Newbie stopped lurking at long last

I've been trawling through all the impressive info on here and have ( almost ! ) narrowed my choice of new motor down to an S4 Avant, I dont need the space as my other car is a family bus, however there's something I like about the shape against the saloon ( sorry any saloon owners )
A couple of things I'd like to ask, firstly, are these things really as problematic to run as it would seem from these forums ( turbo's going bang etc ) or is it just that people only post to ask questions about problems that they have rather than " got into car today, started first time and I went to work " type of dullness


secondly, if the car I want to buy doesnt have an Audi warranty, are the 3rd party warranties worth the money and if so who'se had the best experiences which which warranty company ?
lastly, I'm a member of another forum who shall remain nameless and its a tradition for the newbie to get a virtual round in......in which case the virtual card is behind the virtual bar, fill your boots
Steve