RE: A8 vs. 740 vs. S420

[Eliot Lim <eliot@u.washington.edu>]

On Sun, 12 May 1996, Jonathan Linkov wrote:

>I've heard that a lot of the 3 series have real s***** build quality and that
>the price is creeping up into the 540i price level.  My ex girlfriend's had a
>glovebox that didn't fit and the BMW dealer basically said"tuff luck".

1992 (first year of the current generation) was a particularly bad
year for the 3 series.  the QC was so bad that CAR ran a major article
about it.  it was worse than the worst horror stories with audis that
i've ever heard.  many of you no doubt also remember the VW Golf VR6
lemon cover.

the word on the street is that a4s are by and large very well put
together despite the factory being producing at an overcapacity
rate. the a4 is expected to have fewer electrical problems than
the bigger cars, and it doesn't use the expensive and complex
hydraulics of the big cars either.

i am shocked that a 325i (328i now) can cost close to $40K.  used
to be the price of the 6 cylinder M3.  and the joke 318ti's.. are
those things flops or what?  if they are, bmw deserves it.  cynicism
should never pay.


eliot