YACT (poll): Which car would ATOT buy?

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ultimatebob

Lifer
Jul 1, 2001
25,134
2,450
126
Originally posted by: iversonyin
Originally posted by: ultimatebob
Originally posted by: Canai

I based it on a 25k+wrx vs. a 20k passat. both "budget" line cars.

A $20,000 Passat? You must be talking used. Even the base models start around $23K now.

I think ATOTers heard enough bad stories about VW. Buying a VW is like rolling a dice. You either get a perfectly working car or you get one with all these electrical problems.

Hmm... good point! I wish that I was one of those people who got a perfectly working VW product... I'm starting to think that I got the latter :(

I have an 2003 Audi A4, and it's had a few electrical problems so far, like:

1) After I hit a deer, I needed to get the Xenon headlights replaced. It took three headlights before they got a working pair installed, since the first two had wiring defects that caused them to malfunction. The cost on those was about $1,400 PER headlight, since Audi decided to include an embedded computer into each headlight as part of their auto leveling system. The computer alone was about $700! At least the insurance paid for that one.
2) The gas pedal position sensor malfunctioned, causing the throttle to get stuck wide open while driving on a twisty back road in the country. I had to throw the thing in neutral and risk blowing the engine in order to get the car slowed down quickly enough to make a sharp turn in the road. Fortunately, the rev limiter did it's job and I got away without any engine damage. That repair was only about $300 (the car just ran out of warranty at the time!), but having my car nearly kill me that day kinda pissed me off a bit.
3) The "antenna selection module" in my radio died, so I could no longer get good FM reception. That part cost $280 to fix, plus $150 in labor. Amusingly, I got an Sirius satellite radio for Christmas two weeks later :)

I'm not sure if that's a string of bad luck, or just par for the course with VW products.
 

wasssup

Diamond Member
Nov 28, 2000
3,142
0
0
AARGH i'm still as freakin confused as ever.

With the Subaru's and their finance incentives I can keep my money in the bank earning a decent amount of interest essentially bringing my purchase price down. Plus I can charge car payments to my Subaru Mastercard, getting 3% back towards Subaru purchases/service at the dealer.

With the Acura I get a good looking, reliable, refined car. They don't really have finance incentives though so I won't be earning that interest at the bank, and there's no "Acura card" as far as I know.

Main thing holding me back from a WRX is its looks...ugh. The Legacy GT would the perfect compromise but Legacy's seem to lose resale value too quickly (two year old GT's are almost $10k less than the original purchase price), and I don't really want a used car...

Any new takes on this subject?