Help! Help!

[lilken21]

OK, so here's the deal, I'm in the market for either an S4 (B7) 2005.5 w/ 17K miles for $33K (auto-tranny) or a brand new Pontiac G8 GT. This is how it breaks down in my eyes:

German sophistication vs. American/Australian muscle

quattro > rwd

horsepower and straightline speed (even)

S4 shift paddles > G8 GT floor shifter

ride comfort on long road trip w/ wife and kid (LA to Vegas 3-4 times/year and LA to SD 5-6 times a year) G8 GT > S4

interior space and cargo volume G8 GT > S4

ergonomics and gadgets S4 > G8 GT

engine upgrades (MORE HP) G8 GT > S4 (by a mile)

price 33K-S4 32K-G8 GT

...so that's my dillema - I keep going back and forth, but as of today I am leaning towards the S4 but I won't be too heart-broken if that S4 gets picked up before I get to it cuz there are plenty of G8 GTs I can jump into.

BTW, I currently lease a 2007 B7 A4 s-line ti-pkg 2.0t 6MT fwd Brilliant Black. And before that I had a 2004 B6 A4 s-line 1.8t quattro 6MT Silver

[CanuckRS]

Good lord, if you're honestly considering a pontiac over Audi I really have no comment :P

[lilken21]

I saw that coming... what can I say - I like both cars

[Cargo8]

can't you find a S4 that you like thats 6-spd?
I love my S4, haven't checked out the G8 at all

[lilken21]

I'm not willing to wait for one and I actually like the idea of shift-paddles (LA traffic)

[RAudi Driver]

come on man, don't get the Pontiac.

[Lugi20]

You're talking about your family, have you considered safety?

S4 > G8.

[nimski62]

I bet the s4 handles MUCH better than the pontiac and is an overall MUCH better feel/fun to drive...

[lilken21]

You're talking about your family, have you considered safety?

S4 > G8.

Good point

[Meradin]

You forgot: German > American. An American sedan will feel like crap after driving a finely tuned German sedan. Theres a reason that the S4 costs $20k+ more.

[lilken21]

You forgot: German > American. An American sedan will feel like crap after driving a finely tuned German sedan. Theres a reason that the S4 costs $20k+ more.

Another good point. You guys are making this choice easier for me.

[JMG]

From what I have read, the G8 seems like a pretty nice little car, but I bet the cheapness rears it's ugly head soon after you get over the impressive power it puts down.

[lilken21]

From what I have read, the G8 seems like a pretty nice little car, but I bet the cheapness rears it's ugly head soon after you get over the impressive power it puts down.

That's what I'm afraid of... I do have to say that I have been spoiled by Audi build quality for the past 4 years!

[wwb4]

I was looking at a unitronic chipped RS6 that a guy traded in on a brand new G8 the other week. Supposedly local dealers in my area aren't even letting people test drive them.......you have to buy it if you wanna drive it.............come on now with just over a $30k price tag it's not a Maserati MC12. Personally I'm not really a fan of domestic due to their generally cheap plastic interiors across the board.......coupled with their lack of driver connectivity. I've only seriously considered buying one domestic car, and that was the CTS-V before I read about all of the problems that owners were experiencing. Besides that there's probably only one other domestic that I'd own and that's the C6 Z06.

[lilken21]

I was willing to look over the cheap interior materials for all that HP and HP upgrade possibilities, but now I am having second thoughts about that cuz what I love about my Audi is that I can stare at it from the outside as well as from the inside

[mbgt72]

Also don't forget about resale, the S4 will hold it's value over a Pontiac. I also kind of looked at that G8 but liked the GXP more that comes out next year. I got the S4 and haven't looked back, at all. But one car that I think is a better comparison and is American is the Cadillac CTS-V. And it's geared so that it'll automatically go from 1st to 4th if you aren't really accelerating hard (this can be removed real easy for ten bucks if ya don't like it) to help a little with mpg and overall driveability (but ur mpg isn't gonna be good with any of these cars).

I drove a V and an S4 back to back and to me the S4 felt and looked so much better. But man, that V def gets up and moves and is RWD and all come fully loaded. The only advice I can give ya is try to get into a 2006 model b/c they've had some rear diff issues untill 2006 when they beefed it up. You should be able to find a V for right around 30, or even less (2006 about 25k from what I remember).

At the end of the day I got the 2005.5 S4 with 39k 6spd and haven't looked back. Truly an amazing car and has really impressed me (I'm not impressed by many cars for the most part), the only thing I'd like is a larger rear wheel bias (can be changed for about a grand to be more like the RS4, by stasis engineering I believe, but it'll be a later mod for me)

[lilken21]

Also don't forget about resale, the S4 will hold it's value over a Pontiac. I also kind of looked at that G8 but liked the GXP more that comes out next year. I got the S4 and haven't looked back, at all. But one car that I think is a better comparison and is American is the Cadillac CTS-V. And it's geared so that it'll automatically go from 1st to 4th if you aren't really accelerating hard (this can be removed real easy for ten bucks if ya don't like it) to help a little with mpg and overall driveability (but ur mpg isn't gonna be good with any of these cars).

I drove a V and an S4 back to back and to me the S4 felt and looked so much better. But man, that V def gets up and moves and is RWD and all come fully loaded. The only advice I can give ya is try to get into a 2006 model b/c they've had some rear diff issues untill 2006 when they beefed it up. You should be able to find a V for right around 30, or even less (2006 about 25k from what I remember).

