The consumer is paying for slight sound improvement and the prestige of owning the nicer pair. You may not think it is worth the extra money but apparently it is for some.
This is no different then offering coupons to more ‘cost sensitive’ buyers
A Audi/VW mechanic I know put it best "They all mostly use the same parts so maintenance and repairs cost the same...might as well buy the one that sells for more used"
It depends on what you want. If you are planning to resell the car after a certain length of time the best bet is the Audi. If you are buying used and want "close" to the same performance buy VW (Audi has higher power, often different suspension, better sound deadening and way more options).
In my case...I bought a used VW. So I didn't take the advice...but I don't ever plan on reselling. I repair cars myself and run them far longer than a typical person does. By the time I am done with my car it will probably be sold for scrap due to miles...even though everything will likely be replaced at least once.
> “might as well buy the one that sells for more used
Not sure I follow this logic. Seems unlikely the higher resale value is going to fully cover the higher price you buy it for (whether you buy new or used)?
I guess "hold their value longer" is a better wording...but that is the point.
Easier to sell used? More desirable/rare? He bought/fixed and resold mostly Audi/VW but specialized in European cars.
I have owned 2 VW and 1 Audi. They all had very similar intervals on things breaking. I will say though I much preferred to drive the Audi...but unfortunately a 2001 allroad only lasts so long :)
If you follow that logic, then the Dacia Sandero is the only car you can buy. Every other car just comes with pointless overpriced extras that nobody needs.
In reality, the brand of a car is extremely important to most people who buy cars.
(But speaking of VW transmissions, I don't know why anyone would buy a VW. Their manuals always seem to be having issues with the clutch, and DSG is the worst driving experience I've ever had. Maybe their EVs work better)
I knew a guy who had been working on a VW/Audi manufacturing line in Belgium. I think they were assembling golf and A3. Both models were assembled on the same line, I wouldn't vouch that all posts were exactly assembling same parts, that wouldn't be true, especially as fit and finish and some specs are different, but for his particular post in the line, he was installing same part and was only told to put glove before working on the Audi ones, basically to avoid leaving fingerprints somewhere most customers would never ever look anyway.
To be honest, I just once drove a Sharan with DSG for a day, and I hated the way it handled when parking and driving slowly. It felt like the worst parts of driving an automatic combined with the worst parts of driving a manual.
This is no different then offering coupons to more ‘cost sensitive’ buyers