[ba] Reliability of B5 vs. B6 A4s? or???

[Brian Devlin]

We work on plenty of Japanese cars at my shop, but they're mostly Subaru and 
Toyota. The Accord is pretty reliable, but they don't have transmission filters 
(maybe one inside the case?) and had a lot of failures in the late 90s. 
Apparently they've been extending warranties and adding inline filters. One car 
that came in that I liked was a Acura 3.5RL, it seemed fast, solid and was AWD, 
but I couldn't drive it much- the owner had already crashed it because of bad 
tires and snow.
-Brian
Tahoe City Auto Repair
200q20v (mine)
A6q12v (wife's)

________________________________
From: robert weinberg <centaurus3200 at yahoo.com>
To: Tony Hoffman <auditony at gmail.com>; 200q20V mailing list 
<200q20v at audifans.com>; ba-group at audifans.com
Sent: Mon, November 29, 2010 2:49:10 PM
Subject: Re: [ba] Reliability of B5 vs. B6 A4s? or???

Thanks Tony!

question - does your shop only fix german cars - or have you also worked on 
Japanese cars. reason being i've always heard this urban legend - that a honda 
accord is the most reliable car on the planet. i'm pretty sure it needs 
maintenance repairs, just like any car. and i'd put one with similar miles up 
against my wife's A4 any day.

lastly, have you had any first hand experiences with the "Tiptronic torque 
converter" failure?

i belive only the 1996-1997 A4 12V had the plain-ol' 5 speed auto. then from 
1998 on, it was tip. or would you still give it a chance if the owner has proof 
that the tranny fluid has been regularly changed? or changing the fluid has 
nothing to do with the failure of the tip TQ?

i had one of those "reliable" japanese econo-boxes - a 1998 Nissan Sentra - over 

the course of two years, i still replaced the axles, starter, water pump, 
battery, front brakes. and it still needed an egr valve. so, all cars need 
repairs - which i'm fine with - i just don't want something major like the 
tranny to take a dump on me ;-)

and i can never drive a japanese econo-box again. i'm scarred from the 
mediocrity. an accord, MAYBE - but i might fall asleep driving it from 
boredom...

thanks,
Robby




________________________________
From: Tony Hoffman <auditony at gmail.com>
To: robert weinberg <centaurus3200 at yahoo.com>
Sent: Mon, November 29, 2010 12:47:36 PM
Subject: Re: Reliability of B5 vs. B6 A4s? or???

Well, as you have heard, the 12V is reliable, and yours is no
exception. I've done very little work on the 12v's, complared to the
30v's and even the 5's that came before. So, I guess that speaks to
the general reliability of them as well. I have a 90 FWD that still
runs great at 204k after being run out of oil (the guy I bought it
from put a hole in the oil pan).

On the auto, just make sure the fluid has been changed. Other than
that, should be good to go.

The I30 is a Maxima, as you mentioned. Not the first car I'd
recommend. The GS is a pretty nice car, and I've always had a soft
spot for inline 6's and DOHC V8's, so I like either engine. However,
don't expect an Audi driving experience. There are very few cars that
feel so much of a "friend" so quickly as an Audi. That alone has
convinced a lot of my customers throughout the years to buy an Audi.
And, despite the maintenance, some of them are still hooked on them.

Tony


On Wed, Nov 24, 2010 at 10:49 AM, robert weinberg
<centaurus3200 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Thanks Tony, super informative!
>
> i guess my main curiosity is if my wife's 12V A4 is just some sort of freak
> - or there's a magic to the 12V A4 and A6 in their reliability. i still
> can't believe the auto tranny is going strong with 215k - but we do change
> the fluid (sealed for life my ass ;-)
>
> does anybody have a 30V A4 or A6 with a ton of miles out there? what are
> your thoughts?
>
> i would be looking for an auto quattro - my wife says she can drive stick -
> but has yet to take me up on the offer to prove it with my  200q20v ;-)
>
> and i'd rather have an auto for sitting in traffic in the bay area.
>
> see ya,
> Robby



      
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