Joining the Audi ranks.
03-20-2019, 05:51 PM
#1
AudiWorld Member
Thread Starter
Joining the Audi ranks.
After 24 years with Acura/Honda, I have joined the Audi family. I’ve been researching for 2 years and it always came back to the A4. My Acura’s have been great purchases, but their current lineup just isn’t what I’m looking for in a car. I’ll be picking up a Premium Plus, cold weather, BO sound system this weekend. I went with Florret Silver as I thought it looked great in the showroom (coming from a silver TSX currently so I’m partial to the color). They didn’t have the interior configuration I wanted (Black w/ grey inlays), so it’s coming from a dealer in Edison NJ. I’m very happy with my purchase and can’t wait to pick it up.
That being said, please comment on any advise you might have when picking up the car...things I should look for, ask about, etc.
I rented an A4 from Silvercar last summer so I’m pretty familiar with the layout. I’m also planning on purchasing Audi Care.
Also, I saw a post on a thread that I can no longer find regarding a case for EZ-Pass that was mounted behind the MMI. I’d like to get one of those. If anyone knows what it is, please comment.
Thanks!
03-20-2019, 07:19 PM
#2
AudiWorld Senior Member
Welcome to the club from another Acura loyalist who moved over to Audi because after the beloved Gen III TL (04-08) Acura aesthetics have been awful, at least up until the TLX, which IMHO has its share of deficiencies that I could not live with, hence we are now an A6 (2015 3.0T PP/sport package) and an A4 (/18 Quattro PP/sport package).family.
Very good color choice. There are some A4 paint/clear coat issues that manifest themselves in a major way with Manhattan Grey cars. Ask me how I know. There is a thread on this board about that.
Audi Care is a no brainer because @ 40K miles you will have a transmission fluid maintenance that is very expensive making Audi Care a bit of a bargain.
Enjoy your new car and best of luck for years of happy and (hopefully no issues, especially post-warranty expiration) motoring! These are very nice cars and I really enjoy driving both of ours. However, despite what Consumers Reports of JD Power might say, expecting the reliability of a Honda/Acura from the 90s up to mid 2000s from a modern tech-laden car is probably not realistic. I still have the trusty 2004 TL as a spare car -- owned it since new and now has 172,000 miles. Does not consume or leak any oil or any other fluids for that matter. Still runs very nicely and I would not hesitate to drive it cross country. I've had only one mechanical failure in all those years/miles -- a/c compressor -- OEM replacement sourced from Denso delivered to me door for $225. Best car I have ever owned. I'm not bashing Audi but the fact is that I've had far more trouble with my A6 in 3.5 years/34,000 miles (fortunately all addressed under warranty) than the old TL in 15 years. Just go in with eyes wide open and reasonable expectations. So much more stuff on modern cars to go wrong than on an old TL or a TSX for that matter. If you intend to hold long term maybe look into Audi extended warranty or set aside an amount each year ($1,000 is a good number) while you own the car so you have a fund for repairs that come up. I'm talking about mechanical failures, not maintenance. If you use those funds for repairs fine. If you are fortunate enough to not have any such repairs or not to expend all of those funds by time you ditch the car just apply them towards purchase price of replacement vehicle. Its a bit like self-insuring. Obviously if you leased the A4 and it will be under warranty entire term of lease the foregoing is N/A!
Again, best of luck. This forum has some great people and a wealth of information.
Best,
Jeff
Very good color choice. There are some A4 paint/clear coat issues that manifest themselves in a major way with Manhattan Grey cars. Ask me how I know. There is a thread on this board about that.
Audi Care is a no brainer because @ 40K miles you will have a transmission fluid maintenance that is very expensive making Audi Care a bit of a bargain.
Enjoy your new car and best of luck for years of happy and (hopefully no issues, especially post-warranty expiration) motoring! These are very nice cars and I really enjoy driving both of ours. However, despite what Consumers Reports of JD Power might say, expecting the reliability of a Honda/Acura from the 90s up to mid 2000s from a modern tech-laden car is probably not realistic. I still have the trusty 2004 TL as a spare car -- owned it since new and now has 172,000 miles. Does not consume or leak any oil or any other fluids for that matter. Still runs very nicely and I would not hesitate to drive it cross country. I've had only one mechanical failure in all those years/miles -- a/c compressor -- OEM replacement sourced from Denso delivered to me door for $225. Best car I have ever owned. I'm not bashing Audi but the fact is that I've had far more trouble with my A6 in 3.5 years/34,000 miles (fortunately all addressed under warranty) than the old TL in 15 years. Just go in with eyes wide open and reasonable expectations. So much more stuff on modern cars to go wrong than on an old TL or a TSX for that matter. If you intend to hold long term maybe look into Audi extended warranty or set aside an amount each year ($1,000 is a good number) while you own the car so you have a fund for repairs that come up. I'm talking about mechanical failures, not maintenance. If you use those funds for repairs fine. If you are fortunate enough to not have any such repairs or not to expend all of those funds by time you ditch the car just apply them towards purchase price of replacement vehicle. Its a bit like self-insuring. Obviously if you leased the A4 and it will be under warranty entire term of lease the foregoing is N/A!
