QUA77R0

I don't think that the options were the issue in locating your Avant. At least, not if your dealer actually searched the entire country (also doubtful). In California, my experience with all European car dealerships, not just Audi, has been that finding a car that is NOT loaded has been difficult.

hwks1

Not trying to sell anyone here on a BMW but the facts related to the post subject are:
My 328i xDrive Sedan
3.0-liter, inline 6-cylinder engine
xDrive, intelligent all-wheel-drive
See all standard features
Base MSRP $35,150
Alpine White $0
Beige Dakota Leather $0
Dark Burl Walnut wood trim $0
Premium Package $2,650
Value Package $0
Comfort Access keyless entry $500
Heated Steering Wheel $190
Navigation system $2,100
Premium hi-fi system $875
Destination & Handling: $875
Total MSRP as Built $42,340

A comparably equipped A4 Prestige is $42,650......

When you factor in the available 'supply' of the BMW - it can be purchased much much cheaper than a comparably equipped A4....and you pick up a heated steering wheel and more interior color combination choices.

brothers

Yeah, that's kind of what I was expecting. But it seems what they actually do is add only one or two high-end options per car. Perusing this forum over the last week, that's maybe the most effective strategy. I've been surprised by the number of "Should I buy Option X _or_ Option Y" discussions, as well as "I'd _never_ use Option Z" diatribes. I also don't understand the kind of marginal price sensitivity I see here - if you're so stretched buying a (say) $40,000 car that an additional $2000 or so puts it out of your reach, it's probably not prudent to be buying a new Audi in the first place.

I buy cars I like enough to keep a long time, around ten years each on the last few. If I regret not having gotten some option, I'm going to regret it for a long time. I've spent about 9 1/2 years regretting not getting the sport seats on my current A4 Avant (I _did_ get all the high-tech toys, such as they were in 2000). I've ordered _all_ the hi-tech on the new Avant, and I'm pretty sure I'll find each option useful (I'm a classic tech junkie/early adopter). In a sense, I'm gambling that I will, in fact, find them useful. Another way to look at it is that I'm purchasing insurance against buyer's remorse, and amortized over ten years, it's not that expensive.

I also ordered S-Line. I originally didn't consider S-Line, since the Sport Package is functionally equivalent, and I'm all about function over form, but I finally said to myself "Damn, that S-Line is good-looking!". (When my wife jumps all over me for spending $1,000 on cosmetics, I'll try to convince her that perforated Alcantara will feel cooler in the summer .

I was trepidatious about being forced to buy an automatic (last owned one in 1963), a four-cylinder turbo (always been a believer in big naturally-aspirated engines), a sunroof (they can leak, and they make it hard to install antennas), and leather seats (my 1960 T-Bird had them, they cracked horribly). Reading this forum has relieved my mind to the point that I'm actually looking forward to all of those things.

- Dennis

need_TQM

To be fair, a comparably equipped BMW would need split/fold down rear seats = $475, Sat radio = $350, and Xenon lights = $900. Right? The audi's rims are 18" vs 16"...

If you don't want those, though, they have no value to you except perhaps the residual when you trade the car.

hwks1

I will give you the Xenon's... the rest is just 'comparably' equipped, right? So MSRP is maybe a bit higher on the BMW but they on the other hand give you many more mix and match options.

The biggest difference I see is Audi dealers sell at sticker or darn close... I have not found an Audi dealer local or out of town that will sell at discount - because simple supply and demand. The BMW CAN be purchased for less.... comparably equipped.

tgdA4

Not to mention the drive select, backup camera, and side assist which you get in the audi. Then there always the gorgeous interior (subjective I know)...thats gotta be worth a few bucks. The audi is definitely more car for the money.

brothers

She wasn't settling. Her car arc prior to that was VW Beetle (which we shared, when I wasn't riding my motorcycles, until I got a VW Bus), VW Rabbit, Honda Accord, and Subaru Legacy sedan. When she wanted to replace the Legacy, she was looking at the Subie WRX (she saw a favorable review of it somewhere, she's a little naive about cars, didn't realize it was a Kiddie Kar). We had been commuting together (we work for the same company, which she founded) in my '00 A4 Avant for about four years, so I was able to (gently) persuade her she should at least test drive an Audi. The rest is history - she got an A4 as close to her Legacy as she could find. It was probably more the dealer experience than the car itself - it was the Subie dealer's sale to lose, and he did (thank god).

That said, even as a stripper, the A4 is a damn fine car. She's now thinking about replacing it, and she's expressing a (for her) unnatural interest in the Avant I've ordered. That it's automatic will make it much easier for her to "borrow" it (she can drive stick, but doesn't like to - I think she's driven my current car about twice in ten years). I've already figured out the configuration she'd want (won't be a stripper this time - she's gonna want the backup cam - she's hopeless at parallel parking

- Dennis

hans007

I don't know where you are shopping but I got my A4 premium plus, quattro, tiptronic sport for $1000 under invoice in january, and it seemed to be pretty easy to get that much under.


So I stand by my argument that the comparable bmw is $3000 more .

TO the build that you made up for the 328xi you would have to add split folding seats, the sports package (which is still only 17" rims, but we'll let that slide), the paddle shifters, the ipod adapter, sirius radio, and xenons which is basically the $3000. And a backup camera isnt an option at all. I suppose in bmw's defense, you have to spend $750 on audi care to match their maintenance plan that is free.

Granted if you dont want xenons, or an ipod adapter, or sports package you could just not add them and I agree that bmw allows more a la carting. That said, you could also buy an A4 with premium plus or just regular premium. I mean a stripped down A4 with say a cvt and premium is less than an auto striper 328 and still has 1" bigger rims, and leather seats.

I have a friend who has a C300 sport (which I also considered but the interior was not nearly as nice as the A4), and well we agreed that bmw seems to chareg the most because they seem to have the german crown right now... oh well just betetr value with the other german brands for us for better cars imho.

BMWBig6

I don't know this for sure, but I suspect dealers have more incentive to move more cars (volume) than sell fewer (but less popular) well-equipped cars optioned to the hilt, even though those better-equipped models may also have larger profit margins per vehicle sold.

av_audi

Yet people are complaining that they are having a hard time finding quattros and that most of the available A4s are FWD with CVT. I guess they can still be loaded FWDs, but I really don't know what to think anymore.