Just gauging if I'm the only one who made the switch?
For as long as I could remember I was an adamant, even fervent, BMW fan.

Growing up in the 80-90's I would promise myself, just as soon as I graduate from high school I'm going to get a Beemer. At the time we had moved from Brooklyn to Long Island and would see Eric Sermon come rolling through in a kitted out 5-Series. Pos, from De La Soul, who lived the next town over had this Burgundy 3-Series with yellow foglights that he would leave on all the time that would make drool in envy.

I bought my first BMW, a '84 318i in 1994. Pulling up to the park, it was laughable compared to most of the dope money boys in the area who had the latest 3's, 5's, Benzs, Acura Legends Coupes, and Sterlings, but my money was all clean and I worked hard for every penny.

It served as my rolling piece of heaven for about 3 years until I wrapped it around a guard rail on the Grand Central Parkway one snowy night coming home from CW Post.
Clearly this was long before the days of DSC, ABS, Traction Control and a host of other "Let Me Help You, You Big Dummy" electronic aids. Purely analog driving here. You get it wrong - you pay the price. I kind of miss cars like this, but I digress.

From 1997 till about 2000 I was BMW less. I instead had to make due with a Nissan 240SX which I was oh so tempted to rice out with a SR20DET engine swap.

During that time, I noticed Audi was really beginning to improve the quality, interior and exterior of their vehicles but having been raised in the age of Audi = VW with a different hat and tweaked interior along with the Audi 5000 "sudden acceleration" debacle still fresh in my mind, I held my reservations.

The first Audi to catch my eye during the BMW drought was the 1996 Audi A4. It was just something about their sheet metal. It had tighter tolerances, looked more solid and cohesive. The interior fit, finish, and materials were a notch above BMW - which in the 3-Series was still using liberal mid-quality grade black foam padded synthetic leather (ne: Plastic).

In 2001 I was about to pull the trigger on a 99 M3 - the dream car I had always wanted. Then the tech bubble imploded along with my toilet paper valued stock options and a few months later, my job - ****! Fearing a long spate of unemployment I decided to eek another year or two out of the 240SX.

BMW for its part had now fully thrusted itself into the Bangle era - and with it came the most bewildering assortment of designs and body lines back by a technological trainwreck designed by Microsoft named I-Drive. Hearing the words "Microsoft designed...." made me scream, "There is no ****ing CTRL + ALT + DELETE on a car!"

2003 rolled around and my student loans weren't such burden, plus I found a new job. The E46 M3 was released a year earlier and calling me... calling me ... calling me. I took it and a 328ci for a test drive and was sold.
It would have been a stretch to make the payments + insurance, but I was ready to commit. All in. Exploding engine problems on the M3 be damned. I told the dealer I needed to crunch a few numbers and he should hear back from me in 48 hours with deposit ready to go and just needed the finance team to come back with their best financing package.

And then it happened. That night that little nagging voice in my head called Mr. Sensibility that piped up and said, "Hey, have you looked at the Audi lately?"

Me: Shut up - I'm getting ready to fulfill a dream. You STFU!

Mr. Sense: You really should. I mean it's 1/2 the price of the M3. You could really use the free cash for other things. And it has Quattro. You need Quattro since you don't have a truck.

Me: S - T - F - U! I don't care. I'll get snow tires and load the trunk with weights!

Mr. Sense: Have you seen the new interiors on the Audis. They're the best in the business right now.

.... this back and forth went on for about 2 days before I finally relented and took a pre-owned A4 Quattro V6 5-Spd with the Sportline package.
To my surprise it was more refined than the BMW. The 5-Spd wasn't quite BMW snickety smooth and the steering had just a hair less feedback but overall, it felt like there was more value for dollar in the same class level with the Audi as compared to the 328.

The kicker was that the BMW dealer was directly across the street from the Audi dealer in the Autopark and there was a Guards Red M3 winking and whispering at me from the parking lot as I came back.

Now the 328 was out of the picture, it was a choice between the Audi and the Dream.

I went home and lamented some more - and like a puss - I took the sensible choice. A 99 A4 was now my steed. At first I felt guilt. Deep remorseful guilt as if I had betrayed a lover. I still cheered for BMW in ALMS and the BMW Williams F1 Team. I even got Juan Pablo Montonya's signature on my BMW hat. How freaken weird, I was the guy with a BMW hat driving an Audi.

But then it happened ... as the quality of BMW vs Audi started going down (DSG that worked like a mule kicking you in the back, constant electric problems,) and weirdity of BMW starting going up (M Coupe, Z4, Bangle lines and edges) I started becoming less and less fond of BMW and more a fan of Audi.

I guess the final nail in the coffin came in 2007. I decided it was time to upgrade, so I took S4 and M3 for a test drive both on track at Summit Point in W. VA. I pretty much knew what to expect with the M3, but the S4 was a complete mind blow. Interior, it blew the M3 out the water, but what mattered, the performance and compliantcy was a shock. Whereas the M3 felt nervous and even a bit harsh on the suspension side, the S4 was completely calm and relaxed - allowing controlled 4-wheel drifts and out of the corner grip like a cat getting a running start on carpet.


So that's my transition story. Sorry to be so long winded. I wanted a place to jot down my thoughts so I can come back to them in a few years and see if the same holds true or if something BMW did made me cross back over. At the moment though, there is NOTHING in the BMW portfolio that particularly stokes my fire - not even the everloving M3.

 

Your not alone...had a 2003 m3, 2006 325i, 2007 X5 5.0, 2011 X6 5.0 and now 2008 S4..Audi convert and will never go back. Saving for the new Rs4!

