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Second hand Audi or new mercedes ?

Hi guys, I asked a question recently about what car to buy between and Audi A3 BMW 1 series and a Mercedes A class. I have test drove them all and decided against the rear wheel drive 1 series but was impressed with the other two. Overall I prefer the Audi, however to get the 2.0 tdi s line I would like I can only afford a 3 year old example with 30,000 miles. I can afford the current generation a class brand new 1.8 diesel avantgarde and am not not sure which one to buy as my heart says Audi but my head says go for the merc as its brand new, no maintenace costs etc ? Any help most appreciated.

Reply 1

BMWM5

Those cars are only good if your earning the maintenance cost for all of them are high, them ones you've mentioned, also you can get the car what insurance will you get? It's not just one thing with cars if you have the money then go for the one series. But tbh get something thats more economical. Parts as expensive for all of them ones on there. Read reviews and problems and stuff.

Reply 2

MrWhosane

I think the Audi, then sell after one-two years. You won't lose much money, and as long as you service it per year it should be fine. With the Merc you'll instantly lose thousands, and the Merc is quite s***. Merc's 1.8 Diesel isn't very well known anyway, whereas the VAG 2.0 TDI engine (replacement for the legendary 1.9 TDI) is renowned for it's reliability and parts.

Go for Audi, my advice.

Reply 3

FXX

Go for the Audi, for the reasons above. 30k miles on a car is absolutely nothing, and there's too much money to be lost in buying brand new. The A-class is hideously expensive for what it is and Mercs depreciate very quickly. If a car is going to go wrong in a big way, it will within the first two years.

And if the Audi isn't peppy enough for you, you can chip it pretty safely.

Reply 4

Miraclefish

The moment you take ownership of that new Mercedes (indeed any car), it drops in value by at least 25%, often more.

Recent used cars offer, by far, the best value for money. Run in, serviced, depreciation paid by someone else and still well within the very generous warranties on offer.

Unless you feel the need to piss money away, I can't see why you'd ever buy a brand new car.

Audi.

My mum has a 2009 Audi A3 1.9 TDI and it's pretty incredible. Granted, I've only previously driven just 4-5 cars and they were Fords, Fiats and Peugeots, but the A3 is great and I would recommend it.
Not sure about the A class, the new one I saw pictures of a few weeks ago looks pretty stunning but if you're referring to the old shape, the really tall one, I wouldn't buy that personally.

Reply 7

username988579

Thanks for all the replys.

Reply 8

stayce88

Do you drive enough to warrant getting a 2 litre diesel? Why not look at a 1.6 petrol A3?

Thanks

Just out of interest, how much is the Audi A3 that you are planning on buying?
:wink:

Reply 11

username988579

Original post by Hustler-1337

Just out of interest, how much is the Audi A3 that you are planning on buying?
:wink:

the audi is £14,700 and the mercedes is £15,200 ( merc is heavily discounted due to arrival of new model )

Reply 12

Alfissti

Original post by Jahe

the audi is £14,700 and the mercedes is £15,200 ( merc is heavily discounted due to arrival of new model )

You will be better off in the Mercedes. As an engineer can tell you that it is by far better engineered than the Audi. Engine wise there isn't much difference between them technologically as they both use Bosch systems. Chassis and suspension the Mercedes is far ahead of the game. Build quality generally the Mercedes is also ahead of the game and materials are generally better.

If I'm not wrong most new Mercedes are warranted from factory for 5 years and come with rather generous maintenance plans for free. Only downside is the new model is a revolution rather than evolution of the old so it will look very dated in a few months time. However for £500 difference between a new car and one that is 3 years old it isn't hard to opt for the new car.

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(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 13

username988579

Original post by Alfissti

Thanks for reply. Have decided to go for the Mercedes, been and confirmed order today am getting it next weekend. Decided on the a180 avantagarde in black looks great, best of all got £4600 off the list price ! Thanks again

Reply 14

Methoddan

Don't do the typical UK thing and feel that a new car is a necessarily better thing, it's just a fashion item - over here the mentality seems to be that everybody wants a better car than their neighbour.

Older cars can be very good too, and have MUCH lower maintenance costs, and fewer problems too (anything without too many computers, essentially).

We have a 1995 Audi A6, 2.5L diesel. Have had it for a few years, it's absolutely bulletproof for reliability, has surprisingly good fuel consumption, has done over 300,000 miles, has never had any big problems, and shows no signs of going downhill, it just keeps on going... it cost us £1300, and that was a few years ago, has been very cheap to run, has never needed to go to the garage (simple maintenance like oil changes and checking water levels etc can avoid expensive repairs) and being an A6 is certainly not lacking in comfort and gadgets.

Low cost to buy, low cost to run (50-60mpg we've averaged - this particular engine is very reliable and can happily run at revs as low as 1000-1500rpm without working hard, thus keeping fuel consumption down), cheap to maintain (when it even needs work), comfortabl, very practical, and still looking good. I don't find the design of german cars changes as much over time as that of french or japanese cars, for example.

We also have a mercedes E300 TD, 1997, cost £70 and is frankly in excellent condition. Everything is known to be reliable in these cars, only weak points being the front suspension supports (with a few welds that was beefed up and will never need looking at again), and the fact that the metal is thinner (thus more prone to rust in these climates) than older models. But that hasn't changed (and if anything will be worse) on their new cars. Leather and wood interior, very smooth and reliable 6-cylinder engine, very quiet, spacious and comfortable, makes you feel like a drug dealer driving it lol... however it's a bit thirstier, at 30-40mpg.

I also have a year 2000 BMW 316, petrol (2-liter engine however, unlike the name suggests), which was free (a new one will depreciate in value faster than you could burn your money... nearly), very reliable and excellent car all round, good fun and sporty feeling to drive, however being petrol, that means it does similar consumption to the Merc.

If you're desperate for a new car, which will cost you god knows how many times more, then go ahead. but personally I can't see why people buy new cars, unless they simply don't know any better and assume that older ones aren't as good. The smart money is on buying something 10-15 years old, which will be modern enough to be very comfortable, quiet and reliable, yet not so new that it's just a depreciating money pit. You'll never get your money back on a new car.