New Audi

jflail2

Well new to us anyway. The old lady and I stopped by the VW/Audi dealership to drop our Passat off for an oil change and ended up killing time by test driving cars......One thing led to another, and we ended up moving on this 2006 Audi A4. I know maintenance will be more, etc, but man I have always wanted one of these badboys! We are both stoked beyond belief

And with moving to the mtns of NC looming around the corner, it will be nice to have an AWD vehicle in the family again.

Had to share

duksbak

Nice!

Congrats, looks really sweet. Never driven an Audi, how do they handle the road?

wallstreet

Funny how that is. I just want to test drive turns into a closing transaction for a new car. Nice car BTW.

duksbak

Im sure not the first "test drive" that has impressed someone so much as to turn into a sale. I know ive had my fair share of that

aaharvel

Audi has the nicest interiors and arguably the best build quality in the business. It came down to this car and the 2006 330i for me.

Congratulations - one great car.

Sami

I had a 1999 Passat V6 and then when I bought the GT-R I sold the VW and later got myself an '98 A4 1.8T. Back then I would have rather had the VW but now I think the A4 is definitely an upgrade. If you don't have kids you won't miss the space of the Passat.

Fireman32

Congrats on the sweet ride.

ntculenuff

the wife and i love our 2001 A6 we've been looking at the newer ones maybe jump into the S series

jflail2

Well, we started out with a new A4, but the payments were above what we were willing to do at this point, so he pulled this one out. Certified pre-owned, and all routine maintenance until 75k miles is included.

My sales guy also let me drive an 08 TT around for a few hours while they were processing paper work and dealing with other customers. OMG, what a ridiculous car! If we had had the $$......

Thx all, we are loving it alrdy; took it out for an hour ride in the country tonight.

cstpeter

Congrats! That's a cool car. I love the redesigned grill Audio went with a couple years ago. I'm sure you'll be happy with it. My brother has the 2006 A6 and just loves it.

Enjoy!

schwarcw

Congrats! It's a beautiful car and a great performer. Be careful not to burn your **** on those black leather seats in the hot VA or NC Summers.:eek: Good luck!

dorokusai

We just picked up a 2008 TT and have been Audi fans for years. Excellent choice!

fireshoes

Nice!

Belcon

Which engine does your A4 have? The turbo or the 3.0?

dragon1952

Nice...love the German autos! I've got a '98 328i with 114K miles on it that's never burned or leaked a drop of oil. Still runs like new.....or at least like it's only got 41K on it (which is what it had when I bought it)

jflail2

Belcon wrote: »

Which engine does your A4 have? The turbo or the 3.0?

Its the turbo, which is the one thing we debated on for a while. We'd rather have had the 6 cylinder, but this still has enough go to get out of a tight spot. Upkeep may be a bit more in the long run, but we were willing to accept that.

Wow dorokusai, now that's a nice ride. Love those paddle shifters on the wheel, and that thing drove like a champ for the couple of hours I had it.

I hear ya dragon, I love the feel of a German auto; nothing else drives quite like them. I think we'll have at least one from here on out.

MillerLiteScott

I love German cars. I just wish the Germans could do something about the brake dust. It is a pain in the **** to keep the wheels clean.

dorokusai

jflail2 wrote: »

Its the turbo, which is the one thing we debated on for a while. We'd rather have had the 6 cylinder, but this still has enough go to get out of a tight spot. Upkeep may be a bit more in the long run, but we were willing to accept that.

Wow dorokusai, now that's a nice ride. Love those paddle shifters on the wheel, and that thing drove like a champ for the couple of hours I had it.

I hear ya dragon, I love the feel of a German auto; nothing else drives quite like them. I think we'll have at least one from here on out.

Thanks.

Don't sweat the V6 as the 1.8T/2.0T is one of the best engines I've ever had the pleasure of redlining. I didn't have a single engine or drivetrain problem on my 2003 Audi A4 for 49650 miles, which is when it was traded in. The only issue we had with the 2001 A4 was coil(spark) issues but it ended up having a TSB and eventually was fixed.

The 1.8T has more than a handful of low cost mods available for more HP.

audiobliss

Sweet! When you finally move and get all settled in, you'll have to give me a ride through some twisties! :D

heiney9

I've found with Volks and Audi the key is very consistent maintenance. With 1.8 and 2.0T they key is regular oil changes and every 60K replacing the timing belt and tensioner (especially the 1.8T). Flush the braking systems, cooling system every 2-3 years and change the tranny fluid every 3-4 (unless you ahve the DSG tranny) The DSG has some other manitenance that should be done and it ain't cheap.

