BMW 5 series or Audi A6??/

[dasherdiablo1]

Evening all,

I'm looking to get something that I can use as a daily driver that will munch the miles but at the same time will ferry me, my mrs and my newborn daughter plus all the stuff associated with transporting a wee one) - I will also want to be able to give it a bit of a bot when the pccasion permits!

I'm looking to spend about £18k and want it to be sensible on road tax and get reasonable mpg. I've been searching the classifieds and main dealer websites and noticed that the A6's are unbelieveably cheap - I can get a reasonably well loaded 2.0 diesel or 2.0petrol on a 60 or 11 plate for the money. However I could also have a late E60 Bimmer in 530d or 535 guise with decent spec for the same dough.

I love my BMW's but can people that have experience of either/both please let me know their thoughts.

Cheers,

[hman]

dasherdiablo1 said:

Evening all,

I'm looking to get something that I can use as a daily driver that will munch the miles but at the same time will ferry me, my mrs and my newborn daughter plus all the stuff associated with transporting a wee one) - I will also want to be able to give it a bit of a bot when the pccasion permits!

I'm looking to spend about £18k and want it to be sensible on road tax and get reasonable mpg. I've been searching the classifieds and main dealer websites and noticed that the A6's are unbelieveably cheap - I can get a reasonably well loaded 2.0 diesel or 2.0petrol on a 60 or 11 plate for the money. However I could also have a late E60 Bimmer in 530d or 535 guise with decent spec for the same dough.

I love my BMW's but can people that have experience of either/both please let me know their thoughts.

Cheers,

audis have nicer interiors

bmws handle better

what do you prefer?

[dasherdiablo1]

Budget is £18k as I posted above, I am willing to stretch to £20k for the right car. I like a car that drives well and feels rewarding. I have also noticed that the current shape 5series is just within budget but I will only able to get into a 520d.

I'm guessing residuals will be better on the smaller engine current 5series.

[Potatoes]

BMW.

Had the same questions last year and went down the 5 series route for the following reason:

Handling
Engine
Gadgets/Optional Extras I was looking for
Looks

[A900ss]

The latest BMW 5, F10, is not a drivers car like the E60 tha preceded it.

I've got a 520d Touring and it is ultra relaxing and totally unflappable. Great for doing te 30k motorway miles I do each year. It handles better than the latest A6 and Merc E ( I test drove all 3) but it is not a back road screamer.

Good luck.

[A900ss]

PS - the previous shape A6 should not be on your list if you want a drivers car.

[Potatoes]

A900ss said:

The latest BMW 5, F10, is not a drivers car like the E60 tha preceded it.

I've got a 520d Touring and it is ultra relaxing and totally unflappable. Great for doing te 30k motorway miles I do each year. It handles better than the latest A6 and Merc E ( I test drove all 3) but it is not a back road screamer.

Good luck.

Good point, I own the E60 range (touring) and the A6 of the same era (~2007) didn't touch the handling/feel of the E60, a different league for me.

[crostonian]

535d M Sport Touring would be my pick, superb all rounder, your budget should get you a nice late car with sensible miles.

[anonymous-user]

I get to drive a range of BMW and Audi models from the last three years for work - 3/5 Series and A4/6 all in company car 4 banger diesel guise. I absolutely cannot fathom why anyone would buy the VAG product if they drove them both. The supposed interior superiority of Audi cars is *massively* overstated, and they have zero dynamic advantages in these boggo 2wd specs.

[Papa Hotel]

It'd have to be an E60 for me.

[Potatoes]

E60 wins, A6 loses :-)

[dasherdiablo1]

There don't seem to be many 535d cars around; plenty of 530d ones though. I prefer the M Sport to the SE so I may have a bit of a wait before I can get one.

I've found a couple of main dealers near me that have the 530 and 535 in saloon and touring derivatives so a road test is the way to go me thinks.

[TheBMWDriver]

If you are going all the way upto 20k I think its madness to spend it on a E60 which will be worth very little in a few years.

The F10 is getting close to 20k now
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

a few months and a 530d F10 will be in your price range, so if you can wait it out until the prices fall I would do that.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...


The F10 is miles and mils better then the E60 in every possible way.

[rob.kellock]

TheBMWDriver said:

The F10 is miles and mils better then the E60 in every possible way.

Apart from if he wants a car now for less than £20k!!

E60 is a very fine car, I have just clocked up 37000 completely trouble free miles in mine in just over 3 years - car is now 6 years old at 42000 miles (which goes to show that buying a very low mileage car doesn't necessarily mean trouble ahead!)

[Eth2312]

Not had much experience with the Audi but driven plenty of BMW's and to be honest its a great car to drive.

however, another point to consider:

Whichever Audi or BMW you buy I would bet the Audi will lose money a lot faster than the BMW (plus Audi's age much quicker in their lappearance if you ask me), if residual value is something your looking at might be worth considering the BMW there too.

[TheBMWDriver]

rob.kellock said:

Apart from if he wants a car now for less than £20k!!

E60 is a very fine car, I have just clocked up 37000 completely trouble free miles in mine in just over 3 years - car is now 6 years old at 42000 miles (which goes to show that buying a very low mileage car doesn't necessarily mean trouble ahead!)

There is nothing wrong with a E60 but its old and dated now. The F10 is the way forward if you are going to spend that sort of money.

The first one I posted is only 1k over budget and you can probably get the dealer to knock off 500 to 700 pounds anyway.

[dasherdiablo1]

Well I had an extended test drive on a 3.0d A6 today and it was a nice drive- although it didn't feel that fast and the auto box was a little unpredictable. When I first drive it home it felt boring, sluggish but at the same time rough to change gear and the delay between selecting a gear on the paddles at it actually engaging felt like a 2second delay. However, the more time I spent in it the better I understood how to get more from it. I think with a bit of time it would grow in me. Unfortunately I'm not sure about the interior and when I talked business rental I was shocked by the prices- Audi giving 6k, me putting down 4k and it was still £780 a month over 3yrs! Ridiculous money.

I have booked to test drive an E61 525d in M Sport guise tomorrow which has great spec but I must admit I am prepared for it to be too slow!

[dasherdiablo1]

I test drove the 525d today and all I can say is it felt dull and old fashioned. I think I can now discount both of these cars!

[Targarama]

From a recent post it looks like you're financing your purchase. Have you thought of an E39 - they are a decent driver's car, some say the E60 was a step backwards from the E39. Pick up an A1 530D (do you really need a diesel?) for £5k and skip the finance. Only a few things to go wrong which can be quickly sorted before they fail by an indie (even less on a petrol model - btw. similar problems affect the E60 in time too).

For the record I owned an Audi A6 1997 model and have driven the newer models. They are all pretty dreary with nice interiors. I wish I had bought an E39 way back when instead of the Audi. Lovely cars.

[SWoll]

With 1 little one you really don't need an estate just yet IMHO.

How about

Audi S4 3.0TFSI

If you can find an S-Tronic in budget then the stats are

30 MPG
Tax Band K - £270 P/A
0-60 5.4
480L boot.