 

I'm thinking of r8 spider
But won't sell my2006 m5

 

I come from a family of Mercedes, mostly AMGs....AMGs are amazing, powerful, unique, sound great. I was shopping for a car but not alot to spend..I'm young...bought a B7 A4, chipped it, exhaust, the works...I LOVE it! I use to have an e420...the audi handles amazing and the all wheel drive is incredible...I have soo much confidence pushing the car. Its going to be hard deciding getting a Benz or Audi the next time around. My buddy has an S4....soo jealous...excellent car. To add: If you live in a snowy region why not get an Audi?

 

^^^I really try to love the AMG's but they're just not doing anything for me. The engine note sounds more likes a Messerschmidt x American Iron. Lots of frappy valve overlap and burbling raspiness (which I'm not really a fan of) then European cool.

I will say the coolest yet strangest engine note award goes to the Nissan VQ series of engines (GT-R, Z, Infiniti G).

 

I am not a marque snob and every German manufacturer has it's pluses and minuses. I've owned several AMG cars (S55, E55 wagon, SL55....) including a CLK63 Black Series and several BMWs (including the B7 in my avatar). Also had several S model Audis (2 S8s, S4 Avant and now have an S5) in the mix too. Hands down the best German car/SUV I've ever owned was a Panamera!!!! I can't say that I prefer one marque over the another. It just depends on your needs (read wants) and which model suits you. To say that one is superior to the other is a fairly narrow view of reality. Just my .02.

 

Well, I would not go as far as to say one is more or less superior than the other. However, I would say BMW has lost ground to Audi in some rather significant ways.

Styling, I have no idea where BMW is going lately. This long hood, square snout design started with the the new 7, taken up by the 5, and now on the newest 3 is for the birds. Worse, we're back the "Same sausage - what length do you want it cut to" design laziness that plagued BMW In the 80 - early 00's.

Interior. They're behind both Mercedes and Audi now. Even Lexus to an extent.

I'm sorry, but this does not speak of Premium Luxury to me:
New 6

New 3


I'm not going to argue with their new light pressure, TT 6 cylinder engine. Those are wonderful (and easily chipable! :woot

But I tend to take in cars as the integration and the sum of its parts vs the whole, and some of the parts of BMW just seems to have gone awry. It's like the exterior designers aren't talking to the interior team, and the mechanical engineers are just lost in the shuffle while the chassis and suspension team, something that BMW was once King of, have not gotten the support they once had.

 

im on the fence with this as well... I have a 2006 Cayenne Twin Turbo and a 2007 BMW 335i Coupe. This is my second 335i and 4th BMW. I have had a couple 350Z's, one coupe one convertible and coupe G35 Coupes, one NA and on with a large Single turbo, also had an 2006 STi prior to those... I've been itching lately for a S5... have spoken to few owners from here and a5oc... most of them agree they love the car but would not keep it out of warranty... Also they said keep up with the carbon build up cleaning... I'm going to stick to my 335i right now and I can easily beat an s5 in power since mine is modified... I'm waiting for them to release the coupes in a 3.0 supercharged and then let the modding begin!

 

I just sold my 2006 M5 and picked up a 2008 S6. I guess I just love the V10. I like a sports sedan as my daily driver and I had an E55 before the M. Power wise there is no comparison but I have to say I have no seller’s remorse about getting out of the M5. I would love the E60 M5 with different tranny. The M with PDK would be awesome. I don’t want a manual for driving around town in traffic. I got tired of the clunking and jerkiness on the SMG at low speeds – again this is my daily driver. Once the M is moving the SMG is great. The Quattro also gives me the option of driving up to the mountains in winter.

 

I have a E46 M3 and several S4's/

There is no doubt that Audi blows BMW out of the water when it comes to build quality.

The E46 M3 does have a more aggressive look than say a B5S4 but you just cant deny a Stage 3 S4 with 500+ hp!

The M3 is a better track car out of the box and lends its self more to track use than a S4 for a many reasons.. Mainly due to the fact that BMW CCA has a structured club racing program and great stepping stone program to get into racing.
Audi Club sadly does not.

In addition the S4 is much more expensive to make it go fast on the track.


Both great cars but IMHO Audi builds a better car all around.

 

I just converted my entire stable to VAG cars. Just got word that I'm now have a '10 CPO S4. I think Audi has trumped BMW in the recent years in terms of technology and design. Compared to its direct competitor, which is a '10 335i xDrive sedan, the interior is way more luxurious and the material used is just that much better. For a similar priced vehicle, you get a lot more options standard, including the dual clutch trans that's not found on the 335xi.

 

That's the interior of the old 6....not the new one.

 

I have never owned a BMW, but I have had several Audi's (current S4 owner).

BMW seems to have completely lost its way. They do have a few amazing cars, but overall the brand is stretching itself too thin. How else can yo explain the X6 or even the ugly x1? That bizarre GT with the Pontiac Aztek back end? They need to just stop being so clever and start creating fantastic.

They even stopped using 'ultimate driving machine', in it's place the idiot friendly 'Joy'. That just says it all. Thankfully they are now headed back to their old positioning, hopefully the cars will follow.

Currently the only car they make that I like is the 1M.

Audi has their issues too.

The cars are too soft. (S4 and S5, emphasis on the S5)
The RS cars are not nearly hard enough, and they lack the visual drama of the old cars.
The steering on all the cars is way too light at low speeds, and numb at high speeds.
They designed the giant Q7 with the tiny interior.
The R8 V10 needs to be less civil.

On the plus side:
Great interiors.
Fantastic motors
The A7
The blade idea on the R8
The TT RS (though it could be more visually differentiated)