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BMW 530D E60 or Audi A6 3.0TDI C6 ?

Poll

5 series or A6 ?

A6 5 series Neither!

Torn between the two, having already done test drives in both.

In BMW's favor:

Slightly better stated fuel economy, rear wheel drive, superior handling, more cars to choose from

In Audi's favor:

Slightly nicer interior, more storage inside the car, no run flat tyres to worry about

Looking to spend ~£8k. Preferably a saloon over the estate. I always buy on condition and service history rather than mileage so not fussed there. That said the turbos on the big diesel engines do go quickly.

Reason for opting for the derv over the equivalent petrol is that the former can be remapped to near 535i / S6 power, at lower running costs (both to buy, fuel, road tax and parts)

Reply 1

username2387497

If it was petrol then BMW but as its diesel then go for the Audi!
Reason being, the petrol versions of those BMW's are just awesome! Esp the E60 M5!
But the audi would be the more reliable and comfortable choice! I think Audi's build quality is unmatched by many!
So it will therefore be more reliable and a better car overall!
It would be more luxurious then the BMW as its a model up, its the equivalent of the BMW 6 series so theres gonna be more stuff with it and its just gonna be a more premium feeling car!

Reply 2

shaymarriott

Original post by FireFreezer77

This is mostly nonsense. Diesel BMWs are some of the best in class, and generally significantly more torquey than the petrols which helps in everyday driving. Petrols are obviously good too but it's a daft comparison to make. If you're going to be driving it like a normal human (with a bit of fun thrown in) a BMW diesel will be fine.

The A6 isn't a direct competitor to the 6 series - the A7 is. The A6 is more of a competitor to the A5 Touring. The numbers aren't directly transferable...

I've been going through exactly the same dilemma, but with the Avant B8 A4 3.0tdi vs the 539d Touring. I test drove both and they're both brilliant in different ways.

The BMW is slightly slower in my comparison (A4 rather than 6) particularly in the wet due to the Audi's Torsen Quattro. There won't be much in it with the A6.

Reliability with both is similar as far as my many hours wasted reading forums seems to say, the Audi has notorious swirl flap problems which are more easily remedied now than they used to be.

The BMW will handle better, but M Sport suspension (if specced) lets the ride down. Audi is more like driving a cloud, especially the 6 series with its long wheelbase, but body roll is much more noticeable, as is (apparently) it's tendency to understeer.

I've currently got a 123d Coupe and it's brilliant fun, but the ride is sh!t. Going back to the fuel thing - I have an average 48mpg including daily commuting through Bristol, and some motorway stuff at weekends. My mates 330i has virtually identical performance specs, but he struggles to get over 30 mpg on motorway journeys.

The Audi won't handle anywhere near as well but will make a brilliant motorway cruiser. It's better in the snow too, but if you live somewhere with regular snow then just get snow tyres. A BM with winter tyres will do better than an Quattro Audi with road tyres on.

I still haven't decided what to do... I agree with the diesel choice, but make sure you do enough long journeys. People often say only get a derv if you're doing 15k plus a year. That's nonsense - 5k is fine if it's infrequent long journeys rather than sitting around town. The B8 A4 will remap to about 289 safely, and the manual uses the clutch from the RS4 so can take a battering, but I'm not sure on the A6.

Are you looking at the Le Mans edition? This may have only come in Avant though...

All I can add to that really is that from what I've heard about Audi, and experienced with BMW, the latter has far better customer service if you choose to use a main dealer.

Oh and servicing will be moderately but not ridiculously expensive on both due to size of the sump, and they'll probably cost similar amounts to insure. If you're looking at something 8/9 years old plus I'd go with an indie specialist for servicing unless you're only going to keep it a year or two.

At the end of the day I'd go for whichever suits your driving patterns better - mostly motorway? Audi. Varied mix of roads? BMW. Both cars will do moon miles if looked after, and so long as you don't redline it everywhere I'd say the turbo shouldn't be too much of a concern.