At the end of the day I got the 2005.5 S4 with 39k 6spd and haven't looked back. Truly an amazing car and has really impressed me (I'm not impressed by many cars for the most part), the only thing I'd like is a larger rear wheel bias (can be changed for about a grand to be more like the RS4, by stasis engineering I believe, but it'll be a later mod for me)

Thanx... that was very helpful I def like the B7 sillouhette and I am no traffic light jockey but I do love speed(as in two speeding tix in two months) so the S4 is plenty of go for me

[Audi newguy]

I have sold Pontiacs, Cadillacs, Hummer, GMC and now sell BMW MINI and yes I do drive a B7 S4. And I have drove the G8. There is no comparison. Audi hands down. With the G8 you get all that Horsepower and Torque and it is fun but the car build is garbage. It feels heavy and like it's falling a part. Just my 2 cents.

[lilken21]

I have sold Pontiacs, Cadillacs, Hummer, GMC and now sell BMW MINI and yes I do drive a B7 S4. And I have drove the G8. There is no comparison. Audi hands down. With the G8 you get all that Horsepower and Torque and it is fun but the car build is garbage. It feels heavy and like it's falling a part. Just my 2 cents.

Thanx I think that was worth more than 2 cents

[Audi05s4]

think of it this way woudl you rather drive an AUDI or a suped up grand prix?

[JMG]

Supposedly local dealers in my area aren't even letting people test drive them.......you have to buy it if you wanna drive it.............

Thats retarded. Just because they may actually have a good car on the lot they treat potential customers like garbage. It's no wonder the domestics are getting their asses handed to them by Japan. You don't see that kind of bullshit when a new Acura comes out.

[blur510]

I was willing to look over the cheap interior materials for all that HP and HP upgrade possibilities, but now I am having second thoughts about that cuz what I love about my Audi is that I can stare at it from the outside as well as from the inside

It's not all about HP. Unless u loke only straight line driving. For fun driving (track/canyon/twisties) Handling/Braking and steering feel (input and response) is was more important than sheer HP numbers.

[likewater]

All I can say is that the one and ONLY time I ever owned an American car, it was in the service bay more than on the road. I will absolutely never buy another one again. My S4 is hands down the best car in every way that I have ever owned including several Mercedes. Not that you need any more convincing but get the Audi, you will not be dissapointed.

[lilken21]

It's not all about HP. Unless u loke only straight line driving. For fun driving (track/canyon/twisties) Handling/Braking and steering feel (input and response) is was more important than sheer HP numbers.

For sure... I miss not having quattro and now here's my chance to get back into a quattro car

[wat2022]

Audi4life

[Allwheel]

Don't forget the cheese factor of driving a Pontiac.

[FastB7S4]

S4 (B7) 2005.5 w/ 17K miles for $33K (auto-tranny)

That's a pretty good price. Does it have navi?

[channad]

Another good point. You guys are making this choice easier for me.

well, you did ask the people on an Audi forum...I'm sure if you posted up in the Pontiac forum, they'd tell you to get the Pontiac, right?

dude, get the Audi.

[lilken21]

well, you did ask the people on an Audi forum...I'm sure if you posted up in the Pontiac forum, they'd tell you to get the Pontiac, right?

dude, get the Audi.

I did ask over at the G8 forums and I was suprised that most of the posters mildly endorsed the G8. The S4 community here have been more passionate and vocal (less than 10 replies over at the G8 forum)

[lilken21]

That's a pretty good price. Does it have navi?

No nav... but that's OK - that's what the iPhone is for

[channad]

You'll love the Audi! I love mine, and she's bone stock performance wise.

You can always add the nav...and the new iPhone with 3G is supposed to be out in July...

[mbgt72]

I did ask over at the G8 forums and I was suprised that most of the posters mildly endorsed the G8. The S4 community here have been more passionate and vocal (less than 10 replies over at the G8 forum)

Honestly the community is part of the reason I opted for the audi. I come from a bimmer and the forums over there are generally really nice and really helpful, but it almost seems like more time was spent fixing stuff than is here (which is def. a good thing for me now that I have an audi). But I spent a lot of time researching stuff on the V in the cadiallac forums (I was leaning towards it at a time, prior to driving both,) and it seemed like a lot of thier time was issues, and complaining (either about random stuff wrong or one another). They def. did not have the positive attitude that I've seen in this forum, and the audi owners seems like some of the nicest I've encountered so far!


Kinda a odd reason to side with a car, but it was just another plus on the long list of advantages to me! Bite the bullet and enjoy the ride, b/c I don't think you'll look back with the S4!

[FastB7S4]

I did ask over at the G8 forums and I was suprised that most of the posters mildly endorsed the G8. The S4 community here have been more passionate and vocal (less than 10 replies over at the G8 forum)

I'm guessing most G8 owners are in the mid 40's-50's and are not as active on the boards. Plus it's a new car so there are probably less members over there.

[evil_O]

I hate to say it but the hype surrounding the G8 grabbed my attention for a bit. I took my time when I bought my S4 so before I did I knew I would have to check the G8 out. It just made HP sense to me.

I went to the car show and saw it in person. For me it didn't stir anything. I could just not look past the Pontiac name either. The Goats had their day for Pontiac but in my mind they have some catching up to do... and some time maintaining it. Maybe someday I will look again at a Pontiac. Maybe.

For now though I will be enjoying the hell out of my S. Get an S. Do the right thing. Six months from now you won't be losing money by trading in the G8 for what you really wanted in the first place!

[likewater]

I did ask over at the G8 forums and I was suprised that most of the posters mildly endorsed the G8. The S4 community here have been more passionate and vocal (less than 10 replies over at the G8 forum)

Hard to get passionate and vocal over a Pontiac. If you're driving a Pontiac, you're driving one for a reason. To me this comparo is like a Filet Mignon at Ruths Chris vs a Salsbury Steak TV dinner.

MMMMMMMMM GOOD!!!!




UMMMMMMMM NOT SO GOOD!!!!