Choices

[MrH]

Project your feelings all you want, but like I said, given your replies, I'm definitely hitting close to the mark.

So salty doe!

[MexicoCityM3]

S5, then 535, WRX last.

[Colin]

Since I've owned a S5 for 2.5 years and had an S4 with the 4.2 litre V8 engine I can comment from experience as opposed to hearsay.

The S5 has been perfectly reliable to date (done 50,000 miles). It's on a high mileage service plan, which is every 19,000 miles. But I have to warn that tyres cost £300 each. I don't know what the services have cost, as I never see a costed bill, and nor do I know what insurance would be, as it is covered by our Fleet policy. I can tell you that I havew averaged 29.4 mpg (Imperial, divide by 4.54 and multiply by 3.8 to get it in US gallons) from new, but a lot of the miles have been steady speed motorway cruising. In town, even with Stop/Start activated, it will sink below 20 mpg.

The V8 car achieved 4 mpg less over the 75,000 miles I had it. Yes, the rumble  of the engine does sound better, but the supercharged V6 is a brilliant engine, and it growls when you put your foot down. My ownership coincided with a time when VW/Audi ignition coils went through a bad patch, so 3 of them had to be replaced (a 7 cylinder car is not so smooth!), and I recall a radiator fan had to be replaced, and the climate control had a sensor go. It was otherwise reliable. But tyres were equally costly.

If you can make the maths add up, I don't think you'll regret it, but just be sure you know what you are likely to incur to keep it on the road.

I wouldn't want the WRX, but I can see why people might. Very few people in Europe, where sales are insignificant, but you Merrycans buy Subarus by the bucket load. 

[veeman]

I'm just thinking aloud here, and I may be way off base, but here goes:

The GTI is going to be totally fine in the snow, particularly if you have snow tires on it.  If it snowed like it did in Buffalo the last few days, you're not going to be able to drive on an unplowed road even if you had a Land Cruiser.  Your folks may be more worried about the lack of AWD because that's the way folks are and so they may be pushing you to replace your car.  That's cool.  Ease their worry/stress and get a nicer car - win and win.

The gas mileage thing is completely moot.  Both the BMW and Audi take premium and even if you save 5 miles per gallon by not taking the S5, that's not significant with the cost of ownership of these cars.  One tire is 400/500 dollars, one service visit is major cash, etc etc.  At 10 bucks a gallon, yeah it's significant.  At 3 bucks a gallon, it's not.  Even with long distance traveling, it shouldn't be a factor, IMHO.  That S5 will get the same gas mileage as any large SUV or Jeep Wrangler and people take those on long trips all the time. 

If you're in residency training, some people may not feel comfortable wearing a Rolex to class.  Too showy and don't want to draw attention to yourself as that "rich kid."  Other people wouldn't give a shit.  Depends which camp you fall in.  If it's the former, I would skip the S5 because that's a "very" nice car for a resident to be driving.  Not that the Bimmer isn't but the S5 is at another level.  If it's the latter, then take the S5.

I wouldn't consider the WRX.  It's not any better for what you're doing than your current car.  And yes, that includes driving where it snows.  My FWD Sonata with snow tires felt invincible in the snow and I never had any trouble making it up the steepest embankment on any public road.

[CALL_911]

Not off base at all

[hotrodalex]

Why are these so expensive? You can get whatever tires you want...

[veeman]

Why are these so expensive? You can get whatever tires you want...

If one tire gets damaged, you're going to want/have to replace it with the same kind of tire as the other three.

If you have to replace all 4 of them, you could probably replace them with cheaper tires.  Kind of weird to drive an S5 with camcord tires on it though. 

[Cookie Monster]

Why are these so expensive? You can get whatever tires you want...

255/35/19 tires aint cheap. Even the cheapest (unless you're talking about flaccid penis Chinese tires) from tire rack are $150, with most tire choices being $250+.

Since I haven't weighed in, I would go S5, then WRX, then 535xi. IMO the S5 and 5 series will have the build quality that you're used to in the GTI (well, better, actually), and the S5 combines both the fun of the WRX/GTI and the luxury of the 5, so it's the best bet. I'd take the WRX over the 5 series just because I hate autotragics, and the WRX is going to be way more fun to drive. You would have to put up with the economy interior, but I don't know if that's super important to you.

[CALL_911]

I just spoke to my dad's friend. He's gonna give me the S5 next week to take for a week and see how I like it. I'll make a decision after that I guess.

Believe me, the reason I made a thread is to hear shit like this. The car's costs scare me too. I'm not certain it'll happen, I just wanted to hear some opinions from you guys.

[MrH]

So it's a 2010?  What trim level & options?  Colors?

[CALL_911]

So it's a 2010?  What trim level & options?  Colors?

It's a 2010, premium plus. I know it has navigation and the B&O sound system, I don't know what else it has in the way of equipment. It's grey on red. I last saw it in person a few years ago. Unfortunately when I asked my dad's friend to send me pics, he only sent me a pic of the car's registration. Whatever, I'll just wait a week.

[2o6]

I feel like sticking with the GTI would be the best idea.

Mostly because I don't like the F10, and the S5 seems too ostentatious.

