[A4] My new A4 has been built! A tire mystery

[Rocky Mullin]

At 3:13 PM -0800 11/3/05, Nicholas Stock wrote:
>Rocky, I'm going to have to disagree with you there. My old A4 had 
>16inch alloys with the sport suspension...my new S-line has 18inch 
>alloys with sports suspension...the latter being a superior ride in 
>both terms of handling and comfort (despite only driving it for 500 
>miles!).

	i read about a recent test.  same car, different wheels, same tires.
same lap times.

>
>The new warranty covers you for 4 years or 50,000 miles including 
>all maintenance..leasing it will cost you less up front, but if you 
>decide to buy the vehicle after the lease term it will cost you more 
>overall

	i will under no circumstances choose to own an out-of-warranty audi.
giving it back to the dealer, having not paid for the portion of the car i
didn't use instead of trying to recoup that via selling my car, is the way
easier option.  i did a lot of research into leasing and i'm one of those
people who see great value in it.

	also, i want to be free in two years to get a new AWD diesel should
one finally be available here in CA.  and given that the audis i am looking
at tend to be quite low in their class for mileage, i don't want to own an
18 MPG car in two years when gas is six bucks a gallon and there are tons
of options for higher-mileage AWD cars, as i believe the market will answer
those calls.  i predict that the floor will fall out from under the values
of, say, SUVs as fuel prices in the USA start to equalize with the rest of
the world that sucks the OPEC tit without the same kind of government
subsidized fuel prices that exist in the USA.  the subsidies constinue
here, and the higher prices are simply going into yearly record profits
for big oil.

	owning any car out of warranty has great potential to be a financial
burden, with audi it's assured.

>..interest rates are still cheap, so I would always buy before 
>leasing, unless of course there are complicated tax issues involved..

	i bought a van for my business.  it's a diesel, ad the tax issues
were extremely beneficial to finance it.  also, it's a benz, and a model
that is very long lasting and reliable.

>However, the larger you alloys, and hence the lower profile the 
>tire..the more damn expensive they are to replace!!!

	yep.  i need not give the tire corporations extra money for bigger
tire sizes that are a matter of vanity (and harsher ride) rather than
performance.

-- 
  Rocky Mullin 

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