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Sedans Audi A6 Audi A6 4.2 vs Mercedes E350 4matic
21 messages, Last post on Aug 14, 2006 at 8:07 AM
You are in the Audi A6 Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: autoenthusiast (May 25, 2006 8:57 am) The BMW store certainly runs out of loaner cars -- but never in my experience. The Audi dealer runs out if you aren't there by 8:30AM. Most of the time I do get Enterprise cars or Cadillac's (since the dealer owns both brands.) Once, a fond ONCE, I got an S4, although it did have an automatic, as a loaner. I also got an A8 even when I no longer had an A8 myself. And, once for a three day weekend, I was given a Boxster (they own that brand too) and all I had to do was put gas in it -- and this time it WAS a stick. Funny, my preference for a stick worked in my favor as the service manager said, "take the Porsche, no one wants it for a loaner since it doesn't have an auto transmission." If the Mercedes is more comfortable and that is one of your needs, I would go with the Mercedes despite the bad service (need for, not bad dealerships) reputation it had for several years (especially with the brakes and electronics.) I think for both Audi and Mercedes the current offerings, while perhaps NOT bullet proof, are very reliable. Audis may have dealership issues that loom larger than actual product issues. Mercedes dealerships, in my observation, have been, on average, "better" than Audi dealerships, "on average." The best in our city is the BMW store -- and personally I've no bad or sad words to say about the Audi store I frequent (the Audi Connection.) But, it DOES make a difference when the dealership knows you and knows you have had over two dozen cars from them -- and when new tire kickers keep coming in dropping my name. Do I get better treatment -- probably. But for the most part the folks I know that use this dealership are delighted. It is just that it is that teensy weensy bit better at the BMW store. The diff is that the BMW store is owned by one guy and that is all he owns. The Audi store is owned by a corporation and they own the alphabet and dealerships repping America, Europe and Asia. The Mercedes 4Matics were absolutely wonderful cars that I would be happy to have. I am where I am with the A6 due in no measure to any concerns about Mercedes at this point. 
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Replying to: markcincinnati (May 25, 2006 1:04 pm) I've had no problems with the four Audis I've owned, and the dealership experience (sans The Audi Exchange, which I got my first A6 from) has been impeccable. When I got my S4, my dealer-friend, Paul, told me that my car was "the coolest looking car they'd ever had on the lot" and people stopped to admire it many times. That made me smile, and it didn't make me want to look at the newly re-opened Audi Exchange. He also gave my son a hat, and a poster of the R8 LeMans racer. When one of the other salesmen walked by and asked jokingly why he didn't get those things, Paul replied "Because you didn't buy an S4 Cabriolet!" Just my luck, I guess. Off-topic: Marginally camouflaged 2007 X5 shots have been released, and one of them has been touched so it doesn't have any camouflage. I must say, I was very impressed, considering the way the 5 Series looks. It retains the current X5's muscular, timeless lines, but adds a touch more menace, and the engine choices remain largely the same in America: 3.0i is boosted to 260hp, but otherwise unchanged 4.4i is changed to 4.5i, with 330hp (I question why they didn't use the 750/550/650 engine?) These engines are just speculation, but I am sure they are very close to the truth. It's convenient that the new X5 is coming out in October, and my wife is looking to replace her Lexus RX330 in January. The updated E350 4Matic is our top dog right now, while we are also looking at the Q7 4.2, Porsche Cayenne S, Land Rover Range Rover Sport, and the X5.
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Replying to: esf (May 26, 2006 2:53 pm) This engine may be standard, but it also may just be the 3.0 260hp engine in the 330i sedan. Not sure. Also, there was an updated '06 CLK500 cabriolet behind my car tonight- as gorgeous as mine. Just wondering, though, why the CLK didn't gain the new 5.5 liter V8 as its larger engine, as the E-Class will have it for the 2007 model year.
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Replying to: esf (May 27, 2006 8:29 pm) M |
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Replying to: autoenthusiast (May 25, 2006 8:57 am)
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Replying to: reality2 (Jun 06, 2006 8:10 pm) It's crazy how so many of my friends and acquaintances have Audis and love them- but then BMW ends up on top in my area. I have had four Audis (used A4 1.8T quattro for my son, replaced with an A3 2.0T I use in the winter; A6 2.7T quattro for me, replaced with an S4 Cabriolet), and each one has been more reliable than the next- not to say I have had problems. The worst I have had is the headlight washer caps flying off my first Audi, the A6, on the highway. The S4, A3 and A4 have all been (or were) perfect. |
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Replying to: reality2 (Jun 06, 2006 8:10 pm) 
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Replying to: autoenthusiast (May 23, 2006 2:16 pm) |
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