This could be bad...

[Marc]

The B5 S4 was a great car... -w

Well, I'll agree that on paper, they were a great car.

The execution, in my experience, left a little something to be desired. I rarely drove that car in the 2 years I owned it without something being wrong with it. It never left me stranded, but the list of things I had replaced is a long one. Of course, I kinda knew they had that reputation when I bought it, one of the reasons I bought CPO, and sold it when the warranty was up.

 

[WJenness]

Well, I'll agree that on paper, they were a great car.

The execution, in my experience, left a little something to be desired. I rarely drove that car in the 2 years I owned it without something being wrong with it. It never left me stranded, but the list of things I had replaced is a long one. Of course, I kinda knew they had that reputation when I bought it, one of the reasons I bought CPO, and sold it when the warranty was up.

They do have that reputation, that's for sure...

My experience with them is two fold:

First, my roommate in college bought one brand new in 2000... Brand new, he didn't really have issues with it... He sold it when he went back to the Philippines at the end of the year.

My buddy has had his for about a year, driven 15k (bought at 70k mi, 85k on it now), the only 'problem' he's had so far was that he needed to replace the rear wheel bearings at about 80k mi. He's spent plenty of money on mods and upgrades, but not much on repairs... Maybe he's just been extremely lucky... Oh, and the LCD in the dash has some dead pixels, but they all do from that vintage.

-w

 

[Marc]

Yeah, I mean, it's not like they didn't make any without issues. All model lines have some lemons and some without flaw. From what I understand though, the average on the B5's was definitley higher on the problem scale than lots of other comparable cars.

I bought mine at 40k under the CPO program and sold it at 88k... between then I replaced:

1 wheel
4 wheel bearings
battery
passenger side speaker
heater fan
washer fluid pump
2 alignments that never aleviated uneven tire wear problems
driver side headlight igniter and bulb (not covered under warranty, and not cheap)
clutch switch
EGR valve
rear cam seal
valve cover gaskets
driver side airbag

... that's all I can remember, I'm sure there's something else though...

Oh, the Mann oil filters were $10 a pop, I hated that too.

 

[deadheadskier]

Yeah, I mean, it's not like they didn't make any without issues. All model lines have some lemons and some without flaw. From what I understand though, the average on the B5's was definitley higher on the problem scale than lots of other comparable cars.

I bought mine at 40k under the CPO program and sold it at 88k... between then I replaced:

1 wheel
4 wheel bearings
battery
passenger side speaker
heater fan
washer fluid pump
2 alignments that never aleviated uneven tire wear problems
driver side headlight igniter and bulb (not covered under warranty, and not cheap)
clutch switch
EGR valve
rear cam seal
valve cover gaskets
driver side airbag

... that's all I can remember, I'm sure there's something else though...

Oh, the Mann oil filters were $10 a pop, I hated that too.

precisely why I will not own an Audi again for an every day driver. Perhaps someday for a toy. If I was made of money, I'd love to own the upcoming S5 convertible as a toy.

Made of money I'm not, so I'll stick to somewhat boring reliable cars from the Far East

 

[hammer]

Made of money I'm not, so I'll stick to somewhat boring reliable cars from the Far East

I thought I was going to do the same...but then I drove a few Euro cars and decided to take a chance on one. I might be kicking myself in a few years when the warranty's up, I'm looking at expensive repairs on my nickel, and the car isn't worth anything in trade, but for now I'm going to enjoy the ride.

 

[Glenn]

I dig German cars; I've always owned one.

 

[deadheadskier]

I dig German cars; I've always owned one.

dig them to

I just wished they'd hire someone from Japan to make them more reliable

 

[billski]

dig them to

I just wished they'd hire someone from Japan to make them more reliable

Mitsubishi had the same problem with its line of cars, Maybe that's why their Zeros were used for Kamakazi operations! :-o Don't pick just any Japanese firm!

 

[RootDKJ]

Threads like this make me glad I'm not a car guy...carry on! :lol:

 

[Geoff]

dig them to

I just wished they'd hire someone from Japan to make them more reliable

The Volkswagen GTIs I've owned this decade have been reliable. I sold my first GTI with 141,000 miles on it. I put a 100K extended warranty on it and never used it. I got 50K+ out of the rear brakes. 130K out of the front brakes. Original clutch & exhaust. I swapped the battery at 5 years as routine PM. The only things that failed were the front wheel bearings at 105K and the engine wiring harness at roughly the same time. I figure $2K in non-routine stuff over 141,000 miles is plenty reliable. Like any car, if you maintain it properly and don't flog on it, it should be reliable. If you pound the snot out of it and don't maintain it, any car is going to be troublesome.

I figure most people who buy German cars are wannabe boy racers who think they can drive but really can't. The cars break because of poor driving technique. If you're a crap driver, you're going to chew through brakes, suspension, and drivetrain components.

 

[deadheadskier]

I figure most people who buy German cars are wannabe boy racers who think they can drive but really can't. The cars break because of poor driving technique. If you're a crap driver, you're going to chew through brakes, suspension, and drivetrain components.

you're right

total gapers! :lol:

 

[Marc]

I figure most people who buy German cars are wannabe boy racers who think they can drive but really can't. The cars break because of poor driving technique. If you're a crap driver, you're going to chew through brakes, suspension, and drivetrain components.

I don't think the perennially low reliability ratings on a lot of the German cars can all be chalked up to driving technique.