Anyone Cross-shop a...

[Jimmer]

The Audi S5 and RS5 are very nice, just not enough to spend that much more to get everything I want. Plus, not enough room in the back for passengers. Additionally, I love everything about the Stinger. It was love at first sight. And it's loaded.

 

[Kamauxx]

I know this is probably an unpopular opinion but I dont really like the Audi interiors. The wood trim and overall look to me (minus the digital dash) feels so old school. Looks like something my dad would like.

Man!!! I feel like this paragraph deserves a photo spamming.

This interior is awesome!!!

 

[Ritz]

Thanks for the insights. I've mostly been looking at new 2018s since the 2019s should be pushing the prices down a bit.

Just looking at pictures I fell in love with the Nougat trim and the real wood with the grains exposed. I haven't actually checked one out in person yet to experience the fit and finish of the interior.

As for performance in stock form it's about as fast as a Stinger to 60 but slightly slower through the quarter mile. There's quite a bit of tuning support for the A6 though so it should be relatively easy to add a hundred hp. Then I ask myself is it even worth it, since I rarely drive above the speed limit?

With all of this bouncing around in my head I got in my Stinger this morning and noticed my seat is separating at one of the seams. So now the longevity of the interior is a possible concern.

I've owned a number of Audi vehicles over the years from the A4/S4 all the way up to an A8L. There's no comparison with Kia in terms of fit and finish. Audi wins hands down. Also, the quattro AWD system is bullet proof and there is a robust tuning community and tuning product availability. Check out APR or AWE for tuning options. That said, as others have opined...you get what you pay for. Audi is significantly more expensive both in terms of purchase price and cost of maintenance/repairs. I'm actually a lot more interested in the S6/S7 than the A6. The 4.0T engine is a beast when tuned. I'm still on the fence myself.

Cheers!

 

[SKStinger]

Man!!! I feel like this paragraph deserves a photo spamming.

This interior is awesome!!!

Agreed. And if not a fan of the wood trim, that last photo shows the sportier S/Sline interiors that are typically leather/alcantara with carbon or brushed metal trim and flat bottom steering wheel.

 

[SKStinger]

I've owned a number of Audi vehicles over the years from the A4/S4 all the way up to an A8L. There's no comparison with Kia in terms of fit and finish. Audi wins hands down. Also, the quattro AWD system is bullet proof and there is a robust tuning community and tuning product availability. Check out APR or AWE for tuning options. That said, as others have opined...you get what you pay for. Audi is significantly more expensive both in terms of purchase price and cost of maintenance/repairs. I'm actually a lot more interested in the S6/S7 than the A6. The 4.0T engine is a beast when tuned. I'm still on the fence myself.

Cheers!

What eventually pushed me away from the 4.0T was the maintenance cost. I read a fair bit about the 4.0t on Audizine and it can be an expensive engine to maintain. Engine mounts were leaking at 30,000 miles. Some owners had theirs changed multiple times. It's an expensive job so you definitely wouldn't want to do that outside of warranty and with a tuned car, Audi is flagging cars with TD1 flags when any ECU modification is detected and would likely deny any engine related warranty claim.

 

[Ritz]

What eventually pushed me away from the 4.0T was the maintenance cost. I read a fair bit about the 4.0t on Audizine and it can be an expensive engine to maintain. Engine mounts were leaking at 30,000 miles. Some owners had theirs changed multiple times. It's an expensive job so you definitely wouldn't want to do that outside of warranty and with a tuned car, Audi is flagging cars with TD1 flags when any ECU modification is detected and would likely deny any engine related warranty claim.

Yep, that's the downside for sure. They are expensive to buy and expensive to fix. As far as the warranty goes, I don't even bother with a tuned car. I just assume it's out of warranty. You've got to pay to play.

I've ridden in a stage 2 tuned S8 and it was ridiculous. You'd need something along the lines of the performance AWD Tesla S with "insane mode" enabled to beat that thing on the street and it would still be a driver's race.

APR ECU Upgrade for the Audi S8 4.0 TFSI V8

Cheers!

 

[Kamauxx]

What eventually pushed me away from the 4.0T was the maintenance cost. I read a fair bit about the 4.0t on Audizine and it can be an expensive engine to maintain. Engine mounts were leaking at 30,000 miles. Some owners had theirs changed multiple times. It's an expensive job so you definitely wouldn't want to do that outside of warranty and with a tuned car, Audi is flagging cars with TD1 flags when any ECU modification is detected and would likely deny any engine related warranty claim.

I read alot about the TD1 issues on that forum. Someone even said he bought his car certified pre-owned and had a warranty claim denied because it was flagged before he owned it.

If/when I buy it will have to be new.

As far as the flag goes if you flash the car back to stock tune before going to the dealership is it still detectable?

 

[Ritz]

As far as the flag goes if you flash the car back to stock tune before going to the dealership is it still detectable?

Yes.

 

[Kamauxx]

Corporate buzz killers.

 

[Never thought]

I've owned a number of Audi vehicles over the years from the A4/S4 all the way up to an A8L. There's no comparison with Kia in terms of fit and finish. Audi wins hands down. Also, the quattro AWD system is bullet proof and there is a robust tuning community and tuning product availability. Check out APR or AWE for tuning options. That said, as others have opined...you get what you pay for. Audi is significantly more expensive both in terms of purchase price and cost of maintenance/repairs. I'm actually a lot more interested in the S6/S7 than the A6. The 4.0T engine is a beast when tuned. I'm still on the fence myself.

