DirtyComanche Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 My dad has been bitching about his Intrepid (an 01, IIRC) that he's had since new. I think he's only put 90 000kms on it in that time... But, it's starting to be a bit of a piece of junk (it had a few reliability issues, ate a MAF or MAP sensor recently, and had EGR issues or something like that). Anyways, he wants something nicer this time around. The intrepid was a pretty good family car, but the family has moved on now. He wants AWD if he can get it, as the car will be driven both summer and winter. He wants reasonable comfort, reasonable power, and higher end safety features. What he's been considering: -09 subaru impreza (I forget which package, drove one with a turbo 4cyl/AWD) -07 Audi A4 w/ Quattro and the 2.0 turbo, or perhaps an 08. There isn't an audi dealer that's immediately near here (might be an issue), so he hasn't test drove an Audi yet. Does anybody have any experience with either of the mentioned vehicles? Or any other suggestions? A bunch of jeep guys are probably the worst people to be asking... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Automan2164 Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 I love the Audi's. I am also a big VW fan. Might be because my mom is off the boat german. :dunno: I would say the audi. If i needed a car and had the money, I would be shooting for a TDI jetta. :drool: Awesome car. What about some other american AWD's? I think there is some AWD chryslers... Rob L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 He won't buy another chrysler, I don't think. Part of the issue is that him and the dealership don't seem to get along, yet he has his car dealer maintained (I don't see the logic in that). He likes my brother's Jetta (not a TDI). He said he actually liked driving it more than the subaru. But I don't think he'd had enough time to adapt to the subaru, and he's fighting with a shoulder injury right now (subaru was a 5spd, he had a good shoulder when he drove my bro's jetta which was also a 5spd). Volkswagen doesn't offer anything AWD, do they? I'd suggested a passat or a jetta... Oh yeah, I liked driving the subaru... But I'm TERRIBLE to judge a vehicle for handling and ride comfort. After you get used to a 6500lb truck with 165HP as being 'normal', everything else seems like a dream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 I love VWs too, but Ive always wanted a Subie AWD. They are well known for their reliability. The WRX is a bad azz car too. Ive owned one type of VW or another since age 16, now 35, If I was buying new, I would go with the subie! :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfreeman616 Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 ford makes some AWD's now, too. i don't know about the focus, but i know the fusion has an AWD option. i don't recall too many problems with those cars back when i worked at a ford dealer in the warranty department, although we didn't have many AWD's period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBender Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 I have a friend with an Audi A6 allroad quattro, and it's a nice car, but parts are ridiculously expensive. One of the adjustable shocks went bad, and I think it was $800 from the dealer, just for the part. Considering that there isn't an Audi dealership near you, I'd steer clear. Between those two cars, I'd definitely go with the Subaru. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Volvo and Mercedes both make several AWD models. I really like the Benz GL-Class Bluetech diesel w. AWD. AFAIK we can't get them down here in the USA yet, but you can in CA. :Canadaflag: They build them here in Alabama and I was lucky enough to drive one at their factory during a tour. Just a super vehicle. :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 He won't go ford, there's some bad blood there. And he has something against 'school teaching volvo drivers'. He waffled on the benz a bit... There MIGHT be a dealer near here, but I'm not really sure. How bad would one reasonably be for servicing, reliability, finickiness, etc? I told him I think the subie is the best bet, since it will probably provide him with the least headaches. We'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostissues Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I have an 03 Subaru Impreza 2.5rs and I love it. I'm not a fan of VW or Audi or any German cars because I used to do car electronics and they are horrible cars to deal with wiring wise. also another thing to think about is the price of parts and labor, the Subaru shouldn't be to bad with costs but anything German will cost you an arm and a leg for parts and then the other arm and leg and half your torso to have those parts put in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brdhntr Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 i am a huge audi fan. i've had one since 88. i've had about 6 over the years, but this one will always stay. i have seen huge mileage numbers on audi's without any