I want an audi!

[Crusader]

Driver only had a few scratches.

http://www.gougoule.com/crash_audi/

[jahcs]

I see my question of "where's the engine" is answered by pic number 13.

BTW: There's a difference between dumb luck and a safe automobile. While I don't doubt the Audi is a fairly safe conveyance the driver of this vehicle is definitely in the first category, if "just a few scratches" is true.

And isn't the safest car one that stays on the road? ;)

[Tal]

Driver only had a few scratches.

http://www.gougoule.com/crash_audi/
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You want a car that randomly 'splodes into its component parts?

You played with legos a lot as a kid didn't you? ;)

[Occhidiangela]

Driver only had a few scratches.

http://www.gougoule.com/crash_audi/
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The most dangerous part of any car is the nut behind the wheel. Cars don't wreck, people wreck cars.

Occhi

[Roland]

Driver only had a few scratches.

http://www.gougoule.com/crash_audi/
[right][snapback]106474[/snapback][/right]

No, you don't.

They break. OFTEN. And they are a bitch to repair. Trust me on this - they're not worth the metal they're made from. You'll pay the sticker-price ten times over in the course of a few years.

You want a safe car? Get a Volvo. Or a Saab. Don't get an Audi (or a Volkswagon, for that matter, as they make Audi). Unless you're really, REALLY rich and don't mind pissing money away on a crappy car. And if you ARE that rich, get a REAL car, like a Mercedes.

[Munkay]

No, you don't.

They break. OFTEN. And they are a bitch to repair. Trust me on this - they're not worth the metal they're made from. You'll pay the sticker-price ten times over in the course of a few years.

You want a safe car? Get a Volvo. Or a Saab. Don't get an Audi (or a Volkswagon, for that matter, as they make Audi). Unless you're really, REALLY rich and don't mind pissing money away on a crappy car. And if you ARE that rich, get a REAL car, like a Mercedes.

I agree with Roland, Audi's become expensive to repair when they break down. As far as breaking down often? I don't share the same hatred Roland has for Audi. Like most major car companies it seems to depend more on service record, how it is driven - whether it's a lead footed 16 year old, or a 80 year old grandmother - and also some dumb luck thrown in.

But I digress. Am I the only one that thinks Crusader isn't actually interested in purchasing a new car, rather just came up with a good title for an incredible crash? :whistling:

Cheers,

Munk

[Roland]

I agree with Roland, Audi's become expensive to repair when they break down.  As far as breaking down often?  I don't share the same hatred Roland has for Audi.  Like most major car companies it seems to depend more on service record, how it is driven - whether it's a lead footed 16 year old, or a 80 year old grandmother - and also some dumb luck thrown in.

But I digress.  Am I the only one that thinks Crusader isn't actually interested in purchasing a new car, rather just came up with a good title for an incredible crash?  :whistling:

Cheers,

Munk
[right][snapback]106549[/snapback][/right]

I work in an automotive shop working almost exclusively on imports (Saabs are our specialty, Volvos a close second, but anything imported we can do), and we have a saying around here (coined by one of our mechanics who almost always gets all the Audis to work on):

You know why you always see a "Help-Wanted" sign at Audi dealerships? Because the mechanics are always committing suicide.

I told that joke to some employees at an automotive dealer that sells Audis (among a few other cars). Boy did they laugh.

Let me go into further depth on WHY Audis suck to own, specifically due to repair costs.

1. To do ANY front-end work, you have to take the entire nose off the car. Period. That adds at least an hour of labor to any job involving the engine, such as water pumps, timing belts (don't get me started on those atrocious things), etc.<>
   
2. They have severe issues with vacuum lines rotting out, most often in very difficult to find places, so diagnostic can be a PITA. Also, replacing the line (the part itself can sometimes only be replaced as an Audi part, not by using any old standard vacuum line, which can get expensive in and of itself - I'm thinking particularly of a line in the very rear of the car, next to the gas tank) can sometimes mean ripping half the car apart, making a simple repair an extroardinarily expensive ordeal.<>
   
3. Check Engine lights are an all-too-common problem on these beasts of burden, most often brought on by rotting vacuum lines, but we've seen just about every kind of Check Engine light on these things. We have one customer who has had no less than 10 different codes in the course of a few years - bad luck on that person's part, but Check Engine lights are still a bread-and-butter money-maker for us when it comes to Audis.<>
   
