I want an audi!

[Roland]

I agree with Roland, Audi's become expensive to repair when they break down.  As far as breaking down often?  I don't share the same hatred Roland has for Audi.  Like most major car companies it seems to depend more on service record, how it is driven - whether it's a lead footed 16 year old, or a 80 year old grandmother - and also some dumb luck thrown in.

But I digress.  Am I the only one that thinks Crusader isn't actually interested in purchasing a new car, rather just came up with a good title for an incredible crash?  :whistling:

Cheers,

Munk
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I work in an automotive shop working almost exclusively on imports (Saabs are our specialty, Volvos a close second, but anything imported we can do), and we have a saying around here (coined by one of our mechanics who almost always gets all the Audis to work on):

You know why you always see a "Help-Wanted" sign at Audi dealerships? Because the mechanics are always committing suicide.

I told that joke to some employees at an automotive dealer that sells Audis (among a few other cars). Boy did they laugh.

Let me go into further depth on WHY Audis suck to own, specifically due to repair costs.

1. To do ANY front-end work, you have to take the entire nose off the car. Period. That adds at least an hour of labor to any job involving the engine, such as water pumps, timing belts (don't get me started on those atrocious things), etc.<>
   
2. They have severe issues with vacuum lines rotting out, most often in very difficult to find places, so diagnostic can be a PITA. Also, replacing the line (the part itself can sometimes only be replaced as an Audi part, not by using any old standard vacuum line, which can get expensive in and of itself - I'm thinking particularly of a line in the very rear of the car, next to the gas tank) can sometimes mean ripping half the car apart, making a simple repair an extroardinarily expensive ordeal.<>
   
3. Check Engine lights are an all-too-common problem on these beasts of burden, most often brought on by rotting vacuum lines, but we've seen just about every kind of Check Engine light on these things. We have one customer who has had no less than 10 different codes in the course of a few years - bad luck on that person's part, but Check Engine lights are still a bread-and-butter money-maker for us when it comes to Audis.<>
   
4. On some of the newer Audis (and Volkswagens), you have to remove the gas tank just to change a fuel filter for a Major Service - not a simple job, especially considering most cars have them mounted eternally underneath the car, and can be changed just as quick as an oil filter.<>
   
5. All the 1.8L Turbo models of Audi and Volkswagen require full-synthetic oil, and regular oil-changes. Failure to do this will not only void your warranty, but blow the engine up. Yes, I mean that. There has been a service bulletin sent out to all Volkswagen / Audi owners about engine oil and engine / oil pump problems. Using traditional oil will cause the motors to sludge up very rapidly, clogging the oil pump and depriving the motor of much-needed oil. This can burn out the turbos, but more importantly cause extensive engine damage. We've seen this a few times, and it's not pretty. AFAIK, Volkswagen / Audi have warrantied some of the engines (I say some because I'm not 100% sure of all the details; I just know that they had been sending out servive bulletins about the issue, and I believe they were replacing engines under warranty, but I'm not 100% certain if all customers were covered, depending on how poorly the car was maintained), but I don't know of anyone personally who's had it done, so I can't say for sure. You can probably find some info on the web about it.<>
   [st]I could go on all day about the problems with Audis, but I digress for brevity's sake. They're not BAD cars, just badly DESIGNED cars. :P They're expensive, being an import, and one that seems to strive for "luxury" status, and they're just not engineered in the brightest of fashions. I mean, really, outside of race cars and the like, who ever heard of having to take the entire nose off a car just to change a belt?
   
   At any rate, I'm sure you're right that Crusader is not intending to actually buy an Audi, but I wanted to prevent him, and others, from making a potentially costly investment without at least lending some of my experience. Besides, he was basing his decision around the idea that an Audi is safe, when I can offer several car choices that are renowned for their safety. Volvos in particular have built a life-long reputation for safety. Indeed, even the 850's had side-impact airbags, as well as dual-front airbags, at least as early as 1995. Saabs of old also have a good safety record, one I can attest to personally, although I can't speak with any experience as to newer ones (especially with that 9-5 that crashed here not too long ago, killing one of its occupants instantly, with the other dying en route to the hospital; of course, the car was going over 80 MPH and was airborne when it slammed into a tree; it was driven by a 17 year old girl, with her 10 year old brother in the passenger seat). I've heard they are safe, but I don't own one personally, and I haven't been in an accident in any of the newer ones, so as I said, I can't testify personally. They supposedly are still very safe, from what I hear.
   
   One thing I have to add though, is that ALL cars have their quirks. There are no "perfect" cars - except maybe for Toyotas. ;) All cars have their issues, although some have more than others. Audis are "nice" cars, but not worth the money, IMHO, and are definitely a pain to work on, which can cause exceedingly high repair bills. Volkswagens, for their part, generally are not nearly as bad as Audis, despite the fact that Volkswagen owns Audi. Figure that one out.
   
   In closing, that guy was more lucky than anything else. One look at the condition of the inside of the car (what's left of it) can tell you that much. The steering wheel is bent, the driver's seat is mangled, and there's nothing left encaging the driver. The fact that he survived with "only a few scratches" is a miracle, nothing less. I don't think Audis are unsafe cars, but I certainly don't think that much of ANY car could have kept their occupant alive through all that damage, without a sheer load of luck.
   
   Edit:
   Upon looking at the pictures again, I see the driver's door is still intact. The fact that the driver's airbag, at the very least, did not come off, along with the driver's door still being intact, leads one to conclude that it hit on the right front, tearing that whole side of the car apart. How it split in half, I don't know, but looking at it I'd say it hit sideways somehow on the passenger side, wrapping the door around the tree, with enough force to rip the car apart in halves, sending each forward in slightly off angles. The guy is exceedingly lucky he survived that. I don't think ANY car would have withstood that much punishment. I don't know HOW he did what he did, but however he did it, he deserves to go to jail. He was speeding well beyond wreckless endangerment, probably going a good 90+ miles an hour, I'd wager. The fact that the guy had racing tires (street-racing competition tires; might be Kumhos, from the look of them, or Yokohamas) on leads me to believe his forays into higher-speeds were not at all uncommon. Idiot. I hope they lock him up for a LONG time, and I hope he NEVER gets a license to drive ever again.
   
   Edit 2:
   Yup. Looking at the close-up of the steering wheel shows he was going in excess of 90 miles an hour at the time of impact, which means he could have conceivably been doing over 100 when he lost control of the vehicle.