Well I'm at a bit of a crossroads and I could go either way. A little backround about me first. I just graduated from school, got myself a "real job", and am looking to move out soon and buy a house. Now, I drive a 2002 audi a4. Totally paid off, but the problem is, its going to be out of warranty at 50k, in about 2k miles or so. I don't really think I want to keep the car out of warranty since repairs will be ridiculously expensive, not to mention, so will maintenance (60k maintenance has be quoted as costing me $2k for instance). Paying for these things shouldn't be a problem, but of course, this will make my saving for a nice house downpayment that much harder. I was thinking about selling my car, and picking up a new scion xb because I could get one for cheap, still have a nice difference of a couple thousand after selling my a4, reliable, cheap on maintenance, and a lot better/cheaper with gas (i'm paying about $50 everytime I fill up with premium).
So what would you do? Am I crazy to want to go down to a slower car, with no creature comforts like leather, heated seats, xenon headlights, etc...?? Should I go for it? I really dig the xb and I think it would make a great commuter car for going back and forth to work...but I don't know..I really can't decide.

thanks guys.

 

I would stay with the A4 until something goes majorly wrong with the A4. Have you thought about the tC? or wait for the new Scion release of their new car hopefully by Nov.

 

If you really like the xB go for it. Stuff can be added later if you feel the need. The xB is a passion, that's the best way to describe it! Go 4 it

 

my little brother has a tc. Its a nice car and all, but it really doesn't do it for me for some reason. Reminds me a lot of the 00 civic si I had, and i'd like to do something a little different.

 

I got Leather and Xenon Lights on my Car Little elbow grease and a few bucks almost any car can be made luxury on the inside. To a certain extent i guess. It/'s no A4 but it/'s nice

 

just move out of your mom's house. pay rent, save for a real house. A house or a place of your own is more important than a car.

 

There has got to be a way to buy an extended warranty for your Audi. It might cost a couple k's but well worth it. Or trade it in for another certified used Audi that has a longer warranty.

 

The warranty is $2k, I figured that, plus the $2k (timing belt plus water pump swap) 60k maintenance is a quick $4k down the drain in a matter of months.

 

I say bail out of the Audi and into the Box while you can if that is the case.

 

Go with the xB unless you really want a higher priced VW.

 

I love A4's but there is no room. Yeah they are really expensive to fix. I would highly recomend an xB.

 

Keep the Audi and shop around for a good mechanic that can do the work cheaper. I used to own a '96 A4 and it was a great car. My brother has a Audi 100 and it has 165k miles on it and still runs well.

 

Keep the A4 & shop the timing belt/water pump job. You'll find a much better price anywhere other than the dealer.

You shouldn't feel like you have to get it done at the dealer once your warranty is up...and there are plenty of garages/mechanics who know what they're doing, just like there are plenty of dealer mechanics who don't.

 

Go for the xB. You can get those creature comforts back with a litle elbow grease like bryantjoe said.

 

I say sell the Audi and get the box. It's almost out of warranty which means it's time for things to start breaking. You should still get a pretty good chunk of change for the A4. Depending on what you sell it for you my not even have a payment on the xb. If you're truely looking into buying a house this would probably be the best thing for you to do.
1) you'll probably be saving $100+ on gas every month
2) the insurance might be cheaper
3)the xB has more room
4)it has a warranty
5) It built by Toyota and it'll last forever.

 

if you go from a 1.8t A4 to an xB...you will be wondering wher all the fast went.
hahahaha

 

You can get heated leather seats on a scion for about $1k. www.autoleathers.com

Just so you know.

 

1 -- gas isnt going to get any cheaper. if you make to switch sooner, you will save more money in the long run. its amazing how expenditures jump up when you step up from those college apartments into a new house. besides, you may have to start worrying about college loans as well..

2 -- insurance is a big deal. i was able to upgrade the coverage on the xb, as opposed to only liability on my old car, and still stay at about $60/mo. the folks at geico tell me its much better than liability as i now have a new house to worry about and cant afford to lose a whole lot if i crash my box. of course it could just be the geico guys trying to squeeze me for a few more cents..

3 -- cargo space is nice. it would come in real handy for moving and quite a bit of the hauling as you set up your new house.

 

why would you ever ditch an a4?

 

Ok, here's my two cents:

Trade in the A4. I've known plenty of people who have an A4 and wish they wouldn't have gotten it. Audi's don't have the resale value like a Toyota would, so you may not get as much for it, but the box is cheap to begin with.

You'll get much better gas mileage, the back seat is twice as big, and most likely your insurance would be cheaper.

And really, the box doesn't seem that cheap on the inside, so you probably won't miss the Audi that much.

Good luck!