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If I had lots of money to throw around, I wouldn't mind leasing a new A8 every few years, either! I tend to fear high-end European cars though, once they start aging.
You should feel confident; they are super well built "tight" cars. No rattles, feels and drives (and looks) like new.
To be fair, it has had a couple of issues, but Audi has taken care of all of them under warranty, and even out of warranty (at just 53K miles, only 3,000 out of warranty). The AC compressor blew up on a weekend trip just as the summer was starting last year. I told Audi it was unacceptable for something that major to break so close to warranty.
Audi did not leave me to pay $850 of the $2,200 bill to fix the A/C system and compressor. They covered the whole thing. Everything else was little tiny things like the center arm rest latch breaking and the rear center armrest cup holder mechanism failing to work right for some reason (all taken care of under warranty at no cost to me, and with Audi, you always get a free loaner rental car which minimizes the disruption of having to have something fixed greatly). Oh yeah, the factory battery was cheap and only lasted 3 years (thank goodness for free roadside service and towing to your nearest Audi dealer). NAPA didn't carry the right sized battery for an A3. On my last oil change for which they gave me a $59.95 deal (fantastic for fully synthetic oil change at a dealer), they took care of a recall for ignition coils (never really noticed any negative effect though, and that was the first and only recall thus far).
The Audi has had no mechanical issues whatsoever, and I don't expect it to have any mechanical issues for at LEAST another 61,000 miles.
I should add, this car is extremely fun to drive. I have properly flogged it in countless canyon carving runs, and even tracked it one weekend. If the way you drive your car has a great effect on reliability, then something is amiss in my life experience. I really don't think it matters how you drive your vehicle (unless you purposely abuse it by say, revving to the redline when you first turn it on during a cold morning). What matters is the quality of parts and build, and maintenance; that's it.
Like I've said before, if the car can't handle 10,000 red line up and down shifts, then maybe the manufacturer needs to lower that red line and rev limiter on the tach!
Well, you were 3000 miles out of warranty. The Rainier, covered by the original 3/36 plan from '04, was over 3 yrs and 25,000 miles out of warranty. I thought it to be fair enough that I had them change the oil, flush the tranny and replace the filter, and replace the rear brakes and rotors. total cost: $400.
".....Oh yeah, the factory battery was cheap and only lasted 3 years"
We're still on the original battery 6.5 years later.
To credit Audi, I was only 3K miles out of warranty because they have a good quality warranty that goes 4 years and 50,000 miles. GM gave your Rainier a terrible warranty which means that if they were equal, you were really only 2 years and 11K miles out of warranty. $850 is a lot, no matter how you slice it and dice it, in fact, that's just enough to cover my complete (front and rear) brake job replacement at 53K miles, which is pretty darn good for a performance car driven to it's performance limits regularly. I thought it was overly pricey being done at an Audi Dealer, but how could I refuse them when my pads were low and they had just agreed to do my AC free of charge. The A3 has big sizeable rotors up front stock.
Also, no belts have needed replacement, and the schedule doesn't call for it in the first 100K anyway. I also had "free" maintenance up to 50K miles, though the last "free" service is done at 45,000 miles. Trust me, those "free" services are the bare minimum, and didn't include any belts either. Just fluids and filters (and battery) have been changed out thus far in this car for maintenance purposes.
I would consider a timing belt at 90K or more mile intervals routine maintenance. I recently witnessed a recent model Ford SUV have a timing chain failure prior to 100K and I believe it caused problems and damages due to its failure. I'd rather have a belt that you replace every 100K or so for safety purposes than a chain that can't last 100K anyway regardless. I believe your "chains" aren't all that. They don't measure up to all they were supposed to be in theory only. In the real world, they have yet to be proven.
Shortly after emerging from bankruptcy last year, GM formed a new customer service team dedicated to searching the Web for negative comments about GM products. The team monitors social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, offering solutions to problems whenever possible.
5 U.S. Call Centers
Hope my 2003 Denali comments helped them learn something... :lemon:
Regards,
OW
Chains flex long before they break. They will give you a warning, as the timing will be off, and difficult to adjust. A great tell tale sign is that the timing mark on the harmonic balancer will be "jumping" all over the place because the chain is loose. Belt give no warning, they just bust.
".... $850 is a lot, no matter how you slice it and dice it,"
And when you spend that, and then some for your timing belt (be thankful you don't have the V6, as people over at an Audi fan forum mention $2600 for timing belts) it will still be $850 I won't have to spend.
My Park Av is running fine w/ over 120,000 miles. The most it cost me? $550, FOR TIRES!!
Regards:
OldCEM
Honda probably went to a chain because, IIRC it isan "interference engine". Which means should the chain (or belt) break, the pistons will do a "two step" on the valves, thereby destroying the cylendar head.
BTW, the 2 liter engine in the A3 IS an interference engine.
CXS 2011
Regards,
OW
I don't know if I agree with that. I believe belts show signs of wear and tear. I think I could tell the difference between a belt with 100,000 miles on it vs. one that's brand new right off the assembly line.
Regards:
OldCem
(2 small screws and a 2x2 inch plate) Take off in 2 minutes, look at the belt and timing...
