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Sat 25 Sep 2010 14:53

Mercedes C220 or Audi A3 - Help which car? - Hushpuppy

Hi all,

My first post, and looking for help.

I need a car for my wife who does quite a lot of driving up and down to A1 for under £11k, that ideally is a diesel auto, with cruise, and still has some warranty on it.

I have found a 08 AUDI A3 DIESEL SPORTBACK 5 door, 2.0 TDi SE 5dr DSG with 66K miles for £10,600 inc 12 months tax and 9 months of manufacturers warranty left.

An 06 Mercedes C220 CDI SE Avantgarde Auto Saloon with 60K for £11K with 6 months tax and 6 months warranty.

I realise they are two very different cars, but I am thinking of comfort, reliability, and MPG.

Ideally I wanted a Vauxhall Insignia and found an 09 CDTI (160) SE Nav Auto for £11k, but the dealer had marked it wrong on the website as it was a manual.

Has anyone any views thoughts?

Thanks

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Sat 25 Sep 2010 17:50

Mercedes C220 or Audi A3 - Help which car? - Pat L

I think the Audi warranty (and maybe Mercedes) is for 3 years or 60k miles, whichever comes first.

The VAG 2.0 engine is pretty economical but has plenty of power. Is the one you quote 140m or 170PS? The Merc is a bigger car and would probably be more relaxed when cruising but a bit thirstier.

As a long-term purchase I'd go for the Audi - galvanised body. Some Mercs have had a problem with rust.

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Sat 25 Sep 2010 19:36

Mercedes C220 or Audi A3 - Help which car? - Hushpuppy

Thanks for the advice, hadn't realised the 60K miles bit, which means both are out of warranty.

I am now thinking of an unrecorded damaged car, as per a new post.

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Sat 25 Sep 2010 19:40

Mercedes C220 or Audi A3 - Help which car? - Collos25

On the other hand Mercedes have chain cams unlike the Audi and have less problems with the pumps etc the has more room and better to drive.

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Sat 25 Sep 2010 22:14

Mercedes C220 or Audi A3 - Help which car? - LikedDrivingOnce

Thanks for the advice, hadn't realised the 60K miles bit, which means both are out of warranty. I am now thinking of an unrecorded damaged car, as per a new post.

Actually, I believe that the Mercedes warranty is 3 years unlimited mileage, so the C220 should be OK in that respect.

I love Mercs, but I am the first to admit that RWD can be dodgy in wintry conditions, and this needs to be considered (along with the fact that in some winters were are lucky and only get mild conditions)

Edited by LikedDrivingOnce on 25/09/2010 at 22:15

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Sat 25 Sep 2010 22:40

Mercedes C220 or Audi A3 - Help which car? - Avant

If this is for your wife driving alone for much of the time, you need reliability above all. Unles she's doing 20,000 miles a year, I'd question whether a diesel will be worth it, as modern diesels have too many components which aren't lasting well and leading to horrifically expensive repairs. (For a new car, 15,000 a year is more like the threshold.)

You'll get something newer for your budget if you avoid prestige makes like Audi, BMW or Mercedes. Depending on the size of car your wife needs, I think she should look for a Ford, Skoda, Toyota or Honda. There should be lots of choice available, with petrol or diesel power.

I think there should be enough choice for you to avoid the added gamble of buying a damaged car.

Edited by Avant on 25/09/2010 at 22:41

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Sun 26 Sep 2010 10:25

Mercedes C220 or Audi A3 - Help which car? - Hushpuppy

Avant,

thanks for the sound advice. I'm at the point of being 'car(ed)' out with all the different ones I have looked at.

I'll take a deep breath and start lookingagain.

She drives about 80 miles a day on both stop start motorway and towns, so comfort, reliability and economy is needed, hence the need for an auto and a diesel (I think).

Given the miles we dont mind buying a one year old car that has maybe done 30K miles, but I am baffled as to what to do.

Can anyone suggest a car that would fit this criteria?

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Tue 28 Sep 2010 13:24

Mercedes C220 or Audi A3 - Help which car? - AKD

Try a Skoda Octavia diesel (for that kind of mileage, you probably do need diesel). A Honda Accord or Toyota Avensis is also worth a look. If you want prestige, then I would recommend a BMW 320d, or 118d, depending on the size required. The later 118d has start/stop, which would work well in town.

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Tue 28 Sep 2010 16:30

Mercedes C220 or Audi A3 - Help which car? - madf

She drives about 80 miles a day on both stop start motorway and towns, so comfort, reliability and economy is needed, hence the need for an auto and a diesel (I think).

Make out a list of wants - things she would like

and musts - things that she cannot do without.

Given your criteria so far I would say:

comfort

reliability

and

ease of parking..

Parking is often neglected. Having seen drivers of not very large cars struggle to reverse park....

She will not thank you for parking hassle nor high bills.

Buying a Mercedes guarantees both....

Ignore all the diesel/petrol stuff. You want a cost per mile over x years. What Car are ideal for that. No point in a diesel if it depreciates 70% in 3 years.. Nor a petrol either.

Given her 20k miles/year a diesel would make sense.. But it's simple to do sums before hand.

