BMW Launching Direct Strike On Current Audi Owners - Is THIS Enough To Make Them Defect?

Not when it comes to interior quality.

Also, say that to the guy driving the 328xi sitting in a ditch after he slid off the road last week while I drived by in my Quattro with a smirk.

lol i know more than one audi owner than ended up at a ditch because they were under the false assumption that quattro > physics.

if you drive stupidly, no awd will save you...

you know what you can say all you want since BMW is an independent company they can offer great deals like the 4 year maintenance plan. who can top that in their category NO-ONE......Id rather have the dealership do my car for free than taking it to BILLY BOBS Mechanic & Pancakes. and none of you AUdi people should be hatin on this article because as many times as I seen billboards and within the last month there was an article on here with an M3 in a ditch and an audi passing it........so eye for an eye is how i see it

I had an independent Mechanic when I had a BMW and the Warranty was Taost, and he did a better job then the dealership, charged less and really looked over the car and told me things that can be fixed instead of just replaced like the dealership would! Don't knock independent mechanics as many are better then the dealership and not some snot nosed Tech just out of school, they have proven themselves and had the balls to start their own shops and offer superior service at better prices. Since your a badgewhore you will continue to lease and get a new car every 3 years so actual car ownership is not for you!

I didn't find a good mechanic, I was told by a friend that used the guy....word of mouth travels fast in the car world.

why does everyone say that audi has better interior quality than bmw??? I completely disagree. I bought an X6 but some woman ran into the back of it... so I traded it for a 2009 A4 S line. I really like the exterior look of the audi sedans, but the interior isn't all that great. the seats are flat and not terribly comfortable. the controls on the steering wheel are harder to use than the bimmer. the console and climate controls are very busy. i much prefer the sleeker, simpler layout that bmw has. the only thing i like more about the audi than the bmw, is the alcantera seat inserts. the bmw also drives a helluva lot better. next year i will be trading this back in for an X5 35d.

pennfootball

I actually am paying for my used 2005 6 series in january of next year and im keeping it. So ask before you start running your mouth. But my thing is that the car will sell a HELL of a lot better if you show dealer records when you go to trade it in and I am not knocking the dudes that actually left the dealerships and started their own mechanic shop KUDOS to them but you have to do your research with these independent mechanics and your right they are about 30-50% cheaper than what the dealer would charge. but my thing is if i bought a brand new BMW who other than BMW would I want to work on my car when when its brand new. surely not a mechanic unless I needed a second opion on something

um ok, hyudais have better inter quality than bmw, so what's your point.

This is a HUGE win for Audi.

BMW is taking notice and adjusting their creative platform. Audi's role as challenger brand has upset the German Giant and it looks like Goliath is taking notice of David who keeps throwing barbs. Score 1 for Audi - Truth in Engineering.

BMW needs to shore up its leadership, not look sideways.

BMW is not Goliath in Germany, just in the USA...

Definitely a win for Audi. BMW's answer to Audi's onslaught is their free maintenance program and a $1500 credit!!! Clearly shows that BMW is feeling the heat from Audi.

Not a new ad from Munich at all. It's the same old song and dance from the roundel- sing praises about the Zero maintenance program, la,la,la...

BMW needs to reignite passion in their ads. The BMW Joy campaign is a start but how about commercials that focus on say, the sound of an M3 or M5 at full throttle etc. BMW has dropped out of F1 and is losing passion for new performance ideas (No F1, CS concept cancelled). The Vision Efficient Dynamics Concept cannot come soon enough........

Justacar - more incentives from BMW to keep moving their cars of dealer lots. Nothing more.

@jeffgall, Quattro is truly awesome.

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=audi+r8+crash&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-701&vid=0001320641520

I see this happen all the time to audi drivers and I always drive by and smirk.

LOL BMW>Audi this is just the way it is..

This just the way it is in the mind of a BMW fan.

Looks like BMW has been looking in their rear view mirror and sees that speck getting larger.

That's because MB is ALSO ready to pass BMW.

3 series looks dated. And the Audis look generic. You either have to get a BMW M or and Audi "S" or "RS" or all you'll really have is just a milf car.

Amen Brother! Or you can get a BIG HEAVY Bloated X5 or X6 or X3!

so what would you buy as an alternative to say...a 335i? or a 535i? or an x5?

Alternative to a 335? = Audi S4, Mitsubishi Exo X MR
Alternative to a 535 = Jaguar XF or new Infiniti M
Alternative to an X5 = Caddilac SRX, or any other SUV for that matter.

It's only when a BMW gets the "M" badge is when it becomes special.

yeah...you can save a couple of bucks and go for second best. enjoy.

BMW is stupid for dropping The Ultimate Driving Machine tag line...it was the best inn the industry and they are completely ruining themselves!

It just seems that BMW is concentrating too much on their Free Maintenance program.
Is this what BMw is all about???
As most people here have said, there is no more passion in their advertising. I have been personally turned off by BMW's latest commercial.
Sure free maintenance is a nice perk, but is it really why you buy the car for??
By the way, for a small fee you can get the Audi Care maintenance program which covers more services than BMW; true it does not cover wear items, but the gap has been closed.
What will BMW advertise when they get rid of the Free Maintenance program (which was started by Audi back in 89 by the way!)??

