact that I modded the crap out of it to run low 12's. So I guess you can say the reliability issues has been partly my doing. You shouldn't have to worry about the B6 V8 model however. Mine has been stellar so far although I only have 5K miles. The corporate 4.2 liter has been in the Audi family for nearly ten years now.... it is a tried and true powerplant and has been through years of development and improvements, with a recent addition of a chain-driven valve gear over belt-driven for one. The latest version found in the current S4 coupled with its exhaust is among the best sounding V8's in the automotive world, and I've had the pleasure of driving many and owning some. Audi service has been hit and miss for me... but once you find a dealer and service department you like, all is good. You'll find that it's very dealer-dependent like with most makes. Lastly, I agree, the cabrio version looks like ass.... too girly and benign looking with the top up or down especially in light colors. Only black cabrios look halfway decent. I had one on order but bailed on it once I saw my car in person and snagged another sedan instead.

So I say go for it! The S4 is one hell of car. Love mine. Just make sure you won't regret it later when the 2006 RS4 arrives with an FSI version of the same normally-aspirated 4.2L making 425hp (100hp+/liter on a V8!) and a lighter redesigned chassis. I've already place a deposit on one even though my dealer has no clue about what it is yet.

F23A4

^^^ In short, !!

matelot

whoa WTF we talking about 3 digit $$$ per hour here ???

mantis23

ib jimcol

CCns24

For the first 4 yrs, 50k miles everything will be OK. After that, who knows?

I've had my A4 for a couple years and really like it. What it lacks in hp it makes up for in appearance and ergonomics. I have gotten more compliments on this car than any other that I've had in the past (including my PDG CL-S).

That being said, their reliablity has definately improved over the years., but still leaves a bit to be desired. No worse than any other car IMO.

To everyone who says avoid, they are entitled to their opinions. Like it was said earlier, every car will have their problems (isn't the TL having tire issues, and lets not even discuss the trannys...). At least Audi will stand behind their products, recognize the issue, and make sure it's owners are happy.

Crazy Bimmer

I had more issues with my acura than i do with my A4.

Plus you have free maintance for the first 3 years of ownership. And after warranty i wouldnt go back to the audi dealer. There are plenty of smaller shops who can do the work just as well.

Crazy Bimmer

Also check out Comsumer reports, their ranking on the B6 is much higher than the old B5.

But i will admit audi isnt the most reliable car, but they make up for it in all the other areas.

srika

got any pics of your cars?? i'd love to see em... esp the X5 and SLK55... and S4 too.

masmole

I've posted them before and I hate to hijack a thread with off-topic pics but here you go...





I don't have any clean recent pics of my X5 but here's a few of when it was new...



No pics of my S4 but you know what those look like, mine is silver like the SLK. Loaned it to my sister this winter for a semester and hopefully she'll bring it back in one piece so I can clean them all up together this spring for a group photo shoot. Here's a pic with the clean SLK and the nasty-ass salt covered pretzel X5 thanks to chicago winter

Oh and since this is acurazine, I might was well post a pic of my old secret weapon I kept several floors down...

NiteQwill

Damn, nice collection of cars. Must be making the

jimcol711

i have had a 2001 Audi A6 2.7T (S4 twin turbo drivetrain) for nearly a year now and it is nothing short of amazing.

i have had not a single problem whatsoever with this car (purchased with 37k miles, now just about to turn 50k)

absolutely EVERY aspect of the A6 is better than its comparative part or feature or system on the CL/TL. the build quality is leaps and bounds above that of the american made Acura CL/TL. the interior materials are also far higher in quality. the A6 has every feature my CL-S had...and THEN some!. for example....the CL has heated front seats, the A6 has 6-setting heated seats in front and back. the CL had memory seats, the A6 has 3 person memory seats for the seats themselves and the mirrors for both driver and passanger....the CL had a Bose stereo that sounds fair...the A6 has a 8 speaker Bose system with 2 subwoofers that when set right, easily sound like you have a 10" sub in your trunk.

i could go on and on.

