Now that the dieselgate settlement is approved, I need to start looking at cars.
I’m debating being practical and getting an Outback, or less practical and getting a B8 Avant or Allroad. I’ll be buying something used since I drive too many miles per year (30k+).
From what I’ve read, it seems that as long as the oil consumption issue was addressed, the B8’s are pretty solid (post 2010MY). Anyone have any experience one way or the other?
Plus side to the Outback would be that I could tow either of my boats, but I normally only need to tow them in the spring and fall, so I could rent a truck if I end up getting rid of my Jeep, which will be more likely if I end up getting something AWD.
Lol same situation … post 2010 ur fine with the oil consumption … were looking at a b8 a4 premium plus … tough to find it with all the options we want … idk that or a tourag
By post 2010 you mean 2011+ right? My gf had an '10 A4 that thank god was under CPO when it needed rings (and pistons?) then 15k later it jumped time and got a full rebuild. Then we traded it in. A few cars later we are back in an A4 but 2013, again CPO.
I had a 15 Outback Premium w/eyesight for like 5 months. It was literally the worst car I ever owned. If you don’t care about quality or attention to detail, loud shitty flat four motor, garbagecan cvt transmission, eyesight system that won’t work if it rains too hard, it’s too dark out, too foggy out, too snowy out, too sunny out. These cars are fucking junk.
On a side note, the build quality on the WRX’s/STi’s seem better than the Outback. Maybe find a WRX wagon? Or just buy the Audi! Or look at Volvo V60CC.
I was looking at 14 allroads, they seem like a good value, you also don’t see many around, there is one at Audi Pinse in Ft Lauderdale has one with 8k miles for $30K, its a base model, but still has a lot options.
I think Subarus are garbage, with the exception of STIs.
Avoid the allroad at all costs, wayyyy too complex and expensive to fix. I’ve seen a shocking amount of timing chain tensioner failures in the 2.0 turbo a4/vw engine in 09-11 model year cars, so I’d avoid it unless your willing to replace the tensioner/guides immediately (relatively big job). The newer cars don’t seem to have the same issue from what I’ve seen. Have you considered a smaller sporty suv? I’ve been a fan of the Acura RDX, esp the v6 model, and they have been pretty solid overall…
See, that’s the sort of unvarnished opinion I was looking for! One of my coworkers just bought one, and says he loves it… but he’s coming from an SUV, and seems more like an appliance driver. What did you hate most about the CVT? It seems like that was also the most common complaint and failure on the Outbacks.
I wish they still made a wrx wagon, the only “wagons” they still sell are the Outbacks I looked at a few Volvo’s but I couldn’t find many of them used, and I’m too much of a cheap fuck to spend 30k or more on a car I’m going to put so many miles on.
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How does the tensioner replacement compare to a timing belt replacement?
You only need to drive a car with CVT once to discover that its quite possibly the worst thing to ever happen to modern cars.
Also I dont see how you could honestly compare an Allroad to an Outback. If you like nice things and want to enjoy driving, get the Allroad. If you want to be bored to death and have no soul, get the Outback.
The cvt is terrible. Like stated earlier in this thread, go drive one and report back. They half-assed programmed it to make it “feel” like a regular automatic transmission but, it just doesn’t work. It sucks, just like the rest of the car. The only thing I miss about that car is the power tailgate it had. It really is useful.
Other things about the outback that sucked:
-the seats. Have to be the worst/uncomfortable in the industry. Leather had worn extremely poorly as well
-the armrest and center console had wear marks and indentations on them where my elbows rested on them after 25,000miles
-fit and finish of the interior as a whole was poor.
I too drive over 30,000miles a year as well. So you notice the bad stuff every time you are in the car.
It sucks about putting on those kind of miles. I find that if I buy new, and get a new car every 2-3 years, trading them in before they get 100,000miles on them (preferably 60-65k on them), I do pretty good. They are mostly paid for in that time anyways, so I always have equity in them when it’s time to trade in.
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Correct. 2016 V60 Drive-e Platinum, FWD. Going to be replacing that next year at this time with a V90.
You could possibly leave the chain guides in place if they are not visibly cracked or damaged (look closely), and just replace the tensioner itself (inexpensive) and leave the chain in place as long as you keep pressure on the chain so it won’t skip time (I’ve seen guys do it with zip ties carefully). Be aware that taking the crank pulley off could allow the chain gears to jump time also (the tightened crank pulley holds the chain cogs in the correct position and are actually a separate piece than the crankshaft itself) however, I have not had issues setting the crank to cyl 1 tdc, then removing the crank pulley, and then re installing the crank pulley bolt to about 20lb ft or so if I had to guess. You need to go through that to get the lower timing cover off (which should be replaced bc it will probably bend when you remove it and cause leaks later) with a bazillion t30 torx screws in it. There are actually 3 chains in the engine: 1 for the cams, 1 for balanced shafts and 1 driving the oil pump, although I’ve only really seen issues with the cam chain and associated hardware. You will need a few different quality torx bits and definintly a set of quality xzn triple square spline bits to do it. It’s not a terrible awful job but it is definintly time consuming seeing as there are a lot of parts that have to come off etc. Parts wise you could spend anywhere from 300-800 or so if you spend wisely depending if you replace the tensioner/timing cover or go full replacement with all 3 chains/guides/tensioners and anything else that breaks. Not terribly nighmare-ish but if you screw it up (pull the upper timing cover and verify ALL the timing marks are good before turning the crankshaft at all, then when it looks good rotate the crankshaft a few revolutions by hand to make
sure everything is correct) it could trash the engine and get nightmarish fast.
cliffs: timing chain tensioner replacement on vw/Audi 2.0T is a bit more involved than a timing belt on a Honda Civic. Difficulty level 6/10. Not miserable, but time consuming
Also, cvts suck. Short lifespan, no fun to drive, sucks the life out of everything. Terrible
Don’t know about either of these cars, but lots of CVT hate in here that I’ll offer a counter too. Had the CVT in our Murano and I loved it. Instant almost hydraulic thrust from any speed, smoothest driving transmission I’ve ever owned. That said it was paired with Nissan’s torquey 3.5 which was why it worked. While the Murano was in for service they gave me a Rogue with a CVT and it was just terrible. Nothing worse than pairing a wheezing little 4 banger with a CVT that makes sure it’s constantly spinning at full buzz mode.
Seconded. I might be biased, but the new Alltrack Golf is the cat’s meow. Swing by and take a look, I’ve got half a dozen of them. Plus, you’re a buy back customer…so I’m going to throw some extra stuff your way.