The B9 Audi A4. New for the US Market in 2017 it features evolutionary styling with crisper lines. Photo courtesy of Audi Newsroom Media
Catching up those of you who missed my previous COALs, I recently sold my old BMW. I had a couple of reasons behind it, but I was able to take some time before the purchase of my next vehicle. I had access to company cars and my mom’s car (possible COAL material) to get me by. After a month or two however, it was time to put my money into something else. I had two jobs and was spending a lot of time behind the wheel. Knowing this, I was seeking something that got better fuel economy and was newer. Additionally, being older I had more money at my disposal so I got to looking.
Many number of vehicles meet this criteria, so I was spoiled for choice. I decided to aim for a car with a little pep. Looking at the market got me behind the wheel of several vehicles. In chronological order of when I test-drove them I drove two E350 Mercedes (W213), a Genesis G80 (DH), a Ford Fusion Sport (Mk2), VW Passat (MY2020), and finally the A4 (B9). The Mercedes were out because they felt like they were falling apart at surprisingly low mileage. I had noticed this earlier on an Uber in Europe but I assumed it was heavy wear and lower end model problems. The Genesis had a disconcerting transmission shift that concerned me, and being all-wheel drive made me all the more worried. I really liked the Fusion sport. It felt strong and well put together, but unfortunately it was sold before I could get the money from my bank. The VW was attractive but boring. I gave an offer, but the dealership was only interested in financing or “installing” more useless add-ons. Finally, I found the Audi while browsing at work.
Fusion V6 Sport. A great package if I may say so myself. Image courtesy of Ford Newsroom Media
It was a 2017 Audi A4 Ultra Premium Plus (try saying that 5 times fast) selling through the original owner. I gave them a call and saw the car the next day. I made a wire transfer as opposed to cash through the bank and the car was mine. It was clean, fairly well-optioned, and met my requirements. It also had the Audi cachet that always intrigued me. Here are a few notable things about the car.
Being a 2017, it was the first year of the B9 generation A4 (sidebar: at the time of this writing Audi has announced the end of the A4 as a gasoline sedan to be succeeded by the A5). That meant despite being a front driver it received a dual-clutch transmission as opposed to the previous generation’s CVT. In this case it was paired with the “Ultra” engine that provided less standard power but better fuel economy. Fuel efficient it was too, as I averaged 32 miles to the gallon while I had the car. It also had a fair amount of power despite what its 190 horsepower number may suggest. 0-60 was somewhere in the mid seven second range limited largely by traction.
For luxury it featured Carplay, real leather heated seats, tri-zone climate control, along with some other goodies. It also happened to be very quiet on the highway which made for a luxurious and isolated feeling. This came with the downside of the steering feeling much the same (isolated) with light disconnected steering that encouraged mile munching to back roads. You can’t seem to have it all, but I was perfectly content with it. So what was the fate of the car that isn’t in my current fleet? Well, as fate would have it I got rear ended 4 months and 5,000 miles into my ownership.
My actual Audi after the accident. Doesn’t look too bad, but damage is hidden as the SUV that hit me overrode the bumper and caused damage to the floor pan by way of the trunk latch.
A YJ Jeep came up hot and locked up the brakes while I was sitting in traffic. The car was totaled and sent off to an auction. I liked that car, and think I would have kept it for a while had that not happened. At least it opened the door to more cars for me. The ownership also worked out to be a draw in terms of financials as well. Despite being hit by an uninsured driver, I was paid out fairly and started back at square one. I took another gap between that and my next car(s). After the Audi, I found what I currently own which will be in my next installments of COAL.
YJ Jeep that did the damage. Completely unscathed to my eye. I believe it was a 1992 Sahara edition
No damage at all to a 25+ year old Jeep, newish Audi totalled. Certainly it shows the extreme cost of significant repairs now, as well as the lack of structural integrity and ineffectiveness of bumper systems. We all hated the ugly battering rams on cars of the late ’70s and ’80s (until Ronnie Raygun and friends got rid of them, the insurance companies sure liked them), but they worked pretty well. Cars now may look nice without them but any kind of prang results in huge damage and expense. In any event with the opportunity to start over I’d be looking at Lexus or Acura myself.
To be fair to the Audi, it totally could be fixed, and that Jeep bumper looks to be an aftermarket off roading item made of stronger than stock steel. Not exactly the fair test a 5 mph bumper would have had to pass
Boy, it doesn’t take much to total a car these days. One would think the trunk could be fixed and the bumper repainted. But then I realized the term “pound it out” doesn’t much apply now. So much plastic is used. It’s about replacement. Your bumper is part of a whole piece commonly called the fender skirt/bumper. The whole thing is attached by plastic or metal push pieces that fasten to the chassis. Probably would cost 2 or 3 thousand bucks. Then if they can’t straighten or pound out the trunk, the whole trunk has to be replaced as a part. Again, thousands $. These are slightly educated guesses. I too have later model car body damage experience.
My brother “had” a 2020 Audi A5 Sportback. A moose hit him(he hit the moose) and his car had front end and windshield damage. Again totaled. Moose lived with some bruising and a damaged ego.
When Silvercar first started up I rented an A4 from them at every possible opportunity – and when they first started the price really wasn’t that big a stretch over your usual rental spot. A4s were always sweet but keeping me from getting one, in the back of my mind was always the question “how much is this gonna cost when the German engineering goes awry?”
These days I’m looking way too often at Mazda 3 AWD Turbos wondering if that’s a reasonable budget alternative.
For those of you wondering the final fate of the Audi, it appears to have been resold at a insurance auction. I think that car is worthy of being repaired, especially given how nice it was.
https://en.bidfax.info/audi/a4/25855278-audi-a4-20t-ultra-premium-2017-white-20l-vin-waugmaf43hn059350.html