# Avensis D4D or Audi A4 1.9TDI 03-05 Which is best?



## utopianmule (11 Aug 2007)

Am going to upgrade car from Nissan Almera to either Avensis D4D or Audu A4 1.9TDI. Which is best for the money. I have about 16-18,000 to spend. Car will be shared between partner and myself doing long journeys for work which should average out at about 18,000 miles per year. thanks for advice


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## bullbars (11 Aug 2007)

Audi wins hands down! My brother picked up an audi last week & it has great power!


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## Purple (11 Aug 2007)

The Audi is a better car. I'm not sure which is the best value for money.


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## SOM42 (11 Aug 2007)

Audi every time.  The Avensis would even bore an Almera driver!  No comparison between the two.  Just be sure to get the 130bhp version and not the slower one.


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## utopianmule (11 Aug 2007)

thanks for the replies. I asked my mechanic and he said the Audi A4 was the better car too all round. So that is 4-0 for the Audi so far!!


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## Jeff_24 (13 Aug 2007)

It's an absolute no brainer if you ask me, the Audi is the better car.


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## lyonsie (13 Aug 2007)

Audi A4 here too.   Didn't think anyone would need to ask.....  Have one for the past 5 years and still impressed.


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## Firefly (13 Aug 2007)

All them taxi drivers can't be wrong tho!


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## DeBarr (13 Aug 2007)

A guy I used to work with drove an Audi A4 1.9 tdi (2004) - he liked the drive, badge etc but after a couple of years of niggly troubles with it he decided to change it for a ......... Toyota Avensis.....


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## emul (13 Aug 2007)

Changed an Audi A4 this year for a Avensis estate (for pratical reasons) I still miss the Audi and gaze longingly at A4's - get the Audi


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## RS2K (13 Aug 2007)

Toyota for reliability. Audi for everything else.

Neither for value.


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## rubberduckey (13 Aug 2007)

Hi RS2K, what car would you recommend for good value??


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## RS2K (13 Aug 2007)

An imported one most likely 

A used Mondeo TDCI is pretty decent.


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## Mr2 (13 Aug 2007)

Toyata Avensis D4D will not break your heart like an Audi A4 will.

The Audi might look better, a bit faster but your head will tell you the Avensis will keep going, service bills will never come near an Audi and the Audi will keep either breaking down or bits just stop working, elec windows, egr valves, oil pumps, turbos, gearboxes etc.

And when things go wrong, your Toyota dealer might be booked up for a week or so but you Audi dealer will be booked for at lease 3 times the lenght of it's closest Toyota dealer.


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## Mr2 (13 Aug 2007)

It's true.

Not only do you breakdown more offten but you also have to wait longer to get your car back on the road. This adds to your cost, car hire, trips to and from the garage and phone calls. How annoying is it for you to have to do all the chasing, leaving msg after msg and then told we will get to your car when we can.


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## UpTheBanner (13 Aug 2007)

According to the following site the A4 scores better than the Avensis:
[broken link removed]


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## Gabriel (13 Aug 2007)

Mr2 said:


> It's true.
> 
> Not only do you breakdown more offten but you also have to wait longer to get your car back on the road. This adds to your cost, car hire, trips to and from the garage and phone calls. How annoying is it for you to have to do all the chasing, leaving msg after msg and then told we will get to your car when we can.



My understanding of these garages was that you only waited for a "service" - I was recently told by Murphy & Gunn (Milltown) that I had to wait 19 days before I could drop my car in to be serviced - but that they fix important problems asap. 
This has been my experience anyway. My brake light came on a few months back...dropped it down to them the following morning and they said they'd fix (new brakes) there and then as this was vital to the car being safe. So I went to the top of the list.

I don't see that much of an issue of having to wait a few weeks for a service. Most people get their car serviced yearly. Ring the dealer in advance and drop it in in a few weeks. I don't see that as a big issue unless I'm missing something...

Incidentally...if I can drop a car in to be serviced this week in garage A and in three weeks time in garage B..that either means that cars from garage A have more problems...or that garage A does more business. Food for thought.

Finally...I'm not yet convinced that the new Avensis will have the same reliability of its predecessor. Isn't it built in England/Europe these days?


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## Mr2 (14 Aug 2007)

The new Avensis is not as reliable as the old one but it's still a lot better than the Audi. UK markets and customers are not the same as Irish people.

It's a false survey, you ask a Toyota customer, car might break down once in three years and the Toyota customer start saying they don't build them like they used to. 

An Audi customer will prob break down three times in three years (or in some cases I've had three times in three weeks) and they don't mind because they say when they are going they are a great car. 

Price servicing around, Toyota dealer close to same town first service €150 and second service €210, First service on Audi €220, second service €290 and told I'd prob need tyres and brakes, total bill could be over €500.

Gabriel, you may not see the problem with waiting 19 days for a service but people in general are only happy to wait a max of three to five days. 
Most people are not that organised as to booking that far in advanced and most do not remember when they do book. It's always a last minute thing, "I'm going abroad next week", "I'm going away for the weekend", " I've to bring x to the hospital on Thursday" etc etc etc, the last thing I want is my car to break down, when can you service it?

These are the people you deal with every day.


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## lyonsie (14 Aug 2007)

Sorry Lads, (I presume ye are lads, sounds like lads talk), but we have A4 and  Focus and the service bills are about the same, depends if anything is needed.   Live in North Cork and never have to wait for longer than a few days to book in for service, either to the Audi Garage or the Ford Garage.

