I think the C7 has just been beaten into 2nd....

[pitch3110]

Well I spent the afternoon yesterday at the dealer and to be frank very disappointed.

Business Contract Hire quote was nearly £100 per month more than BMW have quoted me for a 520d M Sport with the fantastic sport auto+ gearbox and a ship load of goodies to spec it up.

As for private purchase and suggestion of loyalty bonus, again bigger discount of the 5.

I was willing to forgive the MMI shortfall if they had blow me away with a deal, but no chance. The iPhone integration in the 5 was extremely good and data worked faultlessly.

So after two new S line A4's and six years of Audi ownership I am moving to the dark side for a number of reasons but if the MMI worked and there was no iPhone issue they certainly would have had my money third time around...

Sad day unless anyone can talk me round.

Pitch

[Timothy Nathan]

That makes it sound like you want to be talked round?

For me it would come down to iPhone/MMI/attitude of Audi towards its premium customers vs RWD/brand image.

[a8toa6convert]

Pitch - what have you been quoted for the A6 and for the 5 ? Spec, mileage ?

[pitch3110]

Pitch - what have you been quoted for the A6 and for the 5 ? Spec, mileage ?

A6 came to £44k (lots of goodies) and in round about way the dealer knocked £6k off which included £2k loyalty bonus for trading mine in (£13k offered) and a further £4k for doing a PCP, which I didn't really want anyway. If I put it through the business, which I will, CH was in excess of £650 pcm.

Lets say the 520d list price was the same and although spec was not as high as the A6 the 520 included, 19" alloys, media professional, adaptive xenons wih high beam assist, Varible Damping Control, DAB, Advanced parking (surround cameras), park assist, Internet, sun protection glass and the all important sport auto+ gearbox. Cream leather, folding mirrors, heated seats, iPod connection are all included.
For that lot, Contract Hire will be over £3k less over three years and the cash price is less than the A6 and that's before any negotiation and trips to other dealers.

Its a no brainer financially alone, even when you factor in a set of steels shod with winter tyres so I can actually use it when the white stuff lays.

Pitch

[thehorse]

I found the opposite - the Audi business lease quotes were much lower than BMW for a better spec car!

Where did you get the quote on the Audi from?

[Doctee]

I'd shop around a bit more if you want to improve on CH price. I got an s-line multi-tronic saloon 2.0D for £302 + VAT (3+23). Was quoted £208 + VAT for an SE manual. In saying that adding extras on a CH deal pushed up the repayments quickly.

[a8toa6convert]

If loading up your A6 with kit, have you considered an A8, or a 7 series or 5 series GT, or even a 640d, or an S350CDI ? Audi and BMW and Merc putting huge support into these models. All can be had for 500ish pcm on 2 year contracts, 10k non-maintained. A8 non-quattros can be had for under £400pcm, and maybe the S-class as well. BIK rates may make it better to make these personal.

Try contract hire and leasing dot com (not sure about links policy ?!)

If thinking of buying for cash, and keen on the 5 series, there are lots of 4 cylinder 525d M Sport Auto's appearing on BMW AUC. Bowker Blackburn / Preston have a few decent spec ones for £32k. High 50's mpg and 0-60 in 7 seconds.....

[Crasher]

You may not quite grasp this but I would rather remove a testicle with a blunt and rusty spoon than drive a car of the devil...

[Timothy Nathan]

The 5GT is a truly weird vehicle. It's really a 7, but having a 7 hatchback would have devalued the brand, so they dubbed it a 5.

It has some interesting features, but it's neither fish nor fowl, and they have sold very few. The ride is seriously hard, which seems silly in what is supposed to be a touring car. Also, it is a four seater, it is almost impossible for a fifth passenger to get their leg over the transmission tunnel.

[robbyg]

pitch, you are right about the bnmw gearbox, it is indeed fantastic and lifts the whole drive experience. Its the same box (essentially) as my A6 bitdi. Masterpiece of engineering.

