[Tallest]

Hi!

Does anyone here have experience running both B7 A4 Quattro and E90/E91 (not necessarily at same time of course)?

My main question is - how they compare on reliability and running costs (especially audi vs NA engine bmw).

If you've run both, you probably can compare the main weaknesses and how much it takes to put them right... So as a used ownership I'm looking for some feedback on the A4 B7 versus the bimmer.

I've driven the A4 so I'm aware of handling, interior, ergonomics etc so that much is clear.

[YGazis109]

I went from an a4 to an e90 and the e90 blows the a4 out of the water from handling to power and also interior is just soo much better...I had soo many problems with my a4 as well

[Tallest]

Originally Posted by YGazis109

I had soo many problems with my a4 as well

Can you elaborate on that part?

[e92oholic]

Originally Posted by research

Can you elaborate on that part?

Problem #1. Being a VW, ahh whoops I mean Audi

Sorry for not helping im just very bored at work

[YGazis109]

It was always in and out of the shop when I had it for small things...ended up selling it when I was told that I needed a new transmission because I broke something...not too mechanical so I don't know exactly what it was but I would of had to buy a used or new tranny so decided to buy and upgrade to e90 love it...I have a heavy foot so that could have been the problem but it seems that the e90 will hold up to my heavy foot...

[KWVT]

I guess I might be able to help you out a little. I went from an E90 (2006 330i Sport, premium, cold weather act.) to a B7 (2008 A4 S-line APR stage 1 tune, plus intake and down pipe) and I currently own an E92 (2009 328xi Sport, premium, CW, iDrive ect.) First, I love my E92 hands down more than the other two. The BMW and the Audi while in the same class are two completely different cars. That being said I really liked both of them. The A4 being tuned and having a few parts was faster than my E90 and E92, however, you could tell that even with the sport suspension the handling and steering feel left something to be desired. The car was not as sharp or nimble as the 330.

As far as reliability goes, I never had a problem with the E90 (drove it for about 25k miles) the audi I only had for about 5-7k and sold it to a close friend of was in need of a car and wanted what I had and that why I purchased the E92 semi- recently. He has put another 10-15k on the audi and the only thing he has had to replace are the tires and 2 wheels bearings.

The audis are a great car, the BMW's are a better car IMHO. It really depends on what your looking for.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask

[YGazis109]

I was simply putting too much money into the a4...so far no money into my e90 except normal maintenance and already put 60,000 miles on it

[Tallest]

Originally Posted by KMEddy

I guess I might be able to help you out a little. I went from an E90 (2006 330i Sport, premium, cold weather act.) to a B7 (2008 A4 S-line APR stage 1 tune, plus intake and down pipe) and I currently own an E92 (2009 328xi Sport, premium, CW, iDrive ect.) First, I love my E92 hands down more than the other two. The BMW and the Audi while in the same class are two completely different cars. That being said I really liked both of them. The A4 being tuned and having a few parts was faster than my E90 and E92, however, you could tell that even with the sport suspension the handling and steering feel left something to be desired. The car was not as sharp or nimble as the 330.

As far as reliability goes, I never had a problem with the E90 (drove it for about 25k miles) the audi I only had for about 5-7k and sold it to a close friend of was in need of a car and wanted what I had and that why I purchased the E92 semi- recently. He has put another 10-15k on the audi and the only thing he has had to replace are the tires and 2 wheels bearings.

The audis are a great car, the BMW's are a better car IMHO. It really depends on what your looking for.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask

That's perfect. *Thanks.

To be honest, I do like the B7 Avant in Sline quite a bit, and as I recently bought a house I'm limiting my budget on family car - and 4x4 E91 is more money than B7 by quite a bit.*

The only thing that bugs me is I go to some Audi forums, and read their posts - holy reliability batman. It's either injectors, or EGR, or cam follower, or belt change for 2000 USD, or some silly limp mode errors, which frankly scares me off a bit. I love how E91 looks and how B7 Avant looks - and quattro suits me more than rwd in winter, and xdrive E91 is too expensive. So that's why I'm ponder the posh VW option. *

I won't comment on how they compare as I think both have plusses and minuses and both require a compromise. So far my research indicates that BMW has some easier to understand problems limited to few things, and Audi has some poorly engineered parts that cost an arm and a leg to put right if they go wrong. Which means the bimmer might be where I stay, but I want to investigate all the options before buying next set of wheels.

