I've had 2 x Skoda's and now an Audi.

Audi definitely has more refinement, Skoda is better value for money.

I only bought the S4 because Skoda don't / won't make a similar car.

Is the Audi worth the premium? in my case, yes. I really wanted a quick 4 door saloon & this is about as good as they get.

I certainly don't get hung up about the brand image, and sometimes sense a little anti-snobbery goes on from non-Audi owners, which I find frustrating as I like all good cars regardless of brand.

I think people should live & let live when it comes to their choice of car. Quite often the presumptions of why people buy cars are far off the mark Although in the OP's case his choice seems to be based purely on image, hey ho!!!

Try owning a bmw and getting out of a busy junction then

He hasnt even been in the shape A4 he wants, not even as a passenger let alone driving one. He just left mine, I searched for him. A4 2005 oldest, S line, quattro, no avants and sub 80,000 miles. Cheapest we found was £7000 in a colour he likes (black or grey basically) about £3000 over his budget. I said if you dont want a quattro it'll open up far more choice but he says he NEEDS it for his 10 min town commute. Same as a A3, found some nice ones but they look like a reps car apparently therefore he wouldnt look after it?! 

 

As I said, no issues with the car but it's just like he has picked all the "buzz words" and thrown them together. I'll still help him, hopefully get him a nice car I just hope he doesnt think later that his image isnt everything. 

Does my head in

My mate wanted a toyota celica. Bloody aweful looking thing.

Made him see sense and bought a standard fabia vrs mk1! Unmolested and pretty much mint

Wear him down

Why would you want quattro for a ten minute drive, incresed service costs / lower mpg and less performance

It's so when people ask what you drive, you can say "Audi Quattro".

It doesn't matter if it's a battered old heap.

He wants to be able to say that.

It's an image thing.

Oh I forgot to add, to top it all off, we went to Tesco, he drove us in a random Citroen his boss leant him. Gloss black dash covered in scratches, he said "oh I quite like these". I said yeah they're ok but the inside scratches so easy it'd look awful after a few months. "yeah, its got cruise control though" goes on to tell me how great it is and how he would have one (a Citroen?!)  I'm assuming this is because his boss has one so it automatically becomes "image friendly". Told him my Mrs 12 year old Octavia has cruise control and he didnt say much. You're right though Rich, its all about the image and sounding like billy big *******s. 

Yes but the people he is trying to impress probably don't have the first clue what quattro means

Buy a 2wd and if it bugs him that much stick a quattro badge on lol

*cough* brownnose 

 

Tell him about these if its image he's after, shouldn't break the bank.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/bhp/audi-quattro-badge

 

Jase beat me to it!

Edited 22 December, 201312 yr by Ben90

His name isn't Richard Cranium, is it?

Yes but the people he is trying to impress probably don't have the first clue what quattro means

Buy a 2wd and if it bugs him that much stick a quattro badge on lol

But it's the buzz word game.

My insurance guy drives a high mileage A5 cab.

Same reason.

It's got the same engine as my Yeti without "quattro" and the seats are hard wearing rhino hide leather.

But he is an "Exec" with an "A5 convertible" which actually cost about £8k less than my Yeti... Which you wouldn't see him in.

Skoda are no so god at buzz word one upmanship.

With me it smacks of image issues.

Oh I forgot to add, to top it all off, we went to Tesco, he drove us in a random Citroen his boss leant him. Gloss black dash covered in scratches, he said "oh I quite like these". I said yeah they're ok but the inside scratches so easy it'd look awful after a few months. "yeah, its got cruise control though" goes on to tell me how great it is and how he would have one (a Citroen?!)  I'm assuming this is because his boss has one so it automatically becomes "image friendly". Told him my Mrs 12 year old Octavia has cruise control and he didnt say much. You're right though Rich, its all about the image and sounding like billy big *******s. 

My dads 7 year old Jetta has cruise control, you never use it anyway if you have a short trip to work on the back-roads like you say he does, it's just a pointless button.

Its like the bmw forum i joined, they keep talking about the ultimate driving machine

I have no idea what they are talking about but i can tell you right now it certainly isn't my bmw thats for sure

Its like the bmw forum i joined, they keep talking about the ultimate driving machine

I have no idea what they are talking about but i can tell you right now it certainly isn't my bmw thats for sure

 

My old man got an E36 318i as a company car. It's possibly rose tinted specs (since I was 17/18 at the time) but I still recall that as the best/ most fun car to drive I've ever had a shot of.

 

Every BMW I've drive since has felt artificially heavy especially SWMBOS 116i. It goes fine but everything just feels so stiff and heavy.

