[Biturbos4] Audi reliability [was: S4 Alternative]

[Keman]

>> mentioned, I still find it unacceptable for a $42k MSRP car. Many
>> other cars with these luxuries do not have the problems. We just put

How sure are you of this? I'm just curious of what you've seen or what you
haven't.

Take for example the new M3... I'm suddenly reminded of blown up engines
throwing rods and dealers refusing to warranty it for bs reasons. They just
recently admitted.

Mercedes is a void in my head ... but just because I've not read some horror
stories doesn't mean they don't exist. Wish I knew more about Mercedes.

While I agree that there are a couple of -repeat- problems that Audi's
definitely have in common... and those problems really SHOULD not be there..
there is a lot more than just performance glazing over folks's eyes when it
comes to reliability in my opinion. Yeah, I'm biased... but some things go
further than opinion.

How about materials quality? Those door handles are metal. Real metal. Check
out the new BMW Z4. Can you say... silver coated plastic? It's not going to
hold up to age. You've seen it before probably- yellowish plastic showing
through scratched silver areas from wear and tear.

How about the hose clamps Audi uses. Made out of 316 stainless steel,
they're swiss made and either pinch style or worm drive have rolled smooth
edges and no gaps to cut into the rubber over time.

Ok, something folks can relate to more and be less technical.

Rust. See any? You won't. There's over 60lbs of corrosion resistant
materials added to our cars, ranging from having the whole frame dipped in a
rust-preventing wax, to galvanizing on both sides of sheet metal, rust
resistant primer, rust resistant coatings, rust resistant undercoatings.
It's the best in the industry... and if you find rust within 12 years of
ownership.. no matter what the mileage is, it gets fixed for free. It's been
this way since I think 1994, possibly earlier.

When I first moved to Michigan, I started working at Honda. I wanted to work
for Audi, but I couldn't find any immediate openings .. and I had enough
experience with Honda in the past that I got a job on the spot. Coming from
California, imagine my thoughts as I saw 1 year old hondas with tons of
surface rust under them after living through just one salted winter. "I'm
going to park my S4 and get a winter beater .. no way am I going to have it
looking like that." Those thoughts really sucked, because I was looking
forward to having fun in the snow. Well, I work on 1 year old, 5 year old,
10 year old audi's now... no rust on any of them. Maybe some aluminum
oxidization here or there, but that's it. Now that is cool!! Out went those
protective thoughts. Now I just worry about people smashing into me...

Now I realize none of this feel-good crap does you folks out there with
broken parts any bit of good. I've seen the pained expression from repair
bills on hundreds of faces for many different makes of cars. I feel for
you.. and wish there was something I could do. I push for goodwill warranty
repairs when cars are out of warranty all the time. If your car is in
warranty and you feel your dealership is snowing you ... bring it to another
dealer or even hire an independant shop that specializes in imports. Pay
them an hour or two to go over the car and provide you a list of potential
problems. Then present that list of problems to the dealership. They
shouldn't balk at it.

That's my .02 hours of labor anyways.

Also, I found out today there is a new warranty extension on mass airflow
sensors, affecting 2000 S4 biturbos, and 2000-2002 biturbo A6's. It's either
75 or 80k miles and 7 years. I'll post the exact figures tomorrow if y'all
want. Audi will reimburse for charges if you paid for the repair in the
past.

- Keman

>> up with it because the S4 is the only car with the great combination
>> of AWD, lots of power, tuneability, and style.