icemancometh

I'm looking to buy my very first Audi (well second if you count the Audi Fox I drove in high school).

I have a fixed budget and am considering one of the following:

2012 Audi A5 Premium Plus 2.0T Quattro cabriolet, 25K miles
2012 Audi S5 Prestige 3.0T Quattro cabriolet, 58K miles

Both cost the same. I plan to drive them for a while, hopefully through 150 - 200K miles, so I'm not too concerned about resale value. I drive about 25K a year, so the A5 will last me one more year than the S5. Both have the CPO 6 year/100K warranty.

The S5 has had an accident, rear impact, about $3K damage that's been fully repaired. The A5 is clean.

Which would you get? I really like the idea of driving a higher performance sports car compared to my current Camry sedan. The bigger engine, sport seats and adaptive headlights of the S5 would be very cool to have. I realize that the S5 might be slightly more expensive to maintain.

I'd appreciate any and all input. Thanks!

DavidRS4

Find another S5 to look at. I wouldn't buy a cabriolet with rear impact damage. ESP if you want to keep it for 150-200k miles. The rear is where the top mechanism is and any type of significant impact would affect it. Maybe not enough to have to replace it... but over time....

KarlFEvans

Buy the A5. Driving 25,000 miles per year, you will get better gas mileage.

Now that my BMW X5 died, I drive my S5 every day. The difference between an A5 and S5 in daily commute conditions favors the A5. I say that because no car is exciting to drive in stop and go traffic, or mile after mile on American interstates.

I am going to get a Jeep Grand Cherokee for my DD, and enjoy my S5 on weekends.

SloopJohnB@mac.com

I drive my M3 in stop and go with no problems.
I prefer the clutch and manual gearbox.
The tips are a nuisance after 100K miles, even if you change trans fluid every 50-60K. And you should.

mikejaeggi

agreed, all my cars are manuals and I don't have any complaints driving in Atlanta traffic. 6 speed makes it more fun.

AUDIQSS

I may be wrong here, but my impression of CPO means the vehicle has NEVER been involved in an accident like the one you describe. Maybe the "dealer" is overlooking that fact. At a minimum I would verify that it is/can in fact be "CPO'ed". Verify with the service department of a different dealer that the CPO is on the record. I bought a CPO'ed 2004 S4 Cab from an Audi dealer in Pennsylvania that turned out NOT to be CPO'ed. Don't even ask me if I was Pissed!!! The what if here is what happens down the pike when somethings happens and Audi says that's not covered because the CPO is invalid due to the accident? Beyond that, there is no doubt you will enjoy the supercharged 3.0l V-6 a whole lot more than the turbo-charged 2.0L four banger. That enjoyment is balanced of course by the fuel mileage. Reliability wise, I believe both engines are ultra reliable. But I am biased; I'm on my second S5 Cab.

icemancometh

Thanks for all the great input. I checked again and the S5 may not be CPO after all. I'm going to try to test drive both cars and then decide. I'm leaning towards the A5 for the lower mileage. I also found a similar Plus for even less money.

Also what does "dealing with the tips at 100K miles is a pain" mean?

dseag2

I believe he is referring to the Tiptronic transmission.

jeff968

$3K damage is not much at all. A simple repaint of the rear bumper would cost you $1K just for the paint work. If the damage was enough to effect the top mechanisum then the car would have been totaled.

i wouldn't worry about it. If you like the car then go for it.

craftmr

I think there are a lot of things to consider but here are two, tires and maintenance cost.. S5 normally run on summer tires which never last as long a normal tires and the maintenance cost will be about 25% more--that is if you go with the Audi Care or Care Plus.

I've had my S5/cab now for a little over a year and I love it every time I get behind the wheel but there are a few things you may not like about the car. Brakes--squeaking and now I'm looking at tire cambering affecting the life of the tires. Both of these issues would be non issues on the A5 and if you had to buy a new set of tires or have it serviced three times over a 25k-30k mile year it could get costly.