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Comments
Some of the driver reviews at Tire Rack differ dramatically for the Conti Extreme's. The only negative I've personally perceived other than the slightly reduced gas mileage occurred yesterday. I had the occasion to drive over some really badly decayed blacktop and poorly maintained dirt roads. I don't think I'd chose these tires if that comprised a significant portion of my daily driving. They're just too harsh for those conditions, though I don't find them objectionable for normal road imperfections.
Mostly, I would say that edmunds does provide a forum for fans of the NAME HERE brand -- my friend sent me a phrase that I have modified for those of us who participate in this town hall (see if you like it):
"Edmunds (Audi) Townhall is a place for Audi enthusiasts to share information and to celebrate the brand."
I don't think this means that this would preclude us from discussing issues and problems, but perhaps it would suggest that this is not just meant to be a forum to "bash" NAME HERE cars.
This particular discussion is to talk about the A6 sedan. There isn't anything wrong with folks posting honest assessments and opinions - negative or positive - as long as there is no intent to disrupt the discussion.
But yes, using any dedicated vehicle discussion for no other purpose than to bash it can be disruptive and should be dealt with by the host - not the other discussion members.
As always, feel free to email me (or any other host) about any concerns of this nature.
I spoke with my dealer about this -- dealer said that he would "go to bat for me." Dealer thought it was "odd" that Audi would expend large dollars and other incentives to attract a current Audi financial customer to get out of his lease early, help with the paperwork and muck and mire of an early termination (6 months) and then nickel and dime the customer who bought $94,000 worth of Audis on one day (my $50K allroad and my wife's $44K TT).
Three letters from me to Audi -- one of them FedEX -- later, I get an aplogy from Audi and a "we pride ourselves on individual and personal attention" for our customers, etc. Net net -- overage wiped out and once again I feel like an "appreciated" customer.
BTW, after months and months, the dealer bought the car from Audi, put a new battery in it, detailed it and it lasted less than one week on the used car lot (2001 A6 4.2 Sport with all options and 34K miles)!
Due to changes from model year to model year, it is not always easy to answer the question about the way the seat leather runs. The bolsters, however, are a dead giveaway.
Some people don't like the sport seats since they tend to apply pressure to, shall we say, wider backsides than do the comfort seats.
I prefer sport seats, but none was avail on my 03 allroad.
Is the A6 a beautiful, fast, well-made, lovely driving, performance-luxury auto, OR junk? Beyond counting the centuries that will expire before your typical Camry or Accord will require oil, or maybe even gas, I have decided that the issue has been settled by a younger woman with whom I've been spending time.
One with whom I've enjoyed rondevouz's for the last couple years. Considering that the majority of her conversation consists of chatting with her kitties, and sometimes flowers, I was surprised when I just received the unsolicited comment, "Grandpa, I LIKE your car!"
As a sagacious 2-year-old, those of you who are doubters, should take her judgement to heart. And for those of you who think being a Grandpa ain't cool, just try it!
I have two daughters , now 13 and 7. They audibly moan when I direct them into the A6 instead of my 94 Explorer with 146K miles on it....they love the higher seating position, comfy leather seats and roominess in the back seat of the Explorer!
They do appreciate the A6 at night, when they can each use their own reading lamp in back.
Mark
Are you wishing that it would not do this?
Check the manual, I think the system is sensitive to whether YOUR lights are on or off.
Mark
i never realized there was a sensor on the front of the mirror, facing oncoming traffic. i'm going to check on that on the way home.
thanks for the suggestions. jackg
BTW the 25k tradin can be compared to the 31K tradin for an equivalent Mercedes E320. Which is the price one pays for buying a car that makes "fearless" men tremble at the thought of owning an Audi out of warranty.
The Audi dealer I use said that for many it is cheaper on a monthly basis to go for the new Audi than even a 2 or 3 year used Audi. Hence, the new 0% interest rate program on MY 2000 Audis in some areas.
My dealer only will take a used Audi if it is being traded -- i.e., if they have to.
This too, like a 1% Fed Funds Rate, is only temporary. Your depreciation, nevertheless does seem extreme.
Your example is not quite an apples to apples comparison with the gentleman who was trading an Audi on another Audi. I would expect the Audi dealer to provide a better price on an Audi trade than for a non Audi trade for the simple fact that they can certify it and charge justifiably charge a premium price.
