Ski Cars

air0rmc said:

That is a sweet setup...! How does it ride with the blizzaks ? Are they ws-60's ? What size are you using

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I've driven Audi's for 10+ years (S6/A4/A6) - Love 'em, and owe my life to 'em when I was hit head on at 45mph, by a 16 year old who crossed into my lane.....

Never had any major repairs, and now that all scheduled service is covered for the warranty period - I'll gladly keep them until 100,000 miles them trade for another.

The Blizzaks (ws-60) go on in late Nov., and come off in mid April - Love those things. We drive the last 40-50 miles on a remote country "highway" and I can go through 6"+ of unplowed snow no problem @ 45-50mph. See many SUV's and other rides in the ditch, and we barely notice that the roads are slick...

Wifey just ditched the Jeep for an '06 A4 Quattro 2.0T 6spd -- and it get's 35mpg on the interstate. You can say what you want about Audi's being overpriced VW's but the interior is MUCH nicer, and the dealership truly takes care of the customer ! As long as I'm driving the 350 miles to/from SR every weekend I will always drive an Audi.

The Forester was just named MotorTrend's SUV of the year. Before the rolling of eyes, MT has gotten much better as a rag than on previous years, passing CD as quality of reviews.

2Planker said:

I I'll gladly keep them until 100,000 miles them trade for another.

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Why do you get rid of them when they are so young? Seriously.

billski said:

Why do you get rid of them when they are so young? Seriously.

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There's something to be said for new toys.

-w

2Planker said:

I've driven Audi's for 10+ years (S6/A4/A6) - Love 'em, and owe my life to 'em when I was hit head on at 45mph, by a 16 year old who crossed into my lane.....

Never had any major repairs, and now that all scheduled service is covered for the warranty period - I'll gladly keep them until 100,000 miles them trade for another.

The Blizzaks (ws-60) go on in late Nov., and come off in mid April - Love those things. We drive the last 40-50 miles on a remote country "highway" and I can go through 6"+ of unplowed snow no problem @ 45-50mph. See many SUV's and other rides in the ditch, and we barely notice that the roads are slick...

Wifey just ditched the Jeep for an '06 A4 Quattro 2.0T 6spd -- and it get's 35mpg on the interstate. You can say what you want about Audi's being overpriced VW's but the interior is MUCH nicer, and the dealership truly takes care of the customer ! As long as I'm driving the 350 miles to/from SR every weekend I will always drive an Audi.

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We have an 02 A6 3.0. It's very very solid car. We've had it for two years and it's been trouble free. All I've done are oil changes, new tires and the 40k service.

I don't go to the local Audi dealer for service...unless it's a recall or a key program. I had it in for recall and the guy calls me and says I need front brakes in a few thousand miles. It didn't since we've only put about 14k on the car over the last two years...and new brakes went on when we bought it.

The other vehicle is an 03 Grand Cherokee. It hasn't been as trouble free, but nothing I can't fix myself. Plus, it was about 1/2 of what the A6 cost. We take the Jeep skiing. It doesn't really phase me to fold down the seats and throw a bunch of snowy, wet ski gear back there. For a vehicle with two sold Dana axles, it's pretty comfortable to drive around in. I used to own a lowered VW with a nice Techtonics exhaust. I swore I'd never drive anything bigger. I now "never say never". :razz:

billski said:

Why do you get rid of them when they are so young? Seriously.

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First: I never buy "New" usually "Pre-Owned Audi Certified" Company gives an allowance for a "Company Car" every 4 years, and I can use that towards the purchase of my choice....

I average only 15.000/year on the companies car, and can easily find something still under factory warranty for a year or two, and then get 2 more years out of the Certified pre-owned warranty once the factory one expires. End result is that it costs the company nothing in maintenance. The last few have been traded at 6-7 years w/ 120.000 miles on them...

deadheadskier said:

.....well, I'll support my kids someday in a number of endeavors, but not hockey. Screw getting up at 5AM on a Saturday for an hour of ice time and carting around smelly hockey bags :lol: It's imperative that I get them on the snow and addicted prior to even knowing what hockey is :lol:

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Totally agree with this. I have 4 children (3 boys) & there was no way I was getting them into hockey. Way too much of a time commitment plus it cuts into ski season. I've encouraged them to participate in whatever sports they're interested in but said no to hockey. There were a few complaints at first but haven't heard a wimper about playing hockey in years. Now that they're into skiing & see how much time their friends put in that play hockey, they're glad they don't play.

Sounds like billski lucked out with his daughter playing hockey & the time commitment but I think that's the exception. Generally, it's much more demanding. One of my son's friends had to travel to Pennsylvania (4 plus hour drive) at 5:00 in the morning on the day after Christmas to play in a hockey tournament. Forget about that!! I'd do that to go skiing but that's a different issue. At least I get to participate in skiing - not just sit in the stands & watch.

madskier6 said:

One of my son's friends had to travel to Pennsylvania (4 plus hour drive) at 5:00 in the morning on the day after Christmas to play in a hockey tournament. Forget about that!! I'd do that to go skiing but that's a different issue.

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You'd drive 4+ hours to PA the day after Christmas to go skiing? You really are hard core. 8)

Wouldn't VT be closer though?

faceplant said:

whatve you been out there testdrivin thinn?

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No time to test drive yet - been too busy reading this thread~!


But I almost test drove a used Subaru Forester last week - but someone clued me in with some probs the vehicle had when they ran the vin...........

2Planker said:

I've driven Audi's for 10+ years (S6/A4/A6) - Love 'em, and owe my life to 'em when I was hit head on at 45mph, by a 16 year old who crossed into my lane.....

Never had any major repairs, and now that all scheduled service is covered for the warranty period - I'll gladly keep them until 100,000 miles them trade for another.

The Blizzaks (ws-60) go on in late Nov., and come off in mid April - Love those things. We drive the last 40-50 miles on a remote country "highway" and I can go through 6"+ of unplowed snow no problem @ 45-50mph. See many SUV's and other rides in the ditch, and we barely notice that the roads are slick...

Wifey just ditched the Jeep for an '06 A4 Quattro 2.0T 6spd -- and it get's 35mpg on the interstate. You can say what you want about Audi's being overpriced VW's but the interior is MUCH nicer, and the dealership truly takes care of the customer ! As long as I'm driving the 350 miles to/from SR every weekend I will always drive an Audi.

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2plank I'll always love Audi's and VW.My wife was hit head-on by a person test driving a brand new f-150 that ran a light.My wife was making a left with my 4yr old son and 2yr old daughter in her 2000 A6 Avant.Long story short no injuries no bags because she was hit on rh corner I coud not get a total loss from adjuster so the bill 13900.00 my father drove the car to the shop and the f-150 left on a roll-off.Then that same year 2 months later I was rear-ended at a dead stop on I-95 north 10 mi south of philly airport in my brand new jetta 1.8 turbo auto w/tip by a 1984 impala traveling at highway speed .The impact broke my seatback and I was able to get out of the car and climb over a barrier because people are F$%#&ing crazy down there.That car was total loss w/2700mi on it I had only had it 1 month.I then baght an 01 A4 1.8 auto w/27k at adessa.I drove that weekly from my home just south of utica ny to philly airport after 3 years and almost 100k later I had to ditch it with the usual Audi issue's.No warranty from 50k on and I had okay luck the trick is to ditch these cars before 100k I think.Both my parents have driven Audi's for years.07 A8 and 04 A6 now and have had okay luck also ,even bringing used cars to the audi dealer we were treated great.Untortunately as the kids got involvled with more activities and we started camping more we thought we needed a third row and/or more space so now we have a ford freestyle.My wife went into shock when the difference in interior design and quality set in but it is cavernous.Let me Know how that thing rides with those blizzaks on it.that exotic suspension is finnicky about tires.

I'm loving my 06 Impreza..I've been leasing it for 3 years and I'm taking the option to buy in a few days..it only has 44,000 miles so it's just getting started for a Suburu..I just got new brake pads and new tires which aren't snow tires but really good all season tires..much better than the Potenzas I had before..Yokasomething..lol..and they were buy 3, get one free..

This thread inspired me to finally get off my ass and buy some snow tires for my FWD Passat. Now I won't have to borrow my wife's 4WD SUV to get to the slopes during snow storms as much.

I'm officially ready for winter! :beer:

Cool. What tires did you end up with?

Glenn said:

Cool. What tires did you end up with?

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Some barely used Firestone something or others. The price was decent and the guy lived 10 minutes from my house, couldn't pass it up...

bvibert said:

This thread inspired me to finally get off my ass and buy some snow tires for my FWD Passat. Now I won't have to borrow my wife's 4WD SUV to get to the slopes during snow storms as much.

I'm officially ready for winter! :beer:

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Nice....! Are u running with all 4 or just fronts ? Also what year is your passat ?

air0rmc said:

Nice....! Are u running with all 4 or just fronts ? Also what year is your passat ?

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All 4, It's a 2001 Wagon.

bvibert said:

Some barely used Firestone something or others. The price was decent and the guy lived 10 minutes from my house, couldn't pass it up...

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Can't beat that! I bet you'll notice a good difference with 4 snows.

billski said:

I SERIOUSLY considered an Avalon as a follow on car. They let me take it skiing for a day, it was nice, but a bit too boring. I traded reliability for a little fun and uniqueness. (and I'm not a gearhead either) Ah, such is a midlife crisis.... :flag:

I really wish the auto manufacturers would do a better job of accommodating skis inside the cabin (i.e., pass through).

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Our 02 honda accord has a pass through rear seat. That was one of the things that sold me on the car. We had a dodge caravan before and we can put just about as much stuff in the honda and be more comfortable.

Terry said:

Our 02 honda accord has a pass through rear seat. That was one of the things that sold me on the car. We had a dodge caravan before and we can put just about as much stuff in the honda and be more comfortable.

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And be more reliable too. My company car is a 2008 Dodge Caravan. 2 months old and the check engine light went on yesterday...:smash:

i am thinking about replacing the stock Yokohama Geolanders on my Forester. I only have about 27000 miles on them but they look like they are wearing out quicker than i expected. I think the Geolander is just a soft, mushy, dry pavement tire.

any recommendations for an all season tire?