I'm not sure, but I suspect he was responding to my statement rather than yours. I made the comment that my eye had wandered to the A6 2.7T because some inclement weather last week and the A6's AWD. Like you, though, the AWD on ice wasn't the only compelling aspect of the A6...six-speed manual, sport seats, factory sport suspension, chippable twin-turbo V6, etc., in addition to AWD. Anyway, so far it's a wandering eye only and not something upon which I've acted.

 

GS all the way

 

I would definitely choose the GS.

The GS has much better styling inside and out. I dont really like how the A6 exterior looks, its too plain. The interior is nice but not as nice as the GS.

The GS is much faster, more reliable, has much better features (Mark Levinson, Lexus Navigation), and more luxurious than the Audi.

Unless you really need the AWD system or prefer Audi's sportier suspension, there is no other reason not to get the GS.

 

Boy, I too had wondered about moving out of my GS to an A6 this past fall. Moved from Austin, TX to Sterling, IL and was concerned about handling with poor weather. Had experienced snow right after I bought mine back in '98 in Kansas City and didn't want to deal with that experience again. I was very tempted to go with the 2.7T and even had worked the major items out with the local dealer on it. Had two major issues I just couldn't get past 1) reliability of Audi, 2) pedal placement.

Seems easy to reconcile but living about an hour from a dealer and hearing all the continuous maintenance issues on Audi's really concerned me when I have had trouble free service from my GS. The pedal placement confounded me, I've got 12W's for boats and I kept catching my shoe on the back of the brake pedal when moving from the accelerator over to the brake. Just seems awful close and spacing off - never have experienced that before in any car but it bothered me enough to be hesitant. Many folks said don't worry, you'll get used to it but why should I have to "get used" to something when there are other choices.

I am thrilled to read about possible AWD into the GS line, that was the primary reason for looking at an Audi in the first place. I did change out my Michelin Pilot XGT's for Artic Alpins this winter and while we've not had a serious blizzard, they do wonders for my car versus the Pilot's. I am very confident now with the AA's on it in any winter weather, except ice of course.

 

Lexus of America stands behind their product while Audi of America does not, especially when cars have any aftermarket parts installed.

 

I have an A4 1.8T, and don't get me wrong I LOVE my car but the customer service is *****, I went in for an alignment came out wit a hole in my bumper that no one would have told me about unless I didn't see it first....Lexus is right on top of their service my Boyfriend has a GS400 and they treat him wonderfully...I'm jealous..lol

 

I have a friend that works as a technician at the Audi dealership in Maryland. He says that the only Audi that is a good car is the A4. He says that the rest of the line is terrible because something always goes wrong or breaks, especially on the A6. He mentioned that there are two Audi A6 owners that come in every month because the red light comes on all the time. He gives them terrible reviews. Luckily, the Lex dealership is right next door and I proceeded to buy the GS4. No complaints here and it has been 2 years. Good luck with whatever you decide on.

 

I've owned both, so I'm pretty objective about it.

Owned a 2001 GS300 w/ Mark Levinson & Nav. Traded it for a 2002 Audi A6 4.2 Quattro w/ Sport Package and Bose Audio because I thought the GS was "boring". My mistake.

The positives of the A6 were the following:
-Impeccably finished
-Felt like a vault
-Stuck to the road like glue
-Not one problem in 10,000 miles

The negatives of the A6 were:
-Service is UNBELIEVABLY BAD. (Won't go into the whole story, but the service dept. screwed up so badly they gave me a complete detailing free of charge. Even oil changes took 3 hours, etc., etc., etc.) Audi of America was no better.
-Brake dust is excessive (I know this is minor.)
-BOSE Stereo is decent but doesn't compare to Mark Levinson.
-Sport Seats hold you in but they're really narrow. (I'm only 155 pounds and could never find a comfortable driving position.)
Depreciation is unreal. (I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I purchased the car for $50,000 and sold it 8 months later for $36,000.)

If you're wondering why I took such a hit, it was primarily because of service, service, and service. Although I never had anything happen to the Audi, routine maintenance was so painful that I couldn't imagine going through something major. I breathed a sigh of relief when I came back to Lexus. Traded for a 2003 SC430 back in September, and they've treated me like gold ever since.

I would have traded for a GS430, but I'm waiting for the 2004 model. In the interim, I love the SC. My advice... go for the GS and have it L-Tuned!

 

Wow,

I never knew the Audis gave so many problems!! I myself was thinkin of a 98 A6 at one time, they are dirt cheap now!! I guess I know why. That being said, they are beautiful cars when you mod them, especially the V8 with those wide fenders!!

 

I wouldn't be embarrased by that. To be honest, any luxury car depreciates very fast in the first year or two. Probably because most people either want a new one or a 3 year old one and the market for something in the middle is not that juicy.

 

Lets see how the new 04'GS compare with new 04'A6.
Did you guys know BMW 330xi cost more than A6 (3.0). I'm planning on buying a new car for my wife, she's leaning towards 330xi and me A6 3.0. How do you think these cars measure up. ( i don't like small cars)

 

To me, sort of like comparing the 330 to the GS300. Two totally different cars. If you don't need the space, the 330 is going to be a really fun car. But if you need the space, the A6 is the way to go. The backseat is best in class. Your comment about not liking small cars however tells me that you may not like the 330. However, if she likes the 330, you better get her the 330!

 

I bought a low-mileage used 99 GS400 and an used 99 A6 appears to be priced lower than a GS400. However, I won't even consider the A6 because I feel Lexus has better reliability than A6. I have heard so many of my friends who have German vehicles reporting electrical problems. Majority of my driving will be on the highway so handling around curves is not a major factor. I have FWD vehicle for the MN winter so I don't drive my GS that much in the winter. The V8 is awesome from the minute I push hard on the go pedal.

 

I have driven the 2.7T and GS300 before I got my GS400. I think reliability aside, 2.7T is a better car, in comparison to GS300. Very nice interior, especially at night. Engine is very strong and smooth.

 

why not wait for the new S4? It seems to be pretty good on paper...

330xi doesn't have BMW's well known sports suspension so...why even bother with a car that BMW fans don't even consider as a BMW?

Sports suspension cannot be offered on the xi due to a design flaw I think... you have to do some research on bimmer.org

In almost all cases people suggest to go with A4 3.0 when considering 330xi... I say screw A4 and get the new S4 for the price of 330xi

you get something between 330 and m3, a V8 engine and yet you get the AWD you wanted