In my quest for a replacement of the beloved Subaru I have begun to consider and Audi. I am not that familiar with them. How does the hierarchy go?
A's
S's

A4's
A8's

S8's

What about reliabilitly also?

Too lazy to search.

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'85 300SD (formerly california emissions)
'08 Chevy Tahoe
'93 Ducati 900 SS
'79 Kawasaki KZ 650
'86 Kawasaki KX 250
'88 Kawasaki KDX200
'71 Hodaka Ace 100
'72 Triumph T100R

reliability sucks. Run away!

__________________
past MB rides:
'68 220D
'68 220D(another one)
'67 230
'84 SD
Current rides:
'06 Lexus RX330
'93 Ford F-250
'96 Corvette
'99 Polaris 700 RMK sled
2011 Polaris Assault
'86 Yamaha TT350(good 'ol thumper)

Unless its a Subaru Sti or WRX, all the Audis will out handle and outperform the Subarus by miles. For reliability, they are at the bottom and nowhere in the league of the Subaru.

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99 Gurkha with OM616 IDI turbo

2015 Gurkha with OM616 DI turbo

2014 Rexton W with OM612 VGT

Are you looking for a 4wd car? Subaru is coming out with a diesel in the next couple years. I will be holding out for that.

I have become partial to subarus they offer a lot of car for the money. I think Audis are ok. If you are too lazy to search now, you might open up a lot of problems for later. Or if thats the case, you should buy a car under warrantee for sure, if you are too lazy.

My brother's girlfriend has an audi a4 1.8t, and his best friend has the same but in the newest body style.

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Current Stable:
1994 S500 v140, 210k miles, white with grey.

Former Mercedes in the Stable:
1983 300CD Turbo diesel 515k mi sold (rumor has it, that it has 750k miles on it now)
1984 300CD Turbo Diesel 150 k mi sold
1982 300D Turbo Diesel 225 sold
1987 300D Turbo Diesel 255k mi sold
1988 300 CE AMG Hammer 15k mi sold
1986 "300E" Amg Hammer 88k mi sold (it was really a 200, not even an E (124.020)
1992 500E 156k mi sold
etc.

I did do some searching. It seems the A8 and S8 are the same car, the S8 being the performance model.

If I read correctly, certain years A8s are made of aluminum.

Time is running out for my beloved Subaru. At 257,000 miles she runs like a top and starts everyday but is slowly rotting away. I should be able to get another year out of her maybe two.

Anyone with FIRSTHAND experience with an Audi?

__________________
'85 300SD (formerly california emissions)
'08 Chevy Tahoe
'93 Ducati 900 SS
'79 Kawasaki KZ 650
'86 Kawasaki KX 250
'88 Kawasaki KDX200
'71 Hodaka Ace 100
'72 Triumph T100R

VWBuge,

Before you do anything -

You ought to look at the 2008 Subaru Outback L.L. Bean edition. It is their top of the line model. I just saw one of them at the SF International Motor Show and could not believe my eyes!!!

You can get a six with 245 hp now (That is even more than my 17 year old 560SEC has!)
Leather and wood inside of the Bean edition, kickin' audio, Bilstein Sport suspension, Sat Nav, take a look at one in Blue Mica and you'd swoon. It looks absolutely beautiful. Yet it still has a distinct unmistakeable resemblance to a Subaru of 10 years ago. But it is definately in luxury territory now. I was utterly astonished.
(Of course the asking price on the Bean is over $30k, too. But I think you would be really getting something for your money)

The reliability is 3rd on the charts now, after Honda and Toyota, I think I read somewhere. That is pretty good for a "niche" car that has a pretty big niche now, and some really good Motorsports experience. They have sure come a long way from the Justy days of the 1980's. l

I could not believe it. I never mention it much around here but I have one of those old Outback wagons, and it is not very flashy or charismatic (it is a '95 with the 2.2 litre Boxer motor, but it is anvil reliable, at 122,000 miles. Just goes and goes and goes. Never needs anything. Just does its job. I can depend on it in the occasional snow around here, and many of the dwellers think the same, as they sell like wildfire in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada around here, and are pretty much the Staff Car for Lake Tahoe residents..

