Hello Otto & Quatto-
Addressing maintenance first:
Otto, I agree that repair costs are expected but what put me over the edge last March were the seals of my steering rack blowing out resulting in a $3550 repair. The lack of fluid destroyed the p/s pump and the knuckle that was attached with one steel bolt and one aluminum bolt needed replacing as the aluminum bolt froze and removal therefore damaged the knuckle as well. One steel bolt, one aluminum? What is the engineering decision behind this? Also, last summer the rear passenger spring broke. This happened on my '98 too. Maybe an A4 thing(?).
My '06 was one of the first produced having been purchased in November '05. Around 53,000 miles the cam and fuel pump needed replacing as the lobe that operated the fuel pump was made from a sub-standard material. Initially, Audi USA turned a deaf ear and my local independent shop performed the work. A few thousand miles later, the ignition coils needed replacing. Some years later, Audi did own up to these defects and I did get some cash back. My '98 had some front end issues that they later owned up to as well. As I tend to service through independent folks, being reimbursed for eventual recall stuff does require jumping through some extra hoops but I did get some cash.
BTW, I am very diligent with servicing and staying on top of things. With the steering issues being addressed, I knew it was time to think about a new vehicle. A smaller SUV was what I had in mind.
So, other brands I considered...
The recommendation of family and friends was for Japanese reliability, I began with Subaru. OK but somewhat frumpy, basic and ???. Mazda better but..., than a VW Tiguan. Had a temperature gauge and the German ride and road feel. Getting closer but I didn't like the gearing and height.
Putting all on hold until last fall, drove a MB CLK. Very Impressive; but I didn't like the two batteries, rod to hold up hood (cheesey) and option packages necessary to get some features I wanted. Also drove the sedan version (CLA?). Something about Mercedes never quite clicked with me (as with BMW).
Also considered (but never drove) Jeep, Honda, Infinity, Acura. Just didn't appeal to me. The internet is a wonderful tool to narrow things down coupled with glances while walking through mall parking lots. I researched the Q5 and Q3 on the net and...
Pretty much impulsively just before the new year, called the dude that sold me both A-4's and we went to look. Cassie and I agreed the Q5 was too big for us and drove the Q3. That was it and we ordered one up. Have to admit an A5 with a manual trans in the showroom looked mighty sweet but the cost surpassed a threshold for us. Besides, Cass's Mini has a stick so I can still keep up my practice!
Went with a pretty basic premium plus, brown interior, monsoon gray, wood trim and sport package. There is just something special about Audi.
Now as far as the facelift. I'd like the additional power and "higher performance" trans; the suspension/ride improvements sound interesting as well. We'll see mine is being built in mid February and who knows what it might be?
