Audi A4 Avant BMW 3 series Touring - Audi V's BMW

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
View Threaded
Thu 31 Jan 2019 21:14
Audi A4 Avant BMW 3 series Touring - Audi V's BMW - Phil your boots

What would be a beter buy for reliability and beter cost effective for parts and labour etc?

Im looking at buying either a

BMW 3series Touring 1.8 2.0L Se petrol 2007 2008 2009 or

Audi A4 Avant 1.8 2.0L TFSI petrol 2007 2008 2009

I dont want something thats gona break all the time and cost me a fortune for parts

Edited by Phil your boots on 31/01/2019 at 21:14

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 31 Jan 2019 22:03
Audi A4 Avant BMW 3 series Touring - Audi V's BMW - badbusdriver

What would be a beter buy for reliability and beter cost effective for parts and labour etc?

Im looking at buying either a

BMW 3series Touring 1.8 2.0L Se petrol 2007 2008 2009 or

Audi A4 Avant 1.8 2.0L TFSI petrol 2007 2008 2009

I dont want something thats gona break all the time and cost me a fortune for parts

Neither of the above ideally. You don't say what your budget is, but a search on Autotrader for the BMW of that age spans just under £4k to just under £8k, so lets split the difference and say £6k. For a reliable estate that is going to be enjoyable to drive, i'd be looking at something like this,

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20190119409...1

I'd also be thinking about a Mondeo, possibly a Honda Accord, or if driving enjoyment isn't a priority, this would be a very reliable option,

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20190115396...1

If it had to be one of your two, i'm really not sure. I know some of the earlier TSI engines had issues, but not sure if it was all of them or just the smaller ones re the timing chain. As for the BMW's, it seems that the 6 cyl petrols are the most reliable with the 4 cyl diesels being least reliable. So 4 cyl petrols and 6 cyl diesels sit somewhere between.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 31 Jan 2019 23:07
Audi A4 Avant BMW 3 series Touring - Audi V's BMW - SLO76
Wouldn’t have either. Forget prestige brands until you have the means to buy a decent nearly new approved used example. On a tight budget like this they make little sense. Reliability is worse than a more mainstream rival and you’d get a newer example for your money too.

I’d look at

Ford Mondeo 2.0 petrol/1.6 Ecoboost petrol
Mazda 6 2.0 petrol
Toyota Avensis 1.8 petrol
Honda Accord 2.0 petrol

All will provide better service than a decade old Audi, BMW or Merc.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 1 Feb 2019 07:51
Audi A4 Avant BMW 3 series Touring - Audi V's BMW - pd

I'd tend to agree: neither.

The petrol BMW engine from that era has a habit of pi**ing oil out from every orifice and is always difficult to fix. I'd prefer a diesel version with the earlier engine (not the 177bhp) for reliability.

The Audi similarly has a poor rep with oil pump failures, excessive oil consumption and various other common problems.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 1 Feb 2019 08:26
Audi A4 Avant BMW 3 series Touring - Audi V's BMW - nellyjak

As above...no brainer...don't buy EITHER.!

You are simply buying a "badge" ...and one that doesn't make as much sense as it perhaps once did.

I'd stick to the more mainline makes/models ...and Japanese..and treat yourself to a better car with a much greater chance of reliability and less running costs,

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 1 Feb 2019 09:43
Audi A4 Avant BMW 3 series Touring - Audi V's BMW - madf

Oldest son bought a petrol BMW despite my attempts to dissuade him. New brakes £1000, Failed coils £500 etc. He has now bought a Honda Civic..

As for Audis , at that age you need to be able to pay lotsofmoney for repairs.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 1 Feb 2019 09:57
Audi A4 Avant BMW 3 series Touring - Audi V's BMW - paul 1963

Oldest son bought a petrol BMW despite my attempts to dissuade him. New brakes £1000, Failed coils £500 etc. He has now bought a Honda Civic..

As for Audis , at that age you need to be able to pay lotsofmoney for repairs.

Same situation with my son, he was on the point of buying a Audi tt that had trouble written all over it, I had to show him the cost of failure before he was persuaded....unless your very handy with the spanners I would avoid anything like that at all costs.....

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 1 Feb 2019 11:15
Audi A4 Avant BMW 3 series Touring - Audi V's BMW - Engineer Andy

A former colleague of mine bought a 5-10yo 3 series diesel which he didn't keep in good condition (not sure if he didn't service it enough or just ignored warning signs), but he ignored a persistent oil leak (which we pointed out to him) which then decided to deposit the entire engine's contents onto his driveway (ruining it and the engine) one morning, but he didn't spot it and started the engine. Kaput! Bill for new car and a complete resurfacing of his driveway followed, several £0000s out of pocket.

Hear this sort of tale of woe one too many times, of people who buy an older sports/luxury (especially German) saloon but can't affor to maintain it as its supposed to be, and then wonders why at the first major issue (not that long after buying it - say a year or two) they have to scrap it as they can't affor the huge bill.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 1 Feb 2019 14:30
Audi A4 Avant BMW 3 series Touring - Audi V's BMW - sammy1

Proof of quality in the long run but ONLY as a guide is the number of cars you see say over 15years old, Audi BMW Toyota Volvo and Ford, The old Focus is popular. Probably nothing to do with the marques but loving ownership

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 1 Feb 2019 19:28
Audi A4 Avant BMW 3 series Touring - Audi V's BMW - madf

Proof of quality in the long run but ONLY as a guide is the number of cars you see say over 15years old, Audi BMW Toyota Volvo and Ford, The old Focus is popular. Probably nothing to do with the marques but loving ownership

Err nothing to do with how many sold then?

Think again.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 1 Feb 2019 19:46
Audi A4 Avant BMW 3 series Touring - Audi V's BMW - Engineer Andy

Proof of quality in the long run but ONLY as a guide is the number of cars you see say over 15years old, Audi BMW Toyota Volvo and Ford, The old Focus is popular. Probably nothing to do with the marques but loving ownership

Err nothing to do with how many sold then?

Think again.

I fact, for older cars, the number of Euro cars is quite low compared to those from Japan, especially if you take into account the number originally sold.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 1 Feb 2019 20:30
Audi A4 Avant BMW 3 series Touring - Audi V's BMW - sammy1

15 years ago sales of Audi/BMW were low compared to the market dominance that they now have

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Our honest used car pricing is a little bit different to all the others. You can get to our values through make or model - you don’t have to follow a prescribed route. Plus, it’s live, which means we can react to changes in the market quicker than any printed price guide.

Honest Used Car Prices

From which small car to buy at which price point to the best UK-built cars, our Top 10s have the lot. Click now for your shortlist.

Unsure of what to buy? Our Top 10s are here to help you....