Category Archives: Audi

Why Do Luxury Cars Cost More Money

Hey Cool Car Fans,

As The Cool Car Guy, I assist people in buying, selling, trading and leasing vehicles on a regular basis.  I work with people from all walks of life, but as you might expect a good portion of my clients drive luxury and high-end vehicles.  I also have clients who drive the no frills “bean can” as well or people who are on a limited budget.  I often am asked by people why they should spend the additional money for an Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz, etc. than on some of the less expensive vehicles on the market.  Many people think that these vehicles are all created equal, but nothing could be further from the truth.

I decided I should take the time to write an article on why luxury vehicles are more expensive than other brands on the market. Many people assume that it’s all about just selling a vehicle for what the market will bear.  Which is a nice way of saying that they think that all vehicles are the same and therefore they are ripping people off with a brand name.  It’s true that the manufacturer needs to turn a profit, but when you buy a more expensive vehicle you are also getting a product that costs much more to produce.  The components are more expensive to build the vehicle.

I actually run into this even with other people in the car business who don’t like Porsche, Audi or BMW or Mercedes Benz because they are expensive to repair.  It cracks me up because some of these people are Used Car Managers and people who actually sell cars for a living.  It’s as if they have no clue about what it under the hood and like a typical teenager think that just because both cars have a USB port they are the same technology.  They don’t seem to understand that there is a difference in the quality of components being used in the vehicles.  Let me illustrate this fact with just a few components to show the difference in pricing.

LETS LOOK AT THE BRAKES TO START

Brembo brakes are usually found on a vehicle like a Porsche 911 Turbo or a high-end Audi.  You can grab a set of these over at Tire Rack at a discounted price of $1,916 for a kit at the time that I posted this and this particular one fits on a1983 Porsche 911SC Targa.  Those do not include installation time at $150 to $200 an hour at a dealership or even at some of the specialty shops.

Contrast that with a set of rotors for a 2015 Hyundai Elantra GT that you can grab for $122.83 and these are much better than what the manufacturer would put on.  These brakes are not even close to the same in performance or quality which is why they are more 15 to 16 times less money!

ENGINES AND TRANSMISSIONS

Here’s the engine for a 2011 BMW 335xi, which I happen to own and drive as my daily driver here in Colorado.  It’s a 6 cylinder twin turbo engine that produces 300hp.   If you needed to replace this engine it would cost over at CarMonkeys.com close to $11,000 for a used one and that’s a deal.

Contrast that with a 2011 Toyota Camry 3.5l V6 that was their top of the line motor for that year that produced 268hp and it would be about $4,500 for that used engine at CarMonkeys.com.  That’s less than half the price even though they both have six cylinder engines.  Why?  They’re not even close when it comes to performance, components and technology that has gone into the two engines.  It’s not as drastic in price difference compared to the brakes, but it’s 2.5 times the price on the used market for the same six cylinder engine.  Obviously, they are not the same.

As you start to go throughout the vehicles and add up the cost of components like brakes, tires (run flats on the BMW or Mercedes Benz for example), the transmissions, shocks, struts, all-wheel drive systems, sound dampening, the quality of interior, you discover that everything costs more on the luxury vehicle.  You can keep going with this sort of exercise in other aspects of the cars.

If it were truly a case of the manufacturers gaining huge profit off these cars and they were not that expensive to produce than companies like Hyundai would be much more competitive with their new Genesis vehicle.  Instead they have only been able to beat the price of a Lexus by a very small margin in their pricing.  They are focusing on offering a longer warranty as a key buying point.  After all, the cost to surround a person with airbags and have the same quality components to compete with their target market of a Lexus and Acura isn’t any less.

The bottom line is that you get what you pay for when it comes to buying a vehicle.

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Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy
John is an auto consultant who owns CoolCarGuy.com that is a licensed car dealership in Lone Tree, CO.  He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter @coolcarguy

2009 Audi A6 Quattro Prestige Residing In Montana

SAM_0820_resizedHey Cool Car Fans,

In February I had an Audi Fan, we will call him Mark, call me about a 2009 Audi A6 Prestige that I had for sale that another Audi client of mine had traded for a newer Audi A6 Prestige.  It was a pretty sweet ride with about 82,600 miles on it at the time and it was priced to sell at $15,300. I don’t know if you have checked the prices on a new Audi A6 Quattro Prestige, but if you visit Edmunds.com they start at $62,500.  I bring this up because I want to make a point about buying used luxury vehicles like Audi’s, BMW’s, Mercedes-Benz and even Acura’s.

About the same time that Mark was coming down to pickup this sweet Audi A6, I had another client who was looking for a Ford Ranger Pickup.  I went out to the Denver Auto Auction to bid on a 2010 Ford Ranger XLT Extended Cab with four-wheel drive and about 65,000 miles and I stopped bidding at $15,700!  Now stop and think SAM_0814_resizedabout that for just a minute.  That little “bean can” of a pickup truck sold for more through the dealer auction wholesale than what I was retailing an Audi A6 for online.  How incredibly stupid is that?  One vehicle sold new for about $21,000 with a 6 cylinder motor and the other sold new for over $55,000 in a Prestige with a supercharged 3.0-liter V6 and 300hp, along with amazing luxury and amenities.  Autoblog had a great review of this vehicle back in 2009, but think about picking up a vehicle that in 2016 is starting at $62,500 for around $16,000.