Another takaway is that one should feel extremely justified in lowballing (relative to the stated book values) a dealer on a used car. Based on the two most reacent examples the dealers are actually offering 15% below Kelly blue book tradin even for like brand trades.
When a brand new car can be had for low or 0% interest for a term of up to 60 months -- what happens? Used cars are less "desirable" -- since most people don't pay cash.
While the Fed keeps telling us that deflation is only a very small worry -- well, used cars have actually felt some deflation (85% of bluebook as noted in previous posts).
Audi is worse? Worse than what? To the extent that the residual on a new Audi purhcased/leased in late 1999 (an an MY 2000) was "X" it is almost certainly worth less than "X" (based on demand). But this would certainly not be just an Audi phenomenon -- generally this applies to BMW's, Mercedes, Volvos and others too.
When the monthly nut for a new European lux or near lux automobile is reasonably close to the montly payment on a 2 to 3 year old model, it stands to reason that the new car will be chosen over the "certified pre-owned" (what used to be called a USED car).
The counter is that the dealers have to pay and charge less for used cars -- in order to move them.
Other economic conditions may return that will elevate the residual of the used car -- or not.
It is always difficult at the tail end of an economic trough to see our way out, or see what's on the other side. We all know that there are cycles that roughly are peak followed by downturn leadin to a trough followed by a recovery leading to another peak. Goods and services (perhaps excluding healthcare) almost all are impacted by these repetitive cycles.
Used cars are, now, relatively close to the "trough" -- some say we are coming out of this trough, some say we are sliding along the bottom, sideways.
What ever is really happening we at least know that the Fed is keeping rates for the time being @ 1% and many cars are still to this very day being placed with historically low (artificially low, I might add) money factors (interest rates). Couple this with the normal end of year stuff that is going on and you may conclude as have I that now is a lousy time to sell a used car and perhaps a good time to buy one.
If you are on the selling end -- values are, therefore, probably lousy.
This too shall pass. But it has not yet done so.
The people who lease know exactly what their vehicle will cost each and every month, and the people who buy cars have high (low, really) hopes that, having bought the vehicle, once it's paid off, the monthly costs will be far more reasonable.
The major issue here is that most cars that are fun to drive appear to be something of a challenge to keep maintained (or at least to afford the time or money required). When (not if, when) the Asians come up with a truly fun vehicle, Audi (& BMW, Merc, Jag, Volvo & even Lincoln (the LS has had enough issues to have achieved character)) will be in for some really tough sledding. The G35 may not be the be-all and end-all, but it should be taken as a message that they're getting closer.
Monthly costs are always lower for those who buy and hold. When it's possible to buy and hold a really fun car without having it eat your shorts in terms of maintenance, even performance-oriented drivers will take note.
Of course, many will take the contrarian position that anything that's reliable and being bought by too many people isn't for them. Most won't.
The next few years will be interesting.
I really like the "looks" (its a start) of the Infinity G35 and if they made that thing, in that body, all wheel drive and kept the time to 100kph under 7 seconds and made or kept the handling as tight in the twisties as some car magazine writers have suggested -- you are right.
In any case the next two to four years could be quite interesting.
When my car was being detailed, I rented a maxed out Altima -- it was very nice. It was, however, like driving my sofa. But I am not meaning to damn the thing with backwards or faint praise. The car was competent and comfortable and spunky. The A/C was like an icebox and the sound system was premo all the way. The seats were well constructed and only a tiny bit too soft.
I assume this car maxed out as it was was NOT $30,000. Very impressive.
Anyway, I started out to tell you I agreed with you -- nothing has changed from that sentiment.
This should be good for the market. Hopefully Audi will rise to the challenge.
But Audi or any of the other luxury/performance brands can't continue to exist very successfully in an environment where depreciation and/or maintenance take so much of the bloom off the rose. Even in a fully-warranted environment, the logistics of dropping off and picking up vehicles that require service can become onerous.
Either way, it's pleasant to exchange ideas with you. You clearly place a higher value on new features that I'd tend to call "bells & whistles", but I think both of us appreciate cars that go around sharp corners nicely and accelerate well, while providing reasonable creature comforts all the while.
Enjoy that Allroad.
Steve
I have not done any analysis but perhaps things are just not as rosy anywhere as we ALL seem to expect.
