Stick with my A4 or get a ST-3

[.R2D2]

Basically have the option for a brand new ST-3 from Ford with a 27% discount. I currently have a A4 2.0TDI S-Line 2006 with 85,000 miles. Never had a thing wrong with it, 1 owner from new etc. Totally different breeds of car really but i'm not sure which way to go, anyone got any advice??

[hornetrider]

27% is a sizeable chunk, I'd be tempted. Is the Focus any good?

[Krise]

Get the st, I had mine for just under 2 years and did 125Ak in it, loved it but beware its very very thirsty, mid to low 20s round the town and less if your hooning, 30s on a run but great car all round and makes a fantastic noise !

[.R2D2]

Krise said:

Get the st, I had mine for just under 2 years and did 125Ak in it, loved it but beware its very very thirsty, mid to low 20s round the town and less if your hooning, 30s on a run but great car all round and makes a fantastic noise !

How much was it to service it, tyres, how thirsty with oil etc?

[Krise]

I'm not sure on service cost but the tyres were around £120 a corner, as most of my driving was motorway I was getting 20k from the fronts and 25k on the rears I think a minor service iirc is around 250, major not sure. the fuel is the biggest cost however if your getting a big discount that will make up for the difference in fuel costs coming from a coal burner

[Krise]

Missed oil ! Didn't use to much checked weekly and used to top up every month but a litre would last months ! add, service reason for not knowing it was a company car

[MrLou]

Krise said:

the fuel is the biggest cost

I was going to reply that depreciation is the biggest cost but it seems, as fuel goes up, it's getting to be a close thing.

For mr/mrs average doing 15k a year @ 35MPG that's around £2200 of petrol in a year.

So, over 5 years that's around 10 or 11k in fuel, the depreciation on 25k or so car, over 5 years is probably similar.

[Krise]

Good point mr lou, its omething that should be accounted for and is often over looked when buying a car that has a thirst like the st

[rb5230]

Krise said:

Missed oil ! Didn't use to much checked weekly and used to top up every month but a litre would last months ! add, service reason for not knowing it was a company car

i had mine for 2 and a half years and between services it did not use a drop of oil.

1st service was about £180

2nd was about £220.

tyres were £140 each but that is because i wanted michelin ps2`s which were about the most pricey possible.

i averaged mid 20s mpg but could easily get 30mpg on a run but most of my driving was local areas.

great car, fast, comfortable, makes a lovely noise and very playful when you get to know it well enough. i bought mine for £19k and sold for £12k 30 months later which i think is good going for a brand new car.

the only big cost is fuel if you do a lot of miles (although it is comparable to other sporty cars/hot hatches) but then you will be saving on servicing on the ford if you usually take your audi to a main dealers.

[UncappedTag]

Dull 2.0TD to a 2.5T, gets my vote