Did anybody cross shop the A4? Why did you pick the Subie?

Here are the advantages I see to Subaru:

 

-price

-reliability

-price

-no snob factor

-servicability (change your own bulbs, etc.)

-moddability

 

And to Audi:

-normally aspirated V6 available with a stick!!!

-interior

-sounds (better cabin isolation, less rattles, door close noise, etc. - feels like you're driving a big car)

-those rings impress laymen (and laywomen )

-fuel economy (1.8T and 2.0T engines)

-looks

 

Any other input? I just got a new job and will be buying this summer. Any recommendations? Consumer reports says that 2004 and 2005 Audis have been more reliable than the models in years past, so just maybe I could live with one.

 

I know plenty of you LGT owners looked at A4s, so let me know why you decided the way you did!

Kinda hard to search for A4 threads when the effing term is disregarded. My apologies.

Too small for me.....

 

5 year true cost to own of 6 cyl manual according to Edmunds.com: $56,884.

 

5 year true cost to own of GT Ltd sedan: $46,288.

 

Two friends had an A4 and S4 respectively and they were very frustrated with the amount of shop time.

Yeah, I'm sort of basing an Audi's buyability on Consumer Reports saying the 2004 and 2005 A4 have above-average reliability.

 

2 more things I thought of for the A4:

-front limited-slip (I live in the snow belt)

-fold-down rear seats

A4- long term big $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Subie less $$$$$$$$$

A4's reliability?

power

Reliability and less production

subaru reliability and lighter weight. also much better service by the dealerships' sales department. the audi guys won't even give me the time of day.

 

-front limited-slip (I live in the snow belt)

 

 

nope, it has an open front and rear diff, uses the brakes to send power side to side

In addition to the reliability and cost of ownership issues, I wanted to have a little more of the uniqueness of the LGT - too many A4s out there on the road.

I'm biased against Audi due to my father's experiences with them. For him they were a reliability nightmare. I also drove his 97 A6 for a while, and almost died of boredom. In addition, where I work, the lot is filled with cookie cutter A4s, 3 and 5 series BMWs, and Volvos ad nauseum, so I wanted to get something a bit different (there were no L7 series LGTs, and mine remains the only one in the lot to date, although there are several variants of older Legacies and a couple of WRX).

 

OTOH, having owned 4 other Subarus (1 93 LGT turbo, another Legacy, 02 WRX, and 05 OBXT), and having had great reliability and performance experiences with 'em, I was an easy LGT target, more or less (I came within a hair's breadth of buying a 06 STI).

I also ran into a tuner oriented dealer who pre-ordered me an AP, Kartboy STS, had a contacts with a local tuner and high performance shop, and would store my summer/winter sets of wheels and tires for free, etc. I already knew of the aftermarket upgrades available for Subarus, having taken my 02 WRX to Cobb stage II with 17" rims, Goodyear Eagle GT F1-D3s, etc.....

Audi's suck. period.

Dude,

 

It is ok if you tried to search and came up empty.

 

The bad thing is all the search retards. I figure if you have a question and want to start a thread that it is fine. I think we still live in America.

 

Instead of helping you they take their anger out on you for whatever reason. Must be something very TINY. Must be the Hudson or something.

 

I did drive a few audis before I bought the LGT. For the money I was less then excited. I think the lgt driver side leg room has most beaten hands down

 

After 10k in mods this think hunts Audis.

 

The audis are a dime a dozen for all the East Coast wanta be's living in the mountains. I love to give them a tourqe job.

I love audis, I know lots of people with them who did not have any major problems.

 

I was actually looking to buy an 01-02 S4 wagon6MT when i ended up buying the LGT. It was about the same price(the S4 was actually gunna be a bit more) But one of the reasons that put me more towards the LGT was back seat room, to put a rear facing child seat in the S4, the front passenger seat would pretty much be useless

Looks? The new A4 (make that Audi/VW corporate) front end looks terrible.