4. On some of the newer Audis (and Volkswagens), you have to remove the gas tank just to change a fuel filter for a Major Service - not a simple job, especially considering most cars have them mounted eternally underneath the car, and can be changed just as quick as an oil filter.<>
   
5. All the 1.8L Turbo models of Audi and Volkswagen require full-synthetic oil, and regular oil-changes. Failure to do this will not only void your warranty, but blow the engine up. Yes, I mean that. There has been a service bulletin sent out to all Volkswagen / Audi owners about engine oil and engine / oil pump problems. Using traditional oil will cause the motors to sludge up very rapidly, clogging the oil pump and depriving the motor of much-needed oil. This can burn out the turbos, but more importantly cause extensive engine damage. We've seen this a few times, and it's not pretty. AFAIK, Volkswagen / Audi have warrantied some of the engines (I say some because I'm not 100% sure of all the details; I just know that they had been sending out servive bulletins about the issue, and I believe they were replacing engines under warranty, but I'm not 100% certain if all customers were covered, depending on how poorly the car was maintained), but I don't know of anyone personally who's had it done, so I can't say for sure. You can probably find some info on the web about it.<>
   [st]I could go on all day about the problems with Audis, but I digress for brevity's sake. They're not BAD cars, just badly DESIGNED cars. :P They're expensive, being an import, and one that seems to strive for "luxury" status, and they're just not engineered in the brightest of fashions. I mean, really, outside of race cars and the like, who ever heard of having to take the entire nose off a car just to change a belt?
   
   At any rate, I'm sure you're right that Crusader is not intending to actually buy an Audi, but I wanted to prevent him, and others, from making a potentially costly investment without at least lending some of my experience. Besides, he was basing his decision around the idea that an Audi is safe, when I can offer several car choices that are renowned for their safety. Volvos in particular have built a life-long reputation for safety. Indeed, even the 850's had side-impact airbags, as well as dual-front airbags, at least as early as 1995. Saabs of old also have a good safety record, one I can attest to personally, although I can't speak with any experience as to newer ones (especially with that 9-5 that crashed here not too long ago, killing one of its occupants instantly, with the other dying en route to the hospital; of course, the car was going over 80 MPH and was airborne when it slammed into a tree; it was driven by a 17 year old girl, with her 10 year old brother in the passenger seat). I've heard they are safe, but I don't own one personally, and I haven't been in an accident in any of the newer ones, so as I said, I can't testify personally. They supposedly are still very safe, from what I hear.
   
   One thing I have to add though, is that ALL cars have their quirks. There are no "perfect" cars - except maybe for Toyotas. ;) All cars have their issues, although some have more than others. Audis are "nice" cars, but not worth the money, IMHO, and are definitely a pain to work on, which can cause exceedingly high repair bills. Volkswagens, for their part, generally are not nearly as bad as Audis, despite the fact that Volkswagen owns Audi. Figure that one out.
   
   In closing, that guy was more lucky than anything else. One look at the condition of the inside of the car (what's left of it) can tell you that much. The steering wheel is bent, the driver's seat is mangled, and there's nothing left encaging the driver. The fact that he survived with "only a few scratches" is a miracle, nothing less. I don't think Audis are unsafe cars, but I certainly don't think that much of ANY car could have kept their occupant alive through all that damage, without a sheer load of luck.
   
   Edit:
   Upon looking at the pictures again, I see the driver's door is still intact. The fact that the driver's airbag, at the very least, did not come off, along with the driver's door still being intact, leads one to conclude that it hit on the right front, tearing that whole side of the car apart. How it split in half, I don't know, but looking at it I'd say it hit sideways somehow on the passenger side, wrapping the door around the tree, with enough force to rip the car apart in halves, sending each forward in slightly off angles. The guy is exceedingly lucky he survived that. I don't think ANY car would have withstood that much punishment. I don't know HOW he did what he did, but however he did it, he deserves to go to jail. He was speeding well beyond wreckless endangerment, probably going a good 90+ miles an hour, I'd wager. The fact that the guy had racing tires (street-racing competition tires; might be Kumhos, from the look of them, or Yokohamas) on leads me to believe his forays into higher-speeds were not at all uncommon. Idiot. I hope they lock him up for a LONG time, and I hope he NEVER gets a license to drive ever again.
   
