Audi-The next BMW?

[-=Hot|Ice=-]

I just want your thoughts. Do you guys think Audi will be able to take BMW's Market away? I went to my local Audi dealer and the sales person told me quote " All the Z4's you see will be replaced by Audi TT's. All the 3 series cars you see will be replaced by A4/A5's, Audi will over take BMW in every market. Even the 7 series and M division."

Is anyone considering an Audi as their next car? I will admit Audi has impressed me recently.

Opinions? Thoughts?

[Inzane]

Originally Posted by -=Hot|Ice=-

Do you guys think Audi will be able to take BMW's Market away?

Opinions? Thoughts?

According to Top Gear, only the "cocks" are switching over to Audi.

[FotiosF90M5]

what else is he going to say. He is a salesman at an audi dealer. I will never buy another audi. BMW's only.

[ejazbmw]

i did see a S5 today and all i gotta say is

[crex]

I think both brands have slightly different engineering design philosphies and heritage. It really just depends on which appeals to the consumer more. I swing bmw!

[rooster3.0]

Originally Posted by -=Hot|Ice=-

I just want your thoughts. Do you guys think Audi will be able to take BMW's Market away? I went to my local Audi dealer and the sales person told me quote " All the Z4's you see will be replaced by Audi TT's. All the 3 series cars you see will be replaced by A4/A5's, Audi will over take BMW in every market. Even the 7 series and M division."

Is anyone considering an Audi as their next car? I will admit Audi has impressed me recently.

Opinions? Thoughts?

Unless Audi brings back full maintainence and introduces rear wheel drive, it'll be hard to take over anything. These are two totally different car companies who build totally different cars.

Originally Posted by Inzane

According to Top Gear, only the "cocks" are switching over to Audi.

And here I thought only "cocks" cared about what's said on Top Gear. Hey, maybe we're both wrong.

[-=Hot|Ice=-]

Originally Posted by fotios330i

what else is he going to say. He is a salesman at an audi dealer. I will never buy another audi. BMW's only.

Bad experience with Audi?

[-=Hot|Ice=-]

Originally Posted by rooster3.0

Unless Audi brings back full maintainence and introduces rear wheel drive, it'll be hard to take over anything. These are two totally different car companies who build totally different cars.




And here I thought only "cocks" cared about what's said on Top Gear. Hey, maybe we're both wrong.

VW has full maintenance for 3 years. I don't see why Audi can't do that.

[FotiosF90M5]

Originally Posted by -=Hot|Ice=-

Bad experience with Audi?

actually not at all. I had a 99 A4 and a 2000 S4. both were great cars...but they just dont drive nearly as well as bmw's and just dont feel as tight. Audi's are great cars but will never drive like a bmw IMO.

[TaTaToothy]

It's not surprising a salesman would say this, but I for one think it's a stupid sales tactic to be this arrogant and overreaching. The reality is that Audis are nice cars but simply aren't competitive with BMWs in most segments for real driving enthusiasts. As long as they insist on making front-engine/AWD cars, they will have a hard time competing with well-sorted mid/front-engine/RWD BMWs.

[rooster3.0]

Originally Posted by -=Hot|Ice=-

VW has full maintenance for 3 years. I don't see why Audi can't do that.

Not full anymore. I think it only covers oil changes. No brakes and so fourth. My 2003 Audi had the full plan, brakes and all, but when I went to order a b7 s4 they told me only oil changes are covered now. That was a deal breaker for me. I really do miss that gorgeous interior though. My a4 had the pads and rotors changed twice. Each time would've cost ~1200 bucks. The weight of AWD really takes it's toll. They also said that they no longer covered bulbs and wipers. I wasn't about to pick up a 50k car and have corners cut on the service. Aesthetically speaking, I'd take an Audi any day over a BMW. But the rear wheel drive and balance of this car are somethings the Audi couldn't give me.

[Staszek]

Not without RWD they wont.

I have always loved Audi's I am not one of those BMW lover Audi hater kind of people.

But I dont like AWD unless its snowing, their upper level models dont come in manual (except s/rs).

They look great, and will definitely gain some market share but I dont see them taking over any time soon.

