bmoney--My Audi A4 Quattro had a very nice interior but was very trouble-prone and unreliable. My two previous Infinitis plus my present G35x have had fewer problems combined than the Audi, I believe (and I had it for less than 3 years. My total "Infiniti-years" is probably about 12). And the 1st Infiniti was the lower-end G20, not as fancy as the Audi. But "your mileage may vary"!

 

I had 3 G35s and everyone was in the shop for rattles or some other problem. I still love the car and will probably get another in a year or 2. I'm not trying to rag on Infiniti at all I just don't think the quality is up there with Audi. I think you get what you pay for. I've only had my S4 for 6 months so I can't say it won't be in the shop for something or other but the overall fit and finish of the car is superior to Infiniti. Styling wise though I don't think Infiniti can be touch.

 

Enjoy the S4 and good luck with it-I hope it serves you well.

 

Merc do have a kick *** V6 now....

but the quality on the current benz sucks. the only cars that are considerabily a good deals are the AMG models which the performance are comparable to exotics(575M) at a fraction of the price. ie E55 AMG and most AMG models are cheaper then the comparable BMW//M counterpart.
the rest of the line up are just over priced.

 

You need to seperate quality into "fit and finish" (Audi excells here, no doubt), and "reliability" (Infiniti has a MUCH better historical reliability record).

 

Good luck with the S4... You will need it.

As a former owner of a B6 A4 (2003) I can tell you that fit and finish really does not matter when your car is at the dealership for multiple coil pack failures, oil sludge problems in the oil pan, malfunctioning self leveling headlights, a computer glitch that causes the traction control to shut the engine off while driving down the highway, stranded twice while out of town for electrical problems, leaking A/C compressor, and improperly aligned windshield wiper arms that destroyed two windshields. All this and more in less than 19 months of ownership.

What good is visual "Fit and Finish" without mechanical "Fit and Finnish"?

 

My GF has an 04 A4 and hasn't had a problem with it in over a year and I'm problem free for 6 + months now. I definitely can't say the same for the 2 G's that I owned over the past 3 years. I think it's luck of the draw!

 

since mercedes joined chrysler, the cars are trash. all kinds of problems, and the dealers are even worse. i have no problems getting a loaner from inifiniti, but all kinds of problems from mercedes. its sad. gonna try bmw 7 next. went from 97 e class, to 01 s class, to 05 e class. the 97 was by far the best.