Zavato

I now have a 2012 E350 4Matic. Prior cars have included a 2000 BMW 528i and a 2006 Audi A6 Quattro.

Love my Benz, but also really liked the BMW and Audi, but for different reasons.
The 528i's engine was a thing of beauty on the road, and the 528i rod and handled very well- probably because it had amazing steering feel. The A6 wasn't as dynamic, but its AWD made it more sure footed. Steering feel was lackluster, and the interior was stellar. No comments needed about the E350!

Who else has gone through a similar chain as I have?

While this time around I picked the E350, truthfully, I could also be happy with a 535i or an A6 Quattro- they are all very good

JEL

I had an E39 525i. It was an great looking car, reliability was atrocious, the cooling system seemed to only be good for 50k, and it loved to eat sensors and other weird things. With that said, it drove GREAT and I loved it; but I still much prefer my Benzes, particularly the CLK's V8. I'm now on the verge of stepping into a W212 and probably wouldn't go back to BMW.

Zavato

i had zero reliability issues of any consequence on my E39 528i. Problem with he cooling system was the water pump. Good dealers routinely replaced the water pumps before the warranty was out, even without asking, as a precaution because the water pump was a very well known issue. But my dealer took care of me and my car was always working well.

s140s

I had e39 530i, cooling system was replaced completely at 90k miles, never had a problem with it until I sold it at 170k. I really loved that car and would have kept it if I had room to park it somewhere.

Munich77

My previous car was a 2008 535 xi. It was the perfect car for the first 20,000 miles. For the remaining 50,000 miles it was a nightmare. After that experience I am not looking at a BMW any time soon.

The A6 is a car that was on my short list - well the S6 was...but I got the E550 instead.

The G Man

I had two BMW F10 and a 2012 Audi A6, both are great cars. Compare to the E350, both the A6 and the 535i are faster and handles better. The E350 feels more solid and rides more comfortably.

belarus27

Had a 2001 525 and 2004 545
No audi

Raymond Lee

5 series will start going bad after factory warranty is over but not the bluetec. I had repair bill for $4,400 for misc repairs on my 2008 528i from dealer. Thereafter, radiator leak at 46,000 miles. However, car still rides solid like new.

AllenOU

Had a 528I. not enough power. I had an M3 that I LOVED though. Don't really like the look of the audi, but they are fun to drive. Just like the look of the E class so much better

AllenOU

Agreed. If you drive a w212 and it has enough power for you (does for me since I have a weekend toy as well) it was the only choice

mjsbenz

Agree with comments as it relates to F10 vs E350. Had both in MY 2012 flavor and liked it so much that I did the same (both) when the leases expired and leased new 2015s.

BetterTomorrow

Quite some time ago, I had 2001 E39 M5, awesome car, one of my favorites of all time! Had it for about 60k miles or so, no issues other than maintenance items. I also had 2004 Audi A8. Horrifically awful reliability. IIRC, I drove it for less than one year, got rid of it, took a huge loss, but it was worth it. It was that bad. This was my last Audi for quite some time now. Had 2010 E550 4Matic, other than rattling, one bad wheel bearing, drove it for almost 60k miles, no other issues. Now I have 2014 E550, no rattles of any kind. Slight high pitch wind noise at high speed. Other than that, it drives awesome so far.

JEL

I've had a lot of friends with Audi, your experience seems to be ~50% of the normal owner's experience. Half seem to be bulletproof and half seem to be awful headaches; I guess same goes with BMW. Mine was a great car, I loved it, it looked great and drove even better, but it was a reliability dog unfortunately.

The G Man

Audi's reliability has improved quite a bit recently. In my opinion, Mercedes is still the most reliable out of the German big three, but saying a German car is reliable is like calling one shade of black is darker than another.

bhvrdr

I have a 2016 A6 with the SC 3.0T engine. The car is fast and very luxurious. It doesnt like to be hurried in the corners just like my e350 4matic. I'd say its probably a very comparable car to the E550. Honestly I agree with you totally in that I feel they are both great cars and I can see flip flopping between the two brands and models over the coming years.

Mike

The G Man

The E550 is quicker than the A6, about as quick as a S6. Handling wise, the A6 is more agile, and if you get the 19" or 20" sport package, it will drives circles around a E550.

bhvrdr

I have the sport pack on my A6 and it is a bit more sure footed but not by much. Its a big car. When pushed too hard it really pushes in the front end and roll control is not there. Its a cruiser. Honestly its pretty close to my E in that respect.

The A6 now has a 333hp engine for 2016 and will run a 13.5 1/4 mile stock no problem. With a $400 piggy back it runs 13.0 and below. With a $200 pulley they are well into the 12s.

