NO NO NO to VW and Audi, unless you have some $ to spend at the dealership's service department
I worked at a Toyota dealer for a year and you would not beleive the number of VW's and Audi's that were traded in there. EVERY SINGLE ONE was *just* out of warranty and a solid 80% of them had numerous problems. Usually it was electrical, and some module needed to be replaced which cost over $400 just for the part. Those fine german automobiles sat on the lot for quite some time. It was a giant PITA just to change the damn oil on a 1.8T passat.
As far as Subaru is concerned, I have heard tons of good about them until you top 100k miles and have to start replacing struts, etc. Parts from Subaru are expensive, but you would probably do OK with aftermarket stuff when it comes time for that sort of maintenance. One of my friends has an 06 2.5i Impreza and LOVES it, and another has an 04 WRX and likewise, he LOVES that too. My old bosses wife drove a 98 Legacy 2.5GT and he says it was one of the best cars she ever owned, until the mileage got up there a bit and it nickled and dimed her with maintenance, $700 at a time.
I would go to Subaru 100x over before i ever set foot on a VW lot.
