As some of you may have heard, I'm contemplating on trading in the Protege for a 2nd gen Audi A4 but I'm not sure if it would be such a wise move. I've been reading a lot of reviews online, and it seems they have quite a bit of common issues with them. As much as I like the car for it's 220HP V6 and AWD, I don't wanna buy something that's gonna cost me as much to keep on the road as the Protege does to keep getting modded.

So does anyone have any first/second/any kind of experience with these cars? I've read that a lot of people have to have their fuel pumps replaced anywhere between 30-50K miles, there are random electrical problems with the A/C and sunroof turning on/off randomly, and a couple other things I really didn't like hearing about. So far the Protege has given me 0 problems and has been the most reliable car in the house since I got it. Whereas I don't think the Audi would be near that ..

If anyone has any experience with these cars and is able to shed some light on these issues, I would greatly appreciate it. Meanwhile, the Protege is here to stay

 

you won't like the 3.0L V6 I promise. The gas mileage is probably the same as the turbo car without all the power. I've got the 2.8L 90* V6 in my audi and it's "ok" for putting around town but don't expect anything from it. My car makes a little less power than a 3.0 Quattro but it weighs about 600lbs less.

3.0 = a dog.

1.8T = better starter platform with cheaper parts.

 

I should really test drive both of these sometime so I can actually compare them.. thanks for the tip Matty. I'm still concerned about all the problems I read on Edmunds & MSN Autos. All the user reviews on both sites point to a lot of the same problems, and as far as I know Euro cars are not very cheap to maintain.

 

my wifes beetle has a SOLID power train but the electronics in it SUCK. The windows will just roll down with no warning for no reason. The sunroof won't close or open all the way. The instrument panel lights won't light up half the time.

Her beetle is an 06....if you're buying an older car think about all the problems you'd have if I'm having this many with an 06!

 

Those are the exact same problems people complain about with the Audi .. sunroof not closing all the way, and opening/closing on it's own, also the instrument panel is a problem and on top of that the A/C condenser and fuel pumps go out left and right. I think I'm staying awayf rom this car..

 

My co-worker had a TT quattro (03-04) and as much as he enjoyed the car, he finally had to give up on it because the repair bills each month were the equivalent of a full car payment.. and it only had 34k miles on it! Almost all of it was electrical in nature, and of course VERY expensive to fix even though basically the TT is a vdub golf wearing a silly disguise.

Is it just me or has Germany fallen from grace in terms of electromechanical reliability, instead focusing on interior quality and bashing superior japanese machines? Damn if Audi doesn't make some friggin sexy cars though (S4, RS4, the new TT, the R8, RS8.. yummmm)

 

VW and Audi, all I ever see are electrical problems...too bad because some of them are pretty nice cars otherwise. I would never buy one these days.

 

Yea it's really too bad. I'm starting to like those cars more and more, but I can't bring myself to buy something that's gonna be a piece of crap!! Oh well, looks like the Protege is here to stay, and the turbo might be happening after all.

 

mmmmmm

nice: http://icanhascheezburger.com/

 

Oh noes!! My nose .. you has it!

 

PRICELESS!!!
im so adding that to my favs!!!

 

definitely do. There are like 4-7 original ones posted every day

glad something good could come from a thread about german cars :P

 

I love this one ..