I need some advice. I have contemplated selling my 2007 IS 250 AWD SFP for a 2010-2012 Audi S5. I’m at ~98,000mi. It’s painful because I truly love the look of the car, and all of the modifications I’ve done to it (mainly cosmetic mods…like the sheep in wolfs clothing popular mod of ISF replica bumpers). But the car has been the bane of my existence. In the course of owning one (2yrs), I’ve been rear-ended, my water pump failed, cracked rims, carbon build-up, cold start rattle of the timing belt or whatever, and the biggest pain of them all has been the CV boot joints.

I’ve never been lowered more than 24.5" on 19” but for some reason after the first time one CV boot tore from taking an off-ramp too fast, my replacement boot tore simply driving north on I-95 at 80mph. It tore just shy of the mileage/month warranty from Firestone. They replaced it again (I paid out of pocket) and they used some non-OEM ****ty one that literally busted again a month later. Went back and they put an OEM one in, or at least that’s what they told me.

After all of this, most of my friends have advised me to just get rid of the car, and get a new one. I’ve been eyeing the Audi S5 for a while (ever since I got smoked by one, naturally).
What I’m wondering is what you all would do in my situation. I have enough money to include the trade in for my car to purchase an S5.

I’m tired of repairing this car, and each time something fails its more money out of pocket, more time in the shop for my daily driver that I depend on.

Do you think it’s worth its weight in repairs using the S5 money? Can I expertly use the money I’ve saved to make the proper repairs to my IS so as to not have reoccurring issues or is this car pretty much on the downhill? And still have a substantial amount of money left.

I appreciate all the help in advance.

 

It's really hard to get rid of a car that you have put so much time and money into. But after so many repairs you kinda have to think about how much more money are you going to be putting into your car for more repairs.
IMO I would go for the S5 and mod it up

 

Are the tenzo rims the ones that cracked? A quick search did not reveal good things about them.
Isn't stressing out the boots a known side effect of lowering the car? I mean, you "bend" the boot back and forth with every wheel rotation (more than usual anyway), so it makes sense it would wear faster, but not as fast as they seem to have done in your case. You can't blame the car for getting rear ended.
The water pump, carbon build up and cold start issue seem to be on Lexus. CV boots partly on Lexus ... the oem ones anyway ... partly on you for lowering partly on the shop for installing inferior aftermarket boots. Rims might be on you. Rear end is on someone else.

If you look at the car and smile, keep it. If you look at the car and see money floating out of your pocket, or see regret, get rid of it. It just sucks looking at your car and wondering where, when, and how much the next expense will be. I've had cars like that and it was a relief getting rid of them. And you don't truly appreciate what a relief it can be until you've gotten rid of the car. It would also suck dumping money into a car for the benefit of the next owner rather than you. Not to say you should sell the car knowing it will cause the next person grief, but you hate to think that you fixed all the problems just so the next owner can go problem free for years.

Even though getting rear ended or cracking the rims would have happened on some other car, if you had owned it at the time doesn't make you feel any better about this car. I know that as well.

Good luck with your decision.

 

Have you test driven an IS350? Stay in the family, get similar fuel mileage, and gain ~100 ponies. You obviously had bad luck and may have a bad taste in your mouth with the whole Lexus brand, so I understand if you don't even care about Lexus any longer.

 

Go for the S5. Ain't nothing with trying new things and having new feelings. Just like a relationship. =X

 

Before you jump ship look at the reliability of the Audi you are looking at. You already know the problem with carbon build up of the IS250. As for reliability Toyota/Lexus is known as above average for their vehicles. Audi/BMW on the other hand have owners who love their vehicles and would not own anything else..... as long as it's under warranty. You can see these people all day when trolling through their forums. If you ask them about a used car out of warranty listen to what they say.

 

If i was in your situation. Trade up for a new is 350. Yes. I would never in my life get a used unwarranted Euro Car. Its unfriendly to work on DIY. Lot's of trouble. Anything can go wrong. Especially the electronics like power window etc. If you go Volkwagon Audi then prepare to spend more because the shops charge way more than any other vehicle model.

 

The s5 is a more mod friendly car. It is fast and beautiful. If you got the $ to maintain it, i would say go for it. I tend to lend on the reliability factors. Coming from a 2006 VW JETTA GLI and a 2002 BMW M3, i can tell you I'm never going back until their reliability improves to be like lexus/toyota. I spent ALOT of $$$ on both those cars individual compared to my lexus.

 

This is coming from my perspective as an previous Audi owner (A4 2.0T) and my observations as the brother of a current model Audi owner (TT-RS).

Audi makes fantastic vehicles that are performance oriented, sexy to look at, and with Quattro, they are hard to beat. The brand has really come up from the early 90s where they were plagued with so many mechanical problems.

That being said, I think Keo is pretty spot on. From the factory, they are fantastic cars. In my experience, though, once you start messing with them (as in modding them) past a certain (very easily reached) point, you will start missing your Japanese car. I always came away from working on my Audi with the feeling that German cars in general really didn't want to be taken apart and that they were put together with the very least in ergonomic consideration for the mechanic.

My brother's TT-RS is ridiculous... and it is modified. Of course, he is like me and so he loves the power and performance so he is always looking for more. He is also pretty mechanically inclined as an engineer by training but he no longer works on that car himself and will take it in for everything now. It's almost too frustrating for him to even try to R&R certain parts as some take special tools to access.

I understand the frustration that you have with your IS. I think it's safe to say that the vast majority of us have been there or will be there sometime. Like Scott said, if it makes you sad to look at it, definitely cut it loose.

If you're looking to just modify easy things or external things, the S5 may work out very well for you. If you're a DIYer who loves to modify or fix your own car... it may not be replacement car for you.

Do you need the AWD? I don't know that much about Lexus/Toyota AWD setup; it just seems like those with AWD have a bit more trouble trying to fix up their cars. Maybe it's just a feeling...

 

I really appreciate all of the repsonses. They have been helpful in providing insight to my current situation and the direction I should go.

The biggest thing is I do get upset when I look at my car and I drive wondering what will break next. Having been stranded on freeways three times now for various issues is upsetting. I travel way too much to spend time worrying that I might not make the trip.

Maybe at 100k mileage things just start falling apart? I don't know but I'm close to that.

I know the S5 isn't exactly fuel friendly for all my driving, but fuel is not the issue, its the realiability of getting from point A to point B. I chose the S5 just for the style.

As for modifications, I never did any performance mods for my car, just cosmetic. All I plan on doing with the S5 is rims, intake, exhaust, and tail lights. Maybe suspension.

Again thank you all for the responses. I'll follow up what I end up doing once I return from Iraq.