Choice of B7 RS4 Avants? Which one?

[Pistolpete2543]

Hello all,

just joined this forum as it seems to be the best source of info for all things B7 RS4! I have been considering and searching for a B7 RS4 Avant for a couple of months now, and have come across the following 2 cars. Just wondered if any of you might know the cars (might be difficult as the number plates are not shown), or have any experience of dealing with either SK Performance or Fontain Motors. I live in Northern Ireland and Avant RS4's are like hens teeth, so regardless of the vehicle I will have to travel to England/Scotland/Wales to purchase.

http://www.skperformance.co.uk/detail/A ... tro/121848

http://www.fontain.co.uk/audi-rs4-avant ... ar-4149664

Both cars seem to be very similar in 1 owner, FASH, buckets, FBSW, mileages are virtually identical.....yet the SK Performance car is £2500 cheaper than the Fontain one.

Finally, are there any Northern Ireland members on here who would advise on a good Specialist to service and work on a B7 RS4 without having to use Belfast Audi who have not been great in my previous experience.

Many thanks for any help at this stage
Peter

[Surrey Sam]

Well from first glance the SKP Phantom Black car doesn't have the - Auto dimming rear view mirror with light/rain sensors and coming home function options, which they advertise it with. You can see clearly from the pictures that the interior mirror doesn't have the optical light sensor and there is only one switch located beneath the headlight switch which is for the DRL's and thus no coming home light switch. Also, as that one is an 07 plate it's also worth checking out that it has the Adaptive Headlights as described because the feature became a cost option that wasn't included with the nav/tech package which was available on earlier cars.

[MartayMcFly]

Grey > black

[Ian_C]

Agreed Sam - the SKP advert is clearly just a copy-and-paste from somewhere else....

"Sports suspension plus" when its riding like an S line / S4
"GSM mobile phone prep in frnt centre armrest" when the phone cradle is on the dash
"Electric front Recaro Sports seats with front side airbags" when it clearly has buckets

[Pistolpete2543]

Yeah I agree I would prefer grey to black, but certainly not for a £2.5k premium.

SK Performance seem to have sold a lot of RS4's so this is probably why the advert has some errors if its a copy and paste job. I guess that is lazy on their part. I have e-mailed them asking for more info on the service history and warranty work etc. If I get the reg number, perhaps somebody on here might know the car and its history.

Thanks for the info so far. I don't think the missing spec items would put me off really, I would just want a good straight example as long as its got the buckets and FBSW....and for me 1 owner and FASH are big plus points.

[Surrey Sam]

Yes good spots Ian C

______________________________

Full service history certainly has some credence, however I really wouldn't limit yourself by the number of owners. It means nothing...judge a car by just by what is there in front of you.

In fact, I'd wager that a car with a new owner every year, gets lavished with more money than a car with the same owner for 5 years. All the single owner cars I viewed in 8 months of searching a few years back were tired compared to the multiple owner examples.

If I see anything come through the Wilsons auctions when I'm over in NI, then I'll drop you a note. Goodluck

[MikeFish]

I'm with Sam, multiple owners is a good thing; the longer someone owns a car the more it gets neglected. We all treat new cars better; unusually though I probably treat and treasure my RS4 more now than when I first got it. Odd.

[Pistolpete2543]

I hear what you are saying with regards to multiple owners vs single owner....although I don't necessarily agree.

My current car is a 57 plate Mk5 Golf Gti which I have owned since 2008, it has only 41k miles from new with a full VW SH...serviced every 12 months/3000 miles during my ownership and has been cherished regardless of cost. It still looks factory fresh now....I'm talking myself out of selling it now!!! Perhaps I am the exception to the norm....if I had any good cars in my own country to look at I would have a better idea of what is out there...the only B7 RS4 Avant currently for sale in Northern Ireland is a black 3 owner 2007 vehicle with 53k miles at Hollybrook Prestige Cars in Lisburn...lovely motor but he's looking £27k.

My options are very limited. I also keep an eye on Wilsons Auctions to see if anything comes through but never seen an RS model yet. Still waiting to hear back from SKP on their car for sale.

[Ian_C]

....and for me 1 owner and FASH are big plus points.

Given that the advert is copied and pasted, I bet that car isn't "one owner from new". Its most probably one previous owner. Or more. Certainly wouldn't take the advert as gospel without seeing the V5!

Edit - just noticed the advert says "Double glazing" - WTF - definitely not available on the B7 - thats for A8s and optional on very select models like the C5 RS6

[MartayMcFly]

....and for me 1 owner and FASH are big plus points.

Given that the advert is copied and pasted, I bet that car isn't "one owner from new". Its most probably one previous owner. Or more. Certainly wouldn't take the advert as gospel without seeing the V5!

Edit - just noticed the advert says "Double glazing" - WTF - definitely not available on the B7 - thats for A8s and optional on very select models like the C5 RS6

Double glazing was absolutely a £400 option on B7 RS4s.

[Ian_C]

Didn't know it was back available as an option! Although with the rest of the lies in the advert, it's probably best to take with a pinch of salt before seeing in the flesh!

[Spectre]

I got mine from Fontain - they know their stuff regarding RS4's and mine has been just fine.

[Cabar Feidh]

Double glazing def an option - I have it on mine. Pretty scarce though. Can see the middle laminate layer
when looking at edge of the glass. Can't say I notice any difference but it may come in handy if someone tried to break in.

Mike

[drmanhattan]

I'm considering selling mine early in the new year if you want to add another potential car to your list!

I've been keeping an eye on Autotrader prices but it doesn't seem like there are a lot of them being shifted at the moment so even if you're not interested in mine (or I decide not to sell it) it might help give you some useful information to use as a benchmark against others!

[Pistolpete2543]

Thanks drmanhattan, I'd definitely be waiting for the right car so will wait and see what comes up in January...if that includes your own then I will of course consider all options.

Prices seem to vary considerably for what look like similar spec/age/mileage etc. My problem is not having the luxury of just taking a drive to view any that are worth a look...for me it will be flights across the water.

There are a few really lovely sprint blue avants around the Belfast area...if one of these ever came up I'd be straight onto it.