2011 - 2014 A4/BMW car to buy, what is a reasonable bet?

galwaytt

conscious from the past of various issues with cars of that age, my daughter is looking to buy an A4 or 3-series of that vintage.

First many seem to be interstellar mileage, and imports dominate.

So, at this age, what are the pitfalls of 3-series and A4 many with 200k on them.

jmreire

galwaytt wrote: »

conscious from the past of various issues with cars of that age, my daughter is looking to buy an A4 or 3-series of that vintage.

First many seem to be interstellar mileage, and imports dominate.

So, at this age, what are the pitfalls of 3-series and A4 many with 200k on them.

Whatever about the Audi's from that era, I'd be giving BMW's a miss especially any fitted with the N47 engines. The timing chain problem had not completely disappeared even in 2014 in the Beemer's. 200'000 Klms ( or in old mileage terms, about 125'000 Miles. Any car from back then should be well able to cover that mileage, and more, provided it was properly serviced. Personally, I'd be looking at the Audi A 4.'s

mickdw

Id go audi too but id go for lower mileage even if it meant buying alittle older.

GTE

I had a 131 A4 and I almost regret selling it. My current car is great, but that generation A4 is a very solid feeling car. I have a 161 C Class now and where it is doing me well, and I quite like it, the A4 is well ahead of it in terms of refined finish.

What I mean here is from the door closing, rejection of wind and road noise. The feeling of the dash and buttons. That A4 is a different league from the newer Merc. That said, the A4 only really looks well when it has xenons and leather interior. It may as well be a Skoda if it has standard lights etc.

If you go diesel, it is worth checking if the oil pump has had work on it. I think it is called the balance shaft. It is a very common problem, and it should not put you off getting one. However, it should be one of the first things you do (check it it is done or have it done at the next service).

I had the issue and thankfully, it sprang up rare and very quick instances of low oil pressure. They can fail outright and cause engine damage. It is very common and some specialists are out there. I had my car sent all the way to Mullingar from a local garage as there was a specialist there.

galwaytt

mickdw wrote: »

Id go audi too but id go for lower mileage even if it meant buying alittle older.

Yeah, came across a lovely 07 with the older 1.9 engine and low mileage, but no-one will insure it because of it's age.

Heres Johnny

What price range is she looking in? There are lower mileage ones around. I've a 2014 a6 with under 90k kms

colm_mcm

galwaytt wrote: »

Yeah, came across a lovely 07 with the older 1.9 engine and low mileage, but no-one will insure it because of it's age.

The B8 is a far superior car in this day and age, the B7 is really a reheated B6 2001 model, with slightly ruined styling.

B8 is a nice bit bigger than the B7, I quite like the older A3 Sportback too, they’re good value now, and in the right spec and colour can look quite smart.

Ruairi.g

bbk wrote: »

I had a 131 A4 and I almost regret selling it. My current car is great, but that generation A4 is a very solid feeling car. I have a 161 C Class now and where it is doing me well, and I quite like it, the A4 is well ahead of it in terms of refined finish.

What I mean here is from the door closing, rejection of wind and road noise. The feeling of the dash and buttons. That A4 is a different league from the newer Merc. That said, the A4 only really looks well when it has xenons and leather interior. It may as well be a Skoda if it has standard lights etc.

If you go diesel, it is worth checking if the oil pump has had work on it. I think it is called the balance shaft. It is a very common problem, and it should not put you off getting one. However, it should be one of the first things you do (check it it is done or have it done at the next service).

I had the issue and thankfully, it sprang up rare and very quick instances of low oil pressure. They can fail outright and cause engine damage. It is very common and some specialists are out there. I had my car sent all the way to Mullingar from a local garage as there was a specialist there.

I’m thinking of buying an A6, the timing belt was done 20k miles back! I’ve heard of the horror stories regarding the balance shaft issue!

My question is would the balance shaft have been checked at the same time as the timing belt was replaced?
Does anyone know??

Truckermal

Balance shaft is in the oil sump so I'd say not! It must be a fairly old A6..

Ruairi.g

Truckermal wrote: »

Balance shaft is in the oil sump so I'd say not! It must be a fairly old A6..

I’m looking at 08 or 09
Is there any way of knowing it has been looked at? Or does the bottom pan have to come off to check it?

bazz26

If you go for the facelift model from mid 2009 it will have the newer common rail TDi engine which doesn't suffer the same balance shaft issue.

Ruairi.g

bazz26 wrote: »

If you go for the facelift model from mid 2009 it will have the newer common rail TDi engine which doesn't suffer the same balance shaft issue.

I’d love to, but unfortunately the budget won’t extend that far!
😔

Ruairi.g

How common is this issue, like do all of those cars calf as a result of this, or is it like a lower percentage of all cars??

Truckermal

It depends on service history mostly but seriously if a 09 A6 is out of budget buy something cheap and reliable.

Idbatterim

galwaytt wrote: »

conscious from the past of various issues with cars of that age, my daughter is looking to buy an A4 or 3-series of that vintage.

First many seem to be interstellar mileage, and imports dominate.

So, at this age, what are the pitfalls of 3-series and A4 many with 200k on them.

200k is serious miles, like this bull**** abiut 100k miles is nonsense, but double that is a good bit...

Dont really see point in thise cars, they dont hage prestige any way ... better off with something else imo. Wouldnt go for the bm anyway with reliability issues nn

Ruairi.g

Truckermal wrote: »

It depends on service history mostly but seriously if a 09 A6 is out of budget buy something cheap and reliable.

That’s the problem,The 08 A6 is relatively cheap, and apart fro this issue, that I was unaware of, I thought it was reliable too!!

at9qu5vp0wcix7

jmreire wrote: »

Whatever about the Audi's from that era, I'd be giving BMW's a miss especially any fitted with the N47 engines. The timing chain problem had not completely disappeared even in 2014 in the Beemer's. 200'000 Klms ( or in old mileage terms, about 125'000 Miles. Any car from back then should be well able to cover that mileage, and more, provided it was properly serviced. Personally, I'd be looking at the Audi A 4.'s

This is a bit overstated. Assuming OP is going for an F30 model, by this point the issue had been resolved. You will see many many models for sale in the UK with well over 200k miles up on them and still going strong.

AMKC

Volvo S60 from then are a lovely car too, the Lexus IS250 is lovely too but they hold there value very well so more expensive even 2nd hand