# A4 and TT to 330D and Mini?



## Kell (May 28, 2002)

I've been thinking recently about our two cars (and the fact that the TT has done less than 1,000 miles since this time last year) and wondered if it's really worth running the two of them as they are.

As the A4 Avant gets the most usage (commuter car + long journies to and from Devon and Northumberland) it would make the most sense to make this one a good un.

I can't help but take on board the constant praise that the BMW 330D gets heaped upon it, but a really good one would be about Â£20k (is this right - latest model, newest engine).

We can't really afford to put any money towards an upgrade, so it would need to be both of our current cars to two SH cars - and the bulk of the cash going towards the Bimmer (if we do it). And the remainder going towards somethign that you can get a child seat into the back of, but isstill fun to drive, is relatively new, and has a degree of cache. I've also liked the new mini, and they're not too bad on price now, so that's a possibility.

Now, I haven't spoken to the missus yet, so I've no idea if she'll go for it, but it's just daft having a car in the garage we never use.

If we had the cash, I'd keep the TT and upgrade the A4 to and S4, but money just doesn't allow it.

First of all, I guess I need to work out how much we're playing with with regard to selling ours, then I guess I can work out what we can afford.

Both are fully owned, so whatever we could sell them for would go directly to funding new (SH) cars.

So I guess I need to know how much our current cars are worth:

2002 A4 Avant TDi (non-quattro 155bhp version)
Ming Blue
Full leather throughout
95,000 miles

2002 TTC 225
Brilliant Black
Black leather throughout
33,000 miles.

Any ideas, and also garyc et al. Would I need to go for the most recent 330D to get the uprated engine - ie, what's the oldest (cheapest) one I could buy?

Many thanks in advance.


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## GW1970 (Jul 4, 2005)

Have you tried Glass through Vauxhall's website for a rough valuation? I agree about the 330D, but nothing wrong with your A4. Why not sell the TT and bank the cash? Or upgrade your A4?

Think hard before crossing over to the darkside, although the 'new' Audi front end/grille may make me do that :?


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## Carlos (May 6, 2002)

You don't want to go for a 330d older than May/June 2003, as this is when the 204bhp engine came in.

Oh, and its *imperative *to get the Sport model.


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

GW1970 said:


> Have you tried Glass through Vauxhall's website for a rough valuation? I agree about the 330D, but nothing wrong with your A4. Why not sell the TT and bank the cash? Or upgrade your A4?
> 
> Think hard before crossing over to the darkside, although the 'new' Audi front end/grille may make me do that :?


THought about that - and just getting an S4 Avant - but while we don't need two cars often, we do need two cars.

Normally last minute too, so no 'hiring' of a car.

Also wanted to get rid of the A4 before it gets many more miles on it. I know it will probably be good for it, but once it gets past a certain point, there'll be no buyers and we may as well run it into the ground.



Carlos said:


> You don't want to go for a 330d older than May/June 2003, as this is when the 204bhp engine came in.
> 
> Oh, and its *imperative *to get the Sport model.


Cheers.


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

Not great news (though I know these are trade in prices):

A4:
Part-exchange Price:
Excellent condition:
Â£7600

Average condition:
Â£6840

Below average condition: 
Â£6040

TT:

Part-exchange Price:
Excellent condition:
Â£13400

Average condition:
Â£11950

Below average condition: 
Â£10550

I might pop down to our local Bimmer Dealer this weekend and have a chat.


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## BAMTT (Feb 22, 2004)

Golf GTI :wink: and an old fiesta for the odd occasion you need the 2nd car

Just a thought


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## ag (Sep 12, 2002)

Kell, speak to your wife first. Women are generally not interested in cars and know very little about the relative merits of each make. This may seem like a crude generalisation but the two brands women tend to have strong feelings about are BMW and Skoda. BMW tends to divide women's opinion, whereas most women just don't dig Skoda. You could save yourself a lot of time. The 330d is a great car, however without the sport pack and big wheels they are too understated even for me. With them they look great, but it does undermine their all year, all round abilities. On a wet road a 3 Series will grip at least as well as a front drive A4, probably better. But on snow and stuff the A4 would be better. It may only be twice a year, but you are always 400 miles from home when it happens! The BM is more fun, but will it be reliable?
<Ducks and runs for cover>


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## GW1970 (Jul 4, 2005)

Kell said:


> GW1970 said:
> 
> 
> > Have you tried Glass through Vauxhall's website for a rough valuation? I agree about the 330D, but nothing wrong with your A4. Why not sell the TT and bank the cash? Or upgrade your A4?
> ...


