Buying a new car -- looking for your learned opinions on my 3 finalists

Hi all,

I thought you might be a good group to pick your brains. I am looking
to buy a new car. I am keeping my current car (96 Corolla) as a
commuter car, but am looking for something a little more luxurious for
leisurely/fun driving and for my bimonthly 500-mile round-trip visits
to my nieces/nephews.

Here's what I looked at today and would like your opinions on:

1. 2004 Audi A6 Quattro twin turbo 2.7 (or something like that!) --
had a couple of hundred miles on it; the only 2004 A6 in the dealer
stock, so they were willing to knock off a few thousand from the price.
I liked it a lot, but the price was high (low 40s). Free maintenance
up to 50K miles.

2. 2005 Honda Accord EX V6 -- nice car and amenities, best sticker
price of the day (in the high 20s), but not very "luxurious" (though
certainly waaaay nicer than my Corolla).

3. 2005 Toyota Avalon Limited -- nice car and amenities, bigger than
the accord, felt more luxurious than the Accord, but nearly $10K more
in price ($35K).

Do any of you have any opinions on any of the above? It's been about
10 years since I went new-car shopping, so I am assuming that Hondas
and Toyotas still top the list of reliable cars, but don't know that
for sure. Also, how are the Audis reputation-wise and
reliability-wise?

Thanks in advance for whatever wisdom you can throw my way!

Ursula.

Ursula wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I thought you might be a good group to pick your brains. I am looking
> to buy a new car. I am keeping my current car (96 Corolla) as a
> commuter car, but am looking for something a little more luxurious for
> leisurely/fun driving and for my bimonthly 500-mile round-trip visits
> to my nieces/nephews.
>
> Here's what I looked at today and would like your opinions on:
>
> 1. 2004 Audi A6 Quattro twin turbo 2.7 (or something like that!) --
> had a couple of hundred miles on it; the only 2004 A6 in the dealer
> stock, so they were willing to knock off a few thousand from the price.
> I liked it a lot, but the price was high (low 40s). Free maintenance
> up to 50K miles.
>
> 2. 2005 Honda Accord EX V6 -- nice car and amenities, best sticker
> price of the day (in the high 20s), but not very "luxurious" (though
> certainly waaaay nicer than my Corolla).
>
> 3. 2005 Toyota Avalon Limited -- nice car and amenities, bigger than
> the accord, felt more luxurious than the Accord, but nearly $10K more
> in price ($35K).
>
> Do any of you have any opinions on any of the above? It's been about
> 10 years since I went new-car shopping, so I am assuming that Hondas
> and Toyotas still top the list of reliable cars, but don't know that
> for sure. Also, how are the Audis reputation-wise and
> reliability-wise?
>
> Thanks in advance for whatever wisdom you can throw my way!
>
> Ursula.

Audis are great cars but if you are considering reliability to be one
of your criteria they still are not up there with the Japanese mfgrs.
- the car itself will last longer than a japanese car but it will
require a lot more repairs and maintenance over its lifespan.

Personally I'd be leaning toward the Toyota as they tend to have a
better reputation than Honda for durability, but I'm not sure if the
Avalon is one of those models with the engines with the sludging
problem. (well, I'm lying - I'd probably just buy the Audi, but I
would do it knowing that it was going to cost me more $$ to run)

good luck,

nate

"Ursula" > wrote
> 1. 2004 Audi A6 Quattro twin turbo 2.7 (or something like that!) --
> had a couple of hundred miles on it; the only 2004 A6 in the dealer
> stock, so they were willing to knock off a few thousand from the price.
> I liked it a lot, but the price was high (low 40s). Free maintenance
> up to 50K miles.

Well, this would be my personal choice, but I'm not you. You may
find it a little harsher (I would call it firmer) riding than you like. The
'04 is cheap because '05 is a new model.

> 2. 2005 Honda Accord EX V6 -- nice car and amenities, best sticker
> price of the day (in the high 20s), but not very "luxurious" (though
> certainly waaaay nicer than my Corolla).

I like Hondas. You might try an Acura TL or TLX - they're similar
and would be more luxurious.

> 3. 2005 Toyota Avalon Limited -- nice car and amenities, bigger than
> the accord, felt more luxurious than the Accord, but nearly $10K more
> in price ($35K).

The Avalon is a larger car than the Accord - you should check out the
Camry V6 LE or XLE (competes with the Accord) and Lexus ES330.