What amazes me is the amount of work you have to go through just to view the thing in the first place(be it a chain or a belt)
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Icon I6L Golf Cart
Chain was OK on my 71 Firebird 400, but slipped on worn-out "PLASTIC" teeth on cam gear. Somwhere around 40-50K miles, best I can recollect. Was on interstate, just cruising to work, and power went off immediately of course. Had it towed to house, BIL analyzed problem, did my own work. Put in a new chain and all steel gear, plus new water pump. Parts guy at Pontiac dealer said that Pontiac engineers specified plastic teeth for quietness.
Pontiac had some "great" engineering back then. Another engineering disaster was having to remove hood and right front fender (procedure was in shop manual) to get at heater core hoses on firewall to replace heater core.
I've heard all that mesh stuff was done, like the plastic gear, to make the cars run quieter.
I dunno when they finally got rid of those mesh chains (or if they ever did) but I think my grandmother's '85 LeSabre and my Mom's '86 Monte Carlo still had them.
Would a supercharged 3.8 in a 2000 Park Ave have a proper chain, I wonder?
I think you are safe, I remember looking this up for a friend who had a GP with the supercharger.
"See its all steel gears - no nylon covered teeth in this engine. Visible also is the famous tensioner present in all Buick V6s, so the dreaded problem other engines have of skipping a tooth when the chain stretches under high mileage is eliminated! What's that gear above and behind the timing chain cam gear? That's right - the balance shaft"
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Icon I6L Golf Cart
GM's problem is what Toyota is dealing with right now as well. Everything is designed by a committee and as a result it's about meeting a design ideal that everyone is happy with instead of just making a great vehicle and listening to the engineers.
Case in point. No sane engineer would have suggested to use *plastic* in an engine's moving parts, That came from above somewhere and they had to "make the engine quieter(or get fired if they couldn't).
(2 small screws and a 2x2 inch plate) Take off in 2 minutes, look at the belt and timing...
Back when I had my Isuzu pickup, I did take the plastic top cover off one time to look at the timing belt. It was reasonably easy to get to (2.2L carb).
There is also this:
Of course, this is primarily a bling cover to show off your fancy adjustable cam gears, but seeing the belt is a nice fringe benefit.
cnn.money has an article today on the Cruze.
It will be rated 40 mpg hwy, topping current Civic and Corolla
It will have 6spd manual or 6 spd auto avail with the 1.4 liter turbo engine. They are both rated at 40 mpg
The auto is a nine second car and the manual is a 10 second car.
The front grill partly closes at hwy speeds to direct air around the car for higher efficiency.
My 2000 Intrepid was DOHC, but had a timing chain (or probably several of them, with that configuration). It never gave me any indication of impending trouble in the 10 years, 150K miles I owned it, but I imagine if I had to replace the chains, tensioners, guides, and all the other associated bits and pieces, plus the internally-mounted water pump, it could have been enough of a bill to tempt me into just junking the car!
Sometimes, simple is good!
link title
12:01 am U.S. ET, March 30 | UPDATED: 3/30/10 11:19 a.m. EDT
Nissan Motor Co. will sell the Leaf electric car for a base price of $32,780 in the United States and begin taking orders on April 20. When combined with a $7,500 federal tax credit, the Leaf will be priced at $25,280, the automaker said in a statement today. State and local credits can further reduce the cost to consumers.
One of the comments on the article was "who said GM didn't have the hottest lineup" LOL.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Icon I6L Golf Cart
May the Best Car Win.
Regards,
OW
Suzuki is saying sayonara to plans of hybrid and V6 equipped versions of their new Kizashi sedan. It’s not that they are against those mills. They just don’t like the company that makes them. That company is GM.
http://feeds2.feedburner.com/talpodcast
Regards,
OW
Well, over at the Yukon Denali Maint/Repair board, a poster with an '07 Denali is having phantom no-start condition and asked if someone would help since the dealer service team had no clue and could not find a problem...what a huge surprise!
Well, there is hope because GM is trolling the 'net for any signs of customer complaints and a GM service person posted to help that customer. I would vote that dealer loose his franchise. I'm tired of poor excuses to support your product. If there is a problem, fix it the first time. Otherwise, it's a LEMON.
Now we're getting somewhere!! I am going to monitor this event to see how it unfolds.
Regards,
OW
Regards,
OW
We must have had half a dozen car plants in Jersey but now there aren't any. You had Ford in Mahwah and Edison, GM in Linden and I think another place that's not in my memory bank at the moment and a Chrysler plant. The Linden GM plant was the last one and it's gone. They made Caprices there until the SUV craze hit.
When I was a kid (young enough to be in Cub Scouts) we did a tour of the Mahwah Ford plant. It was impressive (and noisy) as hell!
Regards,
OW
I'm sure I'm not alone on this. It's got to be earned not B.S.'ed! Talk is cheap just like the incentives necessary to push US metal. Are you listening Mr. Lutz???? :surprise:
Besides, even this owner wasn't too sure of the reliability/dependability!! What a shame!
Here is the latest on the 2007 Yukon issue over at the Yukon forum: which is typical of my experiences with GM dealer repair capability.
We bought it as a second owner in November 2009. The problem started just recently in early March, 2010, maybe 5 tanks of gas. We don't have a case or number as a dealer has never seen the problem nor seen the service engine light on. We did purchase the extended warranty. We called Onstar to run a diagnostic but they couldn't find anything wrong.
Thanks for your interest.
At least the CS rep is interested in helping.
Regards,
OW
There's still a UAW office there but no plant. Doesn't that say it all.