Which used car should I buy? Audi A4 Avant 2008 or BMW X3 2008?

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Sanu

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#255663 22-Aug-2019 18:53

Which used car should I buy? Audi A4 Avant 2007 59k KMS or BMW X3 2008 98k KMS? I test drove both and they both drive amazingly well, I liked both and I'm confused

I like the boot space of Avant and the driving comfort of X3. I have a BMW touring right now and I can sleep comfortably with the back seats folded down, I live in New Zealand and it comes in handy when we go camping here. I miss that in X3. But sitting in the driver's seat of X3, I feel more comfortable. They are priced the same and I can't make out any obvious problems in either of them.

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Mad Scientist
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#2304111 22-Aug-2019 18:54

whichever has the better service history and less likely to be driven by a maniac.

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#2304116 22-Aug-2019 19:00

I'd take the A4 Avant every day of the week and twice on Sundays. This without knowing the service history and other things that should be taken into account. The ride height advantage of the X3 is offset with much more body roll and a higher center of gravity.

I've owned a few SUV's and a fair number of wagons, including BMW's and Audi's. For me it's not even close in terms of SUV v Avant.

To be fair they are both nice cars though and I imagine you'll be happy with either.

If you are in Auckland, then BM Workshop is an excellent service place, very cost-effective and very good at what they do.

gbwelly

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#2304308 23-Aug-2019 07:14

They will both be money pits so make sure you know what you are in for.

timmmay

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#2304317 23-Aug-2019 07:34

What do they cost? Why would you buy an old car? Vanity around car brand? A newer Toyota / Nissan / etc would be much more reliable at a similar price.

I find Audi drivers to be more likely to be inconsiderate, tailgaters, or speeders than drivers of most other brands of cars.

Linux

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#2304320 23-Aug-2019 07:37

Make sure the indicators work on the BMW most I see driving around Auckland seem to be faulty and never work

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#2304321 23-Aug-2019 07:40

timmmay:

I find Audi drivers to be more likely to be inconsiderate, tailgaters, or speeders than drivers of most other brands of cars.

I think this is confirmation bias!

All joking on Audi/BMW/(Insert name of premium car here) aside, In my experience the worst drivers are those in Tradie Vans, old utes and modded, imported Japanese Banzai-mobiles...

Which is also probably *my* confirmation bias!

I wonder if any meaningful study has been done on car brand/value/type and driving behaviours?

*************

For OP I would go with the Audi out of these - unless you need the extra ride height for ease of access I would always get a good wagon over an SUV.

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maoriboy

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#2304323 23-Aug-2019 07:42

What's that old saying..."If you can't afford a new European car, you sure as hell can't afford a second hand one"....or words to that effect. As both cars are over 10yrs old I'd be very wary of them, and as @timmmay said, getting a newer model Japanese car would be a much more reliable option and less headachy. Is brand cachet that important to you?

jonathan18

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#2304390 23-Aug-2019 09:17

Item:

timmmay:

I find Audi drivers to be more likely to be inconsiderate, tailgaters, or speeders than drivers of most other brands of cars.

I wonder if any meaningful study has been done on car brand/value/type and driving behaviours?

Carrying on in that theme, I reckon it's difficult to pick between Commodore drivers on the open road (tailgaters, aggressive driving, stupid passing) and courier drivers in the urban environment (no signalling, driving and parking on wrong side of road, on the phone...)!

But as for 'meaningful studies', I recall a few years back someone had found drivers of more expensive cars were less likely to give way to pedestrians; digging out some info on that I see the same researcher also found in another study that they were also more likely to cut in out of turn. Here's one report on the findings - https://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/12/the-rich-drive-differently-a-study-suggests/

mclean

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#2304424 23-Aug-2019 09:55

timmmay: What do they cost? Why would you buy an old car? Vanity around car brand? A newer Toyota / Nissan / etc would be much more reliable at a similar price. I find Audi drivers to be more likely to be inconsiderate, tailgaters, or speeders than drivers of most other brands of cars.

Yes, don't fall for car brand vanity. Brand selection based on perceived driver attitude will see you right. Everyone's gonna love you in your Toyota.

WyleECoyoteNZ

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#2304457 23-Aug-2019 10:47

A quick check of Google\Wikipedia says a 2008 BMW X3 is a mid cycle refresh of the first gen X3 (E83)

Again, according to Wikipedia, this generation of X3 was based off the 3 Series platform.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_X3#2006%E2%80%932010

What year is your current BMW Touring?

Is it a 3 or 5 series touring?

If you are driving a fifth generation 3 series touring (E91), then a 2008 X3 is effectively a SUV version of the touring, not exactly the same, but based off the same platform.

Bimmerpost may be a good resource to have a read through, they cover just about everything BMW related.

https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=e828cb4903e2a58a19f3be33149d5f1f&f=91

sen8or

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#2304463 23-Aug-2019 10:55

Theres another old saying -

If all the cars in the world were Toyotas, there'd be a lot less mechanics in existence.

11 year old European cars, if you do go down that path, best to take a 3 year warranty along with it

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ilovemusic

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#2308637 30-Aug-2019 20:50

audi is the new bmw !

i wouldn't buy either of them unless they were in good condition, had good history, a good warranty and were cheap !

insane

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#2308655 30-Aug-2019 22:03

Depends on the engine in the Audi.

The 2.0TFSI has a list of common issues, but can be kept on top of with some preventive maintenance. Expect to replace (pcv valve, hp fuel pump cam follower, waste gate, coils, n80 valve, charcoal canister).

The 3.2FSI will make you cry if a chain tensioner fails, and you'll need to drop the engine to replace them. If it dies push it off s cliff.

I've got an '06 Audi and honestly it hasn't aged well, but I guess is sure is fun to drive :)

Geektastic

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#2309003 1-Sep-2019 12:42

maoriboy:

What's that old saying..."If you can't afford a new European car, you sure as hell can't afford a second hand one"....or words to that effect. As both cars are over 10yrs old I'd be very wary of them, and as @timmmay said, getting a newer model Japanese car would be a much more reliable option and less headachy. Is brand cachet that important to you?

Certainly I would buy neither without mechanical warranty insurance.

The bills on these things can be huge. The alternator lunched itself on my RR a month ago and needed to be rebuilt. That entails removing a lot of the front of the car in order to get at it. Time = money.

The bill was nigh on $1,000 for the job. It cost me $300 due to aforementioned insurance!

Smithy100

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#2309015 1-Sep-2019 13:49

All you need to ascertain is whether you're going to spend more time sleeping in it (Audi), or driving it (BMW). In either case, get a good warranty as per above.

E + R = O

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