My wife and I bought a new 2022 Audi Q5 the end of 2021 during the peak of Covid shutdowns. Our daughter was pregnant with baby #2 and needed a reliable car, so we gave her our 2018 Honda CR-V with 40k miles. Bless her heart, she and her husband had saved $4,000 for a replacement car, oblivious to the used car market at that time. Since Hondas were nowhere to be found, we found the Audi in production, soon to be shipped to the dealer. We paid MSRP, which seemed reasonable at that time.
Within a year of ownership, Audi had an engine recall due to bearing failure. The dealer test was to change the oil and filter, drive it hard for a few cycles, drain the oil and inspect the filter for metal. Of course, mine didn't have any, so all is well in the world, right? Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when a second engine-related recall came out for oil leaks due to engine cylinder cover bolts not being torqued properly at the factory. Sounds like it's happening on the turbo side of the engine with some reported fires. Audi does not have an official fix for it yet. The car has 37,000 miles with the manufacturer warranty expiring the end of this year.
We're planning on retiring soon and wanted a car which would last us a long time. I'd mentally budgeted for all the major repairs for a German car, e.g., timing chain and water pump replacement, new turbocharger, and whatever else popped up... except the cost to replace an engine or transmission (dual clutch). I did an internet search for the cost of an extended warranty (I know, I know). The least expensive came back at over $13,000. The dealer's finance department where we bought the car wouldn't even return my calls for a quote, probably because we paid cash for the car and didn't add a darn thing, just MSRP and TT&L. I called another dealership and their finance department was kind enough to tell me the cost was stupid-high. More than the internet quote.
Wanting the long-term reliability, I started shopping for a replacement and decided on the Pilot. We have a German Shepherd Dog and he could sit upright in the CR-V, but had to scrunch down in the Audi. I also didn't want another car with a turbocharged, two liter engine, and especially a CVT. The Pilot has neither. My wife had her color preferences (demands), so I searched for a match. We live in the Austin area and none were to be found nearby. I found five within the state of Texas, so I started calling the dealers and found one in San Antonio with no dealer add-ons. Before driving down, I was able to get about 9% off MSRP and a fair trade-in on the Audi, especially since I was very honest to them about the open recall. Some dealers wouldn't even consider taking it as a trade-in with the open recall. Overall, it was a fair deal for both of us.
The drive home north of Austin was exactly as I hoped for breaking in a new engine... lot's a slow-moving traffic with moments of speed-limit-be-darned driving. Never before had I wished for this exact traffic experience, and never would again. I switched between Drive and Sport modes, giving the engine plenty of opportunity to explore its RPM range.
The driving experience was overall good switching from an Audi to a Pilot. More road noise, but not too bad, seats less comfortable, tranny shifting not as smooth (10 speed torque converter vs DSG), acceleration as expected (Audi would do 0-60 in 5.5sec). Worries about future reliability and cost to maintain, minimal.
We have a two car garage with separate doors. Parking the Pilot in the garage is a bit tight, but it fits (I had someone park their Pilot in my garage before I could consider buying one). My wife test drove it at the dealership, but said she didn't want to drive it the first time with me in the car (yes, I'm offended). With the Audi, I bought a pair of parking blocks off Amazon and marked their location with a Sharpie. After positioning the Pilot, I marked their new location.
Within a year of ownership, Audi had an engine recall due to bearing failure. The dealer test was to change the oil and filter, drive it hard for a few cycles, drain the oil and inspect the filter for metal. Of course, mine didn't have any, so all is well in the world, right? Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when a second engine-related recall came out for oil leaks due to engine cylinder cover bolts not being torqued properly at the factory. Sounds like it's happening on the turbo side of the engine with some reported fires. Audi does not have an official fix for it yet. The car has 37,000 miles with the manufacturer warranty expiring the end of this year.
We're planning on retiring soon and wanted a car which would last us a long time. I'd mentally budgeted for all the major repairs for a German car, e.g., timing chain and water pump replacement, new turbocharger, and whatever else popped up... except the cost to replace an engine or transmission (dual clutch). I did an internet search for the cost of an extended warranty (I know, I know). The least expensive came back at over $13,000. The dealer's finance department where we bought the car wouldn't even return my calls for a quote, probably because we paid cash for the car and didn't add a darn thing, just MSRP and TT&L. I called another dealership and their finance department was kind enough to tell me the cost was stupid-high. More than the internet quote.
Wanting the long-term reliability, I started shopping for a replacement and decided on the Pilot. We have a German Shepherd Dog and he could sit upright in the CR-V, but had to scrunch down in the Audi. I also didn't want another car with a turbocharged, two liter engine, and especially a CVT. The Pilot has neither. My wife had her color preferences (demands), so I searched for a match. We live in the Austin area and none were to be found nearby. I found five within the state of Texas, so I started calling the dealers and found one in San Antonio with no dealer add-ons. Before driving down, I was able to get about 9% off MSRP and a fair trade-in on the Audi, especially since I was very honest to them about the open recall. Some dealers wouldn't even consider taking it as a trade-in with the open recall. Overall, it was a fair deal for both of us.
The drive home north of Austin was exactly as I hoped for breaking in a new engine... lot's a slow-moving traffic with moments of speed-limit-be-darned driving. Never before had I wished for this exact traffic experience, and never would again. I switched between Drive and Sport modes, giving the engine plenty of opportunity to explore its RPM range.
The driving experience was overall good switching from an Audi to a Pilot. More road noise, but not too bad, seats less comfortable, tranny shifting not as smooth (10 speed torque converter vs DSG), acceleration as expected (Audi would do 0-60 in 5.5sec). Worries about future reliability and cost to maintain, minimal.
We have a two car garage with separate doors. Parking the Pilot in the garage is a bit tight, but it fits (I had someone park their Pilot in my garage before I could consider buying one). My wife test drove it at the dealership, but said she didn't want to drive it the first time with me in the car (yes, I'm offended). With the Audi, I bought a pair of parking blocks off Amazon and marked their location with a Sharpie. After positioning the Pilot, I marked their new location.
I'll never forget the day my ex wife drove the Porsche directly into the toolbox and the car was much smaller than the space provided.
