Which to buy? help me please.
Discussion
Hi, I am looking at buying a new car. I have up to 10k to spend. I do around 10kmiles a year and would like it to be not that thirsty.
I need it to be able to pull a light car trailer and i will be using it to go biking on a weekend.
My comute is along mainly very narrow and bendy country roads.
I have been looking at the bmw 330d touring, and the a4 v6tdi avant quattro, I dont like front wheel drive! Anything else you think I should be looking at?? What sort of running costs should i expect from one?
Does any of you have both an audi or a bmw? How do the seats compare.. I find the seats in bmws a bit to hard is this a bmw thing or a german thing?
Thanks, Andy.
I need it to be able to pull a light car trailer and i will be using it to go biking on a weekend.
My comute is along mainly very narrow and bendy country roads.
I have been looking at the bmw 330d touring, and the a4 v6tdi avant quattro, I dont like front wheel drive! Anything else you think I should be looking at?? What sort of running costs should i expect from one?
Does any of you have both an audi or a bmw? How do the seats compare.. I find the seats in bmws a bit to hard is this a bmw thing or a german thing?
Thanks, Andy.
OK, semi gratuitous sell, but I have an A4 avant tdi quattro sport for sale on here.
The Audis come in either SE or sports trim. The sports seats I find very comfy, in fact best seats i have had in a car. I have both an SE and a sport spec Audi from that era. I get lower back problems anyway so the lumbar is spot on. Driven the car to London and back a few times and no discomfort. The SE seats i find dont have enough bolstering, and some enthusiast cornering changes the steering wheel into something to stop you falling over! I have had 4 quattros some older some newer and the factory setup in the quattro sport is really good. The steering is spot on, brakes and handling is great. Economy? 40+ mpg on a run, best i have had was 70mph to London and back averaged 44mpg for the whole trip. Worst 36mpg, it makes very little difference how you drive it the economy never seems to drop into the low 30's. Although wil never improve above high 40's with the drivetrain losses in a quattro.
Driving roads much the same, I live in rural Grampian's, its B-roads and hills. The car really does come into its own there, very hoonable if needed, inspiringly so. but happy to trundle along as well.
Current weather as side the quattro is an all weather car, damp, rain, you are not handicapped at all. Very sure footed, perhaps a little more safe than the BMW but you can make it shake its rear! although quite snappy as it just wants to grip, but you have to really push it to get it out.
Only negative comment on the A4 is the rear leg room, its not great, hence my reason for selling, hard to wedge wedge 3 kids growing kids in it.
Audi do vary for extras, ie if you like the little extras pick well you can get one with a lot more toys for next to no difference at the age. Same goes for the BMW as well really.
Biking, not sure which variety, I am a mountain biker, ride twice a week when I can, I have a Thule rack with aero bars (cut to fit the roof line), with freeride racks, was going to include these in the sale of the car pending if its valid for the new buyer. You cant get a bike in with the wheels on in the A4, but you can in the A6. one wheel on and bike goes in with the seats down OK, but i did this for a few rides then bought a rack (partly as kids are now riding as well).
Running costs, other than the usual consumables not needed anything major, bought the car when it needed the timing belt changed (70k) service intervals on long life are 20k! The belts (do tensioners and auxillaries always), which should be circa £600. I like to keep the car well maintained so I reduced this to 10k intervals. VAG cars of this era are notorious for having poor (MAFs) air flow meters which rob economy power. Mine was replaced last year, had the turbos and pipework checked out as well, all given a clean bill of health. Turbos can get sooty, as you can never tell the style of driving hte car had before, long slow city trips dont help. Nothing really, the interior wears very well.
Really, put in fuel and thats about it, quattros in V6 tdi will be a little heavier on the front suspension but i have had no problems in mine. The older V6 petrol quattro i have had used to eat antiroll bar links and suspension components but this version for some reason doesnt.
The Audis come in either SE or sports trim. The sports seats I find very comfy, in fact best seats i have had in a car. I have both an SE and a sport spec Audi from that era. I get lower back problems anyway so the lumbar is spot on. Driven the car to London and back a few times and no discomfort. The SE seats i find dont have enough bolstering, and some enthusiast cornering changes the steering wheel into something to stop you falling over! I have had 4 quattros some older some newer and the factory setup in the quattro sport is really good. The steering is spot on, brakes and handling is great. Economy? 40+ mpg on a run, best i have had was 70mph to London and back averaged 44mpg for the whole trip. Worst 36mpg, it makes very little difference how you drive it the economy never seems to drop into the low 30's. Although wil never improve above high 40's with the drivetrain losses in a quattro.
Driving roads much the same, I live in rural Grampian's, its B-roads and hills. The car really does come into its own there, very hoonable if needed, inspiringly so. but happy to trundle along as well.
Current weather as side the quattro is an all weather car, damp, rain, you are not handicapped at all. Very sure footed, perhaps a little more safe than the BMW but you can make it shake its rear! although quite snappy as it just wants to grip, but you have to really push it to get it out.
Only negative comment on the A4 is the rear leg room, its not great, hence my reason for selling, hard to wedge wedge 3 kids growing kids in it.
Audi do vary for extras, ie if you like the little extras pick well you can get one with a lot more toys for next to no difference at the age. Same goes for the BMW as well really.
Biking, not sure which variety, I am a mountain biker, ride twice a week when I can, I have a Thule rack with aero bars (cut to fit the roof line), with freeride racks, was going to include these in the sale of the car pending if its valid for the new buyer. You cant get a bike in with the wheels on in the A4, but you can in the A6. one wheel on and bike goes in with the seats down OK, but i did this for a few rides then bought a rack (partly as kids are now riding as well).
Edited by istoo on Monday 9th February 12:59
Running costs, other than the usual consumables not needed anything major, bought the car when it needed the timing belt changed (70k) service intervals on long life are 20k! The belts (do tensioners and auxillaries always), which should be circa £600. I like to keep the car well maintained so I reduced this to 10k intervals. VAG cars of this era are notorious for having poor (MAFs) air flow meters which rob economy power. Mine was replaced last year, had the turbos and pipework checked out as well, all given a clean bill of health. Turbos can get sooty, as you can never tell the style of driving hte car had before, long slow city trips dont help. Nothing really, the interior wears very well.
Really, put in fuel and thats about it, quattros in V6 tdi will be a little heavier on the front suspension but i have had no problems in mine. The older V6 petrol quattro i have had used to eat antiroll bar links and suspension components but this version for some reason doesnt.
Edited by istoo on Monday 9th February 13:05
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