A4 for Accord, Good move?

Ban Ki Moon

Hey People

I have an A4(b7) 2005 2.0 tdi 110000 mls on the clock.
Its a top spec model with leather seats,audi navi system,multi function steering wheel,cruse control,traction control,and lots more.

Bascically what I was thinking about was changing it for a 2004/2005 accord 2.2 cdti with simular spec with about 20000/30000 less mls on it

I reckon I should get €10k for the audi,I was already offered 9k for it as a trade in.My reason for this swap is because of some of the running costs of the audi,it let me down twice and was very costly to fix for relatively small problems,thats not so bad when you have a job but I may be out of work soon and I wont be able to afford audi's garage rates should I need them.

My question's are,Is the accord a more reliable than the a4? Is it cheaper to maintain or fix in case of a breakdown ? How much is the road tax p/a on the accord?

Ban Ki Moon

Ban Ki Moon wrote: »

My question's are

Is the accord a more reliable than the a4?

Is it cheaper to maintain or fix in case of a breakdown ?

How much is the road tax p/a on the accord?

- Debatable

- Should be cheaper to maintain, not to fix if it goes wrong, I would imagine the A4 is more frugal too.

- €800 ish

JHMEG

Ban Ki Moon wrote: »

My question's are,Is the accord a more reliable than the a4?

Should be. If not, then Honda may aswell give up.

Ban Ki Moon wrote: »

Is it cheaper to maintain or fix in case of a breakdown ?

While it shouldn't break down it won't be any cheaper to fix if it does, like for like.

Ban Ki Moon wrote: »

How much is the road tax p/a on the accord?

Same as any other 2204cc car.

The diesel Accords do not enjoy the same troublefreeness of the petrol cars.

znv6i3h7kqf9ys

RoverJames wrote: »

The diesel Accords do not enjoy the same troublefreeness of the petrol cars.

+1 check the link below. It gives all of the Accord's problems. Nearly all of them are with the diesel. Click "What's bad"
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/honda/accord-uk-2003/

JHMEG

RoverJames wrote: »

The diesel Accords do not enjoy the same troublefreeness of the petrol cars.

The question is re the diesel Accord vs the diesel A4.

(I do agree they are not as untouchable as the petrols due to being more complex. There were problems with cracked exhaust manifolds, but they have generally been replaced FOC)

route66

Ban Ki Moon wrote: »

Hey People

I have an A4(b7) 2005 2.0 tdi 110000 mls on the clock.
Its a top spec model with leather seats,audi navi system,multi function steering wheel,cruse control,traction control,and lots more.

Bascically what I was thinking about was changing it for a 2004/2005 accord 2.2 cdti with simular spec with about 20000/30000 less mls on it

I reckon I should get €10k for the audi,I was already offered 9k for it as a trade in.My reason for this swap is because of some of the running costs of the audi,it let me down twice and was very costly to fix for relatively small problems,thats not so bad when you have a job but I may be out of work soon and I wont be able to afford audi's garage rates should I need them.

My question's are,Is the accord a more reliable than the a4? Is it cheaper to maintain or fix in case of a breakdown ? How much is the road tax p/a on the accord?

The Accords are good, but you would need to check for the following:

Clutch / Dual Mass Flywheel (not as bad as the VWs, but can be a problem)
Fogging up headlamps - covered by warranty under certain conditions
Cracked exhaust manifold - can be determined by a smell of diesel in the car
Wearing inside edge of rear tyres - covered by warranty

These are specifics, any modern turbo-diesel car is a complex beast, and you would need to check it out fully beforehand.

smokingman

I went from a petrol 1.6 A4 (1997) to a 2005 accord 2.2 diesel and have never looked back. I only noticed how much the Audi rolled in corners when I started driving the honda and while I have it nearly 3 years now, I've never had any problems with it. I've replaced the brake pads on it about a year ago and it can be heavy on them so I'm told but I'm not sure if I believe that.
The extras you get for the money are way above any other car imo but you're best to go for an import from the UK as the standard ones in this country didn't come with as many extras as those in the uk.
I got mine with front fogs (that's an indication it's a uk import), air-con, tan leather heated seats, sun-roof, cruise control, 6-cd changer with controls on the wheel all for 19G back then with 40,000 miles on the clock- they've gone way down in price since and just offer even more bang for your buck now.

It's not a common sight on the road either which is nice.
Highly recommended imo.

JCDUB

Agreed with smokingman^^^^

I have the same as him except Irish so no front fogs.
Very good on diesel, very reliable, extremely comfortable with a geansai load of extras.
IMO looks a million times nicer than the A4 and you see far less of them on the road.
Mine is pretty high mileage but once you keep them well oiled and regularly serviced everything will be fine, as with most tdi's.

Also watch for turbos, mine was replaced just before I bought it but I've heard they can go, a la 320D. Obviously not a cheap fix.

Keep your eye on the market for a while. I picked mine up for a good 2k cheaper than any other of same age on the net. Slightly higher mileage but FHSH and minded like a baby.

Exec model for all the bells and whistles.

JHMEG

JHMEG wrote: »

The question is re the diesel Accord vs the diesel A4.

I know

Atomic Pineapple

RoverJames wrote: »

I know

What he means is the Accord might not be as reliable as the petrol variant but its still a lot more reliable than the diesel A4

Tea 1000

Simple N/A petrols are more reliable than modern diesels now, that's becoming very obvious. There hasn't been one car make that someone hasn't posted up a problem of some form with their diesel.
Obviously some are more reliable than others, but none are issue free. The Honda may have it's issues, but they still are few and far between.

CountingCrows

Tea 1000 wrote: »

Simple N/A petrols are more reliable than modern diesels now, that's becoming very obvious. There hasn't been one car make that someone hasn't posted up a problem of some form with their diesel

Can you tell me about a petrol car with no problems?

R.O.R

JHMEG wrote: »

(I do agree they are not as untouchable as the petrols due to being more complex. There were problems with cracked exhaust manifolds, but they have generally been replaced FOC)

I wasn't aware that was an issue with them, but we currently have a 2.2 Accord with a cracked manifold in Cork. Being replaced FOC under warranty even though the car is an 07.

Tea 1000

CountingCrows wrote: »

Can you tell me about a petrol car with no problems?

Most things Japanese in the 90's are hard to break. Mate had a used 1.6 vti coupe, which he gave 100% solid abuse to for 2 years solid and not one problem. Never missed a beat. Redlining 1st, 2nd and 3rd every trip, from cold, hot, didn't matter. I think he used grease the sole of the left shoe so he could sidestep the clutch quicker. Over 100k miles on it. Try that sh!t in a turbo diesel! I've seen S2000 owners treat their engines with similar contempt for extended periods of time with no breakages either.
Plenty of N/A petrols give no real problems.

znv6i3h7kqf9ys

CountingCrows wrote: »

Can you tell me about a petrol car with no problems?

Well the thing is it is a fact that diesels are usually more expensive to fix when they go wrong. True they use less fuel but you have to balance the fuel savings against installing a new turbo. I know as I had the misfortune of the turbo going in my 320d. 2 k to fix and wasn't thinking about 50mpg when I had to fork out for that.