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I am trying to decide betweeen the above vehicles at about the £17,000 price point. It appears that a 52 or 03 Audi A4 convertible 2.4 sport with around 50k can be had for this money or a 2001 BMW 325 ci convertible with 60k or so. I am torn between the two options. The audi seems to get good write ups but I do quite fancy the BMW I have read the car by car breakdown and find that neither have any particular skeletons in their closets. Any backroomers have experience of one or both of these vehicles?
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By reputation the BMW is the drivers car, why not a 320Ci 2.2 6cyl, quicker than the Audi and little in it compared to the 325i, you might get more car/ or a lower mileage for your money.
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From my experience, you will also find BMW main Dealer servicing charges cheaper than Audi.
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From my experience, you will also find BMW main Dealer servicing charges cheaper than Audi.
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Maybe so, but in my experience BMW service intervals are smaller.
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>> From my experience, you will also find BMW main Dealer servicing >> charges cheaper than Audi. >> Maybe so, but in my experience BMW service intervals are smaller.
However, you will find that the overall cost of maintaining a BMW, say over 100k cheaper than the Audi. That is not taking into account chaning Cam belts every 40k.
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By reputation the BMW is the drivers car, why not a 320Ci 2.2 6cyl, quicker than the Audi and little in it compared to the 325i, you might get more car/ or a lower mileage for your money.
Cheddar, have you ever driven these cars back to back? If so, I doubt you would make this recomendation. The difference in the real world between the 325 and the 320, is more significant than it appears on paper. Go for the 325, and you will not regret it. 330 is even better if you can afford the premium.
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Cheddar, have you ever driven these cars back to back? If so, I doubt you would make this recomendation. The difference in the real world between the 325 and the 320, is more significant than it appears on paper. Go for the 325, and you will not regret it. 330 is even better if you can afford the premium.
Not back to back, my point really was that a 320i would be quicker than the Audi and perhaps enable a newer, lower mileage and/or higher spec car for the money. Agree re the 330.
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I do suggest you try both: it's more a matter of 'horses for courses' between two very good cars rather than one being objectively better than the other.
BMWs are always being called "drivers' cars", whatever thst means. What it really means I think is that young road testers in the magazines test the cars to the limit (rightly) and being young love the experience. A BMW seems better suited to on-the-limit driving; an Audi's controls are lighter and suit a more relaxed style of driving.
Possibly more Audis have led a gentler life, mainly on motorways, than BMWs. Good luck and I hope you get a good one, whichever you go for.
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I do suggest you try both: it's more a matter of 'horses for courses' between two very good cars rather than
I think this is right, you are either an Audi person or a BMW person. I've had numerous examples of both, but have now wavered more towards Audi the last couple of years for several reasons (no disrespect to BMW). I think the Audi estates are slightly better than the BMW estates and as such are a better family car. I think BMW recently are getting significantly more expensive than Audi on equivalent vehicles, and have slightly higher running costs.
If you do a comparison between an A4 Avant 2.0 TDI and its 3 series counterpart you will see what I mean.
I think BMW are relying too much these days on styling and handling and not looking at what the family person want from some of the cars.
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Thanks for all the advice it seems we will just have to go and drive both or even a couple of variants of each in order to make an informed decision. The trouble is going back to the car dealer snobbery threads last week I dont feel like having to put a suit on in order to get a test drive as myself and my girlfriend are both young (under 30) and often wear jeans at the weekend which resulted in us being completely blanked at the Audi and BMW main dealers when we went for a look at the weekend
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Phone and make an appointment at a specific time so you are expected.
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As always with any Audi with a 'Sport' badge test drive it on some uneven surfaces to see if you can live with the harsher ride.
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Even better, avoid the Sport and go for the SE. Also the larger alloy wheels make for a harsher ride (which of course you may prefer).
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I am not sure that marginal differences in servicing costs etc are particularly relevant in this case.
Premium convertibles are more 'heart' than 'head' purchases, and surely the final choice between two excellent cars would come down to spec, comfort, brand and ultimately 'feelgood factor' than accountant-type stuff.
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