I am sure you will be very happy with your 5 series. I my opinion too, in the 2.0d version it is the better car. Enjoy. It was the A6 interior which swayed me to my first audi.

[jbanfie]

Pitch, no one has mentioned that the BMW is rear wheen drive and the Audi either front or quattro

I don't know what the snow get likes round you, but there have been lots of red faced BMW and Merc drivers around here!

[5678]

Pitch, no one has mentioned that the BMW is rear wheen drive and the Audi either front or quattro

I don't know what the snow get likes round you, but there have been lots of red faced BMW and Merc drivers around here!

IMO the fwd/rwd/4wd/awd argument is completely negated if a driver is using the correct tyres. I used my 325 Touring on winter tyres during the big snows of the past few years and it was unstoppable in all weather.

I looked at a 520d before ordering my A6. I liked the car, if I'm honest, I think I prefer it to the A6, but the deal available at the time put the A6 way in front. It was considerably cheaper.

[jbanfie]

Agreed on the tyres, but with quattro you can still tackle the snow without having to change the tyres for the couple of days the snow is an issue - you pays your money etc etc

[Timothy Nathan]

I used my 325 Touring on winter tyres during the big snows of the past few years and it was unstoppable in all weather.
I think that that is the fear :p

[5678]

I think that that is the fear :p

Very witty Tim :p

In all seriousness though, even Quattro won't help stopping, only starting! Have a watch of some of the tyres hack videos on YouTube.

I will be fitting winter rubber to my car. It's not just for snow, they work far better at lower temperatures too.

[pitch3110]

Many thanks for the comments and views.

Purchase - I think this time round I will put this one through the business and I will set the financial controller off on this one next week. Who knows what deals he will find....

White Stuff - As I had posted I would not dream of entering the cold season without a set off steel wheels and snow tyres. The difference over the standard tyres on snow is unbelievable and make the RWD Beemers actually useable.

The other think I failed to mention was the MPG (and I don't know accurate the DIS was). The 520 in comfort would not use any fuel and anything under 50+ did not feature until I started driving it like I stole it.


Right now off to pop a spoon in the rain outside in readiness in case I need it........


Ta
Pitch

[a8toa6convert]

I'd shop around a bit more if you want to improve on CH price. I got an s-line multi-tronic saloon 2.0D for £302 + VAT (3+23). Was quoted £208 + VAT for an SE manual. In saying that adding extras on a CH deal pushed up the repayments quickly.

Doctee - any idea if that £208 rate is still available ? Can't see anything that good on the usual sites now.

[Anelka123]

I'd shop around a bit more if you want to improve on CH price. I got an s-line multi-tronic saloon 2.0D for £302 + VAT (3+23). Was quoted £208 + VAT for an SE manual. In saying that adding extras on a CH deal pushed up the repayments quickly.

Hi

Where did you get that price from if u dont mind me asking? Was it a leasing company or an audi dealer?

Cheers

[Doctee]

I got a quote from Freedom Contract Hire then took this to Audi in November (car delivered in Feb). The difference in prices I was quoted from different Audi dealerships was huge and some dealers also quoted really long delivery times. So I'd recommend shopping around.

Freedom prices on their website for 2.0tdi s line multi tonic are about £320 now. The SE looks like it has got up quite a bit from £208 to £260. Audi were also offering free servicing for 2 years on SE in November... Not sure if this info helps today, but might be ammo for negotiating.

I'll check with the Audi guy I used to see if ok to post details on Monday.

[Anelka123]

Thanks for the reply, you certainly got yourself a good deal. I tried freedom now and looks like prices have gone up by quite a bit. Also to note is the various prices they have, some cheaper prices qoutes are based on 6+23 rather than 3+23 and only 5k miles and not 10k so considering that I have managed to get it cheaper than what I could find elsewhere but not quite as cheap as the deal you got :)

[5678]

Lease deals at the end of 2011 were VERY good and no longer available.

As you've found out, mileages are normally next to useless in order to get headline figures.