Bmw 645 or Audi S4?

andromeda76 · 12-02-2012 03:39PM #1

Hi,
I've been thinking of getting a Bmw 645. But now im starting to lean towards an Audi s4. Just wondering if anybody has had any experience with either of the cars. reliablity and running costs and so on?

George Dalton · 12-02-2012 03:54PM

Which model S4? What is your budget or what year cars are we talking about?

andromeda76 · 12-02-2012 03:58PM

Something like this?

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Audi/S4/4.2-V8-3/201146205598740/advert?channel=CARS

George Dalton · 12-02-2012 04:08PM

I have never driven or worked on a 645i so can't really comment on them at all. I am not a fan of how they look which would rule one out for me but I know some people love them.

I have looked after a few of those V8 S4s over the years and I think they are a fantastic machine. Lovely to drive with a peach of an engine. Not generally troublesome either and parts are reasonable for them considering they are a top end motor with a 4.2 V8 in them. They are pretty dire on fuel alright but that goes with the territory I suppose just like the extortionate motor tax

rebel.ranter · 12-02-2012 04:19PM

They are different cars really a GT Cruiser with effortless power & a sports saloon car. There's a few guys over on BMW-driver.net have 645i, worth checking out what they have to say on the BMW. There are potential issues with active steering & a pipe that goes down the middle of the V of the engine. I've a 630i myself & I can give some comments on the non engine/drive train items:
- ride is quite hard with 19' & run flats
- track rod ends get well abused with the big wheel/tyres
- it doesn't handle like a sports car, I'd say my e39 handles much better
- sport seats are much more supportive & comfortable (just my opinion)
- no room at all in the back, only 2 seats there that are only big enough for a child
- indicator lamps have a tendency to mist up
Other interesting things but not necessarily problems:
- rear bootlid & front wings are made from plastic
- bonnet, roof & doors are made of aluminium
- push button start came in in 2006 (+ & - to this)
- comes standard with auto dip passenger side mirror when reverse is selected, lots of standard kit actually
- however cup holder didn't come as standard!
- electric thermostat in these can fail without any really noticeable issues, will throw fault codes
There's loads I've left out/forgotten.

andromeda76 · 12-02-2012 04:20PM

Cheers for the reply. Yeah its a mixed bag with the 645 when it comes to looks. I personally like the shape. But i also like how the S4 is rare. You dont see many of them knocking around, well not real ones anyway.

George Dalton · 12-02-2012 04:24PM

andromeda76 wrote: »

Cheers for the reply. Yeah its a mixed bag with the 645 when it comes to looks. I personally like the shape. But i also like how the S4 is rare. You dont see many of them knocking around, well not real ones anyway.

Ah yes the 1.9 TDI S4/RS4 brigade have a lot to answer for alright. In a way they have made the real thing less desirable but speaking from experience it can be amusing when an S4 TDI driver mistakes your actual S4 for a TDI and tries to race you from a set of traffic lights

bazz26 · 12-02-2012 05:01PM

M3?

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201141204962714

Big Nasty · 12-02-2012 05:05PM

Don't like the front of the 6er at all, looks good from the rear though. Personally I would go with an S4 Avant or RS4 - I think they look much better!

Nforce · 12-02-2012 05:52PM

With that sort of budget/engine size I'd be looking at one of these... http://www.carzone.ie/search/Audi/RS6/4.2-V8-B/413245504691120/advert?channel=CARS

tossy · 12-02-2012 06:23PM

George Dalton wrote: »

it can be amusing when an S4 TDI driver mistakes your actual S4 for a TDI and tries to race you from a set of traffic lights

I'm appalled!

pippip · 12-02-2012 06:35PM

Nforce wrote: »

With that sort of budget/engine size I'd be looking at one of these... http://www.carzone.ie/search/Audi/RS6/4.2-V8-B/413245504691120/advert?channel=CARS

I'm sure the op would prefer an RS but that one has 3 times the mileage compared to the s4 above

btkm8unsl0w5r4 · 12-02-2012 07:39PM

I had a 645ci for a good while and would make the following comments.
1. Great looking car IMHO, still see them and think they look great.
2. The v8 has great power and a great (if too subdued) sound.
3. Its a point a squirt sort of car, quick acceleration but no real drama.
4. Interior is nice and seats are comfortable, back seat are a total joke
5. Getting old now, the v8 engine is pretty low tech. Relatively reliable however watch the cooling system. 23 mpg was my mixed driving figure. 333bhp is a little disappointing from a 4.4 V8 these days but the torque allows effortless driving.
6. Active steering is cack, dead feel to the steering.
7. The dynamics leave a lot to be desired, understeer all the time and the back end can be lively in the wet even at relatively low speed.

