I was being politeMrPT said:This is only the third ever thread with the word "poop" in the title. Remarkable.
TitanTim said:The trim on mine looks like its been laser cut and the paint finish is smooth as a glass![]()
Tim.
I have had two Black Sapphire, two Le Mans Blue, one Platinum Grey & one Alpine White & they have all been as bad as each other but I totally agree with you that if it bothered me that much I could just get a detailer to sort it.R.E92 said:My Le Mans Blue 3er has terrible orange peel but I'm not anal enough to care![]()
There was a long thread about orange peel on e90post. Some claimed to have no orange peel so maybe only certain colours are affected.
You could always get a professional detailer to sort it out.
Garvin said:Mine's the same. This sort of design detail and build is why Audi have inexorably 'hunted down' BMW over the years. Audis, I'm afraid, are engineered much more 'elegantly' and built a damn sight better - once they dynamically match BMW and 'excite' as much it may spell an inexorable decline for BMW unless they up their game.
original guvnor said:Garvin said:Mine's the same. This sort of design detail and build is why Audi have inexorably 'hunted down' BMW over the years. Audis, I'm afraid, are engineered much more 'elegantly' and built a damn sight better - once they dynamically match BMW and 'excite' as much it may spell an inexorable decline for BMW unless they up their game.
I'm sorry but that's a load of old codswallop.
Audi have just followed BMW's lead and started to produce cars that appeal to potential BMW customers having seen the success BMW were having. BMW have hardly dropped the ball - they are selling record amounts of cars, as are Audi and Merc. The sector they operate in has just seen huge growth in recent decades as consumer wealth across the major economies has rapidly increased. Do you really think that VAG group have a massively higher bargaining power than BMW? Maybe a little, based on production volumes, but not a lot. Therefore the development budget they have available for a car in a particular segment will be very similar to BMW and Merc if they want to make a return and margin that matches their peers. Look how closing their pricing is to BMW for an equivalent model and trim! Audi choose to spend a higher proportion of that on the driver environment (aka the interior). So if they spend more on interiors that means somewhere else corners are cut. In Audi's case it is the handling and under-the-skin engineering. That's why the cars are less engaging to drive with inferior power trains and is also why they have a less than stellar reputation for reliability. Under the skin you are basically driving a car with components designed as much for a Seat/Skoda and VW as you are an Audi. BMW and Merc don't do that. Each of the big 3 German companies has their own niche which they target - with Audi it is for 'magpie' people who like shiny, blingy things and want to go quick in a straight line in all weather but are less bothered about handling prowess. With BMW it tends to be people who are more bothered about a sporting drive and great engine more than looks or interior and Merc is aimed at the slightly older customer who thinks BMW and Audi are young upstarts! A lot of deliberate stereotyping and caricatures in there but deliberately so to illustrate the point.
TitanTim said:Having said that Audi are obviously doing something right with the TT being voted coupe of the year the past few years for its build, handling and performance and dare I say the RS range is equal if not as good as the equivalent M these days. Not saying BMW is bad but not quite the class leader it was.
Weirdly your comment that Audis are a VW/Seat/Skoda underneath the skin which is true, but when I owned a few Audis I never thought I had been shorchanged and wish I had gone for a VW instead, it does feel more premium.
For me the Zed saves BMW on its interiorotherwise I would love to be sitting in any Audi in a jam.
Tim.
Maniac said:I don't know who cited the TT as being a car that handles well. It's a rubbish drive, all the excitement and dynamics of a sponge.