I'm throwing in the towel on my current car. Mighty TCL, Help me pick something.

[ColinAndrews]

Well, I never thought I would become "that guy", but I just can't stand to own my current car anymore. I have a 2001 B5 S4 Avant, 6 speed, Nogaro blue, 500+HP, etc. People constantly tell me that it's awesome and cool, but I hate it. Something goes wrong with it every god damn month. It has cost me over $5000 in the first year of ownership, and the absolute certainty that it will keep breaking keeps me from enjoying it.

So, I ask you, name something that will fit the bill. I'll name the criteria, and start spitting.

~$15,000 we can go up a little
Reasonably fun to drive
RELIABLE - No joke, I'm F'ing done wrenching on cars in my free time
AWD is a plus but not a must (It's winter 6 months here)
I'm a bit of a dash stroker, so a decent interior is preferable.

Hit me with what you've got. I'm all over the place from a 2009 Civic Si to a Blob eye WRX, to a new Fiesta. I have no idea right now. All I know, is the Audi has to go.

[RussWheeler]

What's a prev gen TL go for around you? Aside from the AWD that meets everything you've got there.

[Mr. Snrub]

Get a used Lexus or Acura, avoid anything with a turbo/supercharger.

[two.twoliter]

Legacy GT/ Forester XT?

[patrikman]

Well, I never thought I would become "that guy", but I just can't stand to own my current car anymore. I have a 2001 B5 S4 Avant, 6 speed, Nogaro blue, 500+HP, etc. People constantly tell me that it's awesome and cool, but I hate it. Something goes wrong with it every god damn month. It has cost me over $5000 in the first year of ownership, and the absolute certainty that it will keep breaking keeps me from enjoying it.

And yet, every "find me a car TCL for ten stacks" thread posted gets 10 replies per page of B5 S4, "they are sikkkk."

[Mr Miyagi]

Well, I never thought I would become "that guy", but I just can't stand to own my current car anymore. I have a 2001 B5 S4 Avant, 6 speed, Nogaro blue, 500+HP, etc. People constantly tell me that it's awesome and cool, but I hate it. Something goes wrong with it every god damn month. It has cost me over $5000 in the first year of ownership, and the absolute certainty that it will keep breaking keeps me from enjoying it.

So, I ask you, name something that will fit the bill. I'll name the criteria, and start spitting.

~$15,000 we can go up a little
Reasonably fun to drive
RELIABLE - No joke, I'm F'ing done wrenching on cars in my free time
AWD is a plus but not a must (It's winter 6 months here)
I'm a bit of a dash stroker, so a decent interior is preferable.

Hit me with what you've got. I'm all over the place from a 2009 Civic Si to a bug eye WRX, to a new Fiesta. I have no idea right now. All I know, is the Audi has to go.

???


Subies (bug eye) are NOT fast, so its going to be a giant difference from what you have currently.

[patrikman]

???


Subies (bug eye) are NOT fast, so its going to be a giant difference from what you have currently.

Where is that whole post do you see that he wants fast? A blob eye may not be blisteringly fast, reasonably fun to drive...yes.

BTW, this is a blob eye (2004+)

[flat6guy]

You could get a clean E36 M3 for that price range + a set of winter tires.

[Shomegrown]

And yet, every "find me a car TCL for ten stacks" thread posted gets 10 replies per page of B5 S4, "they are sikkkk."

Buy a neglected car with 2x the factory power (or neglect it yourself) and what do you expect?

That's a car where you absolutely don't want to buy the cheapest example.

OP - how many miles on the car and what went wrong?

*edit* oh, I know who you are, I've driven your car before you owned it.

Can I buy it from you then sue you because it's a POS? Let's do a PPI at Autospeed.

[MightyDSM]

What's a prev gen TL go for around you? Aside from the AWD that meets everything you've got there.

Yeah...that's not going to happen.

You'd be lucky if you find a base 2.5 for $15k with less than 80k miles

[Turbio!]

You're describing the cleanest Subaru you can find for the money, I think. Though honestly, I think you're screwing yourself by setting the budget so low with that list of requirements. AWD, reliable, and sort of nice is a mix of attributes that do not come cheap. I'd up the budget a bit so you get a clean and well-maintained version of whatever you get.