Originally Posted by YGazis109

I was simply putting too much money into the a4...so far no money into my e90 except normal maintenance and already put 60,000 miles on it

I think E90 is fantastically reliable for how complicated it is. 6 year ownership here, problems to date are 1) lightbulbs 2) some failed interior sensor 3) failed TPMS sensor 3) some strange knock when putting car in gear and starting to move - not fixed as dealer said 'drive until it breaks - can't tell what it is' .... Last one bugs me a little, but otherwise it's an alright car. I just hate the suspension on it, way too biased for autobahn driving.

[Kolyan2k]

I came from 08 B7 A4 GIAC tuned to e92 335i. Nice car, had it from 8k miles to 26k with zero problems and no oil burning issue that many 2.0T engines have. Per Audi I think its ok to burn 1qt of oil per 1k miles 6-speed tranny was nice, interior was nice, engine is kinda weak without a tune, gets about 30 mpg.....with tune car is different and is quicker then 328i (much quicker then 328xi) but slower then 335i

2.0T B7s have its own few problems, but so does BMW.

B7s are 50/50 split AWD, B8s are 40/60......something to keep in mind.

was gonna switch from my S2000 to B7 RS4 last week, but that RS4 was gone in 2 days

also semi-base A4 and fully loaded 335i coupe are night and day difference, 335i obviously is so much nicer in every way. but between semi-base A4 and base 328i/xi, I would pick A4

[Thrakos]

I test drove a 2008 Quattro 2.0T with 52k kms on it. I drove it around the block returned to the dealership. The engine is very noisy (sounds like a diesel), the interior left a lot to be desired and the cabin noise was comparable to my Sonata 2.0T - in short, it was loud.

The dealer asked how I liked and I was frank - that was disappointed and simply expected more.. (the vibration of the steering wheel left my hands tingling for a good 30 minutes after the test drive) and certainly a quieter cabin/engine. He said that I should test the 2010 quattro, but for an extra 10k, I wasn't interested.

Drive the Audi you're thinking of getting and then make up your mind I went with the 2009 e90 328i xdrive - and I'm not looking back.. there'll be no Audi in my future.

[KwlAznKid]

are a4's front wheel drive? (or awd)?

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by KwlAznKid

are a4's front wheel drive? (or awd)?

they have both

[KwlAznKid]

Originally Posted by Kolyan2k

they have both

i meant as opposed to rear wheel drive

[edirtaynine]

I used to have a 2005 B6 A4 1.8T quattro. Unlike the popular belief of these cars always breaking down, mine only had one minor problem - a coil pack had to be replaced. Other than that, the thing was a cherry and I never had any other problems with it.

I also have a friend who used to have a 2006 B7 A4 2.0T (fwd) and he never had any problems either... he ran that thing until just over 200k miles and recently got a brand new A6 a couple weeks ago.

In comparison, my e92 (328) is way quicker than the A4 4bangers - which just shows how slow they are without a big turbo upgrade. my e92 handles way better in all conditions... I don't know about the new B8/9 quattro system, but the previous ones still understeered heavily. my e92 looks sexier than the previous A4's. However even being 7yrs old, my B6 interior looked and felt WAY nicer and cleaner than my e92 and even the new F30's - in my opinion.

[Tallest]

Gotta say, the reliability stories on the B7 are scaring me more than anything I've read on E9x....

For personal experience, I think B7 has nicer interior than B8, and nicer in terms of quality than e90. It also has much better seating position for my liking. It understeers as a pig vs BMW which is natural given they are driven on diff axes and fwd nature is annoying after 7 years. However I think quattro isn't so bad and sure footedness of it it winter is unmatched by rwd E9x.

It's a hard choice - for now it's hard to go towards Audi after I've seen the prices quoted on them for repairs (i.e. if all main components that tend to fail - do fail - it is like price of a car to put them right - that's crazy).