   Edit 2:
   Yup. Looking at the close-up of the steering wheel shows he was going in excess of 90 miles an hour at the time of impact, which means he could have conceivably been doing over 100 when he lost control of the vehicle.

[Vandiablo]

Edit 2:
Yup. Looking at the close-up of the steering wheel shows he was going in excess of 90 miles an hour at the time of impact, which means he could have conceivably been doing over 100 when he lost control of the vehicle.
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Hmm, I had concluded that it was 90+ kilometers/hr he was traveling, which would be about 55 mph. I guess because the webpage was in French (or some other latin) I was assuming ... plus, the numbers seem awfully crowded on the speed'o'meter to be mph. (EDIT: Also, the license plates on the cars in the road seem to have the European shape rather than the North American shape. The word on the side of the ambulance may be a place name, it looks kinda Spanish, maybe it's Italian. ) If the pix are from Europe, we're much more likely to be dealing with kph rather than mph.

55 mph is enough to cut yer car in half. I had a friend who took a curve at about that speed, went sideways into a telephone pole, and split his car in the same manner as these pix. (IIRC, it was a car like a Valiant or some similar no-nonsense sedan.) When the ambulance came, they were amazed to find him alive. (He was the only one in the car, fortunately.) Not only that, but he could be said to have "only scratches". Actually, he had a "gash" on the top of his head, just a matter of degree I guess.

How had he survived??? Well, first he was lucky the pole missed him. Evidently, the roof of the car was peeled off via the pole (which started its cutting from the passenger side). Then, somehow, he was ejected from the car for quite a distance (no belt, judging by that fact). He must have gone out on the passenger side through the hole that had just been made by the pole ripping off the roof. In fact I think he must have been ejected while the pole was still cutting the car, and before the roof was entirely off. My guess is that the top of his head actually hit the roof as it was crumpling, hence the gash. (I think if it had been the doorframe, the injury would have been worse.) Going through the hole was the second stroke of luck. But he still needed a third-- many times people die not from the crash but from what happens when they are thrown into the air at x mph, or more specifically, from how they come to rest after being thrown that way. This guy had good luck #3 by landing in bushes.

Indeed, even the 850's had side-impact airbags, as well as dual-front airbags, at least as early as 1995.

As for Volvo 850's, I have one, it's a '96. It has the dual front airbags, but I don't think it has the side bags. Maybe those were an option.

-V
Night Nurse
The Forsaken Inn


(Edit: added the bit about the license plates.)

[eppie]

If of course you live in Germany, an Audi is a much better choice.
Cheaper and more Audi dealer/mechanics.

In Holland cars (especially German ones) are much more expensive than in Germany...but amarican cars are even more expensive.


What I was wondering (and seeing that you are an expert) are there troubles with car motors because in the US the petrol is usually lower in octane number?

[Roland]

If of course you live in Germany, an Audi is a much better choice.
Cheaper and more Audi dealer/mechanics.

In Holland cars (especially German ones) are much more expensive than in Germany...but amarican cars are even more expensive.
What I was wondering (and seeing that you are an expert) are there troubles with car motors because in the US the petrol is usually lower in octane number?
[right][snapback]106621[/snapback][/right]

Motor troubles these days, in ANY car, revolve around two items:
Engine oil, and timing belts. Failure to do either will kill your car. Guess how many people don't do either? :P

Outside of that, it's very rare to hurt a motor in a car, outside of extensive abuse (i.e. over-revving, running without sufficient coolant, or allowing a head-gasket to blow / leak). But those two above things are very common problems, unfortunately, and are the cause of most of the motor troubles we see. When the timing belt goes, the engine goes, too, very often in an explosive manner (a valve usually gets shot through one of the pistons, due to the sudden "stop" of the engine; imagine not wearing a seatbelt when you crash your car head-on into a telephone pole, and you'll get the idea of what it's like when a car loses its timing belt).

