£6-7k budget: audi s4 cabriolet or BMW m3 convertible
Discussion
Never been a fan of the current convertibles based on high performance saloons. Chopping the roof off seems to be at odds with the rest of the car underneath (adds weight and stuff that can go wrong, removes stiffness).
Personally I'd look for a fastish version of a non S/M cabrio. Or a tin top with "the badge"
. Audi A4 1.8T makes a decent cruiser and still looks good IMO.
Personally I'd look for a fastish version of a non S/M cabrio. Or a tin top with "the badge"
. Audi A4 1.8T makes a decent cruiser and still looks good IMO.I have a S4 (non covertible) and love it. However, living with it when it's 9 years old can be a commitment. By this time, if the previous 1 or 2 owners didn't look after it properly some areas start to show and need attention. It's easily swallowed £3-4K getting the car right.
Previous to this I had a 330ci and that was showing its age worse than the Audi. The BMW had various plastic parts becoming brittle, door seals start to become unstuck (seems some people have difficulty getting in and out of a ci; they snag the door seals and knacker the drivers seat- same would apply for the M3... maybe it's a ride height thing) and bushes start to need replacing.
For looks I'd say the M3 but for an every day car I'd choose the S4.
Previous to this I had a 330ci and that was showing its age worse than the Audi. The BMW had various plastic parts becoming brittle, door seals start to become unstuck (seems some people have difficulty getting in and out of a ci; they snag the door seals and knacker the drivers seat- same would apply for the M3... maybe it's a ride height thing) and bushes start to need replacing.
For looks I'd say the M3 but for an every day car I'd choose the S4.
I have the 330 Sport con. it is a cruiser and an LSD is not an option, for those reasons alone I wouldn't recommend one and I'm intending to upgrade to the M3 despite the 330 having enough power for my needs.
However if you only have £7k I wouldn't recommend either of the cars you've chosen - unless you can also afford a huge bill.
However if you only have £7k I wouldn't recommend either of the cars you've chosen - unless you can also afford a huge bill.
We had this dilemma a few years ago when we two became three and the TVR Griffith 500 became sadly lacking in seat numeracy. We had it narrowed down to an E46 M3 Cab, RS4 Cab or S4 Cab.
Firstly the RS4 was stretching the budget but when you look into the RS tax on bits like brakes, pads and other consumables it became a non-contender. The other issue the RS4 suffered with was the main problem with almost every M3 Cab we looked at; they'd been thrashed by their owners - trying to find a well tended M3 was next to impossible, and trying to find one running on the correct 18" alloys was impossible - every one had been 'upgraded'
to 19"s - so that was out.
In the end we found a tidy low-ish mileage S4 Cab in Sprint Blue with black leather and alcantara inside and it's been brilliant. I read up on the long-life servicing schedule stuff and also read into the V8 chain rattle and promptly changed to mileage based servicing and use 5/30 instead of the watery thin 0/30. It has less chain rattle now at 93k miles then when we bought it at 44k miles. We were not at all fussed about either the Bose system or the Sat-Nav so have a tapey/CD-changery thing which sounds brilliant and the wifes work fitted a bluetooth doo-dah to keep her legal. The roof needs a good scrub once a year and a few tins of waterproofing to keep it in good shape and being Audi it is triple layered and incredibly quiet even at motorway speeds.
S4's are heavy but they pick up their skirts well; the six-speed tiptronic is a little ponderous compared to the Switch-Tronic in the Alpina's but the Tiptronic is significantly more efficient than the 6 speed manual due to the silly and tiresome final drive ratios in the manual - there is almost 1000rpm difference at 80 leptons; c2400rpm tiptronic, c3400rpm manual.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Had I discovered Alpina at that point I would have thrown an E46 B3 or B3S into the mix; they, like the S4, tend to be the quiet but efficient little brothers of the M3 and RS4 and you're far more likely to find examples in unthrashed and better tended condition. There is also an greater element of individuality with the Alpina cars if that appeals to you as the S4, RS4 and M3 cars seem to have come from a very limited colour palette.
Firstly the RS4 was stretching the budget but when you look into the RS tax on bits like brakes, pads and other consumables it became a non-contender. The other issue the RS4 suffered with was the main problem with almost every M3 Cab we looked at; they'd been thrashed by their owners - trying to find a well tended M3 was next to impossible, and trying to find one running on the correct 18" alloys was impossible - every one had been 'upgraded'
to 19"s - so that was out.In the end we found a tidy low-ish mileage S4 Cab in Sprint Blue with black leather and alcantara inside and it's been brilliant. I read up on the long-life servicing schedule stuff and also read into the V8 chain rattle and promptly changed to mileage based servicing and use 5/30 instead of the watery thin 0/30. It has less chain rattle now at 93k miles then when we bought it at 44k miles. We were not at all fussed about either the Bose system or the Sat-Nav so have a tapey/CD-changery thing which sounds brilliant and the wifes work fitted a bluetooth doo-dah to keep her legal. The roof needs a good scrub once a year and a few tins of waterproofing to keep it in good shape and being Audi it is triple layered and incredibly quiet even at motorway speeds.
S4's are heavy but they pick up their skirts well; the six-speed tiptronic is a little ponderous compared to the Switch-Tronic in the Alpina's but the Tiptronic is significantly more efficient than the 6 speed manual due to the silly and tiresome final drive ratios in the manual - there is almost 1000rpm difference at 80 leptons; c2400rpm tiptronic, c3400rpm manual.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Had I discovered Alpina at that point I would have thrown an E46 B3 or B3S into the mix; they, like the S4, tend to be the quiet but efficient little brothers of the M3 and RS4 and you're far more likely to find examples in unthrashed and better tended condition. There is also an greater element of individuality with the Alpina cars if that appeals to you as the S4, RS4 and M3 cars seem to have come from a very limited colour palette.
I'd have the S4, in coupe form it would be the M3 every time but when they made it a convertible it lost most of its abilities as a drivers car which is the main area it beats the Audi in coupe form, so if you've lost its main selling point you may as well take the Audi which has clear advantages in other areas.
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