the comment above about the navigation is not really true...yes, the OLD navigation sucks....not even a map screen....but the NEW navi that has been rolled out in the A8, the new A6, and the new A4 next year is leaps and bounds above that of honda and acura...its a sight to behold. so while Audi slacked in the navi department for years, they have now come back in full force.

the Quattro drivetrain system is amazing...just last week i drove from milwaukee to NYC and had HORRIBLE snow the whole way through the mountains of pennsylvannia....while trucks and cars were flying off the roads, skidding out, falling into ditches, my Audi kept on trucking....no problem....4 inches or more of packed snow on mountain highways with no plows or salt trucks in sight....i was AMAZED....at one point, i almost lost control...i was changing a lane at 75 mph and the back end lost grip and fishtaled in the middle of the highway....before i could even think about how i was about to either die or crash my car....dashboard lights start blinking, some sounds come from under the hood and my car corrected itself and i was once again glued to the road at 75 mph....that right there is enough to make me a lifetime audi customer...i will never go to a non-AWD car again...period. in most any other non-AWD car...it wouldve been a terrible accident and or death, im confident of that given that there were semi trucks everywhere and the roads were terrible...but the Quattro system did its job and saved my ass and my car.

the service i have had is just basic maintainance (which by the way is entirely free for the first 50k miles.) and they have been great.

I love Audi....i will definately be a repeat customer...its just simply in a whole different leauge than a car like an acura.

Zapata

i have to dispute this statement. The current Navi implementation is simply the best in terms of screan size, placement and functionality. Acura is still class leading.

jimcol711

have you had the opportunity to play with the new navi system in the brand new A6? the system with the flip-down screen?

its quite impressive

im not saying the honda navi isnt good, in fact i like it alot, but the new audi navi is pretty damn impressive, go check it out at a dealership or something, youll see

MADCAT

yeah, tell us where we can get some of the bling bling.

BTW…I don’t know any of my friends ever owned an Audi. But I don’t see many used ones on the road if that’s any indication of their reliability versus so many Japanese brands on the road.

scalbert

I'll have to disagree or clarify these two points.

Having been under the dash, hood and complete vehicle with both I cannot agree with the build quality statement. They are build differently and to different standards but the quality is on par. You mention material quality and I beleive you are equating that to build quality as well. The A6 2.7T cost nearly 50% more than a CL/TL and should have better material usage.

As for the Nav, I have checked it out on the new A6 and did not find it any better, maybe not as good, as the new RL's. Considering that both the A6 and RL are new this year and more closely compete they should be compared. The new RL's Nav is better IMO.

jimcol711

the A6 is definately built to be quieter and more luxurious than the S4 (A4) you have. if the build quality on an american made acura is the same as that of an Audi, then why is that the CL is PLAUGED with rattles, sqeaks, creaks, missaligned door panels, "orange peel" looking paint in some cases, badges that are not aligned, etc?

im not trying to bash the CL/TL, i have said time and time again that i loved mine and had alot of fun with it but there is simply no way the build quality is in the same leauge as my A6....i cant speak for the A4 (S4) you have, but my A6 is 100 times more solid of a car in terms of build quality than my CL was.

scalbert

This is not to say they don't occur but I wouldn't say plagued with rattles, sqeaks, creaks, missaligned door panels, etc. You may hear of occurances on this forum but you will never hear of them not occuring; there is no reason to speak of it. I owned two CLs and never had the issues you mentioned.

Paint quality seems to be better though with the Audi's but that may be a matter of cost and not build quality.

jimcol711

i dont believe for 1 second that either CL you owned did not have the sunroof rattle, the parcel shelf rattle or some of the other rattles and noises that EVERYONE experiences....i have been in alot of 2nd gen CL's and a few TL's and every single one had at least 1 of the typical rattles that everyone mentions here time and time again. my audi had one squeaky sound by the backseat...a dealer visit corrected it and now it is absolutely silent...something i never experienced in a CL/TL.

im not saying its impossible for a CL/TL to not have any of the typical issues but i would venture to say that it is highly.....HIGHLY unlikely

scalbert

I need to correct the previous statement, I did have the sunroof squeak in the CL-S6 which was fixed by the dealer under warranty. However, that isn't build quality related. It is a material selection mistake which causes an annoyance once the material dries out some.