Makes pretty polite sounds at the gas pumps, too, though you never get blazing accelleration. I suspect the '08 LL Bean would be a different story though.

I saw those Audis too, at the car show. In my opiinion, they are ahead of the rest of the pack as far as style. Slick, modern, high tech and beautiful.
The A6 and S8 are gorgeous.

For a short term leasing situation, or solution, I bet they would work just beautifully. I don't like that MMI inerface of whatever you call it though.

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

I own a '98 A4 Quattro sport 1.8T 5 spd. It has 137000 miles of which I have put 107000 of. The 107000 miles included two all weekend track sessions with the porsche club. It had some serious issues under warranty. 2 turbos and the front suspension links needed to be replaced. Since its been out of warranty I have only had to do routine maintainence. The suspension is nearly perfect from a ride / handling balance view point. The power economy is excellent. The only thing I don't like is that the 1.8T is buzzy. The short if it is, if it hadn't been such a good car I would have bought another Mercedes by now. Anybody close to me that has been in my car thinks I'm insane for wanting another Mercedes.

The latest A4's are much better. More back seat room. Safest cars on the road today. The engine is much better buzziness is gone Power to economy is outstanding. .

Buying new is out of the question. I do like the reliability of the Subaru. My old Subaru has the 2.2L like yours. My cousin like me has owned quite a few Subarus starting way back with the late 70's. He had a wagon like mine for a while then bought a newer wagon with the 2.5L. He doesn't like it as much as the 2.2L.

My ideal Subaru would be a basic AWD wagon with a 5spd and the EJ20 conversion. I saw a few of them out there but they are hard to find done right.

__________________
'85 300SD (formerly california emissions)
'08 Chevy Tahoe
'93 Ducati 900 SS
'79 Kawasaki KZ 650
'86 Kawasaki KX 250
'88 Kawasaki KDX200
'71 Hodaka Ace 100
'72 Triumph T100R

Get a VW Jetta diesel wagon coming out next year.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

Available in 4 motion?

Anyway, No way am I buying new!

__________________
'85 300SD (formerly california emissions)
'08 Chevy Tahoe
'93 Ducati 900 SS
'79 Kawasaki KZ 650
'86 Kawasaki KX 250
'88 Kawasaki KDX200
'71 Hodaka Ace 100
'72 Triumph T100R

u.s. will get 4motion just not in diesel.this country just sucks for the models we get.i have a 2000 jetta and wish i could have got one in a 2 door model like they have in europe,they look sweet.

I know a lot of people with new or nearly so A4's, they are as good as anything else. The A4 and A8 are very different cars. The A4 is their entry level bread and butter model, and the A8 is the big one that competes with the S class and 7 series.

Just keep an eye on the tires. I know someone with an 06 and he got the sport package with the 19 in wheels. They are summer tires and the car just won't go in the snow, AWD be damned. So you still need a set of winter tires.


What about a BMW? The 330XI's are pretty nice. Mercedes newer 4Matic system is also excellent.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Firsthand with older ones(from the 80's), so won't count that.
But a close second hand experience. A close buddy had a '03 A6 with only about 40k miles on it. The first 2 months he had it, it was literally in the shop more than on the road. He owned it for a year, then gave up. Traded it in on a brand new Toyota Corolla this last summer, which he says is the best thing he ever did. He had his wife take a picture of him handing the Audi keys over at the dealership, with a very big smile on his face.

__________________
past MB rides:
'68 220D
'68 220D(another one)
'67 230
'84 SD
Current rides:
'06 Lexus RX330
'93 Ford F-250
'96 Corvette
'99 Polaris 700 RMK sled
2011 Polaris Assault
'86 Yamaha TT350(good 'ol thumper)

No first hand experience, but I have a friend who is the service manager at a Subaru/VW dealer, and he has had nothing good to say about the VW/Audis. He did say run away from a 1.8T, and that is backed up by another friend's A4 1.8T turbo that went south.

__________________
1984 300TD

I'd rather push a shopping cart to work than buy a Corolla.

__________________
'85 300SD (formerly california emissions)
'08 Chevy Tahoe
'93 Ducati 900 SS
'79 Kawasaki KZ 650
'86 Kawasaki KX 250
'88 Kawasaki KDX200
'71 Hodaka Ace 100
'72 Triumph T100R