major repairs. i had an a4 that i sold with like 350000 miles that still ran great and had no internal repairs done on it. if you want a great car, go for the audi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I have an 03 Subaru Impreza 2.5rs and I love it. I'm not a fan of VW or Audi or any German cars because I used to do car electronics and they are horrible cars to deal with wiring wise. also another thing to think about is the price of parts and labor, the Subaru shouldn't be to bad with costs but anything German will cost you an arm and a leg for parts and then the other arm and leg and half your torso to have those parts put in. What a hell of an exaggeration and over generalization. :roll: I've owned many many Benz's throughout the years and wiring was never a problem if you know what you are doing. :D By far the worst electronics ever was anything made by Lucas on the older Brit MGs, Triumphs, Healys, etc. and also used on older Volvos and Saabs. Pure hell. Historically OEM import parts have cost more than comparable domestic parts, but it's basically a wash now since so many "factory" parts are now manufactured "offshore". German parts are usually no more expensive than comparable Japanese stuff, and for aftermarket parts the playing field is about equal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pantera1973 Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I used to have an Audi A4 Quattro 1.8 Turbo, GREAT car! Parts are a little pricey, but it was very reliable and the engineering/quality was fantastic. :clapping: I will definitely get another Audi in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brdhntr Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I have an 03 Subaru Impreza 2.5rs and I love it. I'm not a fan of VW or Audi or any German cars because I used to do car electronics and they are horrible cars to deal with wiring wise. also another thing to think about is the price of parts and labor, the Subaru shouldn't be to bad with costs but anything German will cost you an arm and a leg for parts and then the other arm and leg and half your torso to have those parts put in. i'll have to disagree on that one. all cars have weak spots, i've never had any wiring issues with any of my audi/vw's. german cars are built to last, that's why you can't find used parts for them or see them at jy's. prices are a little more spending than say a chevy, but in the same ballpark as the subarus. the parts for my audi i've had since 88 aren't cheap, but that's because it's vintage and an actual german model. all my regular audi's weren't bad. if you want to know the weak spots on a subaru, it's the trannies. they are terrible, period. then when you have problems with them, they are incredibly expensive because they are such a pain to work on. my knowledge of this is from being a subaru employee. they are good cars, but they have their weak points for sure. we can all disagree, that's what opinions are for. if i were putting my money into a car, it would go to the audi. besides, the fastest production vehicle on earth is a bugatti (a v/w audi brand) with a 1001 hp audi motor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
69CamaroSS Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I've always been more of a subaru fan. my mom had a outback for a couple years (don't remember the year) then she got married and traded it for a newer impreza(I'm blank on the year here also). my mom is a hippie and always travles and goes camping and such. I havnt heard her complain about anything from either car. The impreza is fun to drive btw :D . a buddy of mine has a passat, he needed the timing belt replaced and they had to take off the whole front end of the car just to get to it. His dad did the work and said he might as well get a new water pump while hes at it. I'm not saying a subaru would be any easier but its something to consider if your thinking about a VW. I would personally never get an audi or VW, but thats just me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigalpha Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I had a 97 Impreza wagon for a few years. It was the coolest car I've ever owned. It went anywhere I pointed it and I never had problems with it. We lugged 4 (large) people and luggage from TN, to AL, to FL and back. I got ~27mpg the whole time. If I had the chance, I'd get another Subie in a heartbeat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 We own an '01 Legacy (was her grandmother's car and she inherited it when she passed away a couple years ago). Even though it's an '01, I'm flat out impressed with it, and I wouldn't hesitate buying another Subaru. (her mom drives an Outback, it's kinda fun to drive too). We don't have Canuck snow down here, but we did have a freak snowstorm this past winter and got about a foot dumped on us one evening (her birthday and I took her out to eat).....that car drove like a dream. I've never driven an AWD before and it took a little bit of getting used to the transaxle "kicking in" when needed, but that thing was