S4???

[audiovibe]

Anyone know any info on the Audio S4's? I am mainly looking for their reliability as I don't want something that will have $500 monthly service fees because its German. Anyone know of any good Audi Forums?Thanks Aron

[ou.grizzly]

Audi and Reliability... Hmmm... I would have to say no.

[audiovibe]

That bad HUH?

[Kamikaze]

I don't know of any good forms, but I have a friend that works on them, has owned 2- A4's 3 S4's a A8 and a RS-4.I also just talked to a kid that has an account with us at Mobil that picked up a 07 A4 with about 50k miles, said he was really glad he picked up the extended warranty because the turbo had to be rebuilt and it was like $2500 (don't quote me on that)My guess is that they should be pretty comparable to the VW's but that's just a guess. Problem with going to those forms is you've got a fairly biased opinion. I haven't talked to my friend in quite a while (not even sure what his phone # is anymore) if I do see him I'll ask him questions because I know he'll be able to get some good feedback.

[audiovibe]

I remember you saying that you had a friend that had the modified RS4,If you see him that would be greatly appreciated, as I am browsing around looking for something special. For the last week I have been looking for a 07-08 Glut Orange S4 with low mileage and in un-molested condition. But if reliability is that big of an issue I will probably forget the S4 idea all together and wait for something else to perk my interest. BTW reliability is a huge issue as my local Audi/VW dealership is about 100 miles away.

[northvibe]

audi and vw share some things...and I wouldnt say they are "reliable". I wouldnt touch a vw unless it was a old one from the 80's. Do you have a consumer reports account?

[Sublimewind]

I had a friend that had one that was a POFS... Nearly burnt him and his family with leaking fuel injectors (didn't cause an actual fire, but gas was everywhere)He had all sorts of problems.. don't remember what all... I'm sure there are plenty of good forums for the A/S4 Should do a Subie Leggy sedan if you are after a hot stealth family ride.. lol..

[northvibe]

2008-2010 cobalt SS sedan ftw!!!

[Kincaid]

What I know about Audi is that:1. Consumer reports ranks them above M-B (terrible) for reliability, barely ahead of VW (terrible) and behind BMW (barely passable).2. Co-worker had an early 90's A-4 that gave him a fair amount of trouble.I'd say that unless you love working on your own car and don't mind expensive preventative maintenance, I'd steer clear of Audi.I also had a friend that had a 2003-05 or so VW Passat. So much luxury in the cabin, so frustratingly unreliable. His motor went kaput - fortunately covered under warranty. A few years later, after the warranty expired, it started showing the same symptoms of another engine failure so he got rid of it.My BIL just got a current generation Passat. Please say a little prayer for him.

[cptnsolo77]

Wow! I didnt realize some Euro cars were so unreliable....I been told that BMWs are pretty bad but barely passable? LOL

[lovemyraffe]

VW/Audi are great cars until something goes wrong. Once something happens, it's all down hill from there. We had a VW for years. Sold it about 1 year ago. The kid who bought it has had nothing but problems with it since. Also, it can be tough to find somebody other than a dealer to work on them.

[Kincaid]

Quote, originally posted by cptnsolo77 »Wow! I didnt realize some Euro cars were so unreliable....I been told that BMWs are pretty bad but barely passable? LOLWell, I'm only passing along what I learned from Consumer Reports. What is odd is that I have a friend from Germany. He says that in Germany, statistics show that Toyota and Honda are somewhat less reliable than are VW, BMW, M-B and Audi. Not sure why that is.

[audiovibe]

And I always thought the Germans made good stuff. Maybe I will look into other options then.Aaron I thought about the Leggy sedans but there is about 20 or so in my town, I am trying to find something that not many people have in my area. I am not in any real hurry to buy a new car as my time frame is in March/April unless something really pops. I would really like to look at an IS-F but being 10-15k more then the S4 I would be dreaming. Also if everyone and their mother didnt have a G8 I would look to that road.Parnell the SS sedan really dosent catch my eye as much as the coupe, but if I still wanted a coupe today that would be my choice as dollar for dollar nothing beats it.Other cars I have been considering are the 07 STI limited, Would have to have extremly low mileage and absolutely no mods. and once again my "local Dealer" is about 50 mi away"06-08 CTS-VOther then the S4 those are the cars that like and all fall in the upper 20-mid 30 range. The only put off I have with the STI is all the issues my buddie had with his. The CTS-V would probably be the least expensive to maintain. I could also add the SRT-8 Charger to the list, but its not available in manual and I have already owned a Charger Daytona in the past.I have been reading the Audizine forums and it is funny that every one says get a warranty does make that decision IFFY and the fact that I read that the car takes 9 quarts of synthetic oil WTH is up with that 9 f'n Quarts.I have some old reviews laying around for the 04 S4 and that car is rated tops. CR ratted it #1 in o5 in the sports car category, C&D rated it #1 against the CTS-V and C55 AMG in 04.If anyone has any other ideas feel free to post them up. My main requirements are Sedan, Performance based, a little on the uncommon side, and still be able to move with a hefty Audio system (and the wife thinks the audio is gone when I get a new car HA!)Mot likely the S4 will be out based on what I have read and the distance i would have to travel (almost frequently as it seems) for service. so with that said the next favorites are the CTS-V and the G8-GXP, I will probably look more into the Leggys as well.Aaron, Hope, and Mav how is the relibility on the Leggys compared to the STIs? and do the STIs become prone to problems often? The STI used to be my favorite car until my buddy had all his trouble, and I would have bought one in 04 if I didn't buy a house instead, (couldn't afford both then) and to be truthful I still love the distinct sound that 2.5 boxer makes. I think I will make a trip over to naisoc to do some reading as well.Thanks to all who replied!Aron

[Kincaid]

I think the Audi's look great and drive great. Unfortunate that it can't be a second "hobby car".Also unfortunate that G8's are plentiful - not many of those around here. I've only seen a few.Of the vehicles you've mentioned, I'd love to rod out a CTS-V. Black out the grille, lower it, debadge it, put some tasteful wheels on it. People would think it was a spaceship as it blew past.

[kostby]

I believe GenVibe used to be a spinoff site of AudiWorld.com. Here's an old post about the relationship --> http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=31554I never went there (cause I haven't owned an Audi since 1980) so I can't vouch for the quality, but I know they had like 10-times the traffic of GenVibe.You might try IM-ing nsimkins for details. He was/(still is?) a system administrator for GenVibe.

[smeadows7]

This brakes my heart that the Audi S4 has a reputation of being unreliable. It's such a beautiful car and an amazing performance machine.

[09vGT]

I saw a new Audi SUV that was being towed up on a tow truck on the side of the road today.. lol