I am looking for a winter car between early 00s e46 AWD or 00s Audi with quattro, either a4 or a6. Most have 150k plus miles at this point. I know transmissions can be an issue with the BMWs, what else should I be looking for? Which do you guys prefer? I know much less about the AUDIs, whats the best of the engine options? thanks nIck
Audi 4 cylinders use oil and head gaskets and turbos and.... the 2.8 V6 seems to run a good long time, just change the timing belt, valve cover gaskets, cam seals and chain tensioner gaskets. Not as major as it sounds.
Have no BMW info.
Audi front suspensions are usually junk. Overall, they are just miserable to work on. Every shop I deal with hates VW/Audi products.
E46 should be much better, just stock up on window regulators.
BMW M54 engines tend to burn oil (The S54 doesn't so much, so I recommend the M3 just on that), but they don't often break. What's the matter with BMW transmissions? Get 3 pedals and you won't have any issues. I'm pretty sure the automatics were bought from GM, so that should say plenty.
I would say that you should get a RWD E46, buy snow tires, and drift that car around town with a smile on your face the whole time.
Re BMW transmissions: many of the RWD e34, e36, and e39s have a GM automatic trans, I'm pretty sure that everything after those, and all the AWD cars have a ZF trans. (Expensive to repair, and expensive special trans fluid)
My wife's e34 525iA (RWD) on real snow tires goes through the snow pretty good. It's pretty easy to work on too, honestly, I wouldn't want to add the complexity of AWD, when real snow tires work so well.....If I lived in the mountains, I might feel differently.
I have an '05 E46 325XiT (wagon) with 130k on it that has been dead nuts reliable and hammers thru snow and ice like it's not even there. It has never needed a window regulator either.
I have replaced front axles, cooling system parts, fluids in all the components... dampers and some bushings... it's pretty much like all BMW's of that era except with two extra gearboxes. Easy to work on, well laid out and MUCH easier than any VAG product I've ever had the misfortune to wrench on. It is also fun to drive in all weather - it's a RWD car with a front gearbox, not a FWD car with a rear one. It matters if you are the sort of person to sneak into snowy parking lots and hoon.
It does burn a little oil like previously mentioned... about a quart every 4-5k. No biggie. It hasn't increased usage at all over time. They require proper maintenance and MUST not ever overheat it so if you can find that combo in your price range then ... I highly recommend.
If your price range is $6500... mayhap we can work something out. The Mrs has been hinting that she could use a little more space for passengers lately.
How big is your wallet?
Either of those choices, with that mileage is going to go down to whether the previous owner meticulously maintained it or not. I wouldn't buy either unless that was the case.
I prefer the Audi's, much nicer interior, much better awd system and the A6 is much larger...
I don't know what you think is better about Audi interiors. In my experience the surfaces are always delaminating
140k on my 03 325i and it feels 200% more solid than my b5 s4 did at the same.
Finally broke my first window regulator, and a minor leak from the rf strut. Abs sensors seem to need cleaning every 10k or I get codes. I went through oil like mad until I replaced the ccv unit. Now its less than a quart every 10k.
I use generic all seasons on it so I "can't make it safely" to work when the weather is bad. Snows even on a rwd version are night and day difference.
My auto is holding up so far, only thing I don't like is the converter lockup parameters. Going to finally change the fluid soon.
My audi was a blast in the snow though.
I don't have any first hand knowledge of the BMWs but having had a 2001 Allroad..... Maintenance can be "intensive" but inclement weather driving manners are second to none. I'm not talking "ok if you put snow tires on....." I'm talking positively awesome handling in snow/ice/lava whatever.
After owning both, but much newer, buy a Subaru and do a preventative head gasket.
Having had several of both, I prefer BMWs. They simply drive better. Audis are nice, but drive like "normal" cars, BMWs are something special 
Eh. I'd say the M3's are something special, but the "regular" BMW's aren't any better in feel. I admit the older ones are much easier to work on, as they don't have turbo's, intercoolers and plumbing getting in the way of everything.
Definitely check out a Subaru Legacy. Less maintenance, much less expensive than either German, acceptable interiors (better than the Impreza at least...). 2.5GT is the same block (different heads) as the STi, so you're a turbo and injectors away from mild STi power... just get a GOOD tune or replace the pistons if you're going for power.
I also have an E36, and if they're similar to an E46, they're easy to work on. Some people have mentioned that the engineering isn't so great on the 00s A4s for maintenance, like heavy dis-assembly to replace a thermostat. If you don't have maintenance records, a high mileage E46 may need a new radiator (get an all aluminum one) water pump, and wheel bearings soon. E46s will also need rear shock tower reinforcement plates installed. Those are cheap and easy to install.
Mr_Clutch42 wrote: I also have an E36
Not to threadjack (but I'm going to thradjack...)
Did you ever get your car running?
Not yet, it's still at the shop. I may have an update for my thread.
jsquared wrote: Definitely check out a Subaru Legacy. Less maintenance, much less expensive than either German, acceptable interiors (better than the Impreza at least...). 2.5GT is the same block (different heads) as the STi, so you're a turbo and injectors away from mild STi power... just get a GOOD tune or replace the pistons if you're going for power.
Subaru has a better AWD system than these E36 M3bad hydraulic systems that German companies seem to use.
In reply to kanaric: I don't think that's right, Audi uses torsen's. Subaru has a viscous center diff. They both work fine, but on paper, I think Audi has the best engineered system. The rest of an Audi is a great looking, but not reliable.
kanaric wrote:jsquared wrote: Definitely check out a Subaru Legacy. Less maintenance, much less expensive than either German, acceptable interiors (better than the Impreza at least...). 2.5GT is the same block (different heads) as the STi, so you're a turbo and injectors away from mild STi power... just get a GOOD tune or replace the pistons if you're going for power.Subaru has a better AWD system than these E36 M3bad hydraulic systems that German companies seem to use.
I can't remark on BMWs new "xDrive" but the iX and Xi systems found in the E30 and E46 were pretty bulletproof and almost maintenance free. the iX and Xi systems also are rear wheel biased, so the car does not understeer much more than normal (but does understeer more than a regular BMW)
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