 

My in laws who were Audi fanatics until last week have sworn off the brand now, not because the car is bad but because they thing the dealers are crooks. Their A3 was in for it's second variable and the dealer said it needed new front disks and pads did they want them? No price was mentioned. When they picked up the car they were billed £800 fro the service and the discs. after kicking up a stink £200 magically disappeared off the bill. this is after they tried to put two tyres on unnecessarily at the previous service.

 

Sounded about par for the course for any franchise to me but they were livid.

It's so when people ask what you drive, you can say "Audi Quattro".

It doesn't matter if it's a battered old heap.

He wants to be able to say that.

It's an image thing.

More Berkshire Hunt than Gene Hunt.

After servicing SWMBOs TT I can certainly say they may use the same parts as the rest in the group but the Audi is screwed together better (or example there was something like 16 screw / bolts holding the plastic under tray on!)

 

Given a choice I would pick an Audi over a Škoda for this reason, HOWEVER it does not make the equivalent car 10K better... which is what an A6 would have cost if I specced it to include what my Superb has, so when there is a cheaper nearly as good alternative I will go for that (Superb) but in the case of the TT nobody else in the VAG group offer an alternative.

Its like the bmw forum i joined, they keep talking about the ultimate driving machine

I have no idea what they are talking about but i can tell you right now it certainly isn't my bmw thats for sure

 

Why do they spend time talking about Caterham 7s on a Beemer form?

I like it

Nice place to sit

The missus had one of those a4 techniks i mentioned. Was lovely place to sit in

 

I had an A4 - for me, it was truly awful. Well the sitting position mainly - pedals, seat and steering wheel all offset against each other - which gave me terrible back problems.

 

Aside from that, it was OK - reasonable levels of kit and drove fairly well.

 

Strangely enough, 2 of my colleagues ditched their Audi's (A6s) also due to the sitting issues.

Whilst driving my TT (mk1 225 coupe) I was constantly complimented and got the impression that everyone thought that I'd done really well for myself.

I got my mk2 fabia vrs as I wanted something just as fast (or near enough) as a 225 TT, but much cheaper to run, more reliable without constant bills, bigger inside and under warranty.

Needless to say I don't get any compliments any more despite the fact that the vrs cost 2 1/2 times what the TT did.

I do like Audi but would never buy one for the badge. That's crazy, especially when considering a beaten up model to fit budget.

I'm surprised he's not a Lexus fan...

Although one of these may be in budget?

My first car was an Audi;

£600 well spent :P 21,000 miles I did in it and only one breakdown.

By the sounds of it, your friend isn't in touch with the real world; he's coped without 4wd so far... Why does he need it? Also, why does his misses have a say? Surely he has every right to buy whatever car he wants?

I drive an aldi

So, just to update this he has bought a car. The good bit was he went with what he wanted in the end and got a avant. It goes down hill from there. I gave him a few haves;

 

Good history

Reasonable miles (he wants to sell in max 5 years for a newer one)

Standard or as close to as possible

 

He bought a 2005 A4 avant 2.0 TFSI, it is a quattro S line like he wanted but with no history and 200,000 miles on. Oh it's also got RS6 wheels with tyres that are too big, £200 coilovers that dont go high enough at the rear, a decat, a induction kit & a remap form a nameless company. I went to look at it this morning, looks nice, interior looks like it's done half the miles and the bodywork isnt too bad. I've booked it in at unit 18 for Alistair to give it a look over, I've told my mate if it's **** to just cut his losses and sell it. I'll update as to the findings of the check over. If it isnt totally shagged I think the plan is to get some 18's on it, replace the coilovers with something better (he has the stock suspension but I suspect after 190,000 miles it'll be shagged) and put a cat on it and sort the map out. We shall see! 

Oh dear!

Ha this rings so many bells, had this with a few friends..best solution is a bit of maths. Do a table to comparisons, one with the Fabia, Golf, Octavia, A4 diesel/petrol

 

The figures will hopefully bring him round, in the comparisons include tyre prices, depreciation, insurance, tax, APR on new car compared to used (if he is financing) ect, things they dont think of (which from my experience is normally colour, mileage and location 

Sounds like a shi77er but it says quattro! Thats all you need

Should have told your mate the Fabia vRS has more torque than a Porsche Boxster, job done

Last year, there was an advert on Gumtree for a new Polo in red with about 2k on the clock. It was the girlfriends birthday present, but she doesn't like red cars..... 

Not that I would/could buy a new for a girlfriend, but jesus christ.