Audi v. VW. v. Honda
Out of context: Reply #15
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- madirish0
I am an Audi fan, not across the entire line, but when they nail a car, they do it right. Very right. That said, I am not really a fan of the B7 platform A4 (2005-2007). While this is the 2L turbo drivetrain, it has been softened much since B5 A4s, even though it has the stronger lower-end.
- Was this a manual or triptonic you are looking at? (If trip, i would not even bother continuing to consider it. They can be re-flashed to work a bit better, but overall the CVT is a poor tranny.)
- Avant or sedan?The Passat is something i would pass on right away. Aside from it looking great along with an iPod and a Whole Foods market trip, they are really not very informative, or interesting cars from VAG. they are substacially over-priced given the market they contend in, and the only notable powerplant combo in it (W8 + 6spd + 4Motion) was issued less than 500 to NA, making them a)rare and b)powerful, but rediculously expensive to service, seeing as the W8 requires removal of the entire front sub-frame to do an oil change.
Honestly, I would look at either a slightly older, B4-B5 chassis A or S4 avant and be done with it. The 1.8L turbo motor is far more sorted, and at the age, been dealt with. The valuation of them is more in your favor and the fact they came with F/R sway bars and are lighter overall, make driving them a bit more rewarding.
The advice of "stay away from EU cars" is:
- coming from a very uninformed source
- coming from someone not trained in VAG cars at all
- mythical as while repairs can be more pricey, the intervals of them are *far* less than on any US car (laughable just to think of anyway)
- are comparing apples/oranges as a honda is not a luxury sport auto in the least, but an economy designed as such.Oh, wtf is a Honda anyway? ; )
HTH
- thanks man, great info. Here's the A4 she was looking at. Any thoughts? http://www.carmax.co…mg33
- that's the B5. they changed midway through '05.Chief