Topic: The New Car Saga (and general auto chat) (Read 158892 times)

Anaxilus. · « **Reply #310 on:** October 16, 2012, 09:09:33 PM »

Heard some bad/disturbing things from a Audi/VW tech a few days ago. R8 Engine failures and swaps after 200 miles. Bent aluminum frames from hitting potholes. Horrid QC from the factory shipping cars w/ only one half side of a car functional. On and on.....

I know my friend at Lexus has only ever reported finding one fault from the factory during a pre-check/pre-delivery inspection. One failed wiper motor. The Audi guy says they spend a major chunk of time doing pre-delivery notations where the Lexus guys say they could probably skip the process w/o a hiccup.

DaveBSC · « **Reply #311 on:** October 16, 2012, 11:14:32 PM »

Based on the evidence I've seen Audi is doing ok, though they could of course do better. The A4 seems about average. The 2012 A6 is doing pretty well so far, but it hasn't been on the market that long yet. Traditionally the A6 is Audi's most reliable model, though. The Q5 definitely had some teething issues but seems to have improved. No lemons reported in True Delta's survey.

I wouldn't recommend a first model year Audi though, and I just wouldn't recommend a VW, period. 3 series BMWs seem to be holding up about as well as the A4, I guess they've finally dealt with all of those fuel pumps as the difference between 328s and 335s seems to have mostly leveled off. The new 5 also seems ok, not great. The E-class was doing very well for awhile, but it seems not anymore. The old adage of German luxury cars being better to rent than own still seems largely true.

Lexus' sterling reputation is not what it once was. The GS350 AWD was the first Lexus to lose a CR recommendation over poor reliability. The last ES also launched with transmission problems. Lexus is probably still better than any of their competition overall, but the days when you could nail the hood shut and drive it forever are over.

Anaxilus. · « **Reply #312 on:** October 17, 2012, 12:11:19 AM »

Might want to read this thread:

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-third-generation/537459-consumer-report-rating-on-the-gs350-awd.html

But yes, the idea of stirling reputations is gone forever. All car makers are doing recalls seemingly on a weekly basis now due to hypersensitivity. Toyota did a recall on the FRS early on because there was a typo in the manual. They just did a 7 million car one for a window switch that might get sticky and result in the owner spraying WD40 onto the electronics possibly causing a fire.

Currently, the biggest 'real' ones I know for Lexus are carbon buildup on the back of the valves in direct injection 250s. Seems the old folks putting around don't spool up the motors enough to burn off the extra hydrocarbons. There was an issue of leaking inverter fluid on earlier RX hybrids too.

Transmissions have never been Toyota's strong suit and were always the weak link in the Supra keeping 1,000hp on the ground. Still, I have never driven a worse trans than what's in the Hummer H2. Unfreaking believable that thing.

As always, pick the lesser of evils that best fits your needs.

ocswing · « **Reply #313 on:** October 17, 2012, 01:23:48 AM »

Quote from: DaveBSC on October 16, 2012, 11:14:32 PM

Based on the evidence I've seen Audi is doing ok, though they could of course do better. The A4 seems about average. The 2012 A6 is doing pretty well so far, but it hasn't been on the market that long yet. Traditionally the A6 is Audi's most reliable model, though. The Q5 definitely had some teething issues but seems to have improved. No lemons reported in True Delta's survey.

I wouldn't recommend a first model year Audi though, and I just wouldn't recommend a VW, period. 3 series BMWs seem to be holding up about as well as the A4, I guess they've finally dealt with all of those fuel pumps as the difference between 328s and 335s seems to have mostly leveled off. The new 5 also seems ok, not great. The E-class was doing very well for awhile, but it seems not anymore. The old adage of German luxury cars being better to rent than own still seems largely true.

Lexus' sterling reputation is not what it once was. The GS350 AWD was the first Lexus to lose a CR recommendation over poor reliability. The last ES also launched with transmission problems. Lexus is probably still better than any of their competition overall, but the days when you could nail the hood shut and drive it forever are over.

Yeah my experience with VAG is do NOT buy an recently updated car. New engine or new tech and you're in for some trouble. Give it a few years and they generally have the kinks worked out.

DaveBSC · « **Reply #314 on:** October 18, 2012, 04:01:00 PM »

I don't think the GS lost its recommendation over a squeaky dashboard. People in forums will always pop up with "but MINE's fine!" regardless of the manufacturer. The GS seems to have improved enough for CR to recommend that generation as a used buy, but there are still some reported issues with the brakes and electrical/audio systems.

True delta only has enough data for the '06 GS and their sample size is small, but the raw number of repairs per 100 vehicles is still higher than Audi, BMW, Mercedes, and Infiniti from the same year. So few RLs sold that they have no data for them, but the TL seems to be aging about as well as the rest of them, no better.

I think the days of the Japanese cars being infinitely more reliable than their European rivals are over, partially because the Euros have improved at least to a degree, and partially because the Japanese have slipped. The very first RLs back in '05 were delivered without proper lubrication in the transfer case, which caused the AWD system to lock up. C&D's long term RL was also a complete lemon, requiring 8+ unscheduled repair trips in only a year. Infinitis have had a number of problems in the last several years, and while Lexus is still the best, they aren't building 'em like the LS400 and the ES250.

