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Luxury Performance Sedans

10339 messages,  Last post on May 30, 2013 at 3:26 PM

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What is this discussion about? Lexus GS 430, Acura RL, BMW 5 Series, Volvo S80, Audi A6, Infiniti M35, Infiniti M45, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Cadillac STS, Sedan

Messages Page 750 of 1035

#7483 of 10339 Re: Perhaps I'm an anomaly. . .(rant) [markcincinnati] by james27

Jun 07, 2006 (6:31 pm)

Replying to: markcincinnati (Jun 07, 2006 12:16 pm)
I did not buy another Audi after my 1998 A6 quatro for several reasons, reliability was one of them. I had a bunch of repairs one wouldn't expect on a car that didn't have many miles on it: differential leak, fuel senders (2x), water pump (only 40K), leaking gaskets, radiator, tie rod ends, suspension pieces, and a few other things more costly than I care to remember. I only had 60K or so miles on it when I sold it. I did like the car, and was almost willing to give them the benefit of the original disappointment, but I just do not fit in the new one. I had probably one of only a handful of the 1998 model (special ordered) without a sunroof. That added a WHOPPING 2.85" in headroom to the car in that model in that year. Yes, I know you can get a new one that way, but you CANNOT buy it with most of the nice-to-have stuff. So, from my sample of one, my experience did not lead me to believe the car was reliable. I looked elsewhere - bought an M35x. Some stuff I like better, some I do not. Too early to tell overall. Time will tell. I got a ride to the airport in a MB M500 (?), and with the driver's seat all the way down, my hair was rubbing on the ceiling, and that was with the seat reclined more than I like, too. That thing is significan't higher - there should be abundant seat to ceiling height. Don't the car manufacturers realize people are getting both taller (not much you can do about that) and (unfortunately) fatter? Oh well, maybe next time. BTW, my first new car way back when was a Citroen ID19. It had the most comfortable driving position of any car I've ever owned - the gas and brake pedals were a simple ankle swivel apart - no need to lift the leg. I could also wear a smokey-the-bear hat (scoutmaster if you wanted to know) and still have plenty of headroom. Oh well...maybe my next car will truly fit.

#7484 of 10339 i think newer Euros maybe less reliable by swedishiron1

Jun 07, 2006 (6:47 pm)

i own a 1988 Volvo 780 w/ 285,000 miles - very very reliable so far. Admittedly i only put 60K of the miles on it. It has the "bad" PRV V6.

#7485 of 10339 Re: BMW & Audi [drtravel] by hpowders

Jun 07, 2006 (7:02 pm)

Replying to: drtravel (Jun 07, 2006 9:52 am)
I have had 3 BMW's since 1993. No problems.
I have had the 545 V8 for a year and the car has behaved flawlessly.
My own anecdotal experience indicates that either CR is full of crap, or I have been blessed with incredible luck.

#7486 of 10339 Re: [lexusguy] by jshattner

Jun 07, 2006 (7:20 pm)

Replying to: lexusguy (Jun 07, 2006 2:15 pm)
Much as I love my M45, I'd agree it's tier 3 in your list of "badge effect" brands. But Caddy is not even close to the same "brand" league as Lexus. Maybe one day, long, long ago, it was Tier 1 on this continent, probably all by itself with a run from Lincoln. Now it'd be in tier 4 on your list, even if it is fighing it's way back.

#7487 of 10339 Re: BMW & Audi [hpowders] by bfeng7

Jun 07, 2006 (7:47 pm)

Replying to: hpowders (Jun 07, 2006 7:02 pm)
Reply to 2 posts:
 
"What am I missing." It bugs me too.
The 3 series seems to be more reliable than the 5 and I can't tell you why. The radiator failure on the e39's is so prolific, one nearby dealer joked with me that they're surprised when they see an original radiator on any 5 series with more than 60k miles on it. When my ABS controller gave it up, the parts guys said, "yup, those go all the time so we always keep a good stock of them." And so forth ...
 
Howard, I'm happy for you. Just because BMW's are statistically less reliable than Fords and Kia's ... It does not mean you won't get a run of perfect BMW's. Can I chip in the next time you guy a lottery ticket.
 
Seriously, the average reliability is so good these days it doesn't take much to put a vehicle below average on a reliability survey. It's not that hard to get "lucky" and own a very reliable BMW, it's just that statistically you're much better off with other brands.
 