Not changing the engine oil at proper intervals, and in some cases, not using the proper type of oil (i.e. synthetic versus regular), can cause what's known as a "sludge motor". Oil breaks down over time due to use (i.e. heat, time, etc.), and thus turns into this sludgy gunk that pools at the bottom of the oil pan. This very often not only means the engine isn't running with a full amount of oil, but more often than not the oil pump tubes are set near the bottom of the oil pan, and thus they start to suck up this sludge. This clogs the oil pumps, further reducing oil flow, and eventually cases extensive engine wear due to lack of lubrication. Sooner or later, that engine will simply seize up. One other problem, though, occurs when you finally DO change the oil: fresh oil has detergents in it, just like gasoline, to keep the engine clean. Putting in fresh oil after extended periods of time without changing the oil will lead to the above scenario, only MUCH faster. It's not uncommon to hear of someone changing their oil, and within two weeks the motor completely seizes. This is due to the fact that the fresh oil cleans out a portion of all the sludge, and thus it gets sucked right into the oil pump, where it clogs it up. Oil stops flowing the engine, and voila! One dead engine.

These oil problems are further compounded by most newer cars requiring synthetic oil (which not all places carry, or even know about; Jiffy Lube especially seems to be a big target for this), which is itself much more expensive than regular oil - sometimes twice as much. Also adding to the problem are all these car manufacturers building cars specified to go 5,000, 7,500, or even 10,000 miles on a single oil change. This in itself isn't so bad, as it offets the higher cost of the oil. But when you do get your oil changed, if you use improper oil, and then you go that 5,000, or 7,500, or 10,000 miles on it, the oil was not designed for such high mileage, and thus breaks down much faster, leading to the problem outlined above.

The best advice I can recommend to anyone, with any car (new or old), is this: follow those service records! Do not miss any. The cost of missing one can be far greater than the cost incurred by doing it. Don't miss oil changes. Don't put in the wrong type or grade of oil. And don't forget to do those timing belts, especially when most dealers do the first few for free!

[Crusader]

You want a car that randomly 'splodes into its component parts?

You played with legos a lot as a kid didn't you? ;)
[right][snapback]106495[/snapback][/right]

*fidgets*

*looks shyly*

Yes. and Construx.

*hides* :ph34r:

[Crusader]

No, you don't.

They break. OFTEN. And they are a bitch to repair. Trust me on this - they're not worth the metal they're made from. You'll pay the sticker-price ten times over in the course of a few years.

You want a safe car? Get a Volvo. Or a Saab. Don't get an Audi (or a Volkswagon, for that matter, as they make Audi). Unless you're really, REALLY rich and don't mind pissing money away on a crappy car. And if you ARE that rich, get a REAL car, like a Mercedes.
[right][snapback]106539[/snapback][/right]

You do realise that the buying part was a joke, right? :P

[Tal]

*fidgets*

*looks shyly*

Yes. and Construx.

*hides*&nbsp; :ph34r:
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Thought of you when the family was in Disneyworld and visited the Lego superstore - they had a giant knight on horseback made out of legos. :)

[Occhidiangela]

As for Volvo 850's, I have one, it's a '96. It has the dual front airbags, but I don't think it has the side bags. Maybe those were an option.

-V
Night Nurse
The Forsaken Inn
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So, is your avatar soon to be replaced by a Guy Fawkes mask?

"V for Vandiablo." :lol: A Mardi Gras mask?

Occhi

[Crusader]

Thought of you when the family was in Disneyworld and visited the Lego superstore - they had a giant knight on horseback made out of legos. :)
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*snif*

You remember me!

*sniffles remembering the good ol days like a sentimental ninny* :')

[Yurup]

Get a suzuki.

[Occhidiangela]

Get a suzuki.
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Hi there! Haven't seen that handle in a while. Pleased to see you are still "around." :D

Suzuki is better on gas mileage than an Audi, and thus more green friendly.

What's not to like? (Of course, when it rains . . .)

Occhi

[Guest]

Nice post. Happily I can say I drive a Toyota.

[Occhidiangela]

Nice post. Happily I can say I drive a Toyota.
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Do you own Prius? B)

I find it interesting that up in Detroit, production from "The Big Three" is being yet again curtailed, and even moved to Mexico, while in San Antonio, Texas, Toyota recently opened a new plant. Odd, how the Big Three chose to stick one in American Labor's eye, while Toyota shows more interest in American labor as well as the American market.

Full disclosure: My next door neighbor runs a Toyota dealership. My sister and brother in law are on their third Toyota, a Prius, to go with their Honda Oddessy (mni van) which they intend to replace with a Sienna this summer. Mom and Dad went back to Honda after their 10 year run with a Camray, which they loved. My sister in law is on her third Camray.

I am looking very hard at getting my daughter a Scion XA. (A Toyota, really.)

Occhi

[Guest]

No rednecks drive trucks.