Mike

The G Man

Handling wise, between the A6, 535i and the E350, the A6 is probably the best, then the BMW and the E350 in the last place. Looking at the link below, the A6 beat the E350 in both the skip pad and the slalom. As far as the E550 is concerned, its probably about a second faster than the A6 from 0-60 and the 1/4 mile.


http://www.caranddriver.com/comparis...e-specs-page-6

bhvrdr

Thats an older 2014 A6 and tires make a huge impact on those tests but still interesting to look at.

I did 13.5 in the 1/4 mile in my A6 bone stock last month in S Fla in the 85 degree heat.

For the A6, it is more dynamic I agree but its still a 4000lb car and acts like it. Interestingly I just got done driving a CTS last week and it felt significantly more willing to change direction and more composed than either of the cars but I still didnt like the build quality. It was only a few years old and the center console was creaking like crazy just under hard cornering.

BTW, with respect to reliability I definitely agree with the 3.0T powertrain. That engine has been bullet proof. On my 2015 S4 I was running a pulley and tune for 10K miles and running 11.8s and the car never ever gave an issue. There are almost zero reports of blown engines on the forums either. Great powertrain.

Mike

The G Man

Tire do make a huge difference, all tires are in that test were all season tires.
I have read 1/4 mile number in the mid 12s for the E550, Audi always under-rate their HP but the Mercedes V8 TT engine is way under-rated at 402 HP.
I also drove the new Cadillac CTS about a year ago when I was shopping for a new car, no doubt the handling was improved from the last gen, it was a fun car to drive. I too had some reservation regarding its build quality and also build material. In the end, that was one of the reason I pick Mercedes over Audi, Cadillac, etc. The build material in the Mercedes is second to none.
Reliability wise, the Audi 3.0T engine is a gem, unlike the 3.2L engine previous that had the carbon build up problem. The Audi S6's 4.0L TT engine and the Mercedes' 4.7 V8 TT engine also have been rated really high as far as reliability, the BMW's V8 4.4L TT engine however has been plagued with problems.

pamiboy

When I was looking for my car, I test drove all three (for the first time) and this statement sums up my experience. The E350 was an easy win for me even though I could be happy with any of them.

BlankProc

I agree with Mercedes being the most reliable based on not only my personal experience but also research I've done. I've been hearing about Audi's reliability improving my whole life, but never seen any actual evidence to back it up. They are consistently at the bottom of reliability rankings for German cars. Audis have boring styling and spartan interiors compared to BMW and Mercedes. They're more expensive cars than they are luxury cars, and they should watch out for Infiniti and the up and coming Genesis brand which I bet will eat into their market share.

Zavato

My experience with an A6 was hat it was exceptionally reliable and while the exterior was just OK, I think Audi interiors are first rate in design and execution. My A6 was quite far from spartan.

thefisch

I found 2012 and later Audi A6 interior to be very clean and well thought out layout. It lacked some the elegance that MB but the tech was much better IMO and made the W212 seem very dated.

bhvrdr

Pretty much all of the reliability surveys have shown significant improvements in reliability for the Audi brand and all place them above BMW. Most now place them second to only Lexus/Toyota...

http://www.consumerreports.org/cars/...best-vehicles/


http://www.jdpower.com/press-release...lity-study-iqs

http://www.consumerreports.org/cars/...r-reliability/

You may be thinking of initial quality studies which vary greatly from year to year and dont take into account long term dependability...

http://www.jdpower.com/press-release...lity-study-iqs

http://www.jdpower.com/press-release...lity-study-iqs


Interiors are certainly subjective but overall Audi has been considered the benchmark [those exact words used] by almost all automotive journalistic sources since the 1990s and until the last decade. In the last 5 years or so Mercedes has been making huge strides in this area and in many circles has considered to have not only caught up to Audi, but surpassed them in many ways such as with the new C-class versus A4 style cars. My A6 interior is certainly nicer than my E class interior but I would definitely take the new 2017 e-class interior over my A6. This is subjective, of course, but not many would put BMW interiors in anything but last place. With respect to market share, Audi has twice the market share of BMW in the US and their growth has been as aggressive as any other luxury brand, sometimes leading overall growth and sometimes following (its a tight race).








I like all good/fine cars from Lexus to Maserati so i'm not trying to be overly congratulatory to Audi for anything but I do think they have earned their merits. One thing I can say for durability is that I have tracked everything from A4s to S4s and never had to make a durability modification to the car but when I tracked BMWs you had to literally reinforce the subframes on multiple platforms they have or you will rip holes in the car from ripping the subframes out. There are multiple companies that make ready to install chassis reinforcements because of this issue. In the last Audi I had it had the dual clutch transmission and an engine rated for 333hp and I had about 450hp running on the car with all durability components bone stock and had about 100 launches on the car and never a hiccup. There are a ton of folks running stage 2 supercharger upgrades and there has never been a single blown engine to date that has been related to power adders.


Mike