AUDI A4 or BMW 320I Edit: Bought A4 2.0 TDi

[Insane Devil]

Hey Ricky, i need some info off u mate.

I took a td of both the 320d Highliner, and the A4 Sline.
Both looks great, feel great and fly great but only thing is that i felt the rear seating comfort very harsh in the BMW as the suspensions were harsh. went over a pothole and the car hit the ground hard! and i got a jolt!
While the A4's suspension was very good. the pickup also felt more in the A4.

I want to know how the spares are priced and what is the maintenance on the A4? My cars are driven rough and they tend to get scratched all over very quick, and i need to change the Tail lamps atleast once a year! so could u find out hte price of the tail lamp for me on ur next visit to the workshop? and also for the front brakepads?

Also want to know the general service bills incurred. they told me that the A4 diesel needs to be serviced every 7.5k with synthetic oil change. The person in the showroom told me the max bill during each of hte services would be 6-7k (as the a4 takes in only 4 lts of engine oil, and this price is without brakepad changes)


Thanks a lot mate, i hope u are realy enjoying ur ride!

Ps: One thing i fell in love with in the BMW is the iDrive! is out of the world! If in case i end up for a sedan rather than the SUV, i would be inclined towards the BMW for its iDrive!

[Ricky_63]

@ Insane Devil

You are absolutely right when you say the suspension & the acceleration of the A4 is better than the BMW 320d. I chose the A4 precisely for this reason, as m car is 100% self driven.

As for the service cost - you are right - it should be around 6-7k. I have not seen the workshop yet as my car has done only 900 kms so far

Will update as & when I go to the workshop.


Cheers

[nitrous]

If in case i end up for a sedan rather than the SUV, i would be inclined towards the BMW for its iDrive!

Sounds contradicting to your A4 choice now.

[Ricky_63]

Originally Posted by nitrous

Sounds contradicting to your A4 choice now.

That quote is from Insane Devil & not me. If you read carefully you'd realize


Cheers

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by nitrous

Sounds contradicting to your A4 choice now.

It's simple, he prefered the iDrive in the BMW more over the better ride and pick-up in the A4

Welcome back ID after a long time. So its time for you to chuck your Tucson and go for a BMW/A4. But, do transfer all that awesome ICE from the Tucson to the new car

[Insane Devil]

hey Mobike! how u doing buddy! yea, long time!

Well it sure is time for me to sell off the Tucson, 3 good rough use years! its started to show its age sooner coz of my rough use.

But from past one year, the car is more with my wife, and rarely with me, as i get the laura more now. So only due to this reason, considering to go for a sedan, rather than suv, coz will be 80% wify driven!

The only thing keeping me back is the heavy service/repair costs of the BMW and A4. Buying it off the shelf is no big deal, but servicing it is, for me!

Yesterday i had made a query with the BMW dealer wether if i change to normal tyres bought outside from a tyre shop, rather than using the RUNFLATs, would the warranty be void?
The answer i got today is that the warranty will be INTACT if changed to normal tubeless tyres bought outside. and by this he assumes that 75% i am decided for the 320d! well, if i buy a sedan...he is right!

On a second note, i just saw in the UK site that the new Audi A4 (coming sept.) will have the Audi's MMI (similar to iDrive) system. now that could pull me towards the A4.

hmm...too confused now. will wait for Ricky to tell me more about its service costs.


@ Ricky: Thanks for getting back mate, will wait for ur reply. do pm me once u have more details!

[Veelubai]

Better go ahead with the new 320 highline.I dont know if you have noticed ,the new 3 series come shod with wider tyres as well.Guess it is 225/50 R16

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by Insane Devil

Yesterday i had made a query with the BMW dealer wether if i change to normal tyres bought outside from a tyre shop, rather than using the RUNFLATs, would the warranty be void?
The answer i got today is that the warranty will be INTACT if changed to normal tubeless tyres bought outside. and by this he assumes that 75% i am decided for the 320d! well, if i buy a sedan...he is right!

Make sure you sell your RFTs when they are brand new as they have very poor resale value. I speak from personal experience, the prices i was qouted for my 6000km driven RFTs were ridiculous...it also will be a task to sell them so your best bet is to convience the dealership itself for a buyback.

Get your self a nice set of Michellins and you are good to go. Go for the 320d it's a far better buy than a discontinued A4 IMO.

