shaaark89

i have a '97 740il which i have had great luck with and like very much, but would concur with miken that the new a8l is a very nice car. i recently bought an rs6 and was very tempted to go with the a8l instead. the quattro system allows you to drive anytime, anywhere without having to worry.

Porsche5050

Even an older A8. Of the big 3 the big Audis seem to have 928ish depreciation. Not as competent as the B or M but heck, you can get a decent S8 for the price of a top notch 750iL. Plus, you can watch Ronin with pride.

MikeN

Tariq -

Have to dissagree with the "not as competent" statement......

Every time I have gone shopping the past years for a new car I have driven all the possibilities in the segment......BMW, MB, and Audi.
While they are all great cars, there is nothing I have found in a BMW or an MB that the equivalent Audi can't do just as well or even better. BMW and MB just enjoy their "name" right now and charge $$$ accordingly. Never found anything in them that was worth the premium over the Audi.

Check out all the mag reviews also.......often Audi's meet or beat the others......they have come a long way.......people just don't know it yet!

Randy V

I'm not that kinda guy, Brendan. Now maybe if you were an attractive woman .

Ah what the heck - shoot me a PM or email - you'll have to shave first, though...

BC

Shaving is overrated. Unless you meant to shave my back. I have a wax today anyway.

BC

Thanks so much for the input guys. Anyone else with info on these rides?

Porsche5050

I think we can all agree that Mercedes are consistently the most technologically advanced while BMW takes the cake in terms of performance. Audis just have a different taste all together. Their owners tend to be more engineers or think like them anyways. With all that said the S class is the king. Who had LED brake lights first? Who had ABS first? Who had Xenon first? Who had panic braking systems, traction control blah blah blah.....

Quattro? Now that's an altogether unfair advantage that Audi has over the rest. If you live in an area that requires all wheel drive, The A8 is the way to go no question.

Brent 89-GT

I have to say that in general the Audi's lack performance compared to the MB and BMW offerings. The others are always faster, and we are Porsche guys right? In addition the Audi's by nature a quite nose heavy with 60% of thier substantial wieght on the front tires. This translates into understeer, not something I am looking for personally. I think Quattro is a great system but also overrated in this day of traction control and dedicated snow tires. I've lived in rural MN for years now and run rear drivers almost exclusively. AWD just isn't that big of a deal. It all comes down to tires anyway, AWD can not change physics.

That said, they are nice cars and the quality seems to have come back. Worth a look!

BC

I'm in San Diego. It rains. Occasionally.

Randy V

One of the best internet discussion forums for the e38 (740 series):

http://bimmer.roadfly.org/bmw/forums/e38/

A magnificent compilation of e38 faqs and tips:

http://www.e38.org/

BC

I have read that site extensively, and they seem about as jaded as we are about the upkeep on those cars.

Jim Nowak

"Mercedes are consistently the most technologically advanced while BMW takes the cake in terms of performance"

Well, I'd say that was half true. The newer Mercedes are much better performers in a straight line than BWM's. Typically BMW makes its suspensions a little harder than Mercedes so they handle a little better. I wouldn't enjoy the ride in my E55 if the suspension was more firm than it is now. It handles much like my 928 which is no slouch in the handling department. The new CL65 has 605 hp and 700+ lb-ft of tq. BMW's highest hp engine is 400 hp.

Chuck Z

Hi Brendan,

My 2001 BMW was a POS, that's not to imply that ALL BMW 7s fit that description/opinion. I think the 7 series (the new ones haven't grown on me yet) is one of the best looking big cars out there. Ours looked a lot like Randy's. Same wheels in gray with the sport package and some Schnitzer upgrades (dual exhaust, front and rear spoilers).

My requirement wasn't necessarily back seat room unless we needed the room for someone to sit behind me (I'm 5'-17" tall). We replaced the BMW with a 2003 Audi S8. Now you talk about an awesome car, this was it. Mike is correct, they are great cars. Have had three of them over the years. A 1985 GT coupe, 2001 S4 Avant and the 2003 S8. We recently have been looking for a new car again and seriously considered the A8L but unless you want to pay sticker and wait for the car you won't get what you want. Maybe after the car has been out for a while. Instead, I am flying to VA on Monday to pick up a super low mileage 2000 996 cabriolet.

BC

The A8Ls on ebay are around the 30k mark, some below. In 2001, CD had a test of all these cars, and the Audi did not do too well, though CD is always a bit pro-BMW or Lexus.

MOst recently, this months CD has the Lexus LS430 on top. I must say that the more recent LS430s are WAY bigger in the back seat area. The 2001 and before, however, a a bit lacking in that area.

To be sure, you can make a car handle any way you want, within reason. There are all kind of kits for the suspension of a LS400, as well as a BMW.

I made the ride on my since-departed 81 auto quite stiff, and my wife did not like it. So that says something about whether I am buying a 740iL for me or my wife, as it would be for her daily driver. I do not "Do" new cars.

BC

I looked again at Ebay, and nothing comes close to that back seat except the SELs from MB. Oh,and Consumer reports rear seat measurement is bogus, as I checked on a car that I have had as a cheap trans while I do my 89 up, and it has it as the same as the Lexus, at 36.7. Thats bull.

I found this. Very informative. Kind of like when we have on some of our boards here:
http://bimmer.roadfly.org/bmw/forums...postid=1820953