No other rattles had been experienced nor did I hear them int he multiple other CL/TL's I have been in.

But the sunroof thing is not a build quality issue. It would be similar to the TBB tearing or the diverter valves failing. Just a poor initial choice most lilkely made out of ignorance about what would occur after some miles.

Doom878

My friend has a 98 A4 1.8T. He already went through a turbo. Bought a factory turbo for about $1500. Has an SRS light on and if I recall had other electrical issues. I know he loves his car though but some owners are more tolerant than others.

Crazy Bimmer

I agree. I played with the audi navi in the A8 and acura is still advanced.

Im talking about navi part of it, not the MMI.

Crazy Bimmer

98 is the B5. The b6 platform is much more reliable. Check December issue of consumer reports.

Crazy Bimmer

I know you and me had this chat before about build quality. But you dont think the doors close nicer, the fenders line up better, etc.... on the audi? One thing i didnt like about the acura was that the doors felt thin when closing it. Plus you cant deny that material quality is found all over the audi line. Even the base 1.8t A4 has great material, almost the same found in the A6. (hell the lambo uses the same radio and dash material)

p.s all car markers have rattles.

Doom878

Oh I was just giving him my Audi experience overall.

scalbert

IMO, the material selection may be nicer to some, me included, but that is not all inclusive. It is different. Most German makes have a harder material selection versus the softer Japanese selection.

But regardless, material selection is not build quality.

I've owned and worked on many cars and have seen a wide range of build quality.

teg_to_bike

masmole, do you live in the near-south side (close to museum campus/ soldier field)?

YuppieCL

can someone tell me what a RS4 is.... and how much more it costs as compared to an S4.....?

also, what would be an educated guess as to when the new 2006 S4 comes out?

should i go to the dealer and put a deposit on one from now?

masmole

I must say, I definitely share your enthusiasm for Audis. I'm on my third one in 5 years and already have a deposit for a fourth. But I'll have to also dispute your claims on Audi's nav system. Yes the old one sucked but the new one, although it is beautifully rendered on a big bright LCD screen, still comes up way short on the user-interface department. Trust me, I've driven a 2004 A8 on several road trips, and while the MMI (Multi-media-interface) is a lot better than BMW's iDrive, it still pales in comparison to Honda/Acura in terms of ease of use. Yes the LCD has nicer colors and resolution is higher but that doesn't mean squat when you still don't have a touch-screen interface, and are more user-friendly menu system. The system on the new A6 is basically the same exact system as on the current A8's albeit slightly dumbed-down. It still doesn't have touch-screen which means the information entry of destinations can still be quite tedious. It also still doesn't do yellow-pages type searches as well as the Acura's. Overall, it's simply still not as good as Acura's, but is definitely much better than what BMW or Mercedes-Benz has to offer.

Regarding the spin you almost had on the freeway, that's not quattro that saved your ass but rather the ESP system that is standard on the 2.7T. Once a car's balance is out of whack and traction is lost on either axle and a spin ensues, AWD or not, the car is going to spin and there's not a whole lot quattro can do to prevent it unless you are highly skilled in recovering from a spin. In your situation, ESP kicked in and prevented the spin by doing a combination of braking on individual corner(s) and diverting power to specific corner(s) to counter the spin (or understeer or oversteer) as calculated by the ESP computer a million times a second. I know this from experience after taking my old B5 S4 to a performance driving school in which we switched off the ESP in a few exercises on spin recovery. If induced, my AWD S4 spun easily with the ESP off and it was one hell of a challenging task to manage. Quattro didn't do squat to prevent any spins that were induced.... all quattro does is helps improve traction so that you won't get in trouble to begin with or at least be able to keep the car more balanced on fast turns and transitions so that you can carry more speed into a turn and exit much faster than a car without AWD. But once a spin starts to happen (as you described a rear-end fishtailing at 75mph), that means you've already lost traction and quattro will do little to correct the situation as effortlessly as you mentioned. Quattro seems to be getting more credit that it's due because of this misconception. Give the folks at Bosch some credit for developing ESP as found on most cars these days because that's what really gets people out of a bind when roads are slick.