Again, best of luck. This forum has some great people and a wealth of information.
Best,
Jeff
03-20-2019, 08:40 PM
#3
AudiWorld Super User
Welcome to the club from another Acura loyalist who moved over to Audi because after the beloved Gen III TL (04-08) Acura aesthetics have been awful, at least up until the TLX, which IMHO has its share of deficiencies that I could not live with, hence we are now an A6 (2015 3.0T PP/sport package) and an A4 (/18 Quattro PP/sport package).family.
Very good color choice. There are some A4 paint/clear coat issues that manifest themselves in a major way with Manhattan Grey cars. Ask me how I know. There is a thread on this board about that.
Audi Care is a no brainer because @ 40K miles you will have a transmission fluid maintenance that is very expensive making Audi Care a bit of a bargain.
Enjoy your new car and best of luck for years of happy and (hopefully no issues, especially post-warranty expiration) motoring! These are very nice cars and I really enjoy driving both of ours. However, despite what Consumers Reports of JD Power might say, expecting the reliability of a Honda/Acura from the 90s up to mid 2000s from a modern tech-laden car is probably not realistic. I still have the trusty 2004 TL as a spare car -- owned it since new and now has 172,000 miles. Does not consume or leak any oil or any other fluids for that matter. Still runs very nicely and I would not hesitate to drive it cross country. I've had only one mechanical failure in all those years/miles -- a/c compressor -- OEM replacement sourced from Denso delivered to me door for $225. Best car I have ever owned. I'm not bashing Audi but the fact is that I've had far more trouble with my A6 in 3.5 years/34,000 miles (fortunately all addressed under warranty) than the old TL in 15 years. Just go in with eyes wide open and reasonable expectations. So much more stuff on modern cars to go wrong than on an old TL or a TSX for that matter. If you intend to hold long term maybe look into Audi extended warranty or set aside an amount each year ($1,000 is a good number) while you own the car so you have a fund for repairs that come up. I'm talking about mechanical failures, not maintenance. If you use those funds for repairs fine. If you are fortunate enough to not have any such repairs or not to expend all of those funds by time you ditch the car just apply them towards purchase price of replacement vehicle. Its a bit like self-insuring. Obviously if you leased the A4 and it will be under warranty entire term of lease the foregoing is N/A!
Again, best of luck. This forum has some great people and a wealth of information.
Best,
Jeff
Very good color choice. There are some A4 paint/clear coat issues that manifest themselves in a major way with Manhattan Grey cars. Ask me how I know. There is a thread on this board about that.
Audi Care is a no brainer because @ 40K miles you will have a transmission fluid maintenance that is very expensive making Audi Care a bit of a bargain.
Enjoy your new car and best of luck for years of happy and (hopefully no issues, especially post-warranty expiration) motoring! These are very nice cars and I really enjoy driving both of ours. However, despite what Consumers Reports of JD Power might say, expecting the reliability of a Honda/Acura from the 90s up to mid 2000s from a modern tech-laden car is probably not realistic. I still have the trusty 2004 TL as a spare car -- owned it since new and now has 172,000 miles. Does not consume or leak any oil or any other fluids for that matter. Still runs very nicely and I would not hesitate to drive it cross country. I've had only one mechanical failure in all those years/miles -- a/c compressor -- OEM replacement sourced from Denso delivered to me door for $225. Best car I have ever owned. I'm not bashing Audi but the fact is that I've had far more trouble with my A6 in 3.5 years/34,000 miles (fortunately all addressed under warranty) than the old TL in 15 years. Just go in with eyes wide open and reasonable expectations. So much more stuff on modern cars to go wrong than on an old TL or a TSX for that matter. If you intend to hold long term maybe look into Audi extended warranty or set aside an amount each year ($1,000 is a good number) while you own the car so you have a fund for repairs that come up. I'm talking about mechanical failures, not maintenance. If you use those funds for repairs fine. If you are fortunate enough to not have any such repairs or not to expend all of those funds by time you ditch the car just apply them towards purchase price of replacement vehicle. Its a bit like self-insuring. Obviously if you leased the A4 and it will be under warranty entire term of lease the foregoing is N/A!
Again, best of luck. This forum has some great people and a wealth of information.