[Ricky_63]

Originally Posted by Sahil

Make sure you sell your RFTs when they are brand new as they have very poor resale value. I speak from personal experience, the prices i was qouted for my 6000km driven RFTs were ridiculous...it also will be a task to sell them so your best bet is to convience the dealership itself for a buyback.

Get your self a nice set of Michellins and you are good to go. Go for the 320d it's a far better buy than a discontinued A4 IMO.

Totally agree with Sahil on exchanging the tyres the very minute you take delivery of the car. Better still if the BMW dealer buys them back.

As ID will be using the car over rough roads etc. The car with the better suspension IMHO should be a priority. The A4 is a brilliant diesel, which I bought coz it had all that I wanted out of the car & more.

At the end of the day it's your call. The BMW 320d is brilliant too, but I somehow prefer the A4.

Will keep you updated on the service cost etc.


Cheers

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Insane Devil

hey Mobike! how u doing buddy! yea, long time!

Well it sure is time for me to sell off the Tucson, 3 good rough use years! its started to show its age sooner coz of my rough use.

But from past one year, the car is more with my wife, and rarely with me, as i get the laura more now. So only due to this reason, considering to go for a sedan, rather than suv, coz will be 80% wify driven!

The only thing keeping me back is the heavy service/repair costs of the BMW and A4. Buying it off the shelf is no big deal, but servicing it is, for me!

Yesterday i had made a query with the BMW dealer wether if i change to normal tyres bought outside from a tyre shop, rather than using the RUNFLATs, would the warranty be void?
The answer i got today is that the warranty will be INTACT if changed to normal tubeless tyres bought outside. and by this he assumes that 75% i am decided for the 320d! well, if i buy a sedan...he is right!

On a second note, i just saw in the UK site that the new Audi A4 (coming sept.) will have the Audi's MMI (similar to iDrive) system. now that could pull me towards the A4.

hmm...too confused now. will wait for Ricky to tell me more about its service costs.


@ Ricky: Thanks for getting back mate, will wait for ur reply. do pm me once u have more details!

Yes man, good to see you too. From what you say, I reckon you should wait up till sep and get the A4 with MMI included ( if your confirmed its coming by then and also the pricing may get jacked up considerebly)

Will keep an eye on this thread and see which one you finally got

[Insane Devil]

Thanks for the tip abt buyback of the RFTs, Sahil. And Ricky, thanks for keeping me updated.

Avi, I havn't finalised these 2 yet. I am more keen on the Captiva Automatic. Coz when i sat in both these cars, i felt a bit claustrophobic! I need more open space inside the car. But i am contemplating between the Suv and a sports sedan. I still got around 4 months before i make a purchase, so hopefully by then the Captiva Auto should be out. AS my car is with my wife 95% of the times, (my dad picks and drops me back) so i was just wondering that while i am shelling out around 22-23lk (supposedly for captiva auto) and my budget is anyway till around 25-28, i was thinking if i go for a sports sedan, might as well extend it a bit and pick one of these 2.

Before buying i am anyway going to raise a new thread of my choices and take all opnions here, and then see how it goes

[GTO - Touring]

Originally Posted by Sahil

Make sure you sell your RFTs when they are brand new as they have very poor resale value. I speak from personal experience

Oh boy, I sense a convert! RFT's suck, huh?

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by GTO - Touring

Oh boy, I sense a convert! RFT's suck, huh?

I have always held RFT's responsible for the hard ride on the BMW and the upkeep cost which hit me when the car hit a pot hole.

But i still give RFTs full marks when it comes to safety, especially when i am pushing it over 200km/hr, riding on RFTs gives me peace of mind.

So all in all i wouldn't say RFTs suck but as they have very extreme advantages and disadvantages.

However, as planned intially itself i will switch over to tubeless once these wear out. If only Bombay roads werent this bad i would stuck with them.

[DocG]

hey if you convert from RFTs do you have to change your rims as well? Aren't the rims tyre specific?
Even if you don't have to change the rims, I'm sure some of the tyre electronics will not work, like the tyre pressure monitors

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by DocG

hey if you convert from RFTs do you have to change your rims as well? Aren't the rims tyre specific?
Even if you don't have to change the rims, I'm sure some of the tyre electronics will not work, like the tyre pressure monitors

tyre specific rims??? Never heard of those
there is no need to change the rims

However there is no problem whatsoever when you switch over, everything works as before including the TPM.