And don't buy a Sports model with rubber band tyres as they cost a fortune to replace and are not comfortable.

A written out list agreed with both will enable you to quickly get rid of a huge number of cars. Then look at the rest in your price/mileage/running cost range.

The art of choosing cars is to eliminate the unsuitable - whcih will probably be 95% of all models.

EDIT: and if she HAS to drive in winter, buying a RWD is plain stupid unless you fit winter tyres which is £££s...There will be snowy days. Mercedes on normal tyres in snow are scary... unless you like spinning...

Edited by Avant on 29/09/2010 at 01:01

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Tue 28 Sep 2010 19:02

Mercedes C220 or Audi A3 - Help which car? - 659FBE

Very good advice - although the motor trade thrives on the badge and fashion conscious.

The total cost of ownership is the overriding factor when considering the diesel/petrol debate although if your otherwise chosen vehicle is fitted with a poor diesel engine, that may colour the argument.

RWD cars are really unacceptable in snow and ice now, with the current fashion for fat tyres and high engine outputs. They usually also result in a poor space package (eg smallest BMW - no spare wheel) due to transmission components being in the way.

I have certainly found that buying the cheapest VAG platform of the size I need with the 1.9PD engine has so far been an excellent strategy - but I keep my cars for a long time.

One absolute essential when dealing with any VAG clone is to keep well away from the dealers.

Luckily due to their high market penetration as a group, there are plenty of good independents and loads of pattern spares and diagnostic software. Availability is good too - an ebay search for "VW spares" will yield more hits than any other make.

659.

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Wed 29 Sep 2010 10:25

Mercedes C220 or Audi A3 - Help which car? - rcspeirs

The definition of "comfort" can vary so much from person to person.

I've driven quite a few A3s this year (Hertz have a lot of them on their fleet at the moment) and as far as I am concerned the ride of the A3 is unacceptable. On anything less than a billard table road it is dreadfully harsh. It's almost as if the suspension amplifies imperfections in the road instead of smoothering them. A Mondeo or an Insignia don't have the posh badge but their ride is in a different league.

Shame - because the diesel engine with DSG in the A3 is a lovely drivetrain. Powerful and parsimonious.

I also found (to my great inconvenience) that the low profile tyres on the A3 are not stocked by the average branch of KwikFit - they're special order - something to do with the really stiff sidewalls I was told. (Sounded odd to me but I am no tyre expert).

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Wed 29 Sep 2010 11:45

Mercedes C220 or Audi A3 - Help which car? - Comfort Seeker

<<<<The definition of "comfort" can vary so much from person to person>>>

That's so true, RCS. I'm on my second A3, the first, an 03 1.9 130, had Sports set-up and seats - wonderful engine and quality cabin etc, but after 2 years my ageing back couldn't take any more of the ride. So I bought another, 2.0 tdi dsg with SE set-up. Easier to live with but still too hard, so (3 years on) I will (reluctantly) be abandoning Audi for another marque for the comfort factor .. which may well turn out to be a Citroen (next C4) or a Honda Jazz . I assume German roads are smoother than ours!

I know I'll miss the quality finish and performance of Audi, but my back tells me it's time to switch. Test drives coming up.

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Wed 29 Sep 2010 19:27

Mercedes C220 or Audi A3 - Help which car? - ForumNeedsModerating

Madf makes very good points & sense.

For that type of usage she needs a tool, not a status symbol. Whatever she gets will be worth 'pennies' after a few years - and may well need repairs in that time - especially if she's set on a Mercedes (believe me!)

Lots of A1 driving? Is cruise really useful (or do you need to not consider any cars without it?) Again, is an auto a must? It cuts out lots of very sensible cars.

Audis have, in general, appalling ride quality - I've had a few of those too - they're made for trendy fashion victims who value 'high' quality plastic interiors & perceived status. the most comfortable & reliable, I'd wager, would be low spec (sensible wheels, no sport pack) petrol (no or less injector, DMF, & maybe ABS problems) - a petrol might appear less economical, but whole life cost is the figure to concentrate on - do the sums.

Mercedes? Out of manufacturer warranty? Doing high miles? Reliable?- No, no & no.

(they're not even that comfortable - having fallen victim to Teutonic Hard suspension Syndrome on Low profile tyres - even on many SE spec types)

Consider, perhaps, a Ford or Skoda - not many have auto & cruise & diesel, but will be cheaper all round (esp. out of warranty) - mind you Skoda have weaknesses in the engineering area (courtesy of VAG) - so care needed.

I'd be tempted to buy a 3-4-ish year old Ford Focus/Mondeo auto - pref. petrol - cheap to buy & maintain & not horrendously more fuel hungry than an auto diesel.

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Mon 11 Oct 2010 17:43

Mercedes C220 or Audi A3 - Help which car? - jeffrb

I'm a sucker for Audi's. I would say go with that. Timeless design there, whereas the Mercedes design does tend to age. Totally up to you though.

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Mon 11 Oct 2010 18:07

Mercedes C220 or Audi A3 - Help which car? - kohaine

Choosing between Mercedes and Audi? I'd definetely go for Mercedes if you want a car that will not simply drive you from A to B.

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