Free Maintenance: is it really why you buy the car for?? Well many lemmings don't realize it is not free and rolled into the MSRP of the car! THIS IS WHY MANY BMW'S TEND TO COME WITH NOTHING AND EVERYTHING IS OPTIONAL...oh you vant leather... you have to pay, you vant power seats you have to pay, you Vant air conditioning, oh that is standard, shitzzle....But Der Stereo Harmon Kardon that used to be standard in the 335, now you have to pay!

vladyxa, you are incorrect.

Audi had the free maintenance program way back in (at least) 1990 when I first bought my A6.

Audi canceled their maintenance program in the USA about 3 years ago, if you want you can pay 750 bucks for it now for maintenance for 4 years 50,000 miles on an A4, it might be more on the A6 and A8.

wow. a postcard. that's some serious marketing dollars.

If you think your BMW maintenance is FREE, you are dilusional and stupid. The more you flaunt it the more stupid you really are.

BMW is clearly worried about Audi. Audi's marketing is brilliant. BMW on the other hand is stupid because they are simply answering Audi's call. If BMWs are so good they should have stood on their history. They clearly do not believe it is strong enough to stand up to the very rapidly upcoming Audi (btw-this is only relevant in the US, since worldwide they are almost even, and in Germany Audi is outselling BMW).

"(btw-this is only relevant in the US, since worldwide they are almost even, and in Germany Audi is outselling BMW)."

-Sales Numbers are not the be-all-end-all when it comes to evaluating vehicles. I hate it when someone mentions sales when comparing vehicles(as if that somehow makes the cars more appealing) lol!!

VW outsells BMW (and Audi too for that matter). Does the better sales numbers mean that VW vehicles are better than BMW or Audi?

It does not matter what Audi believes it is. As far as the general public is concerned, they are a Tier 2 brand. BMW will always be viewed as Tier 1.

And that's exactly BMW's problem in the US. By catering to the "general public" with heavily subsidized leases, BMW has diluted its brand and tarnished its Tier 1 perception (perception becomes reality in people's minds, which what marketing is all about). Audi knows it has the products to compete with BMW in the US and is capitalizing on BMW's recent weaknesses to propel its products into the minds of the general public.

Dream on delusional David. Stop living in your own created bubble. As for maintenance bills, dream on BMW. It's the other way around. Last time I noticed, Audi is outscoring BMW in relability surveys. Why would I trade down from an Audi to a BMW. Save your money and save some trees BMW and keep those flyers for our wannbe fanboys.

Viso,

Audi still have a way to go. BMW is still perceived as a more of a performance brand than Audi. How can Audi call itself a performance brand when their main sellers are FWD cars?

And do you think the average person driving a 328i really cares about performance?

That's a cool looking car, but I actually prefer the front bumper from the S5 to the RS5. It looks sporty AND classy (though I like the rear of the RS5 more than the S5). More importantly though, after reading the info about the RS5 on various sites, three things jump out:

1) Audi is pricing the vehicle almost 10k Euros higher than the M3 in Europe. Not that the people who purchase these can't afford one or the other, but that's the equivalent of $13600. That's a substantial chunk of money for a vehicle that frankly is likely to offer very similar performance. The lack of a stickshift is also a surprise, if BMW did that here with the M3 people would be out with pitchforks and torches (like when the E60 M5 came out).

2) Along that vein I am surprised Audi didn't try to "set the bar higher" with the specs/performance. Within a couple of years of the RS5 coming out, BMW will release a totally new M3 that most folks speculate will be powered by a twin turbo inline six producing 450-500hp, with more torque than the RS5, and less weight than the RS5. By not "leapfrogging" the existing M3 (or best case, only doing so barely), Audi has actually positioned themselves in a bit of a hole for the next eight years. My guess is BMW is breathing a sigh of relief after seeing the specs on the RS5.

3) Much like its stablemate, the RS6, Audi is apparently not even bringing the RS5 to the U.S. If they do, it would be at least a year after the European debut, and again at that point there'll be a new M3 almost around the corner.

This vehicle along with the disappointingly bland new A8 are the first times I've seen Audi make what I'd consider strategic mistakes recently. They've been hitting homeruns for the last few years, but now that's two high profile vehicles in a row. I'm interested to see what happens.

damnit, posted in the wrong thread. There's too many "BMW vs. Audi" threads on here.

I find this comparison interesting since I just purchased a 2010 BMW 328ix wagon. I pick it up this week. I wonder if I will get the $1500 rebate since I am replacing a 2000 A4 Avant Quattro even though I already paid for the car.
I probably would have purchased another A4 Avant quattro IF Audi OFFERED A MANUAL TRANSMISSION in 2010. What is Audi thinking by discontinuing manual transmissions in their A4? I loved the A4 avant quattro for 10 years but I need to manually shift my car. Few cars are still offered with a manual transmission (Subaru outback, BMW, Volvo V-50)
I will be happy with the BMW 328ix.The 6-speed is fun. The panaramic sunroof is great and leather and ipod adapter came free. The car seems very tight and I am sold on the free 4 year maintenance with BMW. I also purchased the extended 10 year warranty and a 7 year warranty on the drive-flat tires.
I loved past VW/Audi products but manual transmissions are becoming extinct.

Its funny how BMW did not consider Audi as a threat just 10 years ago.

vladyxa - you don't need to look any further than this post to get an answer to your question.

I look forward to getting one from Audi offering BMW owners the same thing or more to cross over or stay with Audi. Ooops! Audi already has loyalty programs in effect that can reward a returning client with up to $3000 cash back. Conquest money anyone?