We were expecting hugh bills for the A4, but thankfully in the last 5 years and our 2nd car, things are not bad at all,  will go again.

How is that 'Lads'.


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## utopianmule (14 Aug 2007)

Interesting comments here. It seems the Audi is a better car but Toyota cheaper for servicing and little bit more reliable. As part of couple we have a 01 corolla and it is very good for miles per gallon. Friend has Audi A4 and he reckons miles pergallon is over 60!
I think they are both good cars adn whatever I choose will be ok. thanks for all your comments


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## RS2K (14 Aug 2007)

Petermack said:


> Damn Ford garage must be ripping you off totally



Sounds odd. Ford offer fixed price menu servicing.


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## Mr2 (14 Aug 2007)

Ford do fixed menu pricing but there must be something odd about the statment.

He does say that they only vary when car requires something extra, I can't imagine like for like service on an Audi A4 Diesel anywhere near Ford Focus Diesel. I worked for Ford and Audi and there are huge differences in my opinion.


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## lyonsie (14 Aug 2007)

Have petrol models, lads, and Audi A4 might be about €30 more for service, but a very small price to pay for great car.
And in case you havn't noticed, the taxi's are all driving Skoda's now, (from the Volkswagen passat stable and 2nd cousin to the Audi....) not too many driving Toyota Avensis nowadays.   The Skoda Octavia would be well worth looking at instead of Avensis,   even the 'garda traffic corps' are driving Skoda Octavias now, great car.
Will probably trade in our Focus for Octavia when the time comes.


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## Gabriel (14 Aug 2007)

Mr2 said:


> The new Avensis is not as reliable as the old one but it's still a lot better than the Audi. UK markets and customers are not the same as Irish people.
> 
> It's a false survey, you ask a Toyota customer, car might break down once in three years and the Toyota customer start saying they don't build them like they used to.
> 
> ...



Those are fair enough comments re the wait. I plan around mine...service will be August 29th. Am still a little unsure about main dealer service as need full service and NCT service (NCT is 9 days later)...but I'm going to take the hit this time as I think it's the best option for peace of mind (they stand over NCT check etc).

I suppose the Avensis vs A4 comparison is a little unfair to be honest. You're comparing a mass market run of the mill rep/family saloon with a luxury family saloon. If it was Avensis vs Modeo that would be fair enough...but it's not...which is why I understand the "it's a lovely car" statements from Audi customers.
I know if I was driving a new A4 around I'd be a little miffed with niggly problems...but if I bought an Avensis I'd be frankly extremely disappointed with any sort of unreliability. You buy an Avensis for cheapness of servicing, safety and reliability. You certainly don't buy it for its charm, drive ability and good looks.


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## cianlanders (14 Aug 2007)

Audi lovely car and all that, but my last service at 40K miles on Diesel A4 cost me € 350 at the local Audi dealer. €47 was for new wipers, the rest was just the standard charge, so you see you pay for the badge.


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## Jeff_24 (15 Aug 2007)

The Avensis and A4 aren't really direct rivals anyway, maybe the lower models like the lawnmower 102bhp 1.6 and dated 110bhp 1.9TDI might be but the A4 is mainly positioned against the likes of the Volvo S60, BMW 3 Series and all the compact execs etc ... The Avensis is more of a fleet car to rival the Mondeo, Vectra and Passat or maybe not the Mondeo anymore actually seeming as Ford have higher aspirations for the new model.


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## RS2K (15 Aug 2007)

cianlanders said:


> Audi lovely car and all that, but my last service at 40K miles on Diesel A4 cost me € 350 at the local Audi dealer. €47 was for new wipers, the rest was just the standard charge, so you see you pay for the badge.



Not too bad. I know of someone who paoid almost €1000 for a 1st service on a 1.4 Golf


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## sinbadsailor (15 Aug 2007)

Mr2 said:


> Gabriel, you may not see the problem with waiting 19 days for a service but people in general are only happy to wait a max of three to five days.



Surely the service indicator that comes on giving you a couple of thousand miles notice is enough time and warning to book a service? Last minute usually means overdue or too late


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## Herbie (15 Aug 2007)

lyonsie said:


> And in case you havn't noticed, the taxi's are all driving Skoda's now, (from the Volkswagen passat stable and 2nd cousin to the Audi....)



Octavia is based on the Golf, not the Passat.  You need to move up to the Superb to benefit from (older model) Passat link.

Also, Traffic Corps are said to run (among other cars) a Citroen Xsara...


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## yop (16 Aug 2007)

Audi A4 service cost 190 euro, 180 if u order online, I got it myself lately.

A4 hands down, heard too many bad stories about the Avensis and their liking to drink diesel.

Everyone is going to have a story about every car though remember that.


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## SOM42 (17 Aug 2007)

lyonsie said:


> The Skoda Octavia would be well worth looking at instead of Avensis, even the 'garda traffic corps' are driving Skoda Octavias now, great car.


 
Just because the traffic corps are using them doesn't make them good cars.  As previously states the Citreon and more recently the Fiat Ulysess have been used by them.  Both awful cars and you can be sure that no traffic guard had any input into the decision to buy either.


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## REMFAN (19 Aug 2007)

I have a new diesel Avensis and in fairness I cant fault it. I have never had any problems with it and the first service last week cost me e130, they give me a e30 discount. It's very comfortable to drive, the cockpit is good quality and its light on diesel (getting 870km on a full tank). Plus it has 9 airbags and a five star NCAP rating. Audi is a fine car but you pay for the badge, the Avensis will never let you down.


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