Hi Richard
No, I don't work for Audi but a close friend does up here in CT. I take him at his word; as alot of friends I know also have the newer Audis, and are not that thrilled with thier reliability....I was even seriously looking for an S4 Avant (the old body version)...sorta still am but it would not be a daily driver for me. And yes, they are EASILY tunable to 300 hp for under a grand, that is so true. And a big draw for many folks...with good reason.
I'm not saying they are junk, they're not; but certainly not a great new car by todays standards. Not many new cars are either, from real world reviews but that's besides the point.
You may want to talk with Mark (new2mercedes) here on the forum ; he lives near you in VA and also works customer service for a euro-car dealer that sells Audis around Reston. He'd be happy to expunge their virtues to you from his first hand experience with the new Audis. Did you guys maybe talk before on a E500 in your area?
Of course, buying new gets you a warranty for a few years; something to be said for that I guess.
