10th Feb 2024, 16:29
I hear what you are saying. I have bought many German cars - most of which being Audi, though I did buy them for quality and driving enjoyment as well.
My biggest bugbear with BMW is although arguably more fun to drive, the build quality is a little overrated on some cars. Most problems I have had with BMW - never Audi.
As for Mercedes, they are of course not bad to drive, but the type of cars I bought from them were highway cruisers - E and S Class, designed for total comfort rather than pure driving fun. Expensive cars to fix, but material quality and fit and finish on them is better than both BMW and Audi in my opinion (depending on generation of course). I guess it all boils down to what someone wants in a car, and as with everything in life, you weigh up the pros and cons before buying.
12th Feb 2024, 17:39
The problem with diesel in the US is that we have very strict emission/particulate matter controls. The only way to get diesel engines to be compliant here is that manufactures have to install a complicated carbon capturing and filtering system. This consists of a separate tank that holds a special fluid called "DEF" which on occasion is injected into a chamber in the exhaust to burn up the deposits it collects. These in turn create their own issues. It tends to result in slight back pressure in the exhaust which in turn clogs the intake manifold and EGR valve, requiring the entire intake to be removed and cleaned. We found this out the hard way as my mother in law owns a Chevrolet Cruz diesel (these were sold as Opels in the EU) and the intake clogged up in less than 40,000 miles.
Diesel is also more expensive than gas (petrol) here. As a result there are very few passenger cars sold here with diesel engines. Most are on tractor trailers and commercial equipment. With the increasing number of hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars available, it also makes less sense because with a hybrid or plug in hybrid you get the instant torque as well as the better fuel economy.
As far as Audi, they have always had a hit and miss reputation in the US. They sell well enough, but I swear every other person I know who owns or owned one has had serious issues. I had one co-worker come in and the radiator hose had literally come off and leaked all of the coolant out of the system.
12th Feb 2024, 21:51
I totally agree with you - I was the one who posted the Audi/BMW you replied to. Build quality (well, often not how it is put together, but the durability and reliability of each component part) has become spotty with modern German cars; each brand has their weaknesses. I've always felt my Audis were better-finished especially inside, the BMWs more spartan. The modern Mercedes, while knowingly not the faultlessly dependable cars they used to be when I was growing up, inside, well, still feels quite like a Mercedes. With BMWs, I learned to first check for engine and gearbox variants before buying, because they can have either a design flaw, or one that is otherwise easily mitigated with an updated part. Some people I know with BMWs who bought used (almost always the case here in NZ, often used Japanese or Singapore market imports with questionable maintenance history) have had issues, some like myself have had a good run. Whether BMW or Audi (or Mercedes for that matter), I always stick with the more basic models, and never the top engine variants. Replacement parts are easier to obtain at moderate cost, and for basic cars, mechanics are more familiar since they've encountered them before. BMW/Audi parts are in fact easier to find than Ford Mondeo here.
8th Feb 2024, 21:50
The US market is predominantly petrol - there may have been some turbodiesel versions of cars sold during this era, but not many. For one thing, in many places, diesel costs more (or much more) than petrol, so any savings with MPG are negated. Never mind the complications (high pressure injectors, DPF, etc.)
Audis can be fun to drive - but they are not BMW, Alfa Romeo or even European Ford (Focus/Mondeo). I've had an older Coupe, an 80 GTE, two 80 sedans, and a first generation A4. They're great cruisers. But after those cars, owned a BMW 316ti hatch (intending on keeping it for 2-3 years, ending up with it for 9, only upgraded because of the car's age), now have a 320i automatic sedan from 2009 I've had now for 5 years. Big difference - definitely the handling. You may not notice it on the motorway or urban driving, but when you're in unfamiliar rural areas with many unexpected bends at high speed, then you realise it. There's even this argument that people can't tell if they're in a FWD or RWD. Again, under normal driving conditions, that's right, but when you're suddenly thrown into something challenging, you see the difference.
I never buy a car I don't like, and totally appreciated my Audis - during that time their dashboards were beautifully and ergonomically laid out (not these days) with thoughtful touches I didn't know existed during those days (interior light comes on when I retract the ignition key on my 1987 80 base sedan; central locking will unlock the entire car from the boot), but it is not quite as balanced overall as my BMWs (neither is even a top shelf version).
Things I never realised with the Audi which BMWs were better at - driving position for one (I'm long legged, with VW/Audi cars, when the seat is far back enough for comfort, the steering is a good inch or two too far; there's also something funny about my ankle position switching between gas and brake pedals). The steering of the BMWs are a tad sharper to react (but they're no Mazda MX-5/Miata), and the gear ratios of the automatic are far more spot-on than my 4-cylinder Audis (the 6-cylinder 2.4/2.6/2.8 automatics had better gear ratios).