Best,
Jeff
03-21-2019, 01:56 AM
#4
AudiWorld Member
Thread Starter
Thanks guys. My TSX has been issue free. It’s a 2010 with 160K on it and runs like a champ. I’m going to try to keep it another year as a second car and to keep the miles down on the A4. I can’t lease as I put about 18K on my cars each year due to work travel. I’ve bought extended warranties on both my last two Acura’s and didn’t need them. I’m probably not going to buy it this time. I have enough cash readily available if something does happen this point in my life. And I figure if the car takes a total **** after warranty and Acura comes back with a new TLX in 3-4 years I could always go back. I really wanted to stay with Acura, but the current TLX has too many transmission issues and the head unit is crap. It’s not a bad looking car in Aspec form, but it’s deficient in too many areas. I looked at the RDX, but I really don’t need something that big and the gas mileage near 20Mpg doesn’t work for me. Also hearing about some nightmares about the head unit crashing etc. Modern cars have become a real headache.
03-21-2019, 02:51 AM
#5
AudiWorld Super User
Thanks guys. My TSX has been issue free. It’s a 2010 with 160K on it and runs like a champ. I’m going to try to keep it another year as a second car and to keep the miles down on the A4. I can’t lease as I put about 18K on my cars each year due to work travel. I’ve bought extended warranties on both my last two Acura’s and didn’t need them. I’m probably not going to buy it this time. I have enough cash readily available if something does happen this point in my life. And I figure if the car takes a total **** after warranty and Acura comes back with a new TLX in 3-4 years I could always go back. I really wanted to stay with Acura, but the current TLX has too many transmission issues and the head unit is crap. It’s not a bad looking car in Aspec form, but it’s deficient in too many areas. I looked at the RDX, but I really don’t need something that big and the gas mileage near 20Mpg doesn’t work for me. Also hearing about some nightmares about the head unit crashing etc. Modern cars have become a real headache.
. I would just wait a year or two.....or more before buying an extended warranty.
03-21-2019, 03:11 AM
#6
AudiWorld Senior Member
Congrats on the A4, I am also a previous / current Acura owner since 2004.. A few MDX's, a TL which is now the middle sons, and a TLX which is the youngest son's car.. Can't say good enough things about Acura, actually when I was looking for my my daily driver it came down to the MDX and Allroad... And while the MDX is a great vehicle I've always wanted an Allroad so figured nows the time and I couldn't be happier..
As Bob M said above, I too am hoping to get 160K trouble free miles out of the AR like you on your TSX. Only difference is I don't see myself tattooing Audi rings across my forehead.......... Maybe across my back... LOL
As Bob M said above, I too am hoping to get 160K trouble free miles out of the AR like you on your TSX. Only difference is I don't see myself tattooing Audi rings across my forehead.......... Maybe across my back... LOL
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03-21-2019, 04:22 AM
#8
AudiWorld Member
Thread Starter
It was really hard to move away from Acura, but they have lost their way over the past few model releases. And after a lot of research, Audi came out as the closest to what I’m used to. The A4 is similar in size and I think it will be a short learning curve as far as the tech. Renting it for almost a week from Silvercar in Tampa really helped me make my choice also. I’d recommend that to anyone who wants an extended test drive. Btw, the 2004 TL was my all time favorite car. After totally it in 2010, I didn’t like the new TL and went with the TSX as it was smaller and more nimble.
03-21-2019, 05:28 AM
#9
AudiWorld Senior Member
The Mazda 6, once it brings forth the new interior (from Mazda 3) will look more premium than it already is compared to other brands it competes against. Coupled with that 2.5T and adding an all wheel drive system, it will make things quite interesting.
Infotainment wise - going forward they are ditching the touch display and going with rotary and pivoting navigation and buttons, very similar to our A4s. This is a great move IMO.
Same thing about the CX5. My next car will probably be an SUV and the CX5 with the 2.5T all wheel drive (250HP 300 lbs tq) decked out is about $15K less than a Q5 equipped to the same level.
03-21-2019, 06:58 AM
#10
Congrats!!! We just leased an A4 after three years of problem free A6 ownership. I am still trying to get the sports seats adjusted to my liking. The side bolsters are hitting in the wrongs spots causing my back and sciatica to flair up. I am 5'10", 165 so I should fit perfect.
Watch out when putting your rear plate on. I never use a plate frame and the screws normally provided by the dealer are too long. As I was trying to screw the plate on, it seemed as if it was still going in but in fact it was only turning the plate clip. This eventually wore away some plastic and the clip fell in. Had the same problem on my A6. I easily fixed it though with other snap in plastic clips that would accept "normal" plate screws.
Watch out when putting your rear plate on. I never use a plate frame and the screws normally provided by the dealer are too long. As I was trying to screw the plate on, it seemed as if it was still going in but in fact it was only turning the plate clip. This eventually wore away some plastic and the clip fell in. Had the same problem on my A6. I easily fixed it though with other snap in plastic clips that would accept "normal" plate screws.