4DRZ

iTrader: (7)

You can click on the picture and make it much larger. However, that list was my super fast/super small chicken scratch writing so you may still not be able to read it.

I'm old school. I was just going to say that you guys bring a whole new level of **** retentiveness to my game, but you bring up a good point. That would make it much easier to compare, change, and for me- be able to read. The funny part for me with this list is it usually boils down to 2 cars and it's just a subjective list that is much shorter so the old school legal pad works really well for me. In this instance, not so much.

I think if I made my usual subjective list it would go something like this:

M3- It looks great, the engine will be bulletproof, lots of cool tech, should probably just buy this one.

ATS-V- Wow is it big and ugly, tiny back seat, however- lots of cool track goodies and seems to depreciate awesomely

RS3- Boring to look at (but total sleeper), who the hell wants A/T, AWD would be great, fantastic mileage, amazing engine and grip- a simple tune of the engine makes it a 10 sec car?!?

Quadrifoglio- Looks amazing in person, supposedly sounds amazing, available with Sparco seats from the factory, my dad's 1st car out of college was an Alfa, essentially a Ferrari engine, Ferrari maintenance costs or Alfa reliability? Yikes! Why don't they import the stick shift???

Lego_Maniac

iTrader: (3)

The engine might be bulletproof, but what about the rest of the car






It does have a surprisingly cramped back seat. It's kinda like the M3 except with a 20% discount.


I'd love an M3 or ATS-V, and when my littlest goes to kindergarten next fall, I'll have enough child care savings that I could swing one, but I'm having a really hard time justifying the cost, and I hesitate to buy a used one. I don't think you could go wrong with either the ATS-V or M3.

4DRZ

iTrader: (7)

I sat in the ATS-V and the RS3 and the weird thing is that the RS3 seems much smaller in the back and I really notice the lack of headroom in the front of the RS3. It made me wonder if I could fit with a helmet since that was an issue with my G37. It is probably due to the fact that it comes with a sunroof standard. Hard to believe the M3 has almost 4 inches more headroom.

Lego, you picked my two favorite manual transmission cars. I know what you mean about BMW reliability, but I think that car is pretty well sorted. I had good luck with my E46 M3, but maybe I got lucky. The Caddy has a lot of electric tech. to go wrong too and the dash and gauges look so cheap compared to the M3. The RS3 looks to be significantly faster in a straight line and AWD would be awesome to have again here in the winter. If only it didn't have so much weight over the front for handling, A/T, and such cheap brakes in back...

Boomer-Bob

iTrader: (1)

Not Javelin? :-)

mdigiorgio35

i mentioned before a GTI or golf R would be a worthy replacement HOWEVEr my old roommate messaged me last night saying he had to get rid of his out of frustration (and the money he was dropping for ficxing it). I guess after 50K or so miles he's had enough of it. Problems include: a suspension spring shattered, turbo charger needed replacing, and some sort of emissions leak....long story short he drove it to the dealership friday and drove home with a brand new honda civc sport...he wanted a hot hatch, new warranty, and relatively cheap

4DRZ

iTrader: (7)

That's strange. Did he have a GTI or Golf R? VW is one of the brands we carry at my work and I have sold a lot of GTI's over the years and only a few Golf R's, but I have yet to really hear of any real problems on either car.

mdigiorgio35

GTI autobahn edition...he LOVED that car but i guess the fixes all in a short period of time pushed him over the edge. He always took great care of it from what i saw

4DRZ

iTrader: (7)

I would have assumed electrical issues as the Autobahn is loaded. Did he do any modding? How does a metal coil spring shatter?

Lego_Maniac

iTrader: (3)

I was under the impression that except for some electrical gremlins, these cars, especially the GTI were pretty reliable.

