2012 Audi a4 to 2010 328i

Hi,

So I have a 2012 A4 Quattro...In short I hate it....all of it. From the crappy service from Audi to getting 225 miles per tank at best. Not to mention burning oil like a crack head. Sure i have been to Audi like 10 times in a year and half of ownership. I am seriously considering trading it in on a 2010 BMW 328i RWD w 12K miles on CPO.

Has anyone had any similar experience??? Audi-BMW?? In addition can someone elaborate on the reliability of the 6cyl engine on 3 series? I heard its bullet proof. ANY supporting info would be great!!

Thx

A

If most of your driving is in the city you may not get a lot better gas mileage, but you will enjoy it much, much more. The N52 inline six is a real gem. You'll need a good set of winter tires, but with those you'll be in good shape to go wherever you want.

I say go for it. If you want to post a link to the listing we'll give our opinions of the car and let you know if we see any red flags. Good luck.

I have a 2011 328 with x drive and I love the six cylinder engine. In one year I put 23k on it and it never used any oil. I haven't had any problems except for a radio glitch.

I used to have Volkswagen's but I had too many problems. My cousin has Audi and it does drink the oil.

Good luck

Best car I've ever had (my 330xi). 144K and still kicking like a stabbed rat, in fact it feels as though the more miles I rack up, the better it drives. While I do like the look of the A4, especially the 2009+ models, I just can't see myself owning one. Not sure what it is.

Inline 6 is a real gem to drive

Was going to buy a5 3.2 but against it due to reliability issue with Audi / vw cars

I heard Porsche in reliable too

Originally Posted by SilverX3

Inline 6 is a real gem to drive

Was going to buy a5 3.2 but against it due to reliability issue with Audi / vw cars

I heard Porsche in reliable too

I suppose any car can be reliable really, just depends on often you care to pick up a wrench, hah.

Originally Posted by aih312

Hi,

So I have a 2012 A4 Quattro...In short I hate it....all of it. From the crappy service from Audi to getting 225 miles per tank at best. Not to mention burning oil like a crack head. Sure i have been to Audi like 10 times in a year and half of ownership. I am seriously considering trading it in on a 2010 BMW 328i RWD w 12K miles on CPO.

Has anyone had any similar experience??? Audi-BMW?? In addition can someone elaborate on the reliability of the 6cyl engine on 3 series? I heard its bullet proof. ANY supporting info would be great!!

Thx

A

Let see, B8 A4 has 17 gallon gas tank and you get 225 miles a tank... so you are averaging about 13 MPG in an A4 2.0T? Something tells me you are going to get horrible mileage in a BMW too. The problem is likely not the car...

Originally Posted by aih312

Hi,

So I have a 2012 A4 Quattro...In short I hate it....all of it. From the crappy service from Audi to getting 225 miles per tank at best. Not to mention burning oil like a crack head. Sure i have been to Audi like 10 times in a year and half of ownership. I am seriously considering trading it in on a 2010 BMW 328i RWD w 12K miles on CPO.

Has anyone had any similar experience??? Audi-BMW?? In addition can someone elaborate on the reliability of the 6cyl engine on 3 series? I heard its bullet proof. ANY supporting info would be great!!

Thx

A

My sister had an A4. It was a beautiful car, and oozed a feeling of precision and high quality that my E91 can't quite match. The interior was in another league as far as quality of materials was concerned. Although it was a $35,000 car, I though the interior was about as nice as my mother's $100,000 S-class.

My sister also loved driving it, and the ride was pretty soon (although it was FWD, and understeered with enthusiasm).

My sister sold it with only 50,000 miles on it. After the warranty expired, the damn thing just started falling apart. It was almost crazy all the quality control issues. She was telling me this story about coming out to the car in the morning an finding that several of the buttons on the dash had spontaneously fallen apart.

Originally Posted by Kilgore Trout

My sister had an A4. It was a beautiful car, and oozed a feeling of precision and high quality that my E91 can't quite match. The interior was in another league as far as quality of materials was concerned. Although it was a $35,000 car, I though the interior was about as nice as my mother's $100,000 S-class.

My sister also loved driving it, and the ride was pretty soon (although it was FWD, and understeered with enthusiasm).

My sister sold it with only 50,000 miles on it. After the warranty expired, the damn thing just started falling apart. It was almost crazy all the quality control issues. She was telling me this story about coming out to the car in the morning an finding that several of the buttons on the dash had spontaneously fallen apart.

That sounds like a friggin' nightmare, but I don't expect "most" Audi's to behave that way...but I have had family friends have some serious issues with them once they got up there with mileage. They require EVEN MORE looking after than your average Bimmer I'd say.

BZCAT- I wish it was me....I thought about my lead foot and lets face it, I am not buying these cars to go 55mph...So long road trip avg about 75-80 MPH..I get around 270 a tank. Mixed city/hwy last tank 227. I am by no means gunning my car in the city of chicago, or heavy on the pedal, or driving like a total jackass.

tturedraider- here is the link for the car
http://bmwoforlandpark.com/vehicle-d...ea/557186.html

Let me know what you guys think!! I am going tomorrow to go see it.