Should be a lot cheaper to buy than a S4. Audi's do nothing for me but I am a fanboy so don't take my opinion on that.

mickdw · 12-02-2012 09:00PM

What bmw have you got now fitzgeme?

rebel.ranter · 12-02-2012 09:04PM

mickdw wrote: »

What bmw have you got now fitzgeme?

An ould "family" car :rolleyes::p

rebel.ranter · 12-02-2012 09:06PM

mickdw wrote: »

What bmw have you got now fitzgeme?

An ould "family" car :rolleyes::p

I forgot to add that there's no spare wheel, and more importantly there's no room in the spare wheel well for even a space saver wheel. The battery & part of the fuse box now live in the spare wheel well.

richardsheil · 12-02-2012 11:53PM

Did you consider Merc ClS?

Lambe and O' Connor have a v8. http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mercedes-Benz/CLS-Class/500-V8-D/201133203935992/advert?channel=CARS

The colour and interior of that one is amazing.

Idbatterim · 13-02-2012 12:51AM

just browsing donedeal and this 6 series seems to be excellent value...

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2865873

13-02-2012 12:56AM

... looks to be a trader selling it, new toy purchased will be for sale next week :pac:

Idbatterim · 13-02-2012 01:01AM

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2878530

or how about this?

Alanstrainor · 13-02-2012 01:30AM

Idbatterim wrote: »

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2878530

or how about this?

Such a fugly car...even if it was relatively standard it'd be ugly!

Matt Simis · 13-02-2012 02:07AM

RWD 6er if you want fun and AWD Audi if you want to assuredly always get there. Given our roads and weather arent that bad, the benefits of AWD is rarely seen.
I have an S8 (with the precursor of that S4 V8 engine) and 2 BMWs (a V12 and V8). The Audi is my daily driver only due to MPG and tax reasons on the BMWs.. but given the choice of one car, it wouldnt be the Audi.

PS: I think the 645 looks great, that generation S4 is a bit bland.

godtabh · 13-02-2012 11:52AM

Idbatterim wrote: »

just browsing donedeal and this 6 series seems to be excellent value...

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2865873

If I could convince the wife it was a practical family car I'd have it snapped up!

DCrean · 13-02-2012 12:35PM

The 05' S4 on carzone is the same model I had a while back. Really enjoyed it and found excuses to cross the country. Mayo to Dublin, just to buy a pair of wellies. So addictive to drive and listen to. Great price to get your hands on a relatively new a V8 engine in my opinion. Only problem is Your heart sinks if you ever end up parked beside the RS or newer M3 but both are rare enough. Be prepared for the tax and petrol. Around €80-90 for a full tank. 2/3 empty after 150 miles. Approx. Ouch and a bit

GavMan · 13-02-2012 03:09PM

http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/6-Series/640d-Spo/213231679085190/advert?channel=CARS

Totally irrelevant but the new 6er looks properly mint. Love that interior...

andromeda76 · 13-02-2012 05:30PM

DCrean wrote: »

The 05' S4 on carzone is the same model I had a while back. Really enjoyed it and found excuses to cross the country. Mayo to Dublin, just to buy a pair of wellies. So addictive to drive and listen to. Great price to get your hands on a relatively new a V8 engine in my opinion. Only problem is Your heart sinks if you ever end up parked beside the RS or newer M3 but both are rare enough. Be prepared for the tax and petrol. Around €80-90 for a full tank. 2/3 empty after 150 miles. Approx. Ouch and a bit

What sort of money are we talking for servicing. Does it need similar services like the M3 (ie. inspection 1 and 2) which i hear are extortionate. Also any commons known faults like the 6 series (seals going and active steering) and the M3 E46. I heard the Smg boxes can give very costly problems.

George Dalton · 13-02-2012 06:24PM

andromeda76 wrote: »

What sort of money are we talking for servicing. Does it need similar services like the M3 (ie. inspection 1 and 2) which i hear are extortionate. Also any commons known faults like the 6 series (seals going and active steering) and the M3 E46. I heard the Smg boxes can give very costly problems.

What do you drive at the moment? Are you driving car with high running costs already or will you be coming from a car with low running costs? If you are coming from a low running cost car you will get a bit of a shock.

A full inspection service will be a lot more expensive than say a 2.0 petrol A4. This is simply due to the fact that it has 8 spark plugs instead of 4 and takes 9 litres of oil instead of 3.5. There are no specific service actions on the S4 as opposed to an A4 like there are with the E46 M3 compared to normal E46s so no hidden extra costs there.

The actual parts themeselves aren't much more expensive than the run of the mill models. Genuine Audi parts prices from my records:

Oil filter €14
Spark plugs €11 (x8 remember)
Air filter €19
Cabin filter €25

A full inspection service with all the above parts (plus the all important 9 litres of correct spec oil) will set you back about €375 at an independent garage. Obviously if you go to Audi it will cost you much more than that. The full service is only due every 40k miles, interim services will cost less.

tossy · 13-02-2012 06:51PM

George Dalton wrote: »

Oil filter €14
Spark plugs €11 (x8 remember)
Air filter €19
Cabin filter €25

A full inspection service with all the above parts (plus the all important 9 litres of correct spec oil) will set you back about €375 at an independent garage. Obviously if you go to Audi it will cost you much more than that. The full service is only due every 40k miles, interim services will cost less.

Not too bad at all,now if only you could go to an independent garage for tax!

andromeda76 · 13-02-2012 07:34PM

George Dalton wrote: »

What do you drive at the moment? Are you driving car with high running costs already or will you be coming from a car with low running costs? If you are coming from a low running cost car you will get a bit of a shock.

A full inspection service will be a lot more expensive than say a 2.0 petrol A4. This is simply due to the fact that it has 8 spark plugs instead of 4 and takes 9 litres of oil instead of 3.5. There are no specific service actions on the S4 as opposed to an A4 like there are with the E46 M3 compared to normal E46s so no hidden extra costs there.

The actual parts themeselves aren't much more expensive than the run of the mill models. Genuine Audi parts prices from my records:

Oil filter €14
Spark plugs €11 (x8 remember)
Air filter €19
Cabin filter €25

A full inspection service with all the above parts (plus the all important 9 litres of correct spec oil) will set you back about €375 at an independent garage. Obviously if you go to Audi it will cost you much more than that. The full service is only due every 40k miles, interim services will cost less.

That's less than I was expecting. Not bad at all for such a high performing car. I currently drive a jaguar xj6 series 3. Beautiful car, but just fancy something faster and more modern. Are you an idependant mechanic yourself george?

George Dalton · 13-02-2012 07:44PM

I am yes. I also own one of the older shape V6 S4s myself. Have you driven the S4 and the 6 series to see which you prefer?

yoke · 13-02-2012 07:48PM

Have you considered getting an M3?

A couple of years ago I was originally looking at an s4 (like yourself), then an m3 and a 645ci last year - while I never actually got to test drive the s4 (one I was looking at got sold), I did drive an smg m3 followed by an auto 645ci - after that for me there was no question the m3 was what I wanted, and I never looked back (still very happy with the purchase, nearly a year later).

Originally I had only been looking at the s4 since I saw it as a fast 4dr saloon, I only realised after test driving the m3 (and fitting my kids in the back without any problems!) that I actually didn't need a 4dr saloon car at all.

That said, the 645ci seemed like a great car, very refined, definitely aimed at an older market compared to the m3, and with much better ride quality - by the time I actually drove it though, it was too late and somewhere inside I had already decided I was getting the m3 due to the speed/fun of it

unless I could pick up the 645ci for much cheaper, which it turned out that I couldn't, in my case.

Bmw 645 or Audi S4?

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