[Dr. Woo]

You're describing the cleanest Subaru you can find for the money, I think. Though honestly, I think you're screwing yourself by setting the budget so low with that list of requirements. AWD, reliable, and sort of nice is a mix of attributes that do not come cheap. I'd up the budget a bit so you get a clean and well-maintained version of whatever you get.

True. Hit the 20k barrier and your list of eligible, quality choices is orders of magnitude more than the 15k range.

[PowerDubs]

Mk4 R32... yea I said it.

[dinodman]

The New VW R.

[Dr. Woo]

The New VW R.

What did you think he meant when he said "~$15,000 we can go up a little" ?

[MCTB]

Haha at complaining in regards to reliability about a car that is obviously very heavily modified. What did you expect honestly?



Jetta Sport Wagon? Subaru Outback? Saab 9-5 Wagon?

[Shomegrown]

Haha at complaining in regards to reliability about a car that is obviously very heavily modified. What did you expect honestly?



Jetta Sport Wagon? Subaru Outback? Saab 9-5 Wagon?

There's a lot more to the story.

He bought this car sight unseen...

and got butthurt that it wasn't as nice as he expected.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...nt.?highlight=

Make sure to look at Autospeed's response.

Colin then slandered and wanted to sue everyone at that point.

Hey Colin, I'll give you $5k for your car, not a penny more. It has a "CRUSHED" floorpan.

[MrRoboto]

Haha at complaining in regards to reliability about a car that is obviously very heavily modified. What did you expect honestly?

I drove a 500hp R33 GT-R for five years. Never had a problem with it, only needed regular oil changes.

Exception to the rule? I was probably on the reliable end, but then, most RB26's are. Can't say that for the 2.7tt however.

[mk2_dub]

05-06 Infiniti G35x.

Easily within your price range, and uber-reliable.

[Kapoosh1]

There's a lot more to the story.

He bought this car sight unseen...

and got butthurt that it wasn't as nice as he expected.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...nt.?highlight=

Make sure to look at Autospeed's response.

Colin then slandered and wanted to sue everyone at that point.

Hey Colin, I'll give you $5k for your car, not a penny more. It has a "CRUSHED" floorpan.

From that thread...sounds like Autospeed is a terrible shop.....

[l88m22vette]

BTW, this is a blob eye (2004+)

[IMG]2004 WRX wagon[/IMG]

Never heard that one, only had heard peanut eye

[22AudiQ]

Pics of S4 Avant??


I had a WRX and loved it. Not a VAG in the interior quality department, but better than some.

I think you'd miss the AWD if you went to FWD. I know I do.

[ordpetegti]

From that thread...sounds like Autospeed is a terrible shop.....

What I was thinking.

[ColinAndrews]

There's a lot more to the story.

He bought this car sight unseen...

and got butthurt that it wasn't as nice as he expected.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...nt.?highlight=

Make sure to look at Autospeed's response.

Colin then slandered and wanted to sue everyone at that point.

Hey Colin, I'll give you $5k for your car, not a penny more. It has a "CRUSHED" floorpan.

Does this have anything to do with making recommendations for another vehicle? I know that you love the B5 S4, and apparently think highly of Autospeed, but this kind of contribution doesn't help anything.

[Eightysixturbo]

Step up and get a man's man's car

[Kapoosh1]

I just sold my evo ix that I owned for that past 4.5 Years. I still regret it. I had a B5 S4 before that, it does everything better and was still reliable at 500WHP.

Probably won't find one for 15K, but might be able to get a clean 03-05 if you look hard enough.

[KARMANN_20V]

For $15K you can buy a StgIII B5 S4

[Kapoosh1]

Also Check out a first gen Speed 3. Fun cars if you don't mind FWD.

[C4 A6]

Step up and get a man's man's car

Why does the height on that Evo look like ?

[Eightysixturbo]

Why does the height on that Evo look like ?

Don't worry about that, it has diffusers brah, diffffuuuuserrsssss


I think it's road/camera angle making it look like that.

[ColinAndrews]

I have thought about an EVO, but I think I'm done with cars like that. I have now owned 3 highly modified turbo cars, and I think it's time to tone down the car stuff and focus on other more important things in life.

A couple of the recommendations in this thread are vehicles I have already considered.