I am very good about taking care of my rides..borderline anal.

Audi....is just so cheap. I mean for instance. The cable that connects my iphone to the unit is considered an accessory and is only covered for 1 year 12k miles...However the relay unit is part of the car and is covered under normal warranty. Of course mine breaks at 13k miles....help me out??? NO...its an accessory. Audi requires a qt every 2k miles....I have owned everything and never had this issue..Even my dads old 930 Turbo doesnt burn oil like this!.

One more thing....the ride quality of the 3 series is amazing, otherwise everyone wouldnt try to compete.

Thanks for your guys help !!! Please let me know what you think of the car and what i should pay for it

Thanks

A

Those are the worst rims imaginable, I see a few of them up here in New England. Makes me gag when I see them. I hope you're going to replace them if considering purchasing this car, .

Other than that, that's a very attractive price for a '10 with 12k miles. No interest in a navigation unit or sports package?

Yeah I was going to keep those rims for winter and put snow tires on them....they are damn ugly....I want an 18's because I live in the city. No Nav or Sports....live downtown the potholes alone will kill a good car with sports package.

A

Originally Posted by aih312

Yeah I was going to keep those rims for winter and put snow tires on them....they are damn ugly....I want an 18's because I live in the city. No Nav or Sports....live downtown the potholes alone will kill a good car with sports package.

A

Thought about possibly trying to locate a Xdrive version with sports package? That would give you the upgraded seats and steering wheel, but keep the suspension base. Best of both worlds. Plus would help with those Chicago winters.

I am going to see what they give me for trade in for my audi first before I make any decisions...I wouldnt mind a xdrive though now that I think of it....I like the low miles in this car though. I am used to RWD cars...however you bring up a good point!! Let me dig through some more and see what I like and get your opinion

Thanks!!
a

Originally Posted by aih312

BZCAT- I wish it was me....I thought about my lead foot and lets face it, I am not buying these cars to go 55mph...So long road trip avg about 75-80 MPH..I get around 270 a tank. Mixed city/hwy last tank 227. I am by no means gunning my car in the city of chicago, or heavy on the pedal, or driving like a total jackass.

tturedraider- here is the link for the car
http://bmwoforlandpark.com/vehicle-d...ea/557186.html

Let me know what you guys think!! I am going tomorrow to go see it.

I am very good about taking care of my rides..borderline anal.

Audi....is just so cheap. I mean for instance. The cable that connects my iphone to the unit is considered an accessory and is only covered for 1 year 12k miles...However the relay unit is part of the car and is covered under normal warranty. Of course mine breaks at 13k miles....help me out??? NO...its an accessory. Audi requires a qt every 2k miles....I have owned everything and never had this issue..Even my dads old 930 Turbo doesnt burn oil like this!.

One more thing....the ride quality of the 3 series is amazing, otherwise everyone wouldnt try to compete.

Thanks for your guys help !!! Please let me know what you think of the car and what i should pay for it

Thanks

A

That car is a fairly early production model 2010 and it has a really terrible stereo. BMW engaged in some cost cutting with the 2010 models and one thing they did was stick in that bad stereo.

It looks to me like that there's a good chance that car was a demo or loaner. Not totally a bad thing, but something to be aware of. I notice they have several others, both 2010 and 2011, that appear to have a high likelihood of having been either demos or loaners. Demos are generally used by dealership management. They can be used as demos for no more than three months and/or 5,000 miles. Their new car warranty is automatically extended by 5,000 miles and three months. They are not usually CPO'd. Loaners are actually purchased by the dealership for that purpose and are usually CPO'd after they are retired.

Don't get too hung up on the 12k miles. Those 2011 CPO units with around 27k miles could be good choices, too. I didn't look at all of them, but this one caught my eye - http://bmwoforlandpark.com/vehicle-d...ea/532086.html, and this one - http://bmwoforlandpark.com/vehicle-d...ml#jsSlideshow, though it appears to have the low end stereo, too.

You can to a search for CPO BMWs on BMW's website - http://www.bmwusa.com/standard/conte...ry_search.aspx. You might also want to read up on how the BMW CPO program works and what the warranty covers. http://www.bmwusa.com/standard/content/cpo/default.aspx It picks up when the new car warranty end, but it is not as comprehensive as the new car warranty. There is a link to the CPO Inspection form that will show you what all they check.

Most of the area BMW dealers seem to have pretty good reputations. Unfortunately for those of us in the city, Perillo seems to be the exception. I rarely read anything good about them.

Good luck.

Tture, how can you tell if they have the crappy stereo? I did recall seeing that the later production 2009's and (all) 2010's have the junk stereo, but is there a way to tell otherwise? Do all 2010's in fact, have the ghetto stereo? How inferior is it to our Logic 7's in our 330'is?

Also, both of those 2011's you linked look nice to me, albeit not having the Sports Package on either, or iDrive. But I guess those are really just important to me, hah.