The transmission in the previous gen X3 I thought was horrendous, I don't remember a worse AT than that one. It wasn't a ZF that they normally use, I think it may have been from GM. It was so bad that supposedly BMW NA would just give you a different car if you complained loudly enough. I don't know what's going on with the throttle programming over there either, although there are hints that the first bit of travel has gotten better than the '11s in the latest cars. I'd need to drive the new F30 and a current year F10 to be sure. I don't like that BMW's cars keep getting fatter and duller though, they should leave the luxury barges to Mercedes. Audi seems to smell blood on that issue, and they are definitely playing up the sport angle of their cars. The SQ5 is not a product that they would've done a few years ago.

Marvey · « **Reply #315 on:** October 18, 2012, 04:41:30 PM »

On the X3 - had a prior gen. Good thing I only lease BMWs. All my friends' bimmers seem have something very expensive break at 77k miles.

Elysian · « **Reply #316 on:** October 18, 2012, 06:00:54 PM »

Quote from: Analixus on October 16, 2012, 09:09:33 PM

Heard some bad/disturbing things from a Audi/VW tech a few days ago. R8 Engine failures and swaps after 200 miles. Bent aluminum frames from hitting potholes. Horrid QC from the factory shipping cars w/ only one half side of a car functional. On and on.....

That's terrible to hear

The R8 is one of my dream cars. Guess Audi still hasn't worked out all their issues yet. Almost makes me wish Hyundai would try going super high-end.

Maxvla · « **Reply #317 on:** October 19, 2012, 08:04:03 PM »

Got a light T-Bone today on passenger side. Likely not totalled, but we'll see. Front door is shifted slightly. Lady backed right into me while I was in line to get out on the street. Front fender, both doors and the mirror have damage.

Looks like my plans might be moved up.

sachu · « **Reply #318 on:** October 19, 2012, 10:11:50 PM »

So i'v been looking at cars lately and so far the following jump to mind:

G35 coupe 2005 and up
Pontiac GTO 2006
merc CLK500 2004-2005
Subaru WRX 2008 hatchback
Audi S4 2004-2005
BMW 330 series 2005-2006

Recommend me any other RWD cars and i am all ears... 20k and under used.

Addendum.. needs to have 2 seats in the rear..so a 2+2 config...mandatory. don't care if its made for spaghetti children or not but needs to have it.

DaveBSC · « **Reply #319 on:** October 20, 2012, 05:43:17 AM »

Quote from: sachu on October 19, 2012, 10:11:50 PM

So i'v been looking at cars lately and so far the following jump to mind:

G35 coupe 2005 and up
Pontiac GTO 2006
merc CLK500 2004-2005
Subaru WRX 2008 hatchback
Audi S4 2004-2005
BMW 330 series 2005-2006

Recommend me any other RWD cars and i am all ears... 20k and under used.

Addendum.. needs to have 2 seats in the rear..so a 2+2 config...mandatory. don't care if its made for spaghetti children or not but needs to have it.

I'm not a fan of the first generation G35. They're fun, but also crude. The interior is from a Nissan that barely escaped bankruptcy, and it shows. They were so cheap with the first few years that they didn't even bother to create different dashes for the left and right hand drive versions, they just covered the unused keyhole. I also thought the seat adjustments by the driver's right thigh made the seat uncomfortable. I'm glad Nissan saw through the error of that. Those years were not the best at Mercedes Benz. That's not to say that you shouldn't buy a CLK under any circumstances if you love it, but a *spotless* service record is an absolute must. Any holes in the history or a bunch of repair trips, and walk away. They'll only get worse.

The V8 B6/B7 S4 is a hoot. It doesn't handle like the current car with its torque shifting diff, but it's got a great engine. Audi guys will probably tell you to put in something like Koni FSD dampers and maybe different sways to improve the ride/handling balance. If you're after a 3 series, you need to decide which one you want. The 2005 and the 2006 are totally different cars. Personally I wouldn't recommend the '06, first MY Audi, BMW, or Mercedes is asking for it.

My pick of the group is probably the S4. As with the Mercedes a perfect service record is a must. The nice thing about them is that you can just swap in Audi's 2012 NAV system (runs about $1200) with the appropriate face plate for the S4, and you get the SD card slots and latest NAV setup, Bluetooth and everything else. The first gen G35 and 2005 3 series can't be modernized like that, the CLK I'm not sure about.

Author Topic: The New Car Saga (and general auto chat) (Read 158892 times)

Anaxilus.

Re: Thinking about a new car, need some help.

DaveBSC

Re: Thinking about a new car, need some help.

Anaxilus.

Re: Thinking about a new car, need some help.

ocswing

Re: Thinking about a new car, need some help.

DaveBSC

Re: Thinking about a new car, need some help.

Marvey

Re: Thinking about a new car, need some help.

Elysian

Re: Thinking about a new car, need some help.

Maxvla

Re: Thinking about a new car, need some help.

sachu

Re: Thinking about a new car, need some help.

DaveBSC

Re: Thinking about a new car, need some help.

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Author Topic: The New Car Saga (and general auto chat) (Read 158892 times)