Looking to buy a brand new car
 

Torn between the A4 and BMW S3.

Nearly every magazine puts the BMW ahead, but I drove an Audi 80 for 10
years and loved it.

Any advice?

O.

Looking to buy a brand new car
 

Oslo wrote:
> Torn between the A4 and BMW S3.
>
> Nearly every magazine puts the BMW ahead, but I drove an Audi 80 for 10
> years and loved it.
>
> Any advice?

Drive them both and select the one you like best. Who cares what
magazine writers say? Unless they are putting money down toward your
car, only *your* opinion matters.

Never heard of an S3. Europe only?

E.P.

'95 UrS6

Looking to buy a brand new car
 

Agreed, I've long said that just because one cars specs add up better on
paper or that one cars performance advantage is perceivable when two cars
are driven back to back, doesn't mean that it's the better car for you.

Get in them and drive them, I bet you'll know.

Chris

"Ed Pirrero" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Oslo wrote:
>> Torn between the A4 and BMW S3.
>>
>> Nearly every magazine puts the BMW ahead, but I drove an Audi 80 for 10
>> years and loved it.
>>
>> Any advice?
>
> Drive them both and select the one you like best. Who cares what
> magazine writers say? Unless they are putting money down toward your
> car, only *your* opinion matters.
>
> Never heard of an S3. Europe only?
>
> E.P.
>
> '95 UrS6
>

Looking to buy a brand new car
 

It's kind of hard to give advice without knowing your driving habits,
environment or pocketbook! But if you need/want all-wheel drive, I
don't think the 3-Series is available with AWD yet, is it?

Dan D
'04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6
Central NJ USA

Looking to buy a brand new car
 

Do you mean M3? If so you should consider the S4 not A4. Looking at resale value should help you make a decision.

Looking to buy a brand new car
 

Dennis Wyatt wrote:
> Do you mean M3? If so you should consider the S4 not A4.

True.

> Looking at resale value should help you make a decision.

Why? Buying a car is not an investment decision. Cars cost money, and
the amount of marginal loss on the end of the life cycle of the car
(life cycle as defined by the purchaser) will be very small in
comparison to the original depreciation.

How a car drives, how it fits your driving style, and what your
expectations of reliability are make much more difference.

E.P.

Looking to buy a brand new car
 

> Why? Buying a car is not an investment decision. Cars cost money, and
> the amount of marginal loss on the end of the life cycle of the car
> (life cycle as defined by the purchaser) will be very small in
> comparison to the original depreciation.
>
> How a car drives, how it fits your driving style, and what your
> expectations of reliability are make much more difference.

To a certain extent your second paragraph is true but when spending my own
money I was as much back as possible when I sell on.

e.g. in the UK a Vauxhall Vectra or Ford Mondeo will loose approximately 50%
of their initial purchase price in the first year alone. The A4 in
comparison only looses around 30% and by the time it's 3 years old it's lost
around 50% while the others are worth about 25% of their initial price. The
GM and Ford products aren't even that much cheaper once you've spec'd up the
car the way you want it.

So I end up with a better built car that is maybe not quite as nice to drive
as a Mondeo but will be worth substantially more when I sell it.

Dave

Looking to buy a brand new car
 

Yes, but you might have paid more for it in the first place so the
actual depreciation might not be much different. i.e. 75% of 17k is
12.75k, 50% of 25k is 12.5k. It's the actual cash that counts, not the
%age depreciation.

Looking to buy a brand new car
 

Dave wrote:
> > Why? Buying a car is not an investment decision. Cars cost money, and
> > the amount of marginal loss on the end of the life cycle of the car
> > (life cycle as defined by the purchaser) will be very small in
> > comparison to the original depreciation.
> >
> > How a car drives, how it fits your driving style, and what your
> > expectations of reliability are make much more difference.
>
> To a certain extent your second paragraph is true but when spending my own
> money I was as much back as possible when I sell on.

So, under your definition of life cycle, the price difference means
something. I don't look to sell my cars. I look to *drive* them. And
will drive them until their resale value is about 5-10% of the orginal
purchase price. And at that resale value level, there is really not
much difference.

E.P.

Looking to buy a brand new car
 

The message . com>
from "Ed Pirrero" > contains these words:

> I look to *drive* them. And
> will drive them until their resale value is about 5-10% of the orginal
> purchase price.

Why stop then? I run 'em into the ground - when I've finished you can't
even give 'em away.

--
Skipweasel
Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes.