Ask the Car People.SM


Audi A4 2004 and earlier

6042 messages,  Last post on Sep 20, 2011 at 4:33 PM

You are in the Audi A4 Forum.

What is this discussion about? Audi A4, Sedan

Messages Page 437 of 605

#4360 of 6042 Forgot something... by vocus

Oct 07, 2002 (11:52 am)

My co-worker has a 2002 A4 Quattro stick, and it's pretty sweet looking. It's silver with black leather. I just was talking to her, asking if she liked the car. She said it was ok, but she liked her old one better.
 
See, she had a 1998 A4 Quattro 2.8 stick when she started working here. She had to have the engine replaced in the car, and it was in the shop for over 2 months. Audi was really good with her case, they even gave her like $4000 off the car for adjusted value. After getting the car back, she said it didn't feel the same to her and she didn't trust it then.
 
She took the car to Carmax and sold it to them, for a good price. Then she took the cash she had, and got a 2002 A4. She still liked the first one better though, she said. She said she ended up paying less for the 2002 than she did for the 1998, with the money back and all.

#4361 of 6042 mark by bodydouble

Oct 07, 2002 (12:38 pm)

I agree the 330xi is a more appropriate comparison to the A4 3.0. But I figured the significant price difference would cause many to cross-shop the 325xi instead. One thing though, even though on paper the 330 should be matched against the 3.0, I think the 330 will have a marked performance edge over the 3.0 and I suspect most people will consider the 330 a superior car. But like you said, for the difference in price.....

#4362 of 6042 HMMMM.... by andys120

Oct 07, 2002 (2:44 pm)

To my knowledge any dealer that treats a "foreign"
customer (i.e. bought unit from another dealer)
less than equally would violate the terms of their franchise agreement.
 
Now you might say that such a clause would be difficult to enforce but consider this. Most dealers make more from their service/parts departments than they do from low markup sales of new cars. That being the case they have every incentive to make new customers happy, and from my experience they do.
 
On the subject of ix vs. quattro, I've been told by a number of apparently knowledgeable people, including a BMW specialist that the quattro system is dynamically superior to the BMW ix system. In fact the quattro/4Motion system with it's ability to adapt instantly to traction changes is probably the best on-road awd system you can buy today.

#4363 of 6042 quattro v. ix by bodydouble

Oct 07, 2002 (4:34 pm)

BMW does have the hill-descend feature. However, I believe the system was transplanted from Land Rover so perhaps it is more for off-road descend.

#4364 of 6042 RE: andys120 by vinnyny

Oct 08, 2002 (9:45 pm)

RE: "To my knowledge any dealer that treats a "foreign" customer (i.e. bought unit from another dealer)less than equally would violate the terms of their franchise agreement."
 
I moved my 97 Z28 from WA to HI in 2000. I brought the car to the closest of 3 Chevy dealers on the island for service. The service rep told me they were too busy to service my car because they had to take care of their own buyers first. I contacted Chevy customer service and was told that there was nothing they could do. I spoke with GM's regional service manager who agreed to help. Two weeks later I got a letter from GM saying that the dealership was independently owned and operated so they could not intervene. Naturally, I was incredulous.

#4365 of 6042 vinnyny by nyccarguy

Oct 09, 2002 (7:07 am)

It is amazing that they would adhere to their policy so strictly as to not service a car that was purchased out of state (that is an Island for cryin' out loud). I can see you not getting a quick appointment or not getting a loaner car, but they actually flat out refused to service your car? Well, it was a GM dealership, so maybe they just already service anmd fix more cars than they could handle (I know it is a cheap shot, but I had to get it in:)

#4366 of 6042 2002 A4 1.8T CVT experience by lauk0dg

Oct 09, 2002 (11:51 am)

OK so I just brought my car in yesterday to the dealership that I bought the car from for an oil change and got a 2002 A4 1.8T CVT Amulet red with black interior and 1400 miles as the service loaner. Great looking car I must say and my coworkers kept complimenting on the color. The CVT definitely experiences the "delay" that most people were complaining about. I am suspecting two causes. First being the turbo lag before 1850rpm, and second being the intentional programming during initial acceleration to prevent spinning the front tires. Once the needle is south of 2500 rpm when you floor the gas, you can hear a slight chirp of front tires spinning and the ESP stopped it from doing so. Of course it took some getting used to the CVT tranny and it does provide good mpg figures and pretty instant acceleration on the highway. It also kicks down very smoothly without the jerking motions. The sunroof though, opens and closes a lot slower than my 2001.5. Dunno why. The center tunnel also protrudes more into the front driver and passenger leg area so that's a little bit annoying. Other than that, I like the additional rear legroom and the nice aluminum trim inside. Trunk is huge too. Handling in this non-sports suspension is a lot better than my 01.5 non-sports. I think it's largely due to the stiffer suspension and some due to the optional 16" rims and 215 tires it has versus my (pathetic) 15" rims and 205 tires. And did I say the Amulet red is AWESOME?
 
After putting in 100 miles on the car (!!) and returning it, I saw a 03 A4 1.8TQ with the optional $750 17" sport rims with the Pirelli P6 4 Seasons tires on them. Keep in mind it does not have the sports package and it shows because of the bigger wheel gap. Personally I do not think it's a good combo visually between the non sports and the 17" optional sports rims....but of course that might change after test driving. I checked the price of those 235/45/17 all season tires and they are a whopping $163/tire on Tirerack in C&D magazine. Ouch.
 
All in all, a good day yesterday.
 
Billy

#4367 of 6042 Dealership service experience by lauk0dg

Oct 09, 2002 (11:57 am)

Oh by the way, the service at the dealership that I bought my car from is catching up to the one that's closer to my home which I didn't buy my car from. I don't know if it's because my own dealership just finished building those hanger-shaped buildings in anticipation to the 03 A8 debut.....I heard that only chosen dealerships with the new hanger style buildings will sell the new A8's and they need to raise their service levels to be able to service the new A8's. The one that's closer to my home already had that building as of Feb 01 so maybe their service level is up there already.
 
Any coincidence? I dunno.
 
Billy

#4368 of 6042 Billy... by vocus

Oct 09, 2002 (12:06 pm)

I know it's not the same car, but my 02 VW Jetta 1.8T has the VW sport suspension, and still has a tire gap with the 225/45/17 tires. I plan to get some sport springs, which (I hope) will also quell the body roll around sharp corners.
 
And my tires, Michelin Pilot Sport, are $184 each on TireRack.com. I punctured one beyond repair a couple of months ago, and the cheapest price from a garage (Kimmel, I think it was) was $213 for ONE tire! Goodyear wanted $325 for the same tire.

#4369 of 6042 Protruding center tunnel.. by uwscarguy

Oct 09, 2002 (12:27 pm)

Looks like I'm not the only one who's complained about the intrusive center tunnel on the new A4s (post 4262). Too bad because I really want[ed] an S4 after my lease is up. Oh well.

Messages Page 437 of 605

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement