SBuchanan

My wife has been on the hunt for a new family hauler and she REALLY likes the Q5. She says she's not into spirited or enthusiastic driving, yet she takes my Mini out every chance she gets. I don't have any experience in Audi Land, so throwing myself on the generosity of the community - what should we look for and be concerned with when shopping used? She's currently looking at the 2018 or 19 Premium Plus. In my region, there are currently NO CPO Q5s available. A couple of lease returns that have good Carfax maint. histories though.

Thoughts?

and thanks.

Sandroad

How much family? Number and size and what other stuff comes along? The backseat and cargo area of the Q5 are not large, by any means. Would a Q7 also be an option in terms of being "REALLY" liked? My wife also REALLY liked the Q5 back when it was introduced in N.A. in 2010. But she waited 10 years to get one, after the family hauling duties were history. 2 adults, 2 high schoolers, and associated stuff for trips will NOT fit comfortably.

SBuchanan

Thanks for getting back to me. She's looked at the sizing and judged it sufficient. We sold the Minivan a few years ago (thank the maker!) and have missed the space once or twice, but for the most part have been fine with a vehicle of this size. Both of my kids are college aged so big family road trips to Disney aren't really an issue for us anymore (thank the maker!) Our local BMW dealer has a gently used model at a price that's as reasonable as things get in this market. But it's not a CPO. To get to CPO it's about a $4000 jump for what's essentially the same year/mileage (and it's a couple of hours away.) To my mind, that's too much to pay for the CPO warranty considering the fairly good service history on her target Q5. Or am I wrong?

lowjdml

It’s a German car (ok, the current Q5 is made in Mexico) which means service costs are likely higher than Asian brands. My wife liked my A4 enough to get a Q5 for herself.

fujinator

We are on our second Q5 since 2014 - the first was caught up in VW's infamous DieselGate for which we were compensated and have since sold the car to someone who is tickled pink with its drivability and reliability.

Our current '22 Q5e has been trouble-free and our first step into (PH/B) EVs and so far so good. Our driveway backs out onto a hilly street which is not consistently plowed when it snows and I purposely have gone out to try and get them stuck - so far unsuccessfully - and they are a blast. In "normal" weather, we enjoy the driving experience as well as their interiors (i.e. not a fan of the other luxury marque interiors but realize preferences are a very personal and subjective choice).

We have a great relationship with our preferred dealership and they have made the ownership experience a pleasure.

Plenty of friends at German dealerships all say the same thing, "Never own a German vehicle NOT under warranty or have a GREAT mechanic you trust". But so far so good.

We're likely going to be Audi customers for the foreseeable future (i.e. we are on our 6th and have ZERO regrets owning any of them).

2DaLab

I drive a 2021 A5 sportback. My wife and I considered getting her a Q5. (Ended up getting a different brand, a little larger, but not because of anything bad about the Q5--just wasn't the right car for her now.)

A lot of (all?) 2018 Q5s lost their 3G connectivity, so the myAudi app (and some other things) don't work. Might or might not be important to you. Might consider 2019, which wasn't affected.

I would have gotten my wife the Prestige package. (At least for the new cars available in 2021, they all had the upgraded Bose audio in our area. I wanted to get her the built in navigation. Once I added both of those, it was only a "little" bit more to go Prestige, which includes both Bose and navigation.)

I really like the driver assist devices--adaptive cruise control, lane assist, blind spot monitoring, collision avoidance ("pre-sense"), 360 camera ("top down"). I don't know what years these various things were separate options or parts of packages during which years. I would pay attention to what is listed on the monroney sticker to make sure it has what I want (or make sure I'm okay with which things weren't included for that particular car).

Buying used: I bought mine new, but if I were buying used, I would try to make sure that the previous owner has signed out as the Key User for that car. And I would make sure that they include the plastic tag that was attached to one of the key fobs (when car was new); this has the 10-digit Vehicle Code--this is needed to set you (or wife) up as the Key User for that car. Not sure if you need an Audi dealer to set that up for you, if you don't buy used directly from an Audi dealer.

atlanta A6

Audi isn’t a magical brand. Look for the same things you’d look for with any car including maintenance done on time and no bad collisions. It’s a great vehicle but this is an Audi site so do but you’ll find anyone saying not to buy one.

MarkP888

I really love my SQ5, but in the spirit of fairness... Others to consider... BMW X3, or if you want more space an X5 (really nice engine and drivetrain, IMHO). The new Acura MDX is also quite nice too, although not quite as "fun" to drive as the German counterparts.

If you want something that is really fun to drive, consider an X3 M40i or Porsche Macan.

Sandroad

I’d get the one at the BMW dealer and enjoy. Your reference to needling a family hauler threw me off. It sounds like that’s history and it’s time for a vehicle your wife likes. Find a good place to get it serviced, not necessarily a dealer. Spouses are important to keep 😃

bzcat

Buy it if wife likes it and asks no questions.

What to look for? First, decide what trim level you want. Q5 came in three basic grades: premium, premium plus, and prestige. Premium plus is the most common and it comes with most everything you'd expect to find in a luxury car.

Next, decide if any option is must have for you. Some people would only get one with black optics for example that replaces all the chrome. Some people want navigation because they have Android phone and can't use Apple Play etc.

Last, check maintenance history. Like all German cars, they do not like deferred maintenance. And the obvious, like does it have good tires and enough brake pads left after 3 years of use by previous owner. A CPO car will have these things replaced most likely but in a non-CPO situation, you need to ask those questions.