Service intervals, I think I was told, on the new Porches are now @ 15,000 miles; Audis 10,000 miles. Of course these are for the maintenance tasks not the fix or replacement of broken (warranty or not) items.
My wife has her car serviced as per the factory (10,000 miles) and she thinks she is always at the dealership.
Frankly other than my On*star issues from the get go on my 03 allroad, this car has been "the best yet." My wife thinks my car is "always in the shop." At 18K miles (other than the first 11 or 18 days and a couple more On*star visits) my car's only issue has been the blown Xenon igniter.
Keepin' my fingers crossed.
a6 avant is located? the dealer says it's on the right side of the way back, i took the door panel off back there and couldn't find it.
off this topic but icw the g35 and awd...i think it was autoweek that reported recently that around december of this year infiniti will offer awd on the g35, don't recall if it's the coupe or the sedan. jackg
24 K miles black/black. The car stickered at $45500. The owner is asking $34K. It also has new Continental contact ?? tires on the nice 5 spoke rims. The only option it was missing that I really was bummed about was the sport bucket seats.
isthisa good price for a 03 A6 2.7 ?
Thanks for any input,
jay
You will certainly be getting a somewhat more refined car, albeit very familiar. I would do it unless you think you can wait for the05's.
Now, with respect to the warranty -- I may be paranoid and frankly my personal experiences have been good, but do not keep this car out of warranty. Chances are nothing will happen, but even minor things on this car will be "breathtakingly expensive" to repair or replace if such a need arises.
See if you can get another $1,000 off and enjoy yourself with your new 2.7T!
You might replace the BPV's which cost a lot less than a chip and be happy, who knows? Try replacing them first ($90 for the pair) and see if you don't think the thing performs to your liking.
However, the chip probably has spoiled you, so there's that to consider -- but now you can get a Direct Port Chip which means nothing actually has to be replaced www.goapr.com.
Let us know what you do!
The buyout on your '00 is OK but no bargain. If you were trading in, you'd be looking at maybe $19-20K. If you hold out, Audi may even discount it a thousand or two, though Audi Financial seems inconsistent on this.
You might find a used car at a better price, but it would a "strange" car. Intimate knowledge of the car and its history are worth something, plus you keep the chip.
I agree with Mark that the costs of Audi repairs can be shocking (though Audi's far from alone on this). If you believe postings on Audi sites like Audiworld, any significant engine problem runs into the thousands and a bad trans can cost over $10K to replace. If you buy from Audi you can probably get an extended warranty. I'd avoid a 3rd party warranty unless they're very well known and accepted.
BTW, if you live in CA, the turbos are covered to 7yrs/70K miles as part of the emission controls (in '01s anyway).
The effect was to make the car accelerate more strongly -- the effect is no where near as pronounced as a chip. But the risk of blowing a turbo is virtually nil with these Bosch Sport Bypass Valves model 110. www.hoppenmotorsport.com has a full explanation.
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kirstie_h
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2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
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I just want to know what the pros and cons would be if I buy this car?
It is not that it is a bad car or unreliable -- it is just that maintenance is expensive, not frequent, mind you, but expensive nevertheless.
Repairs are BREATHTAKINGLY expensive.
I am not suggesting that this would NOT be my comment if you had said BMW 5 series or Mercedes E class all of the same 1999 MY.
Ditto Jaguar, Volvo and Saab. You can run, but you can't hide from the high costs of servicing these fine cars.
I have no reason to NOT want you to be an Audi owner. Quite the contrary. I want you to be a repeat Audi owner -- get one with a comprehensive (and preferably Audi sponsored) warranty.
Or don't get the car.
cons: it's going to drain pockets you didn't even know you had
As with mark, I'm a fan of Audi for all that they are, apart from the maintenance & repair costs. They're great, and I would strongly advocate owning one, when you're in a position to afford the repairs and only then. Any luxury or near-luxury vehicle is going to be the same. As a college student (presumably with a limited budget) you're much better off getting a car for which parts and service are plentiful and reasonable.
kirstie_h
Roving Host & Future Vehicles Host
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
Find me at kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
Review your vehicle
Or find a deal on a new fully warranted VW or maybe a somewhat newer Audi that will permit you to LEASE a used car, the payment, will be less.
Just be prudent at this point.
I have had over 25 Audis -- I speak from experience.
But they are great driver's cars to be sure.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD