livingweapon

I can I have about 30,000 to spend on a car right now

I have it down to the E class 4matic sport 2010 or an a4 or a6.

What is best for owner cost, fun, reliability, and overall package.

Thank You

stale-bread

IMHO,

Cost A4, Fun A6, Reliability Unknown to me. Overall package is tough to say, other than the fact you can possibly score a 2010 E550 4-Matic P2(V8, loaded) just over 30K?

LasVegasMike

I chose the Mercedes over an Audi based on the interior. Something about that pop-up screen in the Audi just makes it look cheap. Otherwise I'm sure you'll see they are both good cars.

bob2011

What years are the audi's?

JoelE55

Working in the automotive industries almost half of my life, I have always wanted to get an Audi. Time and times as we took in trades. One thing I can say is that I'm glad I didn't purchased an Audi, it's nice car when it brand new. After few years everything fall apart, major oil leaks, turbo malfunction, just to name a few. IMHO !

livingweapon

IMHO,

Cost A4, Fun A6, Reliability Unknown to me. Overall package is tough to say, other than the fact you can possibly score a 2010 E550 4-Matic P2(V8, loaded) just over 30K?

so are you saying overall audi?

also all are since the last redesign


Working in the automotive industries almost half of my life, I have always wanted to get an Audi. Time and times as we took in trades. One thing I can say is that I'm glad I didn't purchased an Audi, it's nice car when it brand new. After few years everything fall apart, major oil leaks, turbo malfunction, just to name a few. IMHO !

would you say the mb is more reliable then?

El Cid

Depends on the cars, especially the year. Audi as a make is much higher rated for reliability and true cost to own than MB right now. They also tend to rate higher in the "fun to drive" categories. However, E Class rates about as well or better than A6 in reliability for recent years. Also, Audi is a division of Volkswagen which tends to lower some maintenance costs (maybe).
One consideration is that AWD's do not rate as high in reliability as RWD cars, especially 2010 E Class.
In 2010 I looked closely at A4, A6 and E350. The A6 was in last year for the cycle and was dated. The A4 was actually nicer, but too small for me. E350 RWD was choice over any other car.

drsaab

I agree, for a 2010 the E is easily the best, if your comparing the 2011, then its a flip of a coin which you like better in the E350 vs A6. I think the E is more reliable but as a CPO you have at least 100k warranty on both so it does not matter. Both should be attainable at 32-33k plus tax tag CPO for 2011 models in the 40k mile range.

The A4 is much smaller in the back seat if you use that much.

Arrie

How long are you planning to keep the car?

On the long run MB beats Audi for reliability by far. If you plan to keep the car for just a year or two get the A6 first and then get the MB. You will never go back to Audi after that.

A4 should be compared to C-class. It is way smaller car.

My first MB sales manager put it this way about Audi and BMW. He called them " Wannabes" and this is really what it is. Audi and BMW want to be Mercedes in peoples mind so bad it is unreal. Mercedes cars have way higher respect in most people's mind. Audis and Bimmers go unnoticed on roads all the time but Mercedes does not.

cbeck44

While I do think MB has many fine attributes, not so sure BMW is necessarily trying to be them. As far as being noticed, that depends on where you are. In many regions, it seems like every other car is a MB and a BMW with a sports package is hard not to notice. I find all three sedans great looking German machines and being noticed is very dependent on what you are looking for and what you normally see.

Arrie

Well,

When I make my trips I see BMW plentiful compared to MB. Probably in 7 to 1 ratio. And when you approach one from behind you don't know if it is a 3 or 5 series before you see the badging on the trunk.

Audi is far less than BMW on the roads.

If you go to the mother country of these cars you have way more BMW and Audi on road compared to MB. This is because Mercedes actually is more expensive there to buy. For marketing reasons here in the U.S. MB must sell their cars underpriced to be able to sell them. People in general here don't know what the history of these cars is. We are just so lucky to be able to buy these cars so low cost here compared to Europe and some other market areas. And the people here complain not having folding mirrors...

Mercedes Benz has a very long history in car developing, research and making and most people don't have a glue of that. German people do as they lived thru it all.

For example, in the early days of Mercedes, which name came thru an Austrian business man (his daughter's name) racing was basically the main thing. Mercedes name became so well known and popular thru race wins they stacked up.

Racing was so important to Mercedes they built a special race car transporter to be able to transport damaged race cars back to the factory for repair before the next race. this transporter could travel 130 km/h speed with the load on it and we are talking about 1950 - 1960 here.

Mercedes name means so much more than BMW and Audi COMBINED in Europe in car manufacturing and quality it is unreal and this is why MB cost more there.

