ovidiu45

Hello, new user here. Have driven only Subaru wagons (all stick except for a 2015) since my first new car in 2007, and 30 months ago, made the mistake of switching to a 2017 Tacoma, which has been a complete and utter nightmare (there's a reason Consumer Reports says the 2016-2017 Tacoma is the worst mid-sized truck out there; they're not exaggerating, and I'm living proof of it).

Anyway, I'm in the process of getting rid of the POS Tacoma and I want to get back in a wagon. Really, once you cross out Subaru because of the universal CVT's across their model lineup, the only thing left is the allroad. I drove two and REALLY liked them. My philosophy at this point is...I went for boring and supposedly reliable (Toyota) and was very disappointed, both in the vehicle and the dealer/corporate response. So you might as well have something that's super fun to drive, even if it MIGHT take a little more $$$ in maintenance, on average, than a Japanese car.

I did a search and didn't find this already posted, so here goes. Obviously, inventory is super low and there are only used B9's out there. I've seen a LOT of base or almost base 2018's at pretty high prices. Looked at one locally, that was a dealer loaner with 8400 miles. Base model, didn't have navigation or basically anything else. Dealer wanted FULL MSRP for it ($48k and change). Nice car, but come on. They also claimed it was CPO but couldn't provide any paperwork to prove it, and they didn't even have a Mulrooney for the car. I walked away from that BS. So it's come down to buying a typically overpriced 2018, or there are some really nice 2017's out there, often prestige or premium plus, that tend to be 5k or under the 2018's, a lot of which aren't CPO for some reason (can a dealer loaner even be a CPO car, btw??).

Am I missing anything major by going with a 2017 Allroad, instead of 2018? Again, I'm looking for Premium Plus or Prestige, not base model. Seems like for similar mileage and 5k in savings, I get more likelihood of CPO warranty and often a higher trim level on the 2017.

patronsaintofpie

it is my understanding there is no difference between 2017 vs 2018. last year, i bought a used 2017 after test driving a new 2018, the dealership only had books for the 2017 on hand and told me there were no changes from 17-18, so they opted to not update their books due to low interest in the vehicle [like most dealers they are selling Q5 like hot cakes]. after my test drive i did some googling, and saw no difference between the two, for some reason they are registered as having slightly different MPG tho from what i could see they have all the same specs.. my assumption is that someone just fat fingered something i get MUCH better MPG than what is advertised for this vehicle.

the only difference i remember seeing in options is that you could get sport seats with out the ventilation system as an option in the 2017 giving you 3 seat options, where 2018 is just standard or sport seats with vents having 2 seat options. but packages and trims are all the same.

2017 marked the beginning of a major change for the allroad, if you are not interested in the first year of a updated car since they started selling them in the US in 2016 just check your carfax and get a 2017, built in 2017... i also believe the updated model was available in Europe before it hit the US.

its a great car, as someone who use to love the subaru legacy wagon in highschool, when i needed a new car i drove the current outback and found it to be big, and disappointing to drive. I checked out the v60, and alltrack as well but once i figured out for the same cost as a nicely equipped outback with the features i wanted i could get a slightly used allroad and enjoy my daily commute the choice was made.

Vandelay

First, you are good to avoid the CVTs. I had a 2013 Subaru Legacy for 1 agonizing year and dumped it and took a loss on the lease to get something I actually liked driving. Lesson learned: don't get the practical, logical car if you don't like the drive. Get something you love to drive!

The 7 speed S-Tronic dual clutch is an awesome transmission. It's very smooth in most driving situations and the shifts are so fast! I had a 2014 A4 with the 8-speed ZF transmission and I thought that thing was awesome. the 7 speed isn't quite so smooth but it's better overall. I am seeing 26 MPG average over about 6500 miles in my 2018 allroad and i drive this thing like it's supposed to be driven.

Re: MPG differences between the two model years: i think this is just a technicality in the way the EPA calculates MPG. There are no mechanical differences between the 2017 and 2018 models. In fact, the 2019s have lower horsepower and torque numbers simply because Audi changed their calculation of those numbers. Again, no mechanical changes.

Based on my knowledge of the 2017 vs 2018, here are the differences in a nutshell:

• 2017 had at least one color that didn't make it to 2018 - Argus Brown. There might have been other colors that were changed in the model year change
• Options packages were rearranged from 2017 to 2018, though i'm not 100% sure what was different. I have a 2018 Premium Plus. I think B&O audio was a separate option in 2017 but bundled with Premium Plus in 2018
• I had an early-build 2018 allroad and the 2 USB ports were in the armrest. I switched cars to a differerent 2018 allroad and noticed that they moved one USB port to in front of the cupholders. No other changes were noted
• I think the 2017s, as previously noted, had different seat options. The sport seats were available with or without ventilation I believe. By the way, don't assume you'll like the sport seats - test them. That's why i got rid of my first allroad. HATED the sport seats even though they looked better and seemed more comfortable at first. Do a long test drive to confirm comfort.

