oscarbravo

I've finally narrowed my choice down to two cars:
'05 A6 3.2 w/75K on it for $18K. This car is (despite miles) near mint and has perfect maint records (looks like all the common issues have been addressed). It also has nearly mew tires and NAV.

'04 BMW 545 (V8) w/55K on it This car needs some attention including new tires and 3-4 minor maint issues that will cost me about $300-400 to fix, So I'm looking at another $1K to bring it up to snuff. So the price including needed repairs/tires will be $16K, which is cheap for a 545 with low miles.

I know pretty much what to expect with a BMW, but not so much with an A6. I'm a good DIY guy and the BMW 5 series don't seem to have as much/many DIY people as I seem to see here. What can I expect to see from a problem standpoint between 75-125K?

If anyone has input, it'd be appreciated.

Thanks

BlueSander

First, it's an 05 and between the 75-125 miles, there are a tons of ways coupes of thousands can be taken away from your hand. At 18k and 75k miles, that's a very average price for the A6. About the 545, don't assume 300-400 unless that's the actual quote from dealer. Why don't you just have them fix the car and pay 1k more? It's a better move. If I was you, I would take the 545 but the ownwer/dealer must fix all the minor prob first. Put in another 2k or so for a new sport front bumper and your car will be golden. Unless you need quattro for where you live then look out for another better on the A6.

oscarbravo

Thanks BlueSander. That's great advise.

I'm confident with the $300-400 as I'm a good DIY'r and the parts would run $200-300. The dealer on the other hand wants $2K to do the repairs and I'd rather not finance that much when I can do it myself for much less.There's a vacuum hose, seat belt tensioner switch and the gasket on the alternator (yes BMW's have water cooled alternators wtf?) The cost (dealer) is a result of the time the book says to complte and I have another car so I can take my time to repair it.

I live in Texas so AWD isn't that big a deal. I think my attraction to the A6 is it just looks great. Honestly it doesn't ride as well as my '98 740iL, but nothing does including an A8 (no offence to A8 owners). I agree that $18K is average for those miles on any '05. I told them the most I'd go was $16K. However, I agree with your assessment that between 75-125K, there's a lot that can go wrong and cost big bucks. In the past, I have had success buying cars with over 125K miles that have had all those things replaced.

My strategy on the BMW would be to drive it 2 years and before it turns over 100K, sell it. I have done the depreciation/amortisation schedules and I should come out OK doing that. Plus I'll avoid most of the big ticket issues.

Oh, and the BMW is a sport and has the sport comfort seats which are a big deal for someone like me who drives a lot.

Thanks agin for your thoughtful answer!

mystrodo

The Audi sounds like the better car..it has a real pedigree, the paper trail! 75k isn't many miles anyway when you take care of a car...all cars can consume $$ if you don't keep up on them. Always keep good clean fluids and oils in car, maybe new belts or hoses occasionally and I suggest a major trannie fluid change at near 75K, it'll be spendy but worth it. Why roll a car over at 100K and get rid of it if it's in pristine condition and very modern?

Bariukas

Here is what i thing.
Cars break down. So there is no guarantee that 55K BMW will be more reliable then 75K Audi. If you looking at this purchase more as financial decision. You probably better of buying BMW. But i would say go with the car you like the most. IMO Audi Interior and exterior are way better looking then BMW. But BMW's V8 engine is no match for Audi's V6. So if i were you i would go with the car i like more and I would not look at it as an investment.

danno6

FYI, I sold my 05A6 3.2 with ~70k miles in September for $16k.....had it advertised for over 1 month and that was the best offer I got. You should be able to get the $18k down a little more!

siny10309

IMO...You have at leat another year on the current body style of the audi...bmw changed this year.