Infrared

Good day everyone,
I'm new to these forums and browsed enough threads to see this is a very resourceful place to learn more.

I am considering purchasing a 2012 A4 Quatro Premium. I have two offers on the go, one for 43k and the other for 37k (2011 A4 Quatro basic w/ 25k kms). I have been driving a Honda Accord 2002 for 10 years now (250k kms) and have not one bad thing to say about it, since car is still solid and in very good condition with all things considered.

Being completely new to german cars and Audi, which is the sexiest imho, I have heard more bad things than good about them. There are too many rumours and too many myths and I do know what to believe, so this is the best place to ask actual Audi owners on here about their experiences.

My first and foremost concern is cost. Does that seem like a worthwhile offer for either? Secondly, living in the northern part of Ontario I heard Audi's do not fare well in cold weather. I have no garage so it would be exposed to the elements. Given our last winter here, coldest it got was -30C and my Honda had a struggle starting up on first crank.

I have also read about moonroofs cracking at cold temps (-10, which is laughable). Problem plagued some Q series, but I found nothing about A4's.

How are the first and consequent impressions on the new car warranty for Audi's? I ask dealers hoping I get an honest one, but all answers I get back are elusive and extremely biased. Neither one has ever told me how they have been in terms of reliability either. I need my vehicle daily as I spend hundreds of kms on the road, it would be nice to have a smooth ride like the A4 but if reliability is shotty at best, I won't bother.

I am not mechanically inclined but I dont believe in "stealerships" - I like that description - so I will opt to do most of my preventative maintenance on my own. How hard is it do accomplish oil changes, brake fluid flushes, brake pads, etc on your own?

I guess I have a million and one question but would like to just ask in general what your experiences have been with the A4's and Audi in general.

Thank you for reading this, and any input is very appreciated.

sugarcl

Hey Infrared,

I'm also looking to buy an Audi, live in Montreal. I can't talk from experience, but from what I've heard, it's probably a good idea to let the turbo warm up at start and cool down at shut down. About 2 mins for each. This something that one of my friends told that owned one previously, maybe one of the owners here can maybe confirm.

As for the moon roof cracking at -10c, that is laughable. It goes down to -30~40 here sometimes, I've never seen anyone's moon roof crack. Probably an old wives tale.....

Infrared

Thank you for your reply, sugarcl (:

Living in Montreal you and I are more or less in the same weather climate during winter.

I have read about moonroof cracking on the audiforums dot com (sorry, I tried to link but one must have 5 posts prior to posting URL's it seems). During my search for the original thread I have come across other forums describing same issues. Mind you, its a Q5 issue with its panoramic sunroof. Still nothing on the A4...yet!

I see no posts from the existing Audi owners, maybe they all swear secrecy oath at buying point (; haha

poker838

Hi Infrared

Would there be a possibility in installing a block heater for the A4?

Infrared

Hello Poker838,

I am pretty sure block heater is an option, but harsh winters can take a toll on any vehicle that extend beyond start-ups on brisk winter mornings. Plus, it is not always an option for me to keep my car plugged for the night.

asmallrabbit

I've had my 2011 A4 for a little over a year now, which included a winter in Edmonton. It's been parked outside the whole time and I never had a problem with it. Might take a little longer to start and not sound as smooth when its cold but I had no issues with it nor because of it so far. Coldest start I attempted was around -40 iirc.

I've yet to have any major problems with my car, so reliability wise its been fantastic. Hell even in the cold it felt way better then anything i've driven before although you get a lot of squeaks from ice and such around the trunk lid/rear window and such. The thing is a total blast to drive in the winter too with quattro and winter tires.

20k + kms on mine now and still loving it. Hell i even ran over a piece of blown out tire on the highway doing over 100 and there was no damage to the car at all. I was pretty impressed.

Infrared

Asmallrabbit,

How is your A4 on oil burning? I read lots about that problem in the 1010-2011 A4's and its a bit discouraging. Some people keep saying those are just lemons, but there are too many accounts of this problem.

poker838

I burned some oil up to 25k .. nothing after that.

asmallrabbit

I'm at 21k km right now, other then the service at 8k and when I recently had my summer tires done I've never had to add any oil (got them to top it up then as it was maybe halfway down the indicator in the MMI). So no issues there for me.

den Ouden

Just purchased a new '12 A4 and so far so good but no winters under it's belt yet. I had an '08 before this one for almost 4 years and went through 4 winters in Winnipeg with no issues. Audi doesn't use a conventional submersed block heater, (no frost plugs in the block), instead they use an electric 300 watt element attached to the outside of the bottom of the oil pan. I found it to be of marginal use if the car is parked out side in the elements on a windy winters day, however it worked well when parked in my detached garage. It is better than nothing, however I am not sure of the cost as it was part of the PDI. I loved my '08 but the new '12 takes the whole Audi experience up a bunch of notches. As for cost mine is a Premium Plus with B&O sound and the S-Line package and came in at just under $50k.

Hope this info is helpful, good luck in your decision!

Frank