saholz

I bought my first Audi, a 2003 A6 2.7T, in 2002. That was followed by a 2006 A4 2.0T Avant, and then my most recent 2009 A4 2.0T sedan. All were owned on three year leases.

All of my Audi's gave me great service with nothing but a few very minor service issues over all those years. I even had an exceptional dealer and salesman with Lakes Region Audi of New Hampshire. My lease on the 2009 came to end in November and a funny thing happened.

My Audi dealer closed their doors. Gone! Their VW franchise was transferred to another local dealer, but not the Audi franchise. This left me with no Audi dealer within less than a 2 1/2 hour one way drive. Lakes Region was 1 1/2 hours away, but that's about my travel limit for service. Running my own business with limited time off, a five hour round trip for service just isn't practical. Even with a $3,000 Audi loyalty coupon in my pocket, I just couldn't do it.

I got a $350 lease turn in bill from Audi recently. I called them and pleaded my case ... a loyal Audi customer who has been shut out by the lack of any reasonably local dealer. They agreed with me and actually waived the entire turn in fee.

So, after all these years, it's time to say good bye to Audi. My A4's replacement is a 2012 Volvo S60 R-Design all wheel drive sedan. I've put about 700 miles on the new car and must admit that it is a worthy replacement and a blast to drive. Still, there are many things the Audi did just a little better and I do miss it. If the Volvo can come close to reliability of the Audi, I'll probably be very pleased with it. On the other hand, if another Audi dealer opens up within 1 1/2 hours of me ....

zulujams

Hey Stan, good luck with the new car. I'm sure you'll miss the Audi but that's a tough situation with no dealers close by. I don't have one in my backyard but there are some between 30 and 60 min away. Again, good luck. Hope last year's winter doesn't repeat this year. It's been pretty warm lately, probably to lull us into a false sense of security. Be sure to put some winter tires on that AWD!

SFV A4

I feel your story, but I cannot understand why you based your car buying decision soley on dealer convenience. I know it has some impact on things, but an extra drive for service once every few months isn't that big of a thing, is it?

Huey52

The S60 is a very nice vehicle and will serve you well in NH winters. Enjoy!!

saholz

Let me give you an example of what no dealer means. When I had to do my 15k service, I had it done at a local shop simply because there was no way I could set aside an entire day to have it done by an Audi dealer. That was no problem but, even though my mechanic was Audi certified, had all the Audi tools and the computer software, he could not reset the service reminder. Audi explained that only a dealer could reset the reminder, regardless of what equipment an individual mechanic had. There was no way I was going to drive 5 hours and spend another hour or so at a dealer to pay for that reset, so the car was finally turned back in with that service reminder still active.

My Audi's did need some minor service over the years; other than routine servicing. I was willing to do the 3 hour round trip to Lakes Region, but not a 5 hour ride. Before Audi, I owned three different BMW's. That dealer, the closest to me, was also a 5 hour round trip. Unfortunately, that was a trip I made much too often as all cars required more than just routine service. Especially in the winter, these are not particularly enjoyable jaunts and I swore never to put myself in that position again.

Regarding snow tires, I used Dunlop Winter Sport 3D's on the A4, but just went to General Altimax Arctic's for the Volvo. They're studdable, if I decide to do that at some point. (The Dunlops are now listed for sale in the classifieds here.)

My 2009 Audi A4 goes on my short list of the best cars I've ever owned. My old 1999 BMW 528i is also on that short list. I have nothing but praise for Audi and the dealer I dealt with since 2002. Now the only two Audi dealers in the entire state of New Hampshire are in the south, close to Massachusetts, and not at all convenient for those of us who live in the northern end of the state closer to the Canadian border. There are a lot of Audi's up here, along with Subaru's, because of their superb winter driving capabilities. I can only hope that, at some point, another Audi franchise will open up to serve the rest of us again.

gary135r

How far for you is Marong in Falmouth Maine where I bought my A4?
They have been around forever and I have had a good experience with them.