High mileage I take it?

I'd go for another A4, late B6 Sport (bit like mine!)

Get the wife a Yaris/Honda Jazz - great little cars that will do for a second motor/runaround.

If you were going to sell your TT though, I would have done it earlier this year TBH, with the new model and all. [smiley=thumbsup.gif]


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

Carlos said:


> You don't want to go for a 330d older than May/June 2003, as this is when the 204bhp engine came in.
> 
> Oh, and its *imperative *to get the Sport model.


I had a May build 03 plate sport Touring which I think was one of first 204hp 6 speeds shipped.

Concur with Carl re: sport model. SE not as good a package. With the new model out, Â£17K-Â£20K should see you in something decent. I would go with a BMW dealer and pay more for the warranty. Turbos can occasionally fail around 70-80K miles mark, and diffs can get clonky if they have been caned hard. But they are tough cars and give good if serviced properly. Service history shouldnt be an issue since most would have been sold with the free 60K miles BMW diesel service package.

Mind you, you could alsways get a tidy Mki bi turbo S4 avant for Â£17K, but the 330d when tuned is very little slower to the S4 I ran, and, I still prefer the 330d to drive, plus there is more rear leg room than in A4.

Take a longer test drive on mixed roads.


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

GW1970 said:


> *High mileage I take it? *
> 
> I'd go for another A4, late B6 Sport (bit like mine!)
> 
> ...


You could say that:



Kell said:


> 2002 A4 Avant TDi (non-quattro 155bhp version)
> Ming Blue
> Full leather throughout
> *95,000 miles*


I think the best thing to do is as I said above really. Get down the Beemer dealer and see what I think. Our local one is a big place, but they don't have a 330d touring in stock.

They do have a 330Cd though, so that would give us an idea about that engine in that car. They also have several Tourings in stock so we could get a feel for general size.


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

ag said:


> Kell, speak to your wife first. Women are generally not interested in cars and know very little about the relative merits of each make. >


I think you'd definitely get a slap for that. My wife loves cars.


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## GW1970 (Jul 4, 2005)

Kell said:


> GW1970 said:
> 
> 
> > *High mileage I take it? *
> ...


330d is certainly a great choice - but I think you might miss that certain 'Audi-ness'. To most folk - a 330d is another 3 series on the road, which sells in vast quantities.

Then again so does the A4 

Still I'll find it hard to move on from Audi (in spite of the stealers)...


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## gcp (Aug 8, 2002)

Go drive a 330d, thats what matters.

Although the E46 maybe considered long in the tooth etc. by the usual dark side knockers its still a fantastic drive.

Thinking of changing mine within the next 6 months or so, just waiting on test driving the 335 variants.


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## Carlos (May 6, 2002)

There is a 330d Sport Touring in Silver Grey parks in the station car park. It's identical to the one I have. I covet it every time I walk past. In Sport guise I think it still looks bang up to date, and significantly better than the new one. Time, I suspect, will not be so kind. Soon it will start looking its age.


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## jdn (Aug 26, 2002)

Carlos said:


> There is a 330d Sport Touring in Silver Grey parks in the station car park. *It's identical to the one I have*. *I covet it* every time I walk past. In Sport guise I think it still looks bang up to date, and significantly better than the new one. Time, I suspect, will not be so kind. Soon it will start looking its age.


How can you covet something you already have?


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## GW1970 (Jul 4, 2005)

jdn said:


> Carlos said:
> 
> 
> > There is a 330d Sport Touring in Silver Grey parks in the station car park. *It's identical to the one I have*. *I covet it* every time I walk past. In Sport guise I think it still looks bang up to date, and significantly better than the new one. Time, I suspect, will not be so kind. Soon it will start looking its age.
> ...


Maybe he wants two, something for the weekend sir?


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## ag (Sep 12, 2002)

Kell said:


> ag said:
> 
> 
> > Kell, speak to your wife first. Women are generally not interested in cars and know very little about the relative merits of each make. >
> ...


Even more reason to speak to her first!

Like most respectful and loving partners I let my other half chose the car _and_ the colour! She got the colour wrong. Whereas when I last chose, I got the car wrong.


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

Well - if we have time this weekend we're going to go look at the local dealer.

Assuming we can't get the 330d because funds won't allow, what's a good alternative? Don't really want the 320d, but they've got a gorgeous looking 325i Touring for just under 15k. (Well, nice apart from the colour.)

Click


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## clived (May 6, 2002)

Kell, has your DMS'd 535d experience stuck with you and is now revealing itself?


