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Audi vs BMW

Audi or BMW — what we actually found

Side by side from 149 Audis and 339 BMWs buyers asked us to inspect before purchase. The average car we check scores 61/100.

vs
Head to head
AudiBMW
Cars inspected149339
Average condition63/10067/100
In good shape (60+/100)59%66%
Holds up to (avg dips below decent)~95k mi~101k mi
Repainted or replaced panel74%71%
Structural repair found3%2%
Fault codes recently cleared29%27%

Green = the better number of the pair. Condition reflects the mix of cars that came to us — age, price, model — so treat small gaps as a tie.

How they score
Excellent 27% Good 32% Mediocre 25% Poor 17%
Excellent 33% Good 33% Mediocre 19% Poor 14%
How long do they stay good?
Good cars by mileage
▬ Audi▬ BMW▬ all cars
0 25 50 75 100 Audi, 0–20k mi: 94%, drawn from the nearby bands (13 cars in this band)Audi, 20–40k mi: 91% in good shape (23 cars)Audi, 40–60k mi: 80% in good shape (25 cars)Audi, 60–80k mi: 44% in good shape (27 cars)Audi, 80–100k mi: 39% in good shape (23 cars)Audi, 100–120k mi: 43% in good shape (21 cars)Audi, 120–140k mi: 33% in good shape (9 cars)Audi, 140–160k mi: 23%, drawn from the nearby bands (5 cars in this band) BMW, 0–20k mi: 97% in good shape (33 cars)BMW, 20–40k mi: 98% in good shape (62 cars)BMW, 40–60k mi: 86% in good shape (56 cars)BMW, 60–80k mi: 60% in good shape (55 cars)BMW, 80–100k mi: 49% in good shape (55 cars)BMW, 100–120k mi: 43% in good shape (35 cars)BMW, 120–140k mi: 19% in good shape (21 cars)BMW, 140–160k mi: 11%, drawn from the nearby bands (12 cars in this band) 40k 80k 120k 160k 200k mileage when we inspected it
Good cars by age
▬ Audi▬ BMW▬ all cars
0 25 50 75 100 Audi, 1 years old: 94%, drawn from the nearby bands (9 cars this age)Audi, 2 years old: 93%, drawn from the nearby bands (8 cars this age)Audi, 3 years old: 93%, drawn from the nearby bands (11 cars this age)Audi, 4 years old: 87% in good shape (15 cars)Audi, 5 years old: 81%, drawn from the nearby bands (5 cars this age)Audi, 6 years old: 63%, drawn from the nearby bands (17 cars this age)Audi, 7 years old: 38% in good shape (21 cars)Audi, 8 years old: 50%, drawn from the nearby bands (12 cars this age)Audi, 9 years old: 41%, drawn from the nearby bands (14 cars this age)Audi, 10 years old: 46%, drawn from the nearby bands (7 cars this age)Audi, 11 years old: 43%, drawn from the nearby bands (10 cars this age)Audi, 12 years old: 27%, drawn from the nearby bands (8 cars this age)Audi, 13 years old: 14%, drawn from the nearby bands (6 cars this age) BMW, 1 years old: 98%, drawn from the nearby bands (15 cars this age)BMW, 2 years old: 96% in good shape (26 cars)BMW, 3 years old: 98%, drawn from the nearby bands (15 cars this age)BMW, 4 years old: 100% in good shape (29 cars)BMW, 5 years old: 94% in good shape (32 cars)BMW, 6 years old: 77% in good shape (35 cars)BMW, 7 years old: 58% in good shape (26 cars)BMW, 8 years old: 55% in good shape (29 cars)BMW, 9 years old: 50%, drawn from the nearby bands (19 cars this age)BMW, 10 years old: 52%, drawn from the nearby bands (18 cars this age)BMW, 11 years old: 43%, drawn from the nearby bands (19 cars this age)BMW, 12 years old: 34%, drawn from the nearby bands (19 cars this age)BMW, 13 years old: 18%, drawn from the nearby bands (7 cars this age)BMW, 14 years old: 19%, drawn from the nearby bands (8 cars this age)BMW, 15 years old: 17%, drawn from the nearby bands (10 cars this age) 2y 4y 6y 8y 10y 12y 14y 16y vehicle age when we inspected it

Share in good shape (scoring 60+/100) by mileage and by age when we inspected them (each dot ≥5 cars; a band under 20 cars follows the nearby bands, so a run above the all-cars line stays above it, and a band of 20 or more uses the rate we measured; where a band has too few cars, the line follows the trend between the bands on either side; rolled-back odometers excluded from the mileage curve). Dashed grey = all cars we check.

Most common faults
Oil leaks · Engine
61%
Active error codes · Electronic equipment
42%
Tires condition & wear · Brakes and tires
40%
Fuel trim out of range · Engine
31%
Cracked or torn suspension bushings · Suspension
28%
Oil leaks · Engine
54%
Active error codes · Electronic equipment
37%
Tires condition & wear · Brakes and tires
34%
Low coolant / cooling system issues · Engine
27%
Electronic components issues · Engine
17%
Trajectory by generation
Audi ▲ Newer Audis are holding up better 40% 60% 80% 2012–14: 30% in good shape (age-adjusted; 19 cars, raw 32%) 30 2015–17: 68% in good shape (age-adjusted; 27 cars, raw 63%) 68 2018–20: 59% in good shape (age-adjusted; 25 cars, raw 64%) 59 2009–11 2012–14 2015–17 2018–20 2021+
BMW ▲ Newer BMWs are holding up better 40% 60% 80% 2012–14: 52% in good shape (age-adjusted; 34 cars, raw 53%) 52 2015–17: 67% in good shape (age-adjusted; 48 cars, raw 65%) 67 2018–20: 76% in good shape (age-adjusted; 51 cars, raw 82%) 76 2009–11 2012–14 2015–17 2018–20 2021+

Share in good shape when inspected at the same age (5–10 years, age-adjusted), by model-year generation; dashed = all-brand average. All brands →

Whichever badge wins on paper, the car in front of you is its own story. Get it inspected before you pay.
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Based on 488 inspections · updated Oct 22, 2026