New Passat vs 2002 Altima vs 2002 Audi A4 vs 2002 BMW 325

rajan9

After long research I have narrowed my choices. Which one of the above would you recommend?

Does anyone know what is the interest rate for a 60 month loan on the above models

newcar31

All of those cars are great cars. I wish I was in your situation to have to make such a hard decision. Here is my opinion: The BMW is going to be the most fun to drive and BMW inline 6 engines are some of the sweetest engines around. It would truly be a driving machine, however maintaining and repairing the car are going to be relatively expensive and time consuming. This goes for the Audi and VW too. I think the german cars you mentioned all have excellent styling and are very desireable cars. With all this being said, If I had tons of money, I would get one of the germans, but if I was price conscience, I would get the Altima. Although the Altima is a brand new model, I think it would fair better in reliability based on previous models than the german sedans would. It would also be easier to service (Many lube shops won't service the germans you mentioned) and I would bet it would be cheaper to service too. It is also a bargain, and offers a lot of performance for the money, but it is FWD. You will make compromises by choosing any of these cars, you just have to decide what is most important to you. The germans have the styling and performance part licked, but I don't think repairing and maintaining the car would be fun. The Altima also offers great performance with the addition of good expected reliability, and great value, but it doesn't look as cool as a Black 3 series or a Silver A4 with 17s. Don't know about the interest rates on those cars, I just got 0% for 4 years. Good luck, you lucky SOB.

Todd----01 Mazda Protoge ES

330ismynewcar

They are all phenomenal cars and I would get the...
BMW- if you enjoy driving and safety is significant
Audi- if the material quality (such as leather) and styling is imperative
Nissan- if you want low maintanance costs
VW- if you want a little of each

naveed_rahim

BMW 325 - Extra Money
Audio A4 - Extra Money and extra extra money for Maintenance after manuf. warranty
WV Passats - no concern why this car cost more when I can buy an A4 by paying a li'l li'l extra
Nissan Altima - to buy it otherwise I will buy maxima for a li'l more which gives me every thing. Mileage, styling, 17s, speed, low maintenance, reliability, my money back if I decide to sell it afterwards.

my .02 cents.

dhanley

I have a 328, and here's my perspective:

The 325 is a very nice car, one of the most fun to drive, period. Generally, doesn't have many weak points, good interior, quiet, relaible, safe, etc. But of course, it can get expensive fast when you load it up.

The a4 is good, it's reminiscent of the 3-series somewhat, without the sportscar handling and the swiss watch construction. OTOH, it's quite a bit cheaper, has a better interior ( IMHO ) and has what i think is the best AWD system around. I agonized between the a4 and 3-series for quite awhile, but now i'm sure i made the right choice for me.

The passat is a good car. If you were planning on loading it up, i'd just get the a4 instead, though. I kind of don't trust VW quality. I'd extend the bumper to bumper warranty as long as i could if i got one.

The sentra: i don't know how to compare it to the preceeding cars. It's not nearly as nice, but it's also much much lower cost, both to purchase, and to own. An infiniti g20 or a maxima would make more sense here.

dave

newcar31

He was talking about the new altima that is coming out, not the sentra. The new altima compare quite favorably to the other cars. It will have a 240 hp V6 as an option, and a 180 hp 2.5L 4 standard. It isn't RWD though. As far as quality is concerned, I don't see much difference between the Audi and VW since they are essentially the same car. If money wasn't a concern, I'd jump on the BMW, otherwise, I would get the Altima. I agree with you on being suspect about VW/Audi quality. Gimme an M3 and would shut up about cars for the rest of my life.

dhanley

Sorry, my bad. I had heard about the new altima. I'm curious to see this big HP boost leads to--a new horsepower race? As for the altima comparing favorably.. Maybe in hp/price, bu there's a lot more to it than that, or we'd all be driving v8 camaros.

Well, it's my understanding that the a4 is built in a different plant where mot care is exercises, but i may be all wrong about that.

Personally, i'm waiting to see the new x-type.

dave