Now I get this question all the time from people, “Aren’t Audi’s and other luxury vehicles expensive to repair?”.  Compared to what?  I just had a 2007 Dodge Ram Diesel truck that I was going to have to put brakes on after the right caliper seized up and the cost for front brakes was ridiculous.  Let alone putting on new upper and lower ball joints, a water pump and serpentine belt and other repairs.  I spend a ton of money fixing vehicles each year and I can tell you from experience that they are all expensive to repair, especially if you don’t have people you can go to that can save you money on repairs.  Have you SAM_0815-2_resizeddone head gaskets on a Subaru lately with the 2.5 motor?  If you haven’t and you own one, you probably will at some point and it’s not cheap.

The quality of the components are better on high-line vehicles, like this Audi and they last longer, plus if you get in an accident you’re not being protected by a body that is a step above tin foil (I’m joking, so don’t send me hate mail) in some of these “fuel efficient” vehicles today.  I’ve seen so many vehicles go through hail storms in Colorado and it looks like they have been chipping golf balls at the car.  That can happen to any vehicle, but I’ve seen a Mercedes go through the same hail storm as a Toyota and one has no dents and the other has thousands of dollars in required repairs.  Why do you think that is?  Because one is using more expensive and better materials plain SAM_0819_resizedand simple.

Mark is a serious Audi enthusiast though, who has owned numerous Audi’s and he has had great success with the brand.  Which is another thing that many non-automobile enthusiasts and “price only” shoppers lose out on big time.  I’ve saved so much money over the years by knowing the “car geeks” of particular brands.  The guys who can tell you that on a 2011 BMW 335xi you might have to replace the oil filter housing or a water pump.  That information is great to know going in and if you know guys who can do it for less you will save money.  Mark was thrilled to get this Audi A6 after a few other people had come to look at it and quite frankly were “clueless” about what they were buying.

I would say that you get what you pay for, but today that is not always the case because vehicles are really expensive.  Which is why I encourage SAM_0823_resizedmore people to look at the luxury brands all the time because on the used market there isn’t as much demand as there is supply and you can be driving a pretty nice ride for about the price of something that sold new for half the price.  And like I said, you can get plugged into a club or find guys like Mark who can save you time and money when it comes to repairs because they know these vehicles.

He sent me a few photos of his new ride that I’m posting here , so he sent me some photos and an email that stated the following…

“John

 Not the greatest backdrop however I wanted to get you some. I spent the weekend washing SAM_0822_resizedclay barring then waxing her. Christine doesn’t care for the gray wheels so I’m looking into repowdercoating the bright silver. We needed spacers to run the rims and I had a set of  25 mm. ones, but they made our studs a little short so we ordered 15 mm.  These were shot with the 25’S on the front and nothing on the back. By weeks end it should be all set up. I will forward more in a prettier setting.

Thanks again

Mark”

That’s why I love what I do!

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John Boyd

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant with his license at a car dealership in Denver, Colorado. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter @coolcarguy

Cool Car Looking For A New Driver – 2007 Audi Quattro 2.0T

2007 Audi A4Hey Cool Car Fans,

I bought a 2007 Audi A4 2.0 turbo for a client of mine and his situation changed, so know you can great your hands on this very cool ride.

What can I tell you about this vehicle that you probably don’t know if you are an Audi enthusiast.  The A4 is extremely popular and it comes in a FWD and a Quattro version.  This is the Quattro, so it’s all-wheel drive and Audi is the company that pioneered AWD to the marketplace and these are a blast to drive, especially with the turbo.

The Audi Quattro is a road and rally car that is produced by the German automotive coompany Audi that is part of the Volkswagen Group.  It was first shown at the 1980 Geneva Motor Show on March 3rd.  There is a great article that goes into more details about the history of the Audi quattro technology at Wikipedia buy Me and You and Everyone We Know .

2007 Audi A4 2This vehicle will have a new set of brakes and has had a safety inspection and is ready to roll.  It needs nothing.  If you want to see more pictures, you can click here to check it out at JFR & Associates.  If the link doesn’t work that means I sold it.

I can get you financed with 40 credit unions and a number of banks to choose from through JFR & Associates. If you are interested and want to see it, call me at 720-771-6269 and I’ll get in touch with my client to show it to you.

Ref: Stock number: JB91354

I’m listing it at $21,695 and you’ll see these priced all ove the place on AutoTrader and other sites, but this is the best condition of any that I’ve seen and it’s still under warranty.  Here’s what they are going for on AutoTrader by the way, so this is below the average price of what’s in the marketplace and it’s in mint condition.

2007 Audi A4Average Price: $23,244

Highest Price: $31,995
Lowest Price: $18,993

The used car market is going great, so don’t believe the headlines that the auto industry is hurting. New car sales are in the tank, but used car sales are strong in Denver and abroad.

People still have to drive, cars break down and have to be replaced and more people are buying used vehicles right now, but finding them can be a challenge.

Check out NADA for details on this 2007 Audi Quattro 2.0T, which at the time of this posting is $24,700 for clean retail.

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John Boyd

Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant with his license at a car dealership in Denver, Colorado. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter @coolcarguy