Previous Gen TL.
I like how it looks, I know it will be completely reliable, I'm even OK with the FWD. Whenever I look for them up here though, the leather interiors on them seem BEAT. Is the leather in Acuras just not that good, or does everyone that drives a TL just rag on the interior?

Clean Subaru "Insert Model"
This seems to make the most sense. I found a red 2005 WRX Wagon that looks good. People seem to be correct in that the 20K barrier will yield much better options than 15K. Perhaps I can ditch the Audi and drive my junker for a year and then buy something better.

G35
Have never liked them. Just not into them, but does seem to fit the bill.

E36 M3.
I have a hard time believing any old German car will be reliable. I have owned almost nothing but German cars and they have all been reasonably "unreliable" and led to costly/unexpected repairs. The B5 just took it to a whole new level ten fold.

Any other suggestions are welcome.

Someone asked for pictures of the B5S4.

Working


Usual state

[MCTB]

From that thread...sounds like Autospeed is a terrible shop.....

No joke. They sounds like a bunch of monkeys with tools. Honestly, why should you have to specify about a PPI anyway? The shop I worked at for almost 9 years did inspections and checked EVERYTHING for a flat fee. The hiding behind "you didnt specify we look at that" argument is lame. I feel for the OP BUT he violated a couple cardinal rules. Buying at night and/ or in the rain. Ive bought a car sight unseen before and had a great experience. Then again, the community, Land Cruisers, is a lot more tight knit and lacks the a-holes the Audi/ VW scene has in it. I would never buy a VAG product sight unseen.

I drove a 500hp R33 GT-R for five years. Never had a problem with it, only needed regular oil changes.

Exception to the rule? I was probably on the reliable end, but then, most RB26's are. Can't say that for the 2.7tt however.

Yeah, slightly different case there buddy. You have a car designed to handle massive amounts of power versus something that is, well, not.

Don't worry about that, it has diffusers brah, diffffuuuuserrsssss

Which are factory and actually proven to offer a benefit in aerodynamics. Whats your point? If it were a Civic, I might understand but your comment strikes me as completely useless.

[Shomegrown]

Does this have anything to do with making recommendations for another vehicle? I know that you love the B5 S4, and apparently think highly of Autospeed, but this kind of contribution doesn't help anything.

I have no connection to or opinion on Autospeed at all.

It's clear though anything you type should be taken with a grain of salt.

OK, $4500 for your car and I won't complain about the broken bumper.

You still didn't explain what you spent $5k on or had to pull the motor for. Did you blow a turbo?

It doesn't matter what you buy. You'll be bitching about it in short time.

To answer your question, Saab 92x Aero (WRX wagon in nicer clothes) are a good value. Mine had more stuff break though in 1.5 years than my B5 S4 in 8 so good luck.

Maybe a beige Camry?

[ColinAndrews]

I have no connection to or opinion on Autospeed at all.

It's clear though anything you type should be taken with a grain of salt.

OK, $4500 for your car and I won't complain about the broken bumper.

You still didn't explain what you spent $5k on or had to pull the motor for. Did you blow a turbo?

It doesn't matter what you buy. You'll be bitching about it in short time.

To answer your question, Saab 92x Aero (WRX wagon in nicer clothes) are a good value. Mine had more stuff break though in 1.5 years than my B5 S4 in 8 so good luck.

Maybe a beige Camry?

You're probably right on the grain of salt. I'm pretty frustrated at having to spend so much of my time fixing things constantly compared to the amount of time the car puts a smile on my face.

I still don't know why you feel the need to troll me on a purchase that I screwed up on. You think I need your snide remarks, designed to entertain yourself, to learn a lesson? I'm well past all the lessons buying this car has taught me.

The engine came out of the car so that I could get a real assessment of how everything looked after buying it. With absolutely no faith in the previous owner, and in the shop that did the PPI, I decided to check everything, fix any issues, and do things correctly. While I was in there I found broken parts, missing parts, gearbox/clutch issues, leaks, you name it.

Sorry, after having fixed everything that was wrong with the car I won't sell it to you for $4500 bucks.

[Gabe.]

Is your car the one on Audizine with a blown clutch?

What has been going wrong with it? I always hear people complaining about the maintenance on a B5 S4 but my old one was honestly not a hassle at all over the 3 years I owned it.