I hear the new VW Jetta (or the larger Passat) is a nice car. Audi
and VW share a lot of mechanicals; however it's hard for me to believe
(especially since I bought my mom's V6 '99 V6 Camry and I own a
Toyota pickup and my wife drives a new Highlander) that anything is
more reliable than Toyota.

Floyd

"fbloogyudsr" > wrote in message
...
> "Ursula" > wrote
> > 1. 2004 Audi A6 Quattro twin turbo 2.7 (or something like that!) --
> > had a couple of hundred miles on it; the only 2004 A6 in the dealer
> > stock, so they were willing to knock off a few thousand from the price.
> > I liked it a lot, but the price was high (low 40s). Free maintenance
> > up to 50K miles.
>
I was thrilled when my mother bought a 2002 A6, she was 84 at the time and I
knew I would be doing most or all of the driving. I always liked Audi's.
She got the plain vanilla 2.8. Nice car, does everything well. Sure can't
fault the interior in any way, and has a trunk big enough to house a family
of four. My only complaint is the fuel capacity. It's fine for highway
driving but seems a little small to me because the car is used mainly around
town and the A6 doesn't get great mileage in city driving.

I really wanted something a little more sporty, but that wouldn't be
appropriate for her. I wanted an A4 turbo, which is a little more tightly
wound than the regular A6. She (under 5' tall) claimed the A4 was "too
small." Generational thing I guess.

I'm thinking the twin turbo is a more sport oriented car. Tighter
suspension, etc. Not to fault the regular A6, I'm sure it will be fun if I
ever get it on the twisties.

Haven't had any problems with the Audi at all, though there have been
several minor recalls. I do suppose the rice burners will be more reliable
in the long run. Watch out for the Toyota's though. I remember hearing of
serious engine problems that Toyota was not willing to take care of. Not
sure which model or engine, I think it was related to a specific engine.

I'd take extended drives in all the models you list and decide by how they
feel to you. They are surely all good cars.

Thanks for all your opinions everybody! Well, here's what I ended up
doing ... I bought the Audi! Just drove it home and have a ton of
manuals to read, but I think I'm gonna really love this car. It looks
great sitting in my garage! Hope my poor little Corolla doesn't get an
inferiority complex being parked next to it

Ursula.

Ursula wrote:
> Thanks for all your opinions everybody! Well, here's what I ended up
> doing ... I bought the Audi! Just drove it home and have a ton of
> manuals to read, but I think I'm gonna really love this car. It looks
> great sitting in my garage! Hope my poor little Corolla doesn't get an
> inferiority complex being parked next to it
>
> Ursula.

Any reason there were no American cars on your list? I spent a few
hours at dealerships over the weekend trying to figure out what I
liked, and I'm sold on the new Dodge Charger. It would be awhile
before I could get one, but I really like the way it looks, and its
American, which is an added bonus.

Hi Office Jet,

I was going for reliability and biggest bang for my buck. Hondas and
Toyotas are always at the top of any list of well-built cars. I've
always been intrigued by the Audis (think they look beautiful) and was
pleasantly surprised to find they were ranked as very reliable. I
settled on the A6 AWD quattro because it was drop-dead gorgeous, and I
have family in snow country so it will behave well in that environment.


No American cars rang my bell ... what can I say? I've owned American
in the past and none of them have come close to my Corolla in
reliability. I work hard for my money and want the best bang for my
buck. If that means it goes to Japan or Germany, then so be it!

Ursula.

Ursula wrote:
> Hi Office Jet,
>
> I was going for reliability and biggest bang for my buck. Hondas and
> Toyotas are always at the top of any list of well-built cars. I've
> always been intrigued by the Audis (think they look beautiful) and was
> pleasantly surprised to find they were ranked as very reliable. I
> settled on the A6 AWD quattro because it was drop-dead gorgeous, and I
> have family in snow country so it will behave well in that environment.
>
>
> No American cars rang my bell ... what can I say? I've owned American
> in the past and none of them have come close to my Corolla in
> reliability. I work hard for my money and want the best bang for my
> buck. If that means it goes to Japan or Germany, then so be it!
>
> Ursula.

That's entirely understandable. I'm glad you found a car that you feel
comfortable with and enjoy. I'm trying to buy American right now, and
I really like the Charger. For some reason, I can't get it out of my
head. The power and practicality of it really have me hooked.