Perception of Audi and BMW

All cars depreciate basically the same percent each yr. nothing magic about a Luxo car vs bottom feeder crap

Only difference - 50% of $65k is a lot more $$ than 50% of $25K. I get a laugh when I hear somebody wants to ‘invest in a Mercedes (or BMW, or whatever)’. That’s a very BAD investment!

I’m not to keen on the fact that Audi engines require timing belt changes. Is this true with the six cylinder supercharged engine in the S5.

Gates doesn’t list timing belts for it (prior year, they don’t have anything listed for 2014 Audis), so my guess it that it doesn’t use a timing belt.

Per wiki all Audis seem to have timing chains now:

I will say this about the S5: I have a friend who did IT for a chain of gas stations. One of his benefits from his employer was a card that let him get free gas from any of their stations. He went out and bought an S5. Not too long after, he sold it, because even with free gas he was spending too much money keeping it on the road.

They are amazing cars, and fun as hell to drive, but you need relatively deep pockets to keep them going.

I know a few people that have successfully used the lemon law to return BMW and Audi’s. More common than other brands I would say. That itself scares me. It is too time consuming.

Take a look at the Lexus IS-F. It’s in your price range and is competitive with the Audi and BMW line. If you prefer a convertible, consider the IS 350 C F. It has 25% less power, but at 306 HP, it will still get you down the road quickly. And we might expect them to show some of that legendary Lexus reliability.

Exactly ! And, (blank) percent per year on a real expensive car is a heck of a lot more then (blank) percent on a less expensive car. So, over time, Their actual values after ten years is much closer. Not only that, but the more popular cars WILL sell more easily. A ten year old Camry gets many more calls then a ten year old BMW for more money…at least around here. Of course, if you live in Yuppieville USA, the reverse could be true.

@jtsanders good suggestion! The IS-F is a fantastic car.

@dagosa; Eevn at Yuppieville (where I live), there are more buyers for a 10 yr old Camry. The BMW buyers mostly lease or buy new. The ones who are looking for a 10 yr old BMW are the gear-heads and they aren’t going to part easily with their money.

I’ve had excellent luck with my BMW’s . I traded in an older 328 for a new 2014 I’ve put 10k on it in 5 months. I haven’t had any problems with either one. If you find a good independent mechanic to work on these you will save a ton of money. My sister in law has a 2008 535 with 120k and it has been excellent , doesn’t even burn any oil. I purchased my cars drive too much to lease.

Just curious @steveng … how often do you take your car in for service? I ask b/c I had a friend who drove a BMW and he was happy with its reliability. But he took it in for service about every 3-4 months. I know this b/c he’d always have it serviced when we’d schedule a golf match, then I could pick him up at the BMW place in the AM, we’d play golf, then I’d drop him off at the BMW place after. I presume it was for routine scheduled service, not a repair. Is a 3-4 month service interval typical for BMW owners?

This would be a week-end car, and not a daily driver.

Jeeze, I wish you’d have said that up front. That changes things.
Get a Lotus.

“This would be a week-end car, and not a daily driver.”

Then get a Honda Civic Si Coupe (oops, that’s another thread).

My car only goes in every 10k for an oil change. Maintenance is free for 4 years or 50k. During that time they replace the wipers, oil changes, brake fluid change and brakes all no charge during that time. I’ve had Honda’s and some of those parts aren’t cheap.

I will add that I used to drive Volkswagen’s for a long time. I had major problems with them and they all were major money pits.

The 4 year 50 K free maintenance deal seems like a pretty good idea. It gives the owner incentive to make sure all the scheduled routine maintenance is done and on time. That can prevent a lot of unnecessary trouble down the road. Does it include checking for problems w/the tune-up, reading and addressing any ECM diagnostic codes, air filters, the cooling system and transmission fluid replacement too? If I were looking to buy a new car, I’d definitely factor that in as a plus for BMW.

“Conspicuous consumption” is a fitting description for the purchase of a great many high end automobiles and even a great many not so high end models. I continue to insist that if automobile financing were regulated to require a 20% down payment and a 24 month pay off there would be a drastic change in the view when most commuted to work.