[Colin]

If one tire gets damaged, you're going to want/have to replace it with the same kind of tire as the other three.

If you have to replace all 4 of them, you could probably replace them with cheaper tires.  Kind of weird to drive an S5 with camcord tires on it though. 

You have to replace tyres in pairs, and if there is a significant difference in tread depth between front and rear tyres, then you really need to replace all 4.  The consequences of not doing so can in some cases completely wreck the transmission............ and before you all bad mouth Audi, this applies to pretty much any performance AWD car. Our Leasing Company found this out the hard way with Calibra Turbo 4x 4 years ago, and after a few failures where the mfr said that as their policy had been ignored they would not pay, we now have little difficulty in getting new tyres. It is also a recommendation not to mix different brands on the same axle.......... though I do have Pirellis on thefront and Continentals on the back. (Audi recommend Continental, but you can't always get them when you need them, and with only a space saver, if you get a puncture, you need a new tyre and quick!).

The suggestion of putting $150 tyres on a high performance car is not, I hope, serious............... cheap tyres might be OK on 10 year old family saloons, but not on high performance machines.

[2o6]

Plus consider the fact that this car will mostly be sitting.


I'd probably either stick with the GTI or some appliance that I could ignore and focus on school

[Lebowski]

Bimmer

Point of fact: It's not you who are replacing your car, it's your daddy who's buying you a new car.

What's your point?  Aren't you a little too young to be so miserable and bitter?

[MX793]

The Bridgestone Potenza Ultra High Performance summer tires on my Mustang list for $160 each on tire rack for 255/45-18 and they're plenty suitable for a car with the S5's capabilities.  I've got a couple of autoX seasons on them.  Tire Rack rated them second best in class by a slim margin behind a comparable Michelin that costs twice as much.

[FoMoJo]

10k on a 5 year old S5 at a price that sounds like it might be a fire sale...why are you waiting?

[hotrodalex]

255/35/19 tires aint cheap. Even the cheapest (unless you're talking about flaccid penis Chinese tires) from tire rack are $150, with most tire choices being $250+.

Yeah. I have 265/35/18s. I consider $250 a normal price. Far from $400-500/tire.

[CALL_911]

10k on a 5 year old S5 at a price that sounds like it might be a fire sale...why are you waiting?

The car isn't up for sale publicly.

[CALL_911]

No question, the tires aren't cheap but they aren't 400-500 a tire.

[CALL_911]

I feel like sticking with the GTI would be the best idea.

Mostly because I don't like the F10, and the S5 seems too ostentatious.

It's an E60. I'm thinking about going with that idea because it's painfully obvious my dad wants to get himself something new.

[FoMoJo]

The car isn't up for sale publicly.

I gathered that, but I understood that it was being offered to you/you're dad at a very reasonable price.  Your concerns about mileage, etc., would, surely, be more than balanced by what you would save on the purchase vs buying a lesser vehicle that cost a bit less to operate.  As for future repairs, with such low mileage, that should be a concern for some time.

[CALL_911]

I gathered that, but I understood that it was being offered to you/you're dad at a very reasonable price.  Your concerns about mileage, etc., would, surely, be more than balanced by what you would save on the purchase vs buying a lesser vehicle that cost a bit less to operate.  As for future repairs, with such low mileage, that should be a concern for some time.

Here's how it's going down:

This is his son's car, who is coming home for Thanksgiving (he lives in Chicago now) so he'll probably be using it here and there this week. He is adamant on me trying it out for a week to make sure I like the car and there are no surprises. I'll be picking it up for that next Sunday, and we'll make a decision from there. Me and my dad wanted to pick it up yesterday.

[FoMoJo]

Here's how it's going down:

This is his son's car, who is coming home for Thanksgiving (he lives in Chicago now) so he'll probably be using it here and there this week. He is adamant on me trying it out for a week to make sure I like the car and there are no surprises. I'll be picking it up for that next Sunday, and we'll make a decision from there. Me and my dad wanted to pick it up yesterday.

Well, you'll either love it or not.  Have fun deciding.

[CALL_911]

I'm not rushing anything, the thought of getting an Audi S5 already makes me a little uneasy. It's a way more serious whip than anything I will ever need.

[CALL_911]

Well, you'll either love it or not.  Have fun deciding.

I'll probably love it. I can't see how I wouldn't, to be honest.

[FoMoJo]

I'm not rushing anything, the thought of getting an Audi S5 already makes me a little uneasy. It's a way more serious whip than anything I will ever need.

It's a civilized car...nothing like a Boss 302 or even a Z/28.  Given the opportunity, I would jump at it.  Your reservations mark you as someone a bit more mature than most at your age.

[MrH]

How much are we talking?  If you pussy out, can you buy it and sell it to me?

[CALL_911]

It's a civilized car...nothing like a Boss 302 or even a Z/28.  Given the opportunity, I would jump at it.  Your reservations mark you as someone a bit more mature than most at your age.

Its not a question of civilized. Its just really nice and quite flashy. Its a car that would attract attention and I could do without that. It's a car that's not for a 22 year old student.

[68_427]

The Asians here would beg to differ
Its not a question of civilized. Its just really nice and quite flashy. Its a car that would attract attention and I could do without that. It's a car that's not for a 22 year old student.