Depriciation between these two cars

Walkerie

Walkerie

Walkerie

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Hi all,

Thinking of changing my car to an Audi S5/S4 or Audi A5 3.2 / BMW 330i / BMW 335i e90.

My budget is 10k and have seen some examples with 60k miles up to just under 100k for anywhere between 6.5 to 10k.

Would either car be safer in terms of depreciation? probably keep for a year or two.

Heres a couple of examples.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...searchad=new,nearlynew,used&logcode=p&adPos=1

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...7.0&sort=locasc&radius=1501&logcode=p&adPos=2

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...ual&page=1&postcode=ip288gp&logcode=p&adPos=7

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...text=default&sort=pricedesc&logcode=p&adPos=4

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...ype=petrol&postcode=ip288gp&logcode=p&adPos=4
 
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Probably the Audi as it's a bit more simple compared to the 335 but I wouldn't buy one, it's a generation older than the 335 as it's a car that came out in 2000!

It was the next A4 and A5 that competed with the 335i. The A5 came out in 2007.
 
I'd get the S4 personally... Because V8. :D

However I wouldn't think the S4 would be cheaper to maintain than a 335i, in some areas I'd expect it to be more costly. Braking components for example.

The car with the lowest running costs will be the last Audi you linked. Which is also a newer shape car compared to the S4.
 
They are roughly equivalent cars Acme. Just different approaches at the performance - large capacity v turbo. BMW were just ahead of Audi in this regard as the next S4 was a 3 litre six.

Audi make everyone think the S4 is an M3 rival through the power of a simple badge. It isn't.
 
The B6/B7 S4 was a rival to the E46 M3, but a newer S4 is more comparible to a 335i, with the RS4 being the current M3 rival.

They moved the posts. :)

The RS4 in the OP would very much have been an M3 rival when it was new in 2005.
 
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I wasn't necesarily 'recommending' it, just saying that it would probably give you the least issues, and has the newest platform. The 335i M-Sport will likely be the nicest to drive out of that lot though. I'm not sure what they are like to maintain though, Fox would be best to ask on that subject. :)

The S4 will likely depreciate the least because of the badge, but as Fox said, it isn't really anything special when compared with the 335i, it is roughly equivalent. And depreciation isn't the cost you want to be most concerned with when buying a 10 year old performance saloon. Things going wrong would be my primary concern, followed shortly after by wear and tear, and then cost of consumables and fuel.
 
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I was reading this post like... good advice... then I read your name and I was like wow...find a mirror and repeat! :D
 
Acme said:
The B6/B7 S4 was a rival to the E46 M3, but a newer S4 is more comparible to a 335i, with the RS4 being the current M3 rival.

They moved the posts. :)

The RS4 in the OP would very much have been an M3 rival when it was new in 2005.
Click to expand...

Not true. The B7 RS4 was the direct competitor to the M3. Not the S4. The B5 RS4 was fighting with the E46 M3, then the B7 RS4 battled with the E90 M3.

The B6 S4 was around at a time when Audi only had one RS model at a time, and at that time, it was the turn of the RS6. So it alternated between RS4 and RS6. Now, of course, every model in the range has an RS example. But the S4 was never an M3 rival. Now it's a 335i rival, but at the time of the B6 S4, BMW didn't have an answer, as the M3 was all on it's own in that class, apart from the older B5.5 RS4.

As for which one I'd pick? If my pockets were deep enough to fix it if necessary, I'd probably be more inclined to go for the 335i. I have had an S4 in the past though. And I did really like mine. There is not a huge amount to go wrong with these engines, other than chain rattles and coil packs. Anything else likely to go wrong, is likely to go wrong with any car of this age and type. Brakes aren't hugely expensive. It's not like they are a grand up front like the RS4. The S4 is far more reasonable.
 
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[TW]Fox;29704217 said:
Not true really, IMHO. There wasn't really much they pitched at the e46 M3.
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I guess so, I looked and they had similar power figures, but the S4 takes about a second longer to reach 60 apparently. Heavier with its 4WD system I guess. Probably about on par with a wobbly E46 M3 with its heavy tramps hat then :p

mrk said:
I found the 3rd picture rather amusing there :p

"Andy mate, you're in the frame, just stand over there and look inconspicuous" :D
Click to expand...

What is he doing... :D
 
The S4/5 will hold their value best. They are far from cheap to run though!

Audi S models are also heavily targeted by thieves so insurance will be more.
 
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p1RATE said:
Would an e46 not hold its value best? afaik they are just about appreciating or at least holding their value.
Click to expand...

Surely you're not suggesting the OP buys an e46 over an e90?

For cars up to 10k, I wouldn't be worried about depreciation as my main cost.

If I was worried about losing money, I really wouldn't buy any of these, certainly not a 10+ year old 4.2 V8.
 
Surely an e46 M3 wont depreciate much at all if he buys the right one now, whereas the likes of an S4 still has a bit to drop. I sold mine about 3.5 years ago for £6500, with just under 100k. But that was a 2003 B6. I doubt it has depreciated much, if anything, since I sold it then. But a B7 at £8-10k still has a couple grand to go I would think.

When you buy a car that doesn't depreciate, then you're costs are keeping it on the road. So you're E46 M3 at £10k might cost a couple grand per year to keep on the road, but then again, a £10k Mondeo might lose that £2k per year in depreciation. The end result is almost the same, except that when you sell the M3, you get your £10k back at that point.
 
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