Audis all have a 4 year 50,000 mile warranty from new, so CPO is not necessary unless you are looking at a higher miles 2017. Check the in-service date on the CarFax to verify when the warranty period started.

This dealer you mentioned, was it an Audi dealer? If so, they can print a Monroney from the VIN. I had a dealer do this recently since I didn't get the original sticker when i took delivery of my allroad. I would absolutely not pay close to MSRP on an 2018 if you can get a 2017 with low miles for less. 2019s are finally EPA certified and will be coming in, and the 2020 facelift will probably show up at the end of the year which will hit the resale of our B9.0 allroads.

Good luck! Buy what you want and be happy!

Vandelay

By the way, the base-model A4s and Allroads (premium trim) have xenon headlights with a very lame LED daytime running light. To me this is a deal-breaker, as the signature look of a modern Audi is in its DRLs. You have to get the Premium Plus trim to get full LED headlights with the cool 2-stripe DRLs (at least in 2018 you did).

ovidiu45

Everyone,

thanks for the replies. Very useful info. I am definitely looking at Premium Plus as the sweet point, not much savings with Premium and you loose some nice stuff like the optional B&O speakers. Right now am seriously considering a 2017 Prestige with 12k miles for a hair under 40k, from an authorized Audi dealer. Fully loaded with every option including heated/cooled seats, all driver assist packages, etc. I didn't see a "how much did you pay" thread on here. Does this price sound fairly reasonable/in the ballpark? If I go for 2018, it'll pretty much be 45k and probably a premium plus.

Vandelay

That seems like a pretty reasonable price to me. My new 2018 allroad P+ with cold weather package and some other things stickered for about $51k and got it for about $46k since i was trading in my other allroad. But that was when 2018s were still around. At this point they are basically unicorns and, depending upon your location, they are hot items. In the Denver/Boulder area they are extremely hard to come by and the car you describe would not sit on the dealer lot for more than a couple days. My dealer offered to trade my car in for about $42k and that's after i've had it for a year and 6k miles. That's barely any depreciation - but of course, that's location dependent.

I agree - Premium Plus is the sweet spot in the Audi lineup for price to options. But if you can get a Prestige, that's even better. I just don't think i'd buy one new.

ovidiu45

Ironically, the one I am looking at is also a scuba blue metallic (like yours), with brown interior. I wasn't sure on the blue, but I saw a photo of one (maybe yours) on the allroad photo thread and it actually looks really nice. This does have the front sports seats, but I have never been a picky seat person and am coming from fully manual bucket seats in the tacoma.

Vandelay

Cool! Scuba is the best color, but of course I'm biased. I love blue cars. Mine has gray standard seats. I've only seen one other B9 scuba allroad in Denver. But i've only seen maybe 5 B9s in Colorado - mostly white and black.

One thing you should look into regarding maintenance costs is whether the car already has audi care associated with it. If it does, it'll save you $900. If not, it's worth buying audi care if you plan on keeping the car a while because it's going to save you some money of the maintenance up to 50,000 miles. If you're not familiar with it, Audi Care is prepaid maintenance for each of the 10,000 mile services up to 50,000 miles. The first 10,000 service is free. The DSG service and replacing spark plugs will probably cost $900 (these are done around 30,000 to 40,000 miles), so getting the other services bundled is worth it.

ovidiu45

I don't believe it has Audi Care. Can that be added any time for a used car, or it must be associated with the vehicle when purchased new?

Also, you mentioned DSG. I was under the impression that these were regular dual clutch automatics and not DSG's?

Vandelay

Yes, you can add audi care at any time and they will no-doubt try to sell it to you when you buy the car. Remember that audi care is tied to the VIN and not the customer, so it carries with the car regardless of ownership. The higher miles on the vehicle, the less benefit you get from audi care. But if you're looking at a car with 12,000 miles it's only had one service so far, so you'll reap the full benefit of audi care. Higher mileage cars also qualify for some other type of a la carte prepaid maintenance. I haven't looked into it since my cars have all been low-miles.

DSG/Dual Clutch is the same in my book. I had a VW Sportwagen with DSG, which is just the name VW gives to their dual clutches. Audi-speak is "S-Tronic" but i use the term interchangeably. Porsche's name is "PDK". There are probably subtle differences between the three brands, but they are all dual clutch automatics with a wet plate clutch. IMO they are far superior to any other manufacturer's dual or single clutch product.