Audi/VW owners chime in

[wob]

Everyone should own an Audi once. Just once. Never any more than that.

 

[Aussie FJ40]

my son just bought one of these Hyundai Genesis and I am impressed,5 year unlimited k warranty and 5 years free servicing and every bit of fruit you can think of,he and I both had Audi Q5 and that cured both of us,had a few VW and no real drama with them, I bought my daughter a VW golf tsi 1.4 turbo for Xmas last year and it is a great car,would never go back to an Audi,soooo expensive to fix

 

[Heckraiser]

Too big, but does look like a sweet ride. I did sorta consider a Sonata/Optima, but it just feels a little too cheap.

 

[Heckraiser]

What year were those? I only have around 27k on my 2012 but it shifts flawlessly. And the rev-matched downshift is a thing of beauty. And manual mode in the G won't try to outsmart you like on some other brands; it will hold rev limiter until you command otherwise.

And in Sport mode, it's very, very good and doing multiple downshifts when you brake hard into corners so that when you come back on with power it's right at the peak of the power band. It's rare that Sport is doing something I don't want it to do, other than maybe holding a gear because it thinks I'm still playing when I'm waiting on traffic to pass.

The only complaint I have is that regular Drive is biased heavily toward fuel econ. It's a 7 speed so you can end up with some pretty tall gears at relatively low speeds. Sport solves this but can be a little on the buzzy side for just driving around town (4k upshifts).

I'm not sure what years exactly. One of them is actually a g35xS, probably the last year of production for the 3.5 as it looks exactly like the 3.7. The other one is a g37xS. The problem sounds like sometimes it hesitates before shifting and then clunks harshly into the next gear. Just sorta rough and unrefined. Aside from that, they say it just shifts too much (like hunting for the right gear?)

 

[OregonLC]

Interesting. Looks like they came out with a TSB in 2012 that reflashed the computer. Mine must have the update. No harshness or hunting of gears at all.

 

[ryanCA]

I am the only one in my friend/co worker circle that like the VQ sound of the Nissan/infiniti motors.

I almost bought a G37S convertible, manual trans few weeks ago. Wife wants a 428, but I wanted Japanese. ISC is old/ugly.

Went on the forums, seems like the manual trans G37s likes to eat slave cylinderse every 30-40k miles. You have to DROP THE TRANS to fix it.

That cured me


I don't care about full warranty etc, I want a warranty that I DON'T have to use.

 

[dieseldog]

I've found that across the board, the Nissan/Infiniti models get worse fuel economy that their competitors. Screw that.

 

[OregonLC]

It's a proper longitudinal engine, RWD or AWD. That's going to give you performance and driving pleasure, not world class econ.

Sent from my SM-G900V

 

[Weedhopper]

Toyota Avalon ? New ones look like the Lexus GS

 

[Heckraiser]

Avalon, lexus ES and the new camry are all too big. Same goes for accord, 2009+ TL otherwise I'd probably be looking in that direction. TLX is 190" but it'll be a couple years before those are in the $20k ballpark.

MPGs don't really bother me with the g37 because it's got the power to justify it. IMO if it got low 20's mpg and only had 250hp, then we'd have a problem. The infinitis do seem to be pentiful and reasonably priced in my area. If i get a 2wd one, seems to knock about $4k off the price

 

[Weedhopper]

Infinities are ugly.

 

[snobdds]

You're in Colorado, buy a Subaru like all the other sheep.

 

[Fast Eddy]

I've owned two A4s and a TT. All have been great. The 2007 A4 went in for warranty service a few times, but they got it figured out and it was perfect for the 45k miles I had it after that. I was sad to see it go after putting 70k miles on it.

The 2001 A4 I bought with 75k miles, now has 120k or so on it and my son loves it. The only issue we had with it was a clogged oil pump screen due to too long of service intervals. Now we are careful to change the synthetic oil at 5k.

My TT is awesome. 2002 225hp quattro with APR software upgrade to 257hp/267 ft lbs. I serviced the PCV system and replaced the coils and the spark plugs in 30k miles.

 

[OregonLC]

MPGs don't really bother me with the g37 because it's got the power to justify it. IMO if it got low 20's mpg and only had 250hp, then we'd have a problem. The infinitis do seem to be pentiful and reasonably priced in my area. If i get a 2wd one, seems to knock about $4k off the price

About once a month I make a 480 mile trip. If I keep it at about 68-70 with the cruise on I can get just over 30mpg and do the trip with a single tank. Get up to 75-80 and mileage drops to 27. Around town it's low 20s, but that's using the power.

Pass a semi on a two-lane rural highway and you'll see 95-100 by the time you merge back over. It's a fun little car. I will say that she wants to rev to make the power, just like every other small displacement mill. If you want Hemi torque, this isn't the car for you.

A bit of caution on the 2wd G37, especially in CO... It's a decent amount of power going to the rear wheels and things can get 'interesting'. There's a "snow" button behind the shifter that dampens the throttle response and helps keep things in order. The X, OTOH, is a fantastic wet weather stoplight car. You can pin it on a rainy day and still find traction. If you don't drive the 2wd like an asshat then you'd be fine. But the X is a great all-weather sports sedan.

If you haven't already, take the time to drive one of everything you're thinking of even if it's the wrong color, wrong price, etc. Just get some seat time. Internet will only take you so far. I drove a 335i, 328d, IS350, TL Type S, WRX, and the G37 before deciding on it. The IS (2nd Gen) was a close 2nd but it was too small and not as quick, although smoother and more refined.

 

[kbahus]

Stay away from VAG, period. I am a VW/Audi tech at an indy repair shop and have seen some fun stuff lately. The earlier cars, like Fast Eddy's fleet, were decent cars but when they switched to the 2.0 TSI and the V6/V8 models with the timing chains all heck has broken loose. The tensioners are failing at nutty rates and if you drive around with it rattling away you are bound to bend some valves. I have 2 V6's on my lot that need engines or at minimal new valves as they are bent, and another that was just picked up that customer didn't want to fix. I have done multiple chains and tensioners on the 2.0TSI motors and just did a valve replacement on another. We are talking newer cars here with relatively low mileage, the 2.0 I did the valves on had around 75k on the clock. These repairs are expensive and starting to be common. Also the CAEB 2.0 TSI has a history of ring issues which, if not under warranty, expensive. Like Skillet said, they are great as lease vehicles or if purchased new with a warranty but if you are buying used they are certainly not worth the risk.

 

[ryanCA]

I have put almost 2700 miles on two tlx

Solid cars
Nothing inspiring

New 2015 tlx is 28k base
30k with tech

 

[OregonLC]

Posts like that echo something I've been wondering about for a while: have we passed the 'golden era' of use car durability? I mean, back in the 80's 100k was the line between young and old vehicles. Over the last couple of decades, getting a vehicle (of Honda/Toyota quality) to 200k is no big deal. And cars with 100k on the clock still go for big bucks. Better engineering, materials, electronic controls all seem to have contributed to longer running machines.

But with the CAFE push to high-strung, small-displacement turbos are we now looking at significant regression in vehicle powertrain durability? Are 250hp - 300hp 2.0L Direct Injected Turbos really up for 200k or 300k miles?

 

[kbahus]

With my experience I have to say direct injection, long oil change intervals, and the over-engineering required to meet emissions standards are all factors adding up and causing issues. Just look at the timing chain setup I posted, it's a mess. I should have taken pics of the crazy variable lobe setup on the exhaust cam.

 

[OregonLC]

Does the pic show three separate chains?

Sent from my SM-G900V

 

[Douglas S]

I'm very happy with my Audi so far, and it's considered by many to be the Audi "nightmare" vehicle of its time. YMMV.

Japan doesn't do luxury as well as the Germans. Overstyled is the word that comes to mind.