Here in U.S. the history is not known and it does not mean the same but it just is that MB always gets attention over the others. At least that is what I have seen.

hyperion667

have you considered CLA?

cbeck44

All three have interesting histories and in some cases, interweaved businesses early on. In Germany, VW is actually the best selling car brand for 2013 followed distantly by MB and then closely followed by Audi and BMW. Not sure where all those Benz's are being hid.

mikeyle

for 30,000 im thinking youre looking at a 35k mile+ e class, which to me is too much. id personally prob go for a current gen 3 series, you can get a 2012 328 with under 15k miles now for under 30k easily, and youd still have that new car warranty plus the cpo

livingweapon

cars must be awd

I test drove a a6 today and then took a loaded 2010 a4 for the day, the 2.0t really surprised me

I know that the a4 is a smaller car but I am a bachelor with no family so that is ok

I have not considered the cla due to lack of awd, since it is not out yet

and I like the c class but the inside is a disgrace to the mb name!

I am only looking at cars that are in the years of the most recent models.

I know about history class and prestige, there is a lot to all the companies but as much as I love it I am buying the car to drive not get noticed, my job and hard work can do that for me, history only means so much

also the bmw is out I do not like the drive in them if I want a car to beat me up, my corvette can do that for me.

the two specific cars I am looking at right now are a 2010 a4 with 23,000 miles, pretty well equipped, and a 2010 e350, sport pretty well equipped for 29,900 with 37,000 miles but I could go for any of the cars if I find the car I really want

DerekACS

You said it yourself ! This is why you should favour the W212 over the A4; the E Class is built to last ! That's why 90% of Euro taxis are E Class.

Tjdehya

For ordinary people, it is a fact that Audi and BMW go unnoticed. The 6 series does get some looks but the only Audi that gets peoples attention is the R8.
A BMW with a sport package does not demand any attention from anyone but car enthusiasts. And even then its probably because they are trying to figure out if its a 3, 5, or a 7 series.

I went car shopping today and I could not tell the difference between the 5 and the 7. The 3 series now looks a little different but neither me or the salesman could tell the difference between the 5 and 7 when walking through the lot.

Its a sad thought but I think that when the W213 is released we wont be able to tell the difference between the Mercedes models either.

matt72

i am not sure on the newer models,but what put me off the audi was they had timing belts not chains and with the mileage i do it meant every two years i would need to change the belt and its not easy/cheap

cbeck44

That is a pretty broad statement, obviously based solely on personal opinion. I am currently considering a MB, but it is not because I need to be noticed. There are less expensive ways to get noticed if that's your bag.

pamiboy

I wouldn't buy any of those based on the need to get noticed. The important thing for me is the ride and the general feel of quality. If those aspects are important to you then you should consider E 350. If having a sporty ride and handling, tech loaded, etc are your cup of tea then you may lean towards the Audis.
Any of these as used cars may be high on maintanence though. If you are okay with smaller cars then why don't you consider an A4 or 3 series new?

Tjdehya

They don't get noticed because of their boring "cookie cutter" design.
I buy all my cars because I enjoy looking at them when parked.
Some people don't care about looks and lack good taste in regards to vehicles. We call those people BMW/Audi owners.

livingweapon

not to get in the middle of this but getting noticed is not what I want

I already have a car to do that it is a stingray corvette, it fulfills my sport car needs and and any need to get noticed if I wanted to

I am just looking for pros and cons

I do like the ride of the e class, very smooth

livingweapon

also is this a good price, it's close to me

2010 Mercedes-Benz E350 4Matic Sport

Panoramic Sunroof and Sport Package 2010 E350 4matic All-Wheel Drive with Navigation! Carfax 1-Owner! Palladium Silver Metallic over Black! Heated Seats, Pano Roof, Navigation, Satellite and HD Radio, Harmon Kardon Sound, and more!

• PREMIUM 1 PKG -inc: COMAND system w/40GB hard drive navigation, enhanced voice control, Gracenote media database, HD Radio, 450-watt Harman Kardon LOGIC7 surround sound system, heated front seats, iPod/MP3 media interface in glovebox, pwr rear sunshade, rearview camera, SIRIUS satellite radio w/real-time traffic, Zagat survey restaurant guide, 6-GB MP3 Music Register hard drive
• SPORT PKG -inc: 18 5-spoke aluminum wheels, P245/40R18 all-season tires, dual exhaust w/trapezoidal tips, black ash or burl walnut interior wood trim, sport suspension, black roof liner, sport bodystyling
• PWR TILT/SLIDE PANORAMA SUNROOF -inc: 1-touch open/close
• PALLADIUM SILVER METALLIC
• HEATED FRONT SEATS

37,000 miles for 29,995

Tjdehya

Very nice! I have a 3LT Z51 on order.
I thought I would never run into a forum worse than the Mercedes forum till I visited the Corvette forum. lol
They have way more grumpy old men than we have here.

Nobody is suggesting that you that you buy the Merc to get noticed, we just strayed a little off topic. Whether people like the design or not, we are just stating that the Mercedes vehicles tend look more "sculpted" instead of "assembled".

pamiboy

1+ to that.