Cheers!

What year A8L did you have? Was considering getting a 2015-2016 A8L 4.0T. Read some issues people had with failing engines and turbos under 60K miles and that scares the crap out of me.

 

[Never thought]

I actually recently drove a G80 Sport. I LOVED it. Very quiet and comfortable and lots of low end torque. A definite upgrade over the Stinger for me but it’s not for everyone. Definitely the quietest and softest riding car I’ve ever been in, and reliable and no failing paint! I bet with a Tork tune it would be as quick as a stock Stinger GT.

 

[Kamauxx]

I actually recently drove a G80 Sport. I LOVED it. Very quiet and comfortable and lots of low end torque. A definite upgrade over the Stinger for me but it’s not for everyone. Definitely the quietest and softest riding car I’ve ever been in, and reliable and no failing paint! I bet with a Tork tune it would be as quick as a stock Stinger GT.

There's a guy on the G70 forum that has a JB4 tuned G80. He says it's pretty ridiculous.

 

[Ritz]

What year A8L did you have? Was considering getting a 2015-2016 A8L 4.0T. Read some issues people had with failing engines and turbos under 60K miles and that scares the crap out of me.

Sadly, it was a 2009 with a normally aspirated 4.2L. I've heard about issues with the earlier iterations of the 4.0T, but they seem to be relatively uncommon. If I was going to do an A8/S8, I'd probably only go back to 2015 for the post-facelift D4's. They are starting to drop quite a bit in price. Fortunately, I do almost all work myself so I wouldn't be sweating it that much, but someone who pays a dealer to work on their car would have to carefully consider ANY used German car. They can eat you alive with maintenance if you're not on top of things.

Cheers!

 

[drdrewusaf]

This is my first post, so a bit of background...Been an Audi driver for about a decade: VR6 A3, 3.0T (supercharged) S5, and 4.0TT S6. My S6 is in the shop for blown turbos right now (3rd party warranty should cover the bulk of the $6K job). It looks like the turbos will be a service item for the life of the car (replacement every 50-100K mi). To *hopefully* help extend the life of the turbos, you have to replace an oil screen in the engine "V" every 12-25K mi. That's a 15-hr job - not covered by any warranty - at the dealership, or DIY. I see the writing on the wall, and the next thing to go will be the motor mounts (the only fix for that is to get an APR tune to get rid of 4-cyl deactivation, which also leads to less efficiency). Time to toss the entire 4.0TT platform in the bin.

I don't own a Stinger yet. I've test driven them and I'm still cross shopping. My cross shop includes the S5 sportback. Aside from the interior fit and finish, the S5 has nothing going for it. It's a numb, disconnected drive, it's small, and has all of the same amenities as the Stinger...just w/o the "brand prestige." I'm honestly disappointed in the S5's performance.


Drew

 

[SKStinger]

This is my first post, so a bit of background...Been an Audi driver for about a decade: VR6 A3, 3.0T (supercharged) S5, and 4.0TT S6. My S6 is in the shop for blown turbos right now (3rd party warranty should cover the bulk of the $6K job). It looks like the turbos will be a service item for the life of the car (replacement every 50-100K mi). To *hopefully* help extend the life of the turbos, you have to replace an oil screen in the engine "V" every 12-25K mi. That's a 15-hr job - not covered by any warranty - at the dealership, or DIY. I see the writing on the wall, and the next thing to go will be the motor mounts (the only fix for that is to get an APR tune to get rid of 4-cyl deactivation, which also leads to less efficiency). Time to toss the entire 4.0TT platform in the bin.

I don't own a Stinger yet. I've test driven them and I'm still cross shopping. My cross shop includes the S5 sportback. Aside from the interior fit and finish, the S5 has nothing going for it. It's a numb, disconnected drive, it's small, and has all of the same amenities as the Stinger...just w/o the "brand prestige." I'm honestly disappointed in the S5's performance.


Drew

Welcome! What year is your S6? That's quite a hefty maintenance list there!

Honestly, don't hesitate to give the Stinger a go. I'm happy with mine coming out of a 2009 A5. Loved the styling of the B8 A5 platform and the Stinger has that same sort of appeal to me.

 

[drdrewusaf]

Welcome! What year is your S6? That's quite a hefty maintenance list there!

Honestly, don't hesitate to give the Stinger a go. I'm happy with mine coming out of a 2009 A5. Loved the styling of the B8 A5 platform and the Stinger has that same sort of appeal to me.

Thanks! My S6 is 2013, just under 50K mi.

I'm very close to pulling the trigger on the Stinger...it's a much more engaging drive than the B9 S5 sportback.


Drew

 

[Waynerm002]

For a first "sporty" sedan, Albert Biermann did a great thing for KIA. With them working on a "drift" version, I think this will make the car even more fun in the future with an AWD setup.

 

[Ritz]

Thanks! My S6 is 2013, just under 50K mi.

I'm very close to pulling the trigger on the Stinger...it's a much more engaging drive than the B9 S5 sportback.

Wow, that sucks about the turbos. I remember when the K03's went on my 2.7T A6....so I just HAD to replace them with K04's....that started a chain of events which ultimately had me at almost 500hp. I miss that car!

German cars can be brutal to the wallet if you are unlucky and/or don't religiously do preventative maintenance. I'm looking at the Stinger just for a winter ride since I've already got the brute force summer cruiser thing handled.

Good luck!