John

#7488 of 10339 Audi by sfcharlie

Jun 07, 2006 (9:58 pm)

Audi doesn't seem as interested in exciting U.S. consumers about their product as does BMW or Infiniti. As a potential buyer, I had to generate the excitement from test-driving. As Mark said, Infiniti hasn't yet gotten as good as they might get at blending overall feel of excellence (they depend too much on "flash" appeal), overall feel of road and engine through the steering wheel and gas pedal (but the manu-matic transmission is, to me, a wonder among the rest), and smooth-power (too much sound effect and raw power). But, at the moment, the front-to-rear balance and the rear-wheel-favoring four-wheel-drive system seems closer to what I was looking for. I can't say I've gotten Audi out of my system and might make another comparison test-drive of V8 Audi A6 vs M35x tomorrow.

#7489 of 10339 Re: BMW & Audi [bfeng7] by hpowders

Jun 08, 2006 (3:33 am)

Replying to: bfeng7 (Jun 07, 2006 7:47 pm)
I agree with your last paragraph.
Average reliability is so high "it doesn't take much to put a vehicle below average on a reliability survey."
 
I have been driving a long time and have never seen a MB or BMW stuck on the side of the road.
Maybe, statistically, I am looking at the wrong roads.

#7490 of 10339 Re: Perhaps I'm an anomaly. . .(rant) [james27] by rayainsw

Jun 08, 2006 (4:06 am)

Replying to: james27 (Jun 07, 2006 6:31 pm)
“my first new car way back when was a Citroen ID19. It had the most comfortable driving position of any car I've ever owned”
 
I am still amazed that no car I have driven since 1991 has provided the level of front seat adjustability that was included in my 1991 Pontiac Grand Prix STE (3.4L V6, 5-speed Getrag manual trans.). 3 distinct levels of back \ lumbar support firmness – each infinitely adjustable – for both the driver and front seat passenger. As well as side bolster adjustment for the driver. And even seperate individually adjustable left & right front thigh support adjustments!
 
Particularly for long-ish drives, this made for a very adaptable & comfortable driving environment. And all this (15 years ago) on a reasonably priced, mid-sized GM sedan. (Reasonably priced, meaning approx. $20K MSRP at the time.)
 
Front seats that cool as well as heat are very nice, but where can I buy something like this now? Odd. I’d pay extra for it!
 
Does anyone even offer something like the lovely black corduroy (genuine) Recaros in the 1978 Audi Fox I drove for a while? In this class Sedan, I am surprised that there is not such a choice. But then option choice & (un)availability seems to range from odd to bizarre, from my standpoint.
 
- Ray
Likely an ‘anomaly’ in many respects . .

#7491 of 10339 Mark - Brakes A8 [markcincinnati] by rayainsw

Jun 08, 2006 (4:49 am)

“the A8 (with the brake rotor thing)”
 
Mark –
 
I recall reading posts during ‘the brake rotor thing’.
The amount of time spent in dealer visits alone stood out to me – since I just do not have the flexibility in my work schedule to deal with such repeated car related repair issues.
 
Would you mind posting a brief synopsis?
 
And I recall distinctly thinking at the time:
“If this sort of thing happened to me, it would absolutely be the last Audi I ever drove.”
 
Or at least the last one I even looked at seriously – for a long while.
 
Although my recollection is that the dealer certainly did ‘work with you’ on this issue, the fact that a quick and final ‘fix’ was not available from Audi in a timely manner certainly would have soured me on the brand.
 
- Ray
Thinking brakes that work reliably ought to be a really high priority . .

#7492 of 10339 Reliability by sfcharlie

Jun 08, 2006 (7:04 am)

I've been test-driving and researching the M35x and the Audi A6. I ended up favoring the M35. As a last check I reread CR's Auto Annual and the M35's "Problems" forum. That forum leaves a much more troubling impression of M car than CR did: moonroof rattles, a bad speaker in the seat (which would require tearing the leather seat apart to fix), headlight beams that point too low, loose driver seats. Then I noticed that CR's survey was done in spring 2005 when the M35/M45 was only selling for a few months, so CR's conlusion that "first year" reliability was outstanding appears to mean "first 90 days" reliability was excellent. On the other hand, there is no similar Audi A6 "Problems" forum on Edmunds (maybe, if there was one and I read it end to end, as i did with the one for the M35, it would produce the same concern in me), but CR's problem areas (for 2005 A6) are serious ones: engine (similar complaint from a couple of reviewers) and power equipment. Have those of you who compared the M35 with other LPS concluded it's likely to be as nearly perfectly reliable as CR leads one to believe (as do other sites, sich as Intellichoice)?

Messages Page 750 of 1035

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