I loved the new look of Audi. I cross shopped A4 & A3. Bottom line A4 would've been a lot more expensive than LGT Limited similary equipped. And I liked A3 muc better than A4. That DSG is like a miracle from heavn. 2.0T & DSG made for a one smooth ride. (My left knee's shot from 10 years of MT driving in Los Angeles.)

 

In the end--after talking to several Audi owners and reading some forums posts from people who's sold off their months old A3 due to reliabilty issues--I could not bring myself to drop 30k plus on a inferior quality machine.

Alaska seems to be the opposite situation as elsewhere - Audis are far less common than Subarus. The Outback is Alaska's version of CamCord.

Audi's suck for reliability. The 1.8T motors are sludge factories.

 

That was what kept me from Audi....

For me it was the customer service when i went to go look at the cars. The salesperson treated me like i was a 5yr old and it was causing him physical pain to answer my questions. When i asked if i could test drive the car he gave me a look like i was a piece of dirt and I wasnt worthy of that car. After about 15min of that attitude i told him to F' off and went made a formal complaint to his manager. The manager tried to kiss my ass after he figured out i had the cash in had and could really afford the car but i told him that his bitch of a salesperson had ruined it. I then proceeded to grab their phone book and look up the closest Suby dealer. I laughed my ass off on the way out the door.

LOL! Nice one JJ:)

My brother has an '03 A4 1.8T. He chipped it, and it was still pathetic compared to my WRX. Then, he drove my wife's '05 LGT, and found his new dream car.

 

I'll admit that the Audi has a better "feel" to it, not cheap at all feeling, nice instrumentation, fabrics, nothing plasticy or lame about it. The ride is nice, and with those high doors, feels like you're in a bigger car than you are. For sheer creature comforts, it's at the top of my list. I just prefer to get up to 60 in less than 8 or 9 seconds, or whenever the car feels like it.

 

Basically, an Audi gives you BMW luxury for less $$, or you can trade that luxury for performance in a Subie. Or, pay for both and get an 330xi, but at that price, one could literally buy an '05 Leg GT and '03 Audi.

i love my cousin's s4. but even thought i only drive a NA instead of the GT, i actually enjoy driving my legacy much much more.

excellent question

i've owned 4 Subie wagons since '97 and just purchased an 06 LL Beanie

 

 

I really wanted an A4 "avant" with the six cylinder and auto.

 

The audi is definately a sweeter drivers car

it looks better to my eye

has far better color choices than Subie

and has lot's of cool gizmos for you to play with in the interior (check out the one touch turn signal function ).

 

i bought another Subie because

1) still could not convince myself that Audi reliability is anywhere nearly as good as our Subies

2) the audi i wanted was 10K more than the Beanie

3) the avants are VERY hard to find in So. Cal., of the four dealers i called / visited they only had 3 total on the lot, all of which had way more options $$$$$$$ than i wanted to pay for nad half of the cars on boats were already presold.

4)i was not willing to wait to have one built

 

if i had found what i wanted on a lot, it might be a different story

 

the Beanie will keep me / my wife happy as our "practical" car, 'specially since she just ordered a Cayman S :icon_lol:

she's trading in an 01 Acura 3.2Cs also on it's 3rd tranny.

wanna guess how many honda products we'll buy in the future?

 

be safe

 

kleggo

Basically, an Audi gives you BMW luxury for less $$, or you can trade that luxury for performance in a Subie. Or, pay for both and get an 330xi, but at that price, one could literally buy an '05 Leg GT and '03 Audi.

330xi's can be had for not much more than an LGT. My girlfriend picked up a new 330xi in March of 05' for around 36K OTD. I picked up my 05 LGT 5 months later for 28K OTD. I don't think you can get an Audi for 8K.

 

Every Audi/VW car I've ever seen has had some sort of gremlin in it. Electrical systems that destroy radios and light bulbs within a month of installing them, mechanical noises that never go away, brake lights permananently stuck on, etc. I wouldn't spend even $8K on an Audi/VW.