Oh and if you go for the BMW, ditch image run flats if they're on - bl00dy useless things.

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Reply 3

Alfissti

These are cars that should be bought new or nearly new at best.

Always asking for trouble touching these cars once it is 5 years old unless you have fairly deep pockets.

Reply 4

Drex50

Original post by Alfissti

These are cars that should be bought new or nearly new at best.

Always asking for trouble touching these cars once it is 5 years old unless you have fairly deep pockets.

These cars in particular or the class in general?

Reply 5

E46

Original post by Alfissti

These are cars that should be bought new or nearly new at best.

Always asking for trouble touching these cars once it is 5 years old unless you have fairly deep pockets.

Have you seen the depreciation of a brand new diesel German saloon car? It is very very heavy. They don't hold their value in part because they're so plentiful.

Agreed these cars can throw heavy bills, especially with multiple turbos but then again a decent set of tyres will set you back £600+ so a £2k bill when things go badly wrong shouldn't come as too much of a surprise.

Reply 6

Alfissti

Original post by Drex50

These cars in particular or the class in general?

Original post by E46

The reason why I mentioned it should be bought new is 80% of these cars are bought new by businesses and depreciation isn't such a bad thing for a company to swallow.

If you're buying it privately for your own use then nearly new as in under 2 years old is the better way to get it due to the depreciation. in the first 2 years. Plenty of life still left in them and for the most part even with the amount of cost-cutting that's been going on these cars should give a fairly trouble free experience for 5 years.

BMW.

Original post by Alfissti

The class in general. Plenty of expensive bills will come to haunt you especially when it reaches the 5 years mark.

When they go wrong many things will need to be replaced in modules and these modules don't come cheap.

The reason why I mentioned it should be bought new is 80% of these cars are bought new by businesses and depreciation isn't such a bad thing for a company to swallow.

If you're buying it privately for your own use then nearly new as in under 2 years old is the better way to get it due to the depreciation. in the first 2 years. Plenty of life still left in them and for the most part even with the amount of cost-cutting that's been going on these cars should give a fairly trouble free experience for 5 years.

If I brought a 8 year old example with 100k on the clock for £8k, and was planning to keep it for 4 years, how much £££ should I put aside for problems?

Reply 9

shaymarriott

Original post by Drex50

If I brought a 8 year old example with 100k on the clock for £8k, and was planning to keep it for 4 years, how much £££ should I put aside for problems?

That's sort of unanswerable. It depends on the exact car. You might have a lemon needing £5k work in the first year or you might be lucky like I've been with my BMW and only have to spend on MOTs and general consumables.

But budget for a minimum of a full set of tyres, bulbs can be costly if they're xenons, wheel alignment, you might lose the clutch or turbo? I'd try and assume about £1000-£1500 a year just for repairs. That way if it goes tits up you needn't worry.

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Reply 10

Drex50

Original post by shaymarriott

Yes I realise there's no guaranteed figure

I was curious as to what cash value the previous poster would set aside

Reply 11

Alfissti

Original post by Drex50

If I brought a 8 year old example with 100k on the clock for £8k, and was planning to keep it for 4 years, how much £££ should I put aside for problems?

As a guide, when it comes to premium cars, once it reaches 5 years old, you should set aside 5-10% of the price of the car when new on yearly maintenance. Think along the lines of suspension parts, electrical items and certainly any engine parts that may decide to go.

Hence the reason I'd never touch such a car once it is no longer in its nearly new phase, I'd rather put money into something that could someday be a collectible, think along the lines of a BMW Z-series or perhaps one of the M-cars, those might be better value to sink money into.

Reply 12

Drex50

Original post by Alfissti

Would you apply the same % to non-premium cars?

Reply 13

Alfissti

Original post by Drex50

Would you apply the same % to non-premium cars?

A non premium car, the percentage will be closer to 3-8% per annum, it will be at the lower end if you are willing to use OEM parts and will be at the higher end if it is original parts.