[zamboni]

Saw a local add over the weekend and Audi is bring back the 4 yrs maint program to compete with BMW, they knew BMW is taking away their market share.

[foofighter]

well how about that...they're smart to do that because they would have lost a lot of sales because of this change in policy. Unfortunately a lot of the German cars have the stigma of high maintenance cost (some of it is true) so when a manufacturer waves a carrot of free-maintenance it's really not a big risk.

[Pretender]

maintenance cost for the 3er over 4 yrs/50kmile is around $1700.

[volinder]

Originally Posted by zamboni

Saw a local add over the weekend and Audi is bring back the 4 yrs maint program to compete with BMW, they knew BMW is taking away their market share.

Audi's maint program is better than BMW's. They even cover wearable items (ie. brakes, clutch, wiper blades, etc...), or at least they do in Canada.

[Jesse Wilson]

So does BMW.


Jesse

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by volinder

Audi's maint program is better than BMW's. They even cover wearable items (ie. brakes, clutch, wiper blades, etc...), or at least they do in Canada.

BMW's program is very comprehensive in the US including brakes, even wiper blades. I was amazed that they even change the brake fluid every 2 years, that impressed quite a bit.

But, in reality the included maintenance amounts to oil changes at the very elevated Audi and BMW rates. Doing your own maintenance wouldn't be but a fraction of their rates.

MB did away with their program and I'm not sure if it hurt them or not.
I'm very surprised that Audi is keeping the program, but it is a smart move to stay as competitive as possible with the brand that is exceeding in sales, that's BMW of course.

The only problem I've seen lately though is the I see 3 series BMW's everywhere. It's not longer a "unique" car. Of course you don't see nearly that many "sport" packaged 3's, but a lot non the less.
The A4 and C-class are more unique and that gives them a certain appeal for me anyway.

[zamboni]

MB did not cover the brakes on maint program.

[volinder]

Originally Posted by Jesse Wilson

So does BMW.


Jesse

I didn't know that, clutch too???

[Jesse Wilson]

I was told everything that wears out on its own or is scheduled to be done during the first 4 years or 50K miles is covered.



Jesse

[Agni]

Audi is not bringing it back, they are taking it away.

Audi had the free maintance program since a long time ago, but they are removing it for all 2007 models and on.

[BKsBimmer]

Originally Posted by RPM90

The only problem I've seen lately though is the I see 3 series BMW's everywhere. It's not longer a "unique" car. Of course you don't see nearly that many "sport" packaged 3's, but a lot non the less.
The A4 and C-class are more unique and that gives them a certain appeal for me anyway.

It's called success. The 3 series is BMW's bread and butter and it's a very successful car. Consequently more sold than Audi A4 and MB C-class. More sold = more seen.

Bottom line though is 3 series deserves it's success it's a better car than the other 2. Uniqueness has it's appeal but for me quality and goodness is more appealing.

[nostrum09]

Originally Posted by RPM90

The only problem I've seen lately though is the I see 3 series BMW's everywhere. It's not longer a "unique" car. Of course you don't see nearly that many "sport" packaged 3's, but a lot non the less.
The A4 and C-class are more unique and that gives them a certain appeal for me anyway.

While there probably are more 3's on the road than MB C class or A4's, I think we BMW owners tend to notice our cars more readily because we can pick up on certain styling cues, even from afar. Not just that, but also I think that the design of the C/A4 is just not as exciting to me as the 3er.

[Tony]

Every time a post about free maintenance comes up folks scream that "nothing is free". But if Audi does bring back the "free" maintenance, and the price increase is the normal 1-3% (that happens every year), then doesn't that mean that the maintenance is indeed free?

[ic]

Originally Posted by volinder

I didn't know that, clutch too???

Wearable items don't cover in BMW Canada, but Audi covers wearable items in Canada.

[obLu]

The only problem I've seen lately though is the I see 3 series BMW's everywhere. It's not longer a "unique" car.

Since when, 1984? In my region the 3 series has been a "popular" car (seems like at least 1 in every 20 cars I see on the road) since the e30. The 3 series is the 'people's car' for middle class american.

.... well maybe behind the Tahoe, my gawd I see a lot of those ...

[ic]

Originally Posted by RPM90

The only problem I've seen lately though is the I see 3 series BMW's everywhere. It's not longer a "unique" car. Of course you don't see nearly that many "sport" packaged 3's, but a lot non the less.
The A4 and C-class are more unique and that gives them a certain appeal for me anyway.

How could you consider these cars are "unique" in this price range?

[nostrum09]

Originally Posted by Tony

Every time a post about free maintenance comes up folks scream that "nothing is free". But if Audi does bring back the "free" maintenance, and the price increase is the normal 1-3% (that happens every year), then doesn't that mean that the maintenance is indeed free?

Not necessarily true. Audi could be using less expensive manufacturing processes, cheaper components, or possibly even insuring against the "free" maintenance, so any one of those could allow them to increase the cost of the car by their typical yearly increase but still allow them to cover the extra cost of the free maintenance without decreasing their margins.

[foofighter]

OOOOOOOOOORRR they could be lowering the margin between what the dealer pays so that it's not reflected in the sticker price (what the customer sees)