Early 1.8's had some water pump and timing belt tensioner issues which if unchecked were catastrophic since it was an "inteference" engine. The 2.0 is actually a bit simpler engine since it has 4 valves per cylinder vs. the 5 valves in the 1.8T. The new motor (2.0) has the very innovative FSI (fuel stratified injection) which is direct injection of the fuel into the cylinder head which improves performance and fuel economy.

There is nothing like a German car. Teutonic engineering gives it that feel that other cars just can't match. Plus with both motors there is a plethora of excellent aftermarket parts to improve performance and handling for not a whole lot of cash.

H9

jflail2

Thx Doro and Heiney, that is welcomed reassurance. It is the 2.0 and not the 1.8, so I'm glad to hear it's a bit more reliable.

I completely agree Millerlitescott, the brake dust was a bit ridiculous on the Passat, and was the one thing that had us questioning picking up what we felt were nicer wheels in the end on this Audi. But we've got some houses in the cards so hopefully we'll actually have an outdoor area to wash/dry/wax our car soon

And I completely agree on the consistent maintenance front; we were religious with the Passat's oil changes, etc and will be even more so with the Audi.

Audiobliss: I'll be glad to in exchange for a chance to hear some of these sweet systems I keep reading about on here It'll be nice to hopefully meet some NC polkies and spoil my ears some. How far are you from the Asheville area?

polkatese

nice! nothing like an aggresiveness of german's engineering at work! Congrats on the beaut. I am actually a bit surprised that Audi has a big follower on the eastern coast. I've seen more bimmer's followers on this side.

mantis

polkatese wrote: »

nice! nothing like an aggresiveness of german's engineering at work! Congrats on the beaut. I am actually a bit surprised that Audi has a big follower on the eastern coast. I've seen more bimmer's followers on this side.

They really don't. 15 to 1 I'd say at least BMW to Audi ratio. Where I live, BMW is more like 30 to 1.

Nice car man and congrads on the new wheels. I love getting a new car/truck. It's so fun.

Dan

heiney9

jflail2 wrote: »

I completely agree Millerlitescott, the brake dust was a bit ridiculous on the Passat, and was the one thing that had us questioning picking up what we felt were nicer wheels in the end on this Audi. But we've got some houses in the cards so hopefully we'll actually have an outdoor area to wash/dry/wax our car soon

I am out every weekend with an old tooth brush, VW approved wheel cleaner and a soft bristle brush scrubbing the wheels on my GTI. Even with aftermarket pads the brake dust is still pretty heavy. I have aftermarket BBS rims for the summer and it takes a lot to keep them looking new.

They are over 4 years old (summer driving only) and they look new. I find my rears put out more dust than the fronts. PITA, but that's what I do to keep the rims looking nice and there is no pitting from brake dust being on their too long.

H9

mutelight

Awesome man! I absolutely love Audis, my first car was a 1988 Audi 200. Slowest thing on the planet but such a great car.

BaggedLancer

Grats.


Curious, did they end up charging you for the oil change?

jflail2

BaggedLancer wrote: »

Grats.


Curious, did they end up charging you for the oil change?

Hah, thx. And yes, we did pay for it. When they were done with the change, we weren't near done with negotiations, so we went ahead and paid. They have us scheduled for a free oil change/ detailing job today with the Audi so we start off on the right foot, so I guess it worked out ok...

Belcon

A pretty cool thing to note is, how many positive or even enthusiastic responses you got. That would make me feel very comfortable with my choice.

AND with all of us owning German autos, you have a pretty good source for info.

Btw, have you tried ceramic pads? I know its very important to keep those rims clean because they will pit if you don't...

heiney9

Belcon wrote: »

Btw, have you tried ceramic pads? I know its very important to keep those rims clean because they will pit if you don't...

Ceramic pads certainly cut the dust but most pure ceramic pads never get hot enough during regular driving to really be effective. Ceramic pads are great for the track, but not so great around town, especially if the Mrs.'s is driving. They make some organic formulations which are better than stock as far as dust but nothing can get rid of a little old elbow grease now and again.

Sherardp

Nice whip brother, now throw some Ds on that ****.

jflail2

Never knew the pitting was that serious, and these are definitely wheels to keep squeaky clean. Looks like we have our Saturday mornings booked for the next 10 years or so...

And yes heiney, it will be predominantly the Mrs. driving this thing, so I'll have to take a pass on the ceramic pads. Interesting thought though.

It's official, I LOVE this ride! Now to start research on an audio upgrade for it...

Thx, and good to hear you're ok Sherard.