Sad commentary

[Anschauer]

scanning various CL's this morning saw a 2002 530 and a 2002 Mini Cooper FS - the Mini Cooper asking $4k more for his ride than the 5 er.

Also had an engineer from Germany in our office this week and we got to talking about cars. I'm all hopped up because I'll be payng him a visit midyear and want to do some parts shopping for my projects.

His company leases Audi A-4's and he said 'BMW is a sh*t car' and that Audi is the better quality and better handling than the BMW. Granted it is just one guy's opinion.

I also did not renew my membership in BMWCCA because I was so disappointed in reading members letters about the detuning of their turbos, floors falling out, and numerous other engineering-related woes that echo the experience we had with the 530 touring.

All in all, Audi has come from behind after their gas pedal fiasco and outsells BMW - disappointing to hear but not unexpected when bad news travels.

Their latest commercial (seen on the Winter Olympics) shows they ain't afraid to rub it in either.

The misbegotten idea that somehow a Mini-Cooper is a replacement for an entry level car (such as the 02 was in it's day) is wrongheaded when you can't get into a well-equipped one for much less than $30k and a JPS version will bust $40k!

[bcthomas122279]

I must admit that I'd go for the new Audi RS5 if I was in the market.

[SteveJ]

We had an Audi A4 (B5). Nice car. My wife really liked it. After some guy in a Mitsu crashed into us, she went over to an E46. She really, really liked that car. About a year and a half ago, she got a new MINI Cooper Clubman S. She LOVES this car.

My only beef with Audi is that as an enthusiast/wrencher, I never had that comfortable feeling that I get within the BMW world. My opinion is that we have some of the best support groups out there. That means a lot to me when I typically own cars for 10, 20, and more years.

[Anschauer]

Well I work in Manhattan 3 blocks away from their primo showroom on Park Ave and I pass it going to the train. Nice cars, nice displays, sometimes they have a reception for VIP's right there.

3 blocks north from my office is the Ferrarri showroom on Park. They have always 2-3 cars (somtimes Maserati's) and they are as friendly and nice as you can get.

4 blocks is the MB Manhattan showroom (which I just read is an architectural landmark of some kind because of a ramp they have (!).

BMW?

Over on 12th Ave on the West Side (to be fair they also have the only car showroom on Wall St)

[ray_]

Own, or store?

;-)

Ray

We had an Audi A4 (B5). Nice car. My wife really liked it. After some guy in a Mitsu crashed into us, she went over to an E46. She really, really liked that car. About a year and a half ago, she got a new MINI Cooper Clubman S. She LOVES this car.

My only beef with Audi is that as an enthusiast/wrencher, I never had that comfortable feeling that I get within the BMW world. My opinion is that we have some of the best support groups out there. That means a lot to me when I typically own cars for 10, 20, and more years.

[f1reverb]

with his/her modern Audi I'll listen to their BS, but no one wants old Audi junk, least of all an Audi owner. It's a long way back to Auto Union GP cars, the last decent Audis built. These days Audi just Passats-off VWs as if they were Type D GP cars.

[Anschauer]

Yes - they had one of those in the showroom a few months ago.

I bought a '74 tii stalled project from a guy in Jersey a few years back and in his driveway sat something nice under a cover.

When I came with the trailer to collect the car the following weekend I asked him about the Thing in The Shroud.

He sighed, and let out this little tale of woe. It turned out this was an Audi A4S or some such hotrod a year or so old. He had hopped up the engine with pistons, a turbo and what not. He had run out of money before he got to upgrade the brakes. He also told his son not to drive it but he did.

It ended up taking what looked like a softish hit to the front qtr around the headlight area with the left wheel displaced.

So, when are you going to fix it up? Can't-the block is cracked.

It ends up being a parts car.

[RIMSPOKE]

I KNOW THAT IT's ANCIENT HISTORY BUT I BOUGHT A '73 AUDI 100LS

YEARS AGO AND FOUND IT TO BA AN AWFUL CAR .

I GOT RID OF THAT ONE AND BOUGHT A '75 2002 .

I HAVE NEVER LOOKED AT AN AUDI SINCE BUT HAVE OWNED 13 BMWS

SO FAR .

[jgerock]

I KNOW THAT IT's ANCIENT HISTORY BUT I BOUGHT A '73 AUDI 100LS

YEARS AGO AND FOUND IT TO BA AN AWFUL CAR .

I GOT RID OF THAT ONE AND BOUGHT A '75 2002 .

I HAVE NEVER LOOKED AT AN AUDI SINCE BUT HAVE OWNED 13 BMWS

SO FAR .