Originally Posted by aih312

Hi,

So I have a 2012 A4 Quattro...In short I hate it....all of it. From the crappy service from Audi to getting 225 miles per tank at best. Not to mention burning oil like a crack head. Sure i have been to Audi like 10 times in a year and half of ownership. I am seriously considering trading it in on a 2010 BMW 328i RWD w 12K miles on CPO.

Has anyone had any similar experience??? Audi-BMW?? In addition can someone elaborate on the reliability of the 6cyl engine on 3 series? I heard its bullet proof. ANY supporting info would be great!!

Thx

A

Yes I have. I had a 2004 A4 that was nothing but problems. I got sick of it and traded it in a 2007 328xi that I had no trouble with at all. I now have a 2009 328xi that has been problem free. Given my experience with the Audi I wouldn't go back.

Originally Posted by BiHoTTo115

Tture, how can you tell if they have the crappy stereo? I did recall seeing that the later production 2009's and (all) 2010's have the junk stereo, but is there a way to tell otherwise? Do all 2010's in fact, have the ghetto stereo? How inferior is it to our Logic 7's in our 330'is?

Also, both of those 2011's you linked look nice to me, albeit not having the Sports Package on either, or iDrive. But I guess those are really just important to me, hah.

The stereo is pure crap compared to the Logic7/Harman Kardon. And, for model year 2010, if the car lacks the Logic7/HK then it has the crappy one.


Two ways to tell - if there are not the little triangle speakers in the front doors at the front corners of the windows the car has the lousy stereo. The other, which I meant to provide a link for is www.bmwvin.com to look at the options list. The Logic7/HK system shows option code S677A - HiFi System Professional DSP.

Picture of these triangle speakers for reference?

Originally Posted by BiHoTTo115

Picture of these triangle speakers for reference?

EDIT: It appears none of those cars have the HiFi speaker system.

The code for the non-Logic7 HiFi system is S676A. For reference, this car has it - http://bmwoforlandpark.com/vehicle-d...ml#jsSlideshow

Originally Posted by tturedraider

EDIT: It appears none of those cars have the HiFi speaker system.

The code for the non-Logic7 HiFi system is S676A. For reference, this car has it - http://bmwoforlandpark.com/vehicle-d...ml#jsSlideshow

I don't have Logic7 but the code I have is S676A and BMWVIN says it's HiFi speaker system - so, there are three different stereos ? Regular, Hi Fi and Logic 7 ? (when I bought I thought I have the best stereo BMW offers but didn't know about Logic 7 than.

Originally Posted by jaytank

I don't have Logic7 but the code I have is S676A and BMWVIN says it's HiFi speaker system - so, there are three different stereos ? Regular, Hi Fi and Logic 7 ? (when I bought I thought I have the best stereo BMW offers but didn't know about Logic 7 than.

Actually, there appear to be four systems. The Logic7 from the early years (2006 - 2008, I think) is S677A. The Harman Kardon from the later years (2009 - 2013, it appears) is S688A. Both of these systems are basically the same and may be identical. The Logic7 is a Harman Kardon system, but it was not advertised as such in the early years. Later they began to refer to the system as a Harman Kardon system and dropped the Logic7 moniker.

The system you have is the "Professional" system with the HiFi speakers - S676A. The really crappy system is actually the same radio head unit as your radio just lacking any worthwhile speakers.


Here's a picture of the later HK small speakers. In the early years the Logic7 system didn't have any outward indication it was there. You could only tell by looking at the radio menu to see if the system had equalizer settings, which indicated Logic7.

Is that all clear as mud?

Originally Posted by tturedraider

Actually, there appear to be four systems. The Logic7 from the early years (2006 - 2008, I think) is S677A. The Harman Kardon from the later years (2009 - 2013, it appears) is S688A. Both of these systems are basically the same and may be identical. The Logic7 is a Harman Kardon system, but it was not advertised as such in the early years. Later they began to refer to the system as a Harman Kardon system and dropped the Logic7 moniker.

The system you have is the "Professional" system with the HiFi speakers - S676A. The really crappy system is actually the same radio head unit as your radio just lacking any worthwhile speakers.


Here's a picture of the later HK small speakers. In the early years the Logic7 system didn't have any outward indication it was there. You could only tell by looking at the radio menu to see if the system had equalizer settings, which indicated Logic7.

Is that all clear as mud?

Thanks for the clarification tturedraider its "crystal" (clear)

Originally Posted by aih312

Has anyone had any similar experience??? Audi-BMW?? In addition can someone elaborate on the reliability of the 6cyl engine on 3 series? I heard its bullet proof. ANY supporting info would be great!!

Thx

A

There are plenty of good reasons to go with a 3-series N52, but not on the basis that the engine is bulletproof - FAR from it. I much preferred my previous M54 and the N52 has way too many issues. Leak$, misfires, clicking ... I had them all. Except the dreaded time-bomb; the failure of water pump (1000-1500$).

My mom has a 2009 Audi A4, and it burns oil a whole bunch too. She is considering getting the new 328i. We have also had horrible experiences at the Audi dealer. None of them sound like they know what they're talking about, and they hate doing service on your car.