The first year Golf R had some issue with the turbos, and the 6MT clutch is pretty much at the limits of its capacity at stock power levels, but that's about it

woofersus

iTrader: (3)

Got my wife a 2015 GTI DSG about six months ago and am really liking it in the times I've driven it, though it has a completely different character than my G. I might consider a Golf R when it's time but am more likely to look at the aforementioned ATS-V's or M3's.

He may have gotten caught in that brief period where the MK7's had bad turbos in the first half of 2015. Should have been a warranty repair, I would have thought. Since they revised it they haven't had any issues.

I was a little worried about reliability as well, but so far so good I guess. We do have minor electrical niggles, though, and some googling suggests they are pretty common. Every couple of weeks it bugs me to check the license plate light, which is fine, and every once in a while it bugs out and tells me not to shift out of park while I'm driving on the highway at 75mph. It doesn't stop you from driving normally - it's just notifications. The interwebs suggest it's harmless but a new shifter is how to get rid of it. Stuff like that worries me a little for the long haul. We also have a periodic CEL with a code about a small vacuum leak. I suspect the gas cap, which again, is common and no big deal, but the car isn't that old. Lastly, and this is just a design issue I want to rant about, when your washer fluid is low it dings and reminds out about that literally every 20 minutes forever until you fill it. Pretty annoying on a 10hr drive. I'm going to get a VCDS interface if only to turn that thing off. I hadn't refilled my own washer fluid in years, but it uses synthetic oil and calls for 10k mile intervals, so it doesn't get topped off as often.

Much like the M3, I'm pretty confident the engine is sorted. It's the rest of the car I worry about. I had a friend with a real bad experience with more than one Audi for similar issues. And there's always some special reason only a dealer can do a bunch of stuff and every time the dealer pops the hood it magically costs $1200. Fears like that are part of why I bought my Infiniti instead of those brands the last time around.

mdigiorgio35

he didnt do any modding. Before all of this he never had a bad thing to say about the car...must've just been the timing of all 3 things happening in such a short period of time that tested his patience. as for the coil shattering, i have literally no idea cause that never happens haha. I would still at least test out these cars but does make me weary, especially if i purchased used

4DRZ

iTrader: (7)

And this is why I am glad I am in a Nissan/Infiniti. Almost 3 years worth of daily driving, modding, and tracking and not one single electrical gremlin to speak of.

My experience with my E46 M3 was also surprisingly reliable. Then again, the V8 M3 we just got in on trade here at work just went into limp mode and is misfiring already!?!

I wonder which car would be more reliable out of a 2015+ M3, ATS-V, RS3, and Quadrifoglio. I have to think the Quadrifoglio is the least reliable, but then it is really a crap shoot for reliability as all 3 remaining cars have a lot of tech. that could go wrong. That's why I like simple cars with not much tech. There is some truth to the saying that a more basic car is more reliable- less stuff to break.

Lego_Maniac

iTrader: (3)

I'd guess the M3, ATS-V and RS3 would be roughly equal. Parts and labor might be a little less on the ATS-V, but that's just a guess.

I think they will all be less reliable than a Japanese car

4DRZ

iTrader: (7)

I think that's a pretty good guess. That is kind of what I was anticipating.

The steering and braking is supposed to be a touch better on the ATS-V than the M3. (But I find the styling and fit/finish on the M3 a lot better) The braking must be due to the larger calipers on the ATS-V as the rear rotors are quite a bit smaller. However, not as tragically small as the ones on the RS3. Sliding caliper brakes- seriously Audi??? However, the Audi will absolutely smoke both the M3 and ATS-V in a straight line. It seems like the handling would be a bit weird with so much weight up front. I think the Quadrifoglio would be a bit quicker around the circuit than all (if it doesn't brake down on the way there), but I am waiting to see an RS3 lightning lap to be sure.

Lego_Maniac

iTrader: (3)

Well, the RS3 is auto only, so that would pretty much narrow the choices down to the M3 or ATS-V for me.

You'll probably have an easier time finding a M3 than an ATS-V, especially if you're picky about color, and mileage.