[AJerman]

I think it's put as simple as this. Look at the test with the S5 vs the 335. The S5 has more power, yet the 335 still beats it. Now, don't get me wrong the S5 is beautiful car. It LOOKS better than the 335, but a lot of us BMW drivers, especially on message boards like this, buy the BMWs for the performance. Audi has been there for years as an alternate for the people who don't care as much about performance, and they still haven't made BMW obsolete, so I don't know why they would now.

[kevinbahnz]

if you go to a benz dealer, they will say benz will take over, if you go to a toyota they will say they're better. if you go to .. you get the point.
audi Tts are ugly. a4's are over priced.

[footie]

The only way it could happen is for Porsche to put their experience into building sportier Audi cars but such a thing would also compete against Porsche.

[Icedog_16]

Originally Posted by -=Hot|Ice=-

VW has full maintenance for 3 years. I don't see why Audi can't do that.

They can. I think that it's like $500 or something, last time I checked. Not a big deal, IMO.

[Icedog_16]

On the main topic, I've had both. Personally, overall I preferred Audi (it was a TT, though) and I've had a BMW before and after that car - that was after I swore I'd be a BMW guy for life, too. I also preferred Audi's service department - both are at the same dealership, too. The 335i engine is the only thing that persuaded me to come back (plus I needed something that was at least as fast in a straight line as my Elise). That's where Audi's downfall lies. I would have gotten an S5 if their lease hadn't been absolutely ludicrous. I just hate special ordering a car and paying $50K for it only to see it (or one that looks like it) on every other street corner. That is perhaps the most frustrating thing to me about owning one of these cars.

With respect to the comments regarding the S5 vs the 335i (on Fifth Gear, IIRC?), I'm sure that most know that these engines are putting out more power than BMW says they are. From what I've seen, ~270hp at the wheels is pretty common on the dyno, which is indicative of 317hp at the crank if you accept the standard 15% drivetrain loss (I've seen varying figures on that). Throw in the beefy, lag-free torque curve of a low-mass twin-turbo setup vs an NA V8 and, voila, the two cars are quite evenly matched.

[md80tom]

You know, Audi outside of the U.S is a totally different story.

Us Americans like to buy off of catchy commercials.

[mistermojorizin]

Originally Posted by Inzane

According to Top Gear, only the "cocks" are switching over to Audi.

so bmw's main demographic? not good

[BMW F22]

Originally Posted by kevinbahnz

if you go to a benz dealer, they will say benz will take over, if you go to a toyota they will say they're better. if you go to .. you get the point.

Exactly. Every dealer's management pretty much brainwashes their salesmen into thinking that the cars they are selling are the best. This is so that they can pass that "enthusiasm" onto the customers. Having been in the business before, I can speak with first hand experience.

[footie]

Like yourself I too have owned a TT, who hasn't when you are young but I have also owned the S5. Now no disrespect to you or your 335i, it's a great car with bags of performance and handling for what is a modest outlay, but I can't compare it to the S5. Sure to two are pretty evenly matched performance wise but on every other level the S5 has it comfortable beaten.

The S5 is the equivalent to the M3 but without the mighty performance. It's got it's aggressive looks, the racier interior and the beefy V8 throb, in essence it's got more in common with the M3 than it's baby brother.

BMW need to spice up their range to compete with Audi, in a way they have been looking to closely in their mirrors at what Mercedes are doing that they clean missed Audi pulling along side ready for an overtaking manoeuvre.

[Icedog_16]

Originally Posted by footie

Like yourself I too have owned a TT, who hasn't when you are young but I have also owned the S5. Now no disrespect to you or your 335i, it's a great car with bags of performance and handling for what is a modest outlay, but I can't compare it to the S5. Sure to two are pretty evenly matched performance wise but on every other level the S5 has it comfortable beaten.

The S5 is the equivalent to the M3 but without the mighty performance. It's got it's aggressive looks, the racier interior and the beefy V8 throb, in essence it's got more in common with the M3 than it's baby brother.

BMW need to spice up their range to compete with Audi, in a way they have been looking to closely in their mirrors at what Mercedes are doing that they clean missed Audi pulling along side ready for an overtaking manoeuvre.

I assume that you were referring to me. And I can't disagree with you at all. Like I said, I'd have gotten an S5 in a heartbeat, but the lease was ludicrous. I'm sure that had I not been looking at a time when the S5 was just released (a case of first-on-the-block syndrome), my tone may have been somewhat different. In all honesty, I'm envious.