Audi v. VW. v. Honda
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- mg33
I figure more opinions are always better than a few, so would love your thoughts.
My girlfriend has been car shopping for a couple months and has narrowed down to 06 or 07 Accords. We went to test drive one at Carmax on Saturday, then at another location spotted both an 06 or 07 Passat and an 05 Audi A4. Both fully loaded, A4 was a 4-cyl turbo, AWD, the Passat was a 6 cyl. Both are great looking cars, a little more youthful than Accords and she's somewhat changing her mind.
Now, she's gotten quite a bit of advice to stay away from European cars by her mechanic because of repair costs, frequency, etc.. Oddly, they really talk up Carmax, where you can get additional warranties. It's not like buying from an individual with no warranty.
So, if she goes with the Passat or A4, and has the warranty, she really doesn't have much to worry about, right? I mentioned all of this to my parents who promptly said "stay away from european cars..."
I liked the A4 a little better. Always been a big Audi fan and that car was sweet. charcoal paint, black leather, Bose stereo, and oddly, we were both happy that it had a tape player (for ipod connections). Not sure how we can tap into the aux input on the VW. AWD will be nice in chicago winters, but it also takes premium gas on account of the turbo.
Anyhow, we're going back tonight to test drive a different Passat that is a 4cyl Turbo.
Sorry for the rambling, but for you car owners, what's you're take on all this? Which in your opinion is she better going with?
Also, the A4 had 36K miles, the other two Passats have around 16K.
- flashbender0
06/07 Passat? Stay away from that. In my experience if a VW is not properly take care of in its first year or two, you will have nothing but problems when that car is 4 years old. Warranty or not, you don't want to buy someone else's problems.
If you don't care about image, go with the honda - but an 06 or 07... once you take into account getting a better financing rate on a new car, isn't is almost the same dollar amount to go with a new one or an 08 close out instead of one that is only a year or two old?
- ********0
I lease an audi--all maintenance is taken care of by the dealer. I don't think I would buy one, but it's great fun to drive
- chossy0
Neither buy an FTO :E, spun mine at the weekend !!! it was worth it though awwww yeahhh boyeee.
- flashbender0
chossy's is this one:
- harlequino0
We a little VW, and are now trying to sell it. It's a great little car, but the parts are really expensive compared to Hondas and Toyotas, whenever it needs something.
Don't know if that helps as a factor, but it's somethin.
- pistollero0
If you get a used Audi, try to get a used certified or one that still have warranty. 36k is nothing in terms of miles, they can easily take 200+ as long as you do proper service on it.
- It's CarMax. all are certified, fully inspected, ready to go. I was impressed by them, first time there.mg33
- mjg0
- mg330
harlequino - but is this buying parts with or without a warranty that covers parts, repair, etc with a deductible?
- It's used, but only from 2003 i think. Not under warranty anymore.harlequino
- designasaurus0
I have a 2002 Honda Accord Coupe. My girlfriend's leasing a 2008 Jetta. The honda has been very reliable, but its loud (road noise) and generic. If you are going for something economical, honda's are great. It's cost me very little for the 6 years I've owned it. The Jetta however drives AMAZING considering I've never been a fan of VW, I would definitely recommend this car. For the price (Sticker around 22k) it is very nice, leather etc and drives very well. I'm acutally thinking of getting an A3 because out of all of them that car has the best performance and overall design but the price tag is bit high.
- if you get a VW, lease it. They have good deals and you won't have to worry about repairs.designasaurus
- 5timuli0
Anyone have an Alfa? Particularly a 147 or Brera?
- Spookytim0
Translation for mg33....
Take my advice sir, Do not purchase any of the afformentioned ve-hicles. Instead, buy a Mitsubishi FTO. (Insert Emoticon)
As a point of interest, I spun my FTO completely right around at the weekend. This moment of mischeviousness will, I am sure, cost me in worn tyres at a future date, and I also risked chipping my flawless paint work... But, I must confess, it was really great fun, and I enjoyed it immensely. It was a very satisfying experience due to the action-packed nature of pushing a performance car to the point where it lost its line stability.
All in all, when you evaluate the actual danger that was involved to myself, and the potential for damage to be caused to my ve-hicle, I would have to conclude that this little venture was definitely worth it.
Ah, Oh. Ah yes, my boy.
- mg330
FYI - price range is around $20K-$23K. She's going to finance very little of it, she's been saving to buy a new car for a while because she hates interest payments, all that stuff.
She is also totally of the "never buy new" crowd. Leasing is out of the question too.
- lherb0
How long are you planning to have the car and how long is the warrantee for and what does it cover (ie. just drivetrain etc.)??
The warranty won't last forever and then you will have to buy parts etc. Last I checked Honda still has better resale value than the other two. If money is not that big a deal then get the one you want, if it does then think long and hard about how long you want to have it, the cost of keeping it running that long and what it will be worth at the end.
- 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
- Faction180
Hondas have the best resale value of any cars
- fail.jimzyk
- which means, if you want to BUY ONE USED, YOU HAVE TO PAY MORE.akrokdesign
- mg330
Details on Carmax warranties:
The warranty on the Passat would be for 6 years, 5 years on the Audi, for the same price $1500. Both warranties cover everything but glass, paint and routine maintenance.
For owners of either Audis or VW's is there any "routine maintenance" that could pop up that would be a high cost? I mean something you think would be under warranty, but then find out it's not. Like a part going bad, getting old, etc. Are there expensive routine maintenance items beyond tires, oil changes, etc?
- my routine maint. on my A4 is covered through 100k miles. otherwise it would cost a fortune.Chief
- Llyod0
NSX
- mg330
I'm going to go ahead and one-up Lloyd with hedge's anticipated response:
SOLID GOLD BENTLY