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

clived said:


> Kell, has your DMS'd 535d experience stuck with you and is now revealing itself?


Indeed. In fact I think I said at the time how impressed I was.

Still makes me wonder why both you and Clarkson got rid of them so quickly though.


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## GW1970 (Jul 4, 2005)

Kell said:


> Well - if we have time this weekend we're going to go look at the local dealer.
> 
> Assuming we can't get the 330d because funds won't allow, what's a good alternative? Don't really want the 320d, but they've got a gorgeous looking 325i Touring for just under 15k. (Well, nice apart from the colour.)
> 
> Click


Looks lovely..could you debadge it and noone would know the difference? Don't know enough about the 'subtleties' of Beemers (if one can use that word when talking about BMW! :wink: )


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## Carlos (May 6, 2002)

jdn said:


> Carlos said:
> 
> 
> > There is a 330d Sport Touring in Silver Grey parks in the station car park. *It's identical to the one I have*. *I covet it* every time I walk past. In Sport guise I think it still looks bang up to date, and significantly better than the new one. Time, I suspect, will not be so kind. Soon it will start looking its age.
> ...


Sorry, had. Had.


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

Carlos said:


> jdn said:
> 
> 
> > Carlos said:
> ...


Well the design is 8 years old now and I would say that the 330 coupe m sport still looks quite fresh and svelte, if not a little too familiar.

But it is still a really good drive - right up there with any Audi, and that's what really counts.


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

Went. And unfortunately, they were too busy to let me drive anything without and appointment.

However, it turns out that the visit was worthwhile. Sort of.

I've been trying to persuade the missus that a 330d would be the way to go for some time, but having visited the site she's decided that she's definitely an Audi girl.

The Mini is a possibility, but any replacement for the A4 looks likely to have four rings on the front.

So, thank you to everyone for their time, but it looks like we won't be switching to the Bavarian Bahn Storming 330d after all. Yet.


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## GW1970 (Jul 4, 2005)

Kell said:


> any replacement for the A4 looks likely to have four rings on the front.


Sounds like a very level headed lady. What are your views on the front end of the B7? It's a bit marmite..
:roll:


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## BAMTT (Feb 22, 2004)

Or Marmite

Funny that Mrs B won't entertain the idea of a BMW she calls them Big Mens Windows or something :?: [smiley=rolleyes5.gif] [smiley=vulcan.gif]


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## GW1970 (Jul 4, 2005)

BAMTT said:


> Or Marmite
> 
> [smiley=rolleyes5.gif] [smiley=vulcan.gif]


Sorry old chap!


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## BAMTT (Feb 22, 2004)

No probs the [smiley=rolleyes5.gif] [smiley=vulcan.gif] was aimed at Mrs B though :lol:


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## CH_Peter (May 16, 2002)

Kell said:


> Went. And unfortunately, they were too busy to let me drive anything without and appointment.
> 
> However, it turns out that the visit was worthwhile. Sort of.
> 
> ...


I drove a 330d a while ago, pondering changing the A4 (a chipped 1.9Tdi). Sure, the drive was superior in so many ways, but its uninspiring looks inside and out and the fact that is didn't feel much pokier didn't give me reason enough to change. I mean, we have a nice spec A4 (sat nav, cruise and plenty of other options) that's caused us no grief. It would have to be nice to want to change and to get that nice, refined Audi feeling, it could only be another Audi. Still, horses for courses - what do you want from the car? The A4 gets us quietly and comfortably from a to b. I don't want anything more from it.

As for TT to Mini, well, that's much more of a dilemma. The Mini is an utterly fantastic drive, with poise and balance without peer. An earlier Cooper S can be had for the same money you would sell the TT for. Throw Â£500 at it, and you can be getting on for 200bhp and it's a right little pocket rocket and really great fun. Far more fun that the TT. What you don't get is gorgeous looks in and out and Audi refinement again. You get "fun toy car". But for short trips to town and blasting around back roads, the Mini wins every time. It just isn't the "experience" that the TT is. It isn't the same place to sit and it certainly doesn't feel special - but they're two very, very different cars and you must go drive one and decide which you like better overall.


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## sandhua1978 (Sep 11, 2006)

Owned a 330d sport and driven a Cooper S works both great cars and provide a lot of fun!

330d is good all rounder!

Cooper s is pocket rocket that will always bring a smile on your face!


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## pignog (Aug 26, 2006)

I've a 2003 Cooper S which I'm selling to buy a TTC225.
It's fully spec'd with full leather, sunroof, sat nav etc etc so feels luxurious inside.
We could do a deal!


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