a tank, on highway radials to boot. Any time we travel, we take her car (the TJ is too bouncy and you can't carry much in it, and the MJ is just, well......it doesn't do roadtrips anymore :D ). That thing is sooo comfortable, quiet, and very zippy, and it sips gas... The only downfall I've come across is trying to work on the engine. Oil changes are very easy, but I attempted to put plugs in it at 50K miles and failed miserably :roll: It's a horizontally opposed 4 banger, and the plugs are recessed into the heads. I screwed around for about a half hour just trying to get a plug socket on the first plug (after taking out the washer resivoir and some other crap) and gave up. Told her to take the new plugs to the dealer and have them put them in, which she did. I vote Subaru.....I can only imagine how much more refined the newer models are from what we're driving now (and we love her 01) Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigalpha Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 The only downfall I've come across is trying to work on the engine. Oil changes are very easy, but I attempted to put plugs in it at 50K miles and failed miserably :roll: It's a horizontally opposed 4 banger, and the plugs are recessed into the heads. I screwed around for about a half hour just trying to get a plug socket on the first plug (after taking out the washer resivoir and some other crap) and gave up. QFT. It took me about an hour + cussing to get mine swapped out. Of course, if the PO's dad is all about dealer servicing then it's no big deal. I never had to work on mine except for doing that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted June 1, 2009 Author Share Posted June 1, 2009 It took me about an hour + cussing to get mine swapped out. Of course, if the PO's dad is all about dealer servicing then it's no big deal. I never had to work on mine except for doing that. Yeah, he's not exactly the saturday mechanic type. He claims he used to do the oil changes on his VW beetle back in the 70s, I've seen no evidence to support that. :rotf: Anyways, he's going to go test drive some Audis tomorrow, since he has to go to Vancouver anyways (there's a couple Audi dealers there). We'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Why does it have to be a car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigalpha Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Why does it have to be a car? Have you seen the SUV (Tribeca) that Subaru makes? :ack: Just get the turbo Impreza wagon :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Sam Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I've spent more replacing the transmission on a $30,000 VW than at 5 year old subaru would cost. Will never won a modern VW again. If the engine is in the rear its ok. On the other hand my subarus kicked @$$, cheaper parts than VW/MB. Has he considered the Grand Cherokee Diesel? Same engine as the mercedes, super quiet, clean, great torque, great mileage. Leftover 08's with 4wd have been selling in the 25-30k range with all the options.......some thing to consider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted June 1, 2009 Author Share Posted June 1, 2009 Why does it have to be a car? It's what he wants. Mom has got a WJ that they use if they 'need' a SUV. And he wants something small/short that is easy to park downtown; since the wonder of city planning has produced parking spaces much more suited to smart cars (if you can find one). In this town I drive around all over the place trying to find spots that I can actually fit my stupid 3/4 ton in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted June 1, 2009 Author Share Posted June 1, 2009 Has he considered the Grand Cherokee Diesel? Same engine as the mercedes, super quiet, clean, great torque, great mileage. Leftover 08's with 4wd have been selling in the 25-30k range with all the options.......some thing to consider. I actually couldn't even tell you if those are available here. I can't say I've seen one. And I haven't randomly gone to the dealership to get the salespeople wet, not in the last year at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted June 2, 2009 Author Share Posted June 2, 2009 He just phoned me and said he drove an A4 today (guess he got their early enough). It sounds like he'll be buying one if he can find exactly what he wants (that one was a toupe colour, whatever that is, it's not one of the 16 colours I know, but apparently it didn't look great). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigalpha Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 He just phoned me and said he drove an A4 today (guess he got their early enough). It sounds like he'll be buying one if he can find exactly what he wants (that one was a toupe colour, whatever that is, it's not one of the 16 colours I know, but apparently it didn't look great). Taupe is kind of like this: http://images.google.com/images?q=define%3A%20taupe&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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