Which would you keep (and why?)
 

My lease on my wife's Audi is will be over soon and I am debating on buying it out or not. If I buy it out, it will mean the sale of my current daily driver. Here are some "specs" on both

Audi

2002 A4 1.8T Quattro. Green over black. bose. heated seats. bi-xenon lights. sunroof. 34000 miles. 5spd manual. Buyout is around $17k (current used market seems to be $19-22k)

Still has about 1 year/16000 miles of "free maintanence".

Subaru

2004 WRX Wagon. Black on black. premium stereo. roof rack. cargo cover and protectors. 5spd manual. 34000 miles. Current used market value of $17-18k.

Car is out of warranty.

Obviously I know the history of both cars and they have performed fine. No breakdowns. a flat here.. an autocross cone there ;).

Since the Audi is a 5-spd stick, I'd keep it over the 'ubaru. If it were a auto/tip with the 1.8 I'd feel differently. Wagons and Minivans just make my stomach turn, I'd rather drive a sedan like the Audi.

Audi's are great cars. My daughter just bought (private sale) a daily '01 A-4 with a 2.8L, a Quattro, Sun Roof, All weather package, Bose, and auto/tip (she'll be in lots of traffic), loaded, pretty nice car, 69k miles for $14.5k, black on black leather. They are typical German cars, tight, responsive, and zippy. My wife Dawn drove nothing but Audi's for a while; A-4's, and A-6's, then she drove the BMW 330xi and has been wearing that hat ever since.

Keep the Audi and sell the rice car. :)

Keith

Agreed! Same mileage, the Audi is worth more than your cost to buy it, and you have another year of warranty and free maintenance. I'm sure the WRX is a blast to drive, but unless you NEED a wagon the Audi is a classier car and the economics seem to favor keeping it instead.

I don't know guys, from someone who is around german cars everyday all day long I can tell you that they are really expensive to maintain as daily drivers. From a practicallity stand point I be keeping the Subaru and dumping the A-4. Those Japs really can build cars that last a long time and are cheap to fix/maintain. From a character standpoint, the A-4 is the way to go. Dave you have your SC to give you your thrills, my vote is to keep the Subaru.

Mike

x2

The subby should be cheap to maintain, unless you like to slam 2nd. :) The audi on the other hand can be a money pit.

I don't know about "cheap" for the Subie.. It cost me almost $600 for the 30,000 mile service. Plus oil changes are more frequent (every 3-5k miles. Of course, I have no idea what the equivalent charge for the Audi is. They've hidden the costs in the "free maintenance program...

I have heard that the Turbos on the Audi are their weak point after an number of years. Check Pelican's OT section. This topic come up a number of times.

Dave, when I was referring to "cheap" what I meant was that the Jap cars normally do not need things like control arm bushings or sway bar bushings or diff resealings, motor mounts (the list goes on & on)...things that a tech would need to be addressing between 30-60k. As far as the maint. costs are concerned from a service advisor, in the long run your maint. & repair costs will be less on the Subaru than on the Audi. As much as I hate to admit it, the Japanese cars just don't need as much maint/repair as the european cars do. Compare any two cars side by side over a period of time, the lower maint./repair category will fall in the land of the rising sun. Good luck in your decision.

Mike

I need to start doing side work again. :)

The cars are in 2 different classes. The Audi is an efficient but small luxury sedan. The WRX is a raucus, lighter weight, faster yet more spartan wagon.

Personally, I didn't like the WRX that I drove. The doors were tinny, the interior materials cheap, etc. Same with the saabaru too. The Audis have a germanic level of refinement that appeals to me. Of course the Audi is slower and less involved to drive. As far as subies go, I really liked the Legacy GT. Very quick car and it was approaching that germanic feel that we all crave.

As much as many would think a rebuild on an old 911 motor is expensive, newer cars tend to be even worse. That's what the warranties are for, IMO. Get an aftermarket one in a year if you're really worried but you like the car. They usually cover everything but wear-and-tear items. That'll help if the electrical system or transmission decides to take a dive.

The WRX has a killer aftermarket if you're into mods. The Audi has its fair share, but the WRX takes the cake here.

My vote? Audi.