fusionchickenleg

i'm asking this for my friend, since she's moving from california to philadelphia and needs an AWD vehicle...

is250 is outta the picture for various reasons, and no volvo.

she plans on buying the car (both brand new), no lease.

her main concern is reliability, since she'll be very busy at school and perfers not taking the car to the dealership all the time. ironically her family has 4 MB's including hers and all have been perfect

what i figure is the Bimmer offers free maintenance except tires for the first 3 or 4 years, so it beats the Audi in that department.

i really don't know much about these cars, anybody who's had to choose btwn these 2 cars or have owned one or the other have any advice/suggestions/comments? are both cars relatively similar when it comes to their reliability?

bimmer most likely has a better driving experience, and Audi's quattro might own the bimmer's awd, but she doenst care about these aspects, not as much as reliability anyways.

thanks

ekal42o

ppl who i have talked to concerning the Lexus have spent no $$ maintaining their vehicles as of yet

sam_spider

The A4 with the 2.0T is the better bargain (I know you said 3.2V6 Audi) the performance is quite similar between the two and the 4 banger is cheaper. The BMW is nice (we almost bought one) tough choice, really. I go with the BMW, it does drive/ride very well plus free maintenance.
BTW, the C280 4matic is nice as well and they have redesigned the C class for 08, she might want to look at that too.

Sam

sam_spider

Lexus are brilliant, but the IS250AWD sucks...performance wise.

omg516

I'd take the 328 any day of the week. Its a newer chassis, that b7 a4 chassis is ancient. The 328 will cost less to maintain (free), and its more fun to drive to boot. I also think its better looking but that completely subjective.

rai

If she's not a car freak, I'd def look at the Legacy GT which is mid-20s and probably as much performance as those cars, for $10k LESS.

Bot as a car guy picking from your list, I'd get the 3-series newer and IMO better than the audi.

Saki GT

Well, Subaru and Audi = better awd systems, but BMW's is no slouch. When it comes to winter, tires will play a big part in traction, so pay attention to what cars come with all weathers at least - summer rubber will not work that great in the winter slush, awd or not. Would she consider the MB?

fusionchickenleg

she already has 4 MB's at home (her family's ballin'), and she's trying to give bimmers or audi a try.

for now she's leaning towards the bimmer, due to mainly the reasons some of you guys have listed already (driving dynamics, free maintenance, etc)

i guess japanese cars just don't interest her or something, they just feel more flimsy and less composed on the road to her.

i'd probably for sure take the LGT over the bimmer/audi, but what the heck.

thanks for the help guys, any more inputs keep 'em coming

asu_lee

I'd go Subaru or lexus 250.
-Lee

Saki GT

Porsche Carerra 4?