Re: Honesty Please (A4 v. 318i)

[Luis Marques <marques@rtis.ray.com>]

IMSA90QGTO <IMSA90QGTO@aol.com> (Mike Robinson) wrote:
> I know this sounds stupid to many of you, but my father is comparing
> two new cars to buy.  The A4 1.8t and the '97 318i.  He wants a 4-door
> car with decent power and good reliablity.  He likes the quattro and
> is actually leaning towards getting a nice pearl white A4.  i test
> drove a beautiful Laser Red A4 1.8t Sport w/ him and i was so amazed. 
> I was just wondering if there is any advice any one has to put the
> nail in the coughin on that WMB.

This is a no-brainer.  Get the A41.8tqm - The BMW 318i is underpowered an he
will be reving that engine all the time to get any kind of decent performance. 
Fit and finish leaves a lot to be desired compared to the A4.  Not only that,
but the 4-cyl BMW's have a design flaw in a "profile gasket" that causes
catastrophic failure of the cooling system at about 60k mi to the tune of
>$1000, just after the warranty expires.   If your father really wants to consider BMW, tell him to take a look at the 6-cyl. cars (323i, 328i) that have much nicer interior appointments and a much smoother, powerfull, and reliable engine than the 318i.

Luis Marques
'87 4kcsq