BMW or Audi?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband works in finance and almost everyone he works leases. I think they just like the variety? I dont really understand it.

I prefer the BMW but both are good choices.

Because they want to change cars often and show them off, not because that is a wise financial decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Neither.

Get back into your Yaris and putt putt away.

[Anonymous]

Audi design now trounces bmw thanks to their bucktooth grilles. They have ruined the 3 and 4 series, RIP

[Anonymous]

BMW and leasing is tacky and a waste of money. If you can’t afford to buy it, go with another brand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband works in finance and almost everyone he works leases. I think they just like the variety? I dont really understand it.

I prefer the BMW but both are good choices.

Because they want to change cars often and show them off, not because that is a wise financial decision.

Then I'll also tell you that even buying a car in the first place is not a wise financial decision. There are wiser financial decisions: Walking is one of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Either way, get ready for preposterous maintenance costs.

What do you mean? I’ve had Audis for the past 12 years and the maintenance costs have been what you what expect out of a luxury car. I’ve had very little trouble out of both of my Audis.

[Anonymous]

We have a q8 and it is fine. Need to go on YouTube to figure out how to turn things in and off like every week.
Had the car 2 years but it has under 4K miles on it.

Complex machine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a q8 and it is fine. Need to go on YouTube to figure out how to turn things in and off like every week.
Had the car 2 years but it has under 4K miles on it.

Complex machine.

Genuinely curious...why buy such a high-end vehicle when you are only driving an average of 2k miles a year?

Make no mistake, I think a nice car can be worth it if it is something you spend enough time in to justify it (road trips and daily commutes become more pleasant), but 2k miles a year is like 5 miles a day. If I was only driving 5 miles down the street I wouldn't go all out on a Q8 where all of that complex tech will turn into complex repairs over the next few years. First two to three years of Audi ownership are the best and they are sexy, fun to drive cars with gorgeous interiors. After that, it goes downhill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Either way, get ready for preposterous maintenance costs.

My X3 is a 2016. The first three years of maintenance were completely free. I’ve paid for two oil changes at $110 each at jiffy lube since that free program period ended. I bought one set of tires (I had modestly priced insurance on the tires and when one blew out they replaced it free). I have 64,000 miles. Is that bad? My last BMW was a 2001 330xi and I traded it in for the X3 when it had 112,000 miles. Toward the end maintenance expenses were more such as replacing struts for a couple thousand. I don’t feel my maintenance charges were more than any other car.

The X3 looks better than the Audi and drives way way better. Has great technology too.

Oh man we also had a 2001 330xi, I loved that car. We replaced it with a 2013 Audi S4 because by then no BMWs came with all wheel drive and a manual. Not sure what we do next time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a q8 and it is fine. Need to go on YouTube to figure out how to turn things in and off like every week.
Had the car 2 years but it has under 4K miles on it.

Complex machine.

Genuinely curious...why buy such a high-end vehicle when you are only driving an average of 2k miles a year?

Make no mistake, I think a nice car can be worth it if it is something you spend enough time in to justify it (road trips and daily commutes become more pleasant), but 2k miles a year is like 5 miles a day. If I was only driving 5 miles down the street I wouldn't go all out on a Q8 where all of that complex tech will turn into complex repairs over the next few years. First two to three years of Audi ownership are the best and they are sexy, fun to drive cars with gorgeous interiors. After that, it goes downhill.

Non covid times would drive more like 6-8k miles a year. Car is used to haul the kids around. Not much of that going on last year. Year before DH had lots of travel so it sat more than usual.

[Anonymous]

BMW has better CPO and maintenance program so buy1-2 years old BMW with additional warranty, almost all major depreciation gone and you enjoy the car for the engineering of it.

I don't get leases - why pay for such a significant depreciation in first 2 years??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband works in finance and almost everyone he works leases. I think they just like the variety? I dont really understand it.

I prefer the BMW but both are good choices.

Because they want to change cars often and show them off, not because that is a wise financial decision.

I was taught in finance class to lease, assuming you don't want to drive same car for a long time.

[Anonymous]

My friend owns a quality independent Porsche/BMW/Audi etc. shop and has for 30 years.

He pointed people away from BMW years ago when part quality got cheaper and he had to have customers sign an acknowledgment/ disclaimer that BMW plastic trim parts are fragile and May break after several years. Not an issue with Audi etc.


So he (and I) would say Audi, though neither is an inexpensive car to own if maintained properly, and considering large depreciation.

[Anonymous]

Both cars are decent, it will likely come down to look/feel/touch/driving experience etc, try both to find out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband works in finance and almost everyone he works leases. I think they just like the variety? I dont really understand it.

I prefer the BMW but both are good choices.

Because they want to change cars often and show them off, not because that is a wise financial decision.

I was taught in finance class to lease, assuming you don't want to drive same car for a long time.

Working in finance or accounting does not always translate into making good personal financial decisions. For lease versus buy, its better to put up a spreadsheet to compare the costs, there should be online calculators also.

Personally, I buy well maintained 6-7 year old used cars w/low mileage (less than 40k miles), get them for 1/3rd of new price (at least pre-covid, market is crazy now) and self maintain cars to keep cost of ownership down. I keep'em until they're approx 15 years old.