Sorry - but I cannot resist. Back in the late '80's, I wrenched on some of those Audi 100LS, 4000 and 5000 cars. The 100LS was considered an "entry level car". Around the shop, we called it 100 Lumps of Shit.

[jgerock]

Sort of off topic - but ..

I must add that my wife went car shopping in 2002 and looked at multiple foreign cars. She went looking first, then reported back to me for my follow-up.

Sadly, the local BMW dealer salesman was an ass, ignored my wife and told her "if you don't buy what we have here on our lot, someone else will". She walked (I was really hoping for an E46 325).

The Audi A4 was very nice (1st gen), but everything was optional, including leather seats and sunroof. The price went up quickly.

The local Acura dealership (Radley in Bailey's Crossroads) was way too pushy trying to get us to buy a TL (I was hoping to get the TL Type S). The salesman called us relentlessly.

The M-B dealership (American Service Center in Arlington, VA) treated both of us like "normal" people. It was the best car buying experience we have ever had. We both were terrified that they would be snobbish, but they were anything but that.

Too bad other dealerships couldn't operate that way.

[skipsfcr]

I'll echo the same sentiment I shared when Jack Frederick inquired about Z3 vs. TT a while back. I'm sorry you had a poor experience with your E39 but I repair BMW's, VW / Audi's, and MB's EVERY day. Audi is the KING of shit cars. Turbo engines coking the oil and blowing up. Timing belt's breaking and necessitating HUGE repair bills. Split front axle boots resulting in costly axle / c/v joint replacement. Maintenance that's MORE expensive than BMW. Outright A/T failure. I LOVE Audi's...they're job security for me. But the really big difference is the way they drive. Audi's drive like total shit compared to Bimmers. Light, cheap, and "tinney" feeling. Obviously I love BMW's. I'd buy a Benz. I wouldn't drive an Audi.

[robspeed]

Jenna had a 1988 Oddie 80 which was the Worst Piece of Garbage since the dawn of humanity, and permanently put me off Audis.

On top of the horrorshow that was its lack of reliability, kleenex-durable interior, and satan-posessed electrics, the entire mass of the engine was mounted ahead, and well above, the front axle. For any enthusiast (except maybe p-car guys who have a similar, if reversed, problem), thats a deal-breaker right there.

never again! in fact i cant look at a vw the same way anymore due to their similarity and shared corporateness...

[Guest]

scanning various CL's this morning saw a 2002 530 and a 2002 Mini Cooper FS - the Mini Cooper asking $4k more for his ride than the 5 er.

His company leases Audi A-4's and he said 'BMW is a sh*t car' and that Audi is the better quality and better handling than the BMW. Granted it is just one guy's opinion.

All in all, Audi has come from behind after their gas pedal fiasco and outsells BMW - disappointing to hear but not unexpected when bad news travels.

Their latest commercial (seen on the Winter Olympics) shows they ain't afraid to rub it in either.

Mini's are chic right now, 5 series are not. It would be interesting to see what each car actually sold for, asking price means nothing.

Ask that audi guy what it costs to replace his tranny. European cars, especially modern ones, are always expensive to repair. I really doub't his Audi costs less to repair or breaks down less than a comparable BMW. A few of my friends have Subi's and they love them until something in the driveline needs to be replaced and the AWD doubles the price.

Just because Audi outsells BMW doesn't mean they are a better company, it just means they are more popular at the moment. 90% of the people that buy a car from BMW, Audi, MB, etc... are not enthusiasts and buy the car because of advertising or what they believe to be fashionable. As Clarkson says, "the S4 has replaced the M3 (in terms of "cocks" buying them") so now the M3 can be considered cool"<-- that was a few seasons back.

The Audi commercial was referring to the S4 being placed against the 335i in car and driver. Not exactly a correct comparison IMO. Audi has taken their S4 and started to downsize a bit which will happen on the future M-series(although the turbo's will be pushing the power further than the NA versions currently make, for a bit at least). It's like if BMW detuned the M3 to a turbo-6 and then compared it to the latest generation high zoot A4, which would win? Probably the M3, it was designed as a performance car instead of a luxury car and makes a few more HP. Awd is more forgiving to drive hard; however the repair bills will be much higher with many more parts to wear out/fail and more stress put into the whole system.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparisons/09q4/2010_audi_s4_vs._2009_bmw_335i-comparison_tests

In the end though, what does it matter? If you like the BMW more, buy it, don't worry about what others say. That's what these arguments always come down to. One may be faster around a track, but it doesn't matter 99% of the time since it will rarely be pushed to that limit. If someone challenges you on your decision say "well these are my experiences with my car and the cars I test drove, feel free to test them both and then make your decisions. That said, I don't give a s*it what you think because I'm happy with my decision"