My wife and I are frugal and drive vehicles for a long time. Currently own:
2008 Acura TL (182k mi.) - Mine
2003 Toyota Rav4 (224k mi.) - Hers
She is ready to upgrade, and we have a budget of $25-30k for a used car. She is looking for a two-row SUV with decent rear legroom for our teenagers. She would also like something premium (like a 3 year old Audi Q5). The goal would be to own the vehicle for 8-10 years (until it hits ~200k mi).
I do all the standard maintenance (fluids, brakes, etc.) our vehicles and will also take on some slightly bigger jobs like swapping alternators and such. It's definitely a requirement that I continue to be able to do this.
I have *only* owned Hondas and Toyotas, and I am a little spooked by the reputation of German vehicles in these areas:
1. Overall reliability - It seems everyone has their anecdotes about German vehicle horror stories, but I have noticed that Audi specifically has done very well with Consumer Reports in the past 5 years.
2. Serviceability - A mechanic I recently spoke to said you now need a special scan tool just to do a brake job? Can anyone shed some light on the feasibility of doing standard driveway maintenance on late model Audis?
3. Maintenance expense - I accept that replacement parts for German vehicles seem to run something like 3-10x the cost of an Asian make. I'm not overly concerned about this assuming the reliability of the OEM parts are comparable to Honda, Toyota, etc.
Any comments and feedback appreciated.
2008 Acura TL (182k mi.) - Mine
2003 Toyota Rav4 (224k mi.) - Hers
She is ready to upgrade, and we have a budget of $25-30k for a used car. She is looking for a two-row SUV with decent rear legroom for our teenagers. She would also like something premium (like a 3 year old Audi Q5). The goal would be to own the vehicle for 8-10 years (until it hits ~200k mi).
I do all the standard maintenance (fluids, brakes, etc.) our vehicles and will also take on some slightly bigger jobs like swapping alternators and such. It's definitely a requirement that I continue to be able to do this.
I have *only* owned Hondas and Toyotas, and I am a little spooked by the reputation of German vehicles in these areas:
1. Overall reliability - It seems everyone has their anecdotes about German vehicle horror stories, but I have noticed that Audi specifically has done very well with Consumer Reports in the past 5 years.
2. Serviceability - A mechanic I recently spoke to said you now need a special scan tool just to do a brake job? Can anyone shed some light on the feasibility of doing standard driveway maintenance on late model Audis?
3. Maintenance expense - I accept that replacement parts for German vehicles seem to run something like 3-10x the cost of an Asian make. I'm not overly concerned about this assuming the reliability of the OEM parts are comparable to Honda, Toyota, etc.
Any comments and feedback appreciated.