by "davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
Published 02/15/2017 at 11:41
by "davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
Published 02/15/2017 at 11:41
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STARS: 4
Cars to Avoid: #4 Audi s, BMW s and Mercedes are built to be leased, sold once as certified used cars, and then be recycled. Parts are crazy expensive, mechanical expertise is expensive, and every electronic system goes into simultaneous meltdown as the odometer passes into six figures. Save yourself the hassle and heartbreak. Go buy a Camry.
In the comments: You should have actually called this article “how to buy a boring car because you have no balls and are scared”
"FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem" (fuelstratifiedinjection)
02/15/2017 at 11:46, STARS: 2
The buyer’s guide for the filthy automotive casuals.
"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
02/15/2017 at 11:48, STARS: 0
Great advice from Edmunds, maybe, but isn’t TheDrive for enthusiasts?
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
02/15/2017 at 11:51, STARS: 3
Consumer Reports should sue for copyright infringement. If I need an appliance, that’s my go to source. :)
"Tekamul" (tekamulburner)
02/15/2017 at 11:59, STARS: 2
As someone that just bought an off-lease A4, the first 2 sentences are clearly correct.
But until Toyota sells an AWD or RWD manual sedan, my hands are tied.
"V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches" (jbv12)
02/15/2017 at 12:02, STARS: 1
HAH! What could possibly go wrong...he said as he rode off into financial oblivion
"Victorino" (victorinod)
02/15/2017 at 12:02, STARS: 3
Completely agree. As a B5 S4 owner here I will share some of the difficulties I have faced with the car. All of which I have fixed myself:
1. Wiring harness developed a short. I tried to fix it with harness still in the car and after hours of cutting into the harness I could not find the short. So i pulled the whole harness and installed a used one. (new engine harness is 1k+, used is 150)
2. New Junkyard harness had open wires on 2 injectors, which was solved by cutting and soldering.
3. Shift linkage ball joints have a plastic “Cup” instead of metal that holds linkage in place. These obviously failed requiring replacement. Aftermarket metal replacement required drilling to fit.
4. Airbag module seems to be dead. Not replacing it.
5. Electrical connectors are super brittle, and when you try and remove them they will break. Several are now held on by zip ties.
6. Engine came out to replace two turbos. Regular wrenches were too thick to fit the oil feed line so i visited 3 machine shops before i found one that would grind down the 17mm wrench for me.
"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
02/15/2017 at 12:03, STARS: 0
Hahaha! So not exactly no regrets?
"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
02/15/2017 at 12:04, STARS: 0
I wonder how many RWD manual sedans will be on offer in the US in five years...
"FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem" (fuelstratifiedinjection)
02/15/2017 at 12:10, STARS: 1
I have no idea to be honest.
"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
02/15/2017 at 12:11, STARS: 0
Yikes. No regrets? =)
"Bytemite" (bytemite)
02/15/2017 at 12:13, STARS: 0
This advice holds true doesn’t it? Whether it’s for general public or enthusiasts, no one wants to drive some boring sedan that costs them $3000 per repair and breaks down all the time. If it’s for a sports car from one of those manufacturers sure, it might make sense, but for the cookie cutter cars they sell, leasing and CPO for the BMW, buy used and drive to the ground on pennies for Toyota.
"19JRC99" (19jrc99)
02/15/2017 at 12:14, STARS: 1
I agreed right up until they suggested buying a Camry. All credibility lost in my eyes.
"Tekamul" (tekamulburner)
02/15/2017 at 12:17, STARS: 0
Not many. It’s a rapidly shrinking list.
"ateamfan42" (ateamfan42)
02/15/2017 at 12:26, STARS: 0
All sounds about right. The B5 S4 is a fantastic car to drive, and a miserable car to not drive (because it is broken again). I put up with mine for 2 years, and got tired of the headaches (and costs!) before it even reached the 6 digit mileage.
"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
02/15/2017 at 12:33, STARS: 0
If you’re just looking for basic transport, then yes. TheDrive is targeted toward enthusiasts — it’s not called TheCommute — so I expected a little different viewpoint.
"V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches" (jbv12)
02/15/2017 at 12:43, STARS: 0
I don’t really regret anything. I love the car, it’s just annoyingly unreliable
"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
02/15/2017 at 12:50, STARS: 0
Getting your car towed away on a flatbed with an inevitably large bill coming soon is never a good time.
The things we do for the ones we love...
"V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches" (jbv12)
02/15/2017 at 12:59, STARS: 0
I believe that one came to about $3000
"Snooder87" (snooder87)
02/15/2017 at 13:00, STARS: 0
lol, TheDrive has a regular contributor whose stance is that Cars are more dangerous than guns, therefore people shouldn’t be allowed to drive.
"Bytemite" (bytemite)
02/15/2017 at 13:04, STARS: 0
I stopped going to the FP because the writers there kept saying stupid stuff like “cars are 2 ton deadly weapons”.
"Land_Yacht_225" (nadenator)
02/15/2017 at 13:50, STARS: 1
I have to agree with you. The Germans just make too impressive a car to let the repair bills get you down.
"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
02/15/2017 at 13:52, STARS: 0
I... did not know that.
"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
02/15/2017 at 13:53, STARS: 0
Well, cars can be 2 two ton deadly weapons, similarly to anything that weighs two tons (and can be moved).
"V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches" (jbv12)
02/15/2017 at 14:21, STARS: 1
I’ve been considering picking up a newer LS460, but I can’t bear the thought of how boring it’d be. Sure the S600 is unreliable and expensive to maintain, but you can’t exactly take money to the other side anyways. Life is meant to be lived.
"Land_Yacht_225" (nadenator)
02/15/2017 at 14:51, STARS: 0
The LS460 is boring. I would rather have an LS430 with the ultra luxury package.
"V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches" (jbv12)
02/15/2017 at 15:23, STARS: 0
I hate the 3rd gen personally
"Land_Yacht_225" (nadenator)
02/15/2017 at 15:29, STARS: 0
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/688334312/overview/
Meh. I could live with one with the right options for the right price.
"Bytemite" (bytemite)
02/15/2017 at 15:56, STARS: 1
Correct. It’s just that attitude I don’t have any time or interest in. I love cars because I view them as fun, liberating, and full of character, not because I view them as a weapon or something to be scared of. Over the past years, Jalopnik and their general reader’s view shifted from the former to the latter. It used to be common to see posts of hoonage and fun being had in cars. The readers also responded with light humor and yearning for the activities. Now it is common to see cars being put in a negative light, being shown as deadly, and dangerous. And the readers now respond in the same way, “oh my god that’s so dangerous”, “How dare you jeopardize the safety of others!”, “You shouldn’t be doing that!”
It was sad to see Jalopnik going from being the sort of indie, out of the woods subculture of car enthusiasts that welcomed many ways of driving, owning, and lusting after cars, to becoming mainstream and completely PC and unable to condone, and actually condemn, any sort of behavior that is out of the ordinary.
"AMGtech - now with more recalls!" (amgtech)
02/15/2017 at 16:40, STARS: 1
Over generalized much? Certain Hondas have terrible transmissions, therefore all Hondas are bad and no one should buy them. Toyota had junky V6's years back therefore all Toyotas are bad and no one should buy them.
Every make has good and bad models. Do your research and stop writing click bait crap unless you want to become entirely irrelevant.
Disclaimer: Rant directed at TheDrive, not anyone here on oppo.
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
02/16/2017 at 05:43, STARS: 1
sad but true.