RS4 Avant - Buying Advice Please

[DoctorD]

That sounds like it, but then again aren't most dealerships the same...?

[mrdeli]

Congrats on a great choice on colour - the blue and Optics look great. My brother had craigb b remove the dash cradle. I think he charged about £120 - it involved replacing the plastic that covers the transmission tunnel etc. It took him about 20 mins from start to finish - and everything was a perfect match. All functionality of the kit is retained, except for the potential to charge the phone from the cradle (as if you would have a phone that Audi made a cradle for anyhow!).

It is worth noting that many phones do not not function fully with the Audi system - by that I mean that many phone will connect and will allow making and receiving calls, but will NOT offer further features such as allowing access to the phonebook, display a callers name, offer last dialled numbers etc.. Nokia N series phones or nokia symbian based phones do NOT connect with advanced features.

I did quite alot of research on this - there is no answer for Nokia Symbian users.

I changed phones in the end - Sony Erricson phones work A1 - I use a Sony k810i - and after swearing I could not be bothered with anything but nokia, a few days later I was 'Sonyized'. The k810i functions perfectly and offers all features on the Audi system.

Anyhow - congrats on your new motor! Mark

[mrdeli]

PS. On the Audi Sat Nav Screen, make sure it is set to say RS4 when you turn on. My car and my brothers (as with many others on here) was set to just show the standard Audi screen. It is just a matter of the dealer selecting the right setting on the pdi, but they often seem to miss this. It's no big deal, but it's nice to see the RS4 logo appear when you turn on.

[Jezzer]

Beautiful looking car Steve, this is the colour and spec I would have liked but I was too impatient last September and bought the first one I could get my hands on. Did you sell the ML63 or are you planning on keeping it for a little while longer?

[DoctorD]

Beautiful looking car Steve, this is the colour and spec I would have liked but I was too impatient last September and bought the first one I could get my hands on. Did you sell the ML63 or are you planning on keeping it for a little while longer?

It is a struggle to bring myself to sell the ML63, it's basically a supercar in an SUV body and very special (despite the depreciation).

Instead I am selling my Z4M Coupe and will use the RS4 as a daily driver.

[PP]

Good choice Steve

[Gareth]

Hello Steve

Got your email and apologies for not responding as yet. Might have something to do with being swamped as we have so many clients getting their new cars from Saturday 1st!!

Funnily enough a great many of them are brand new RS4's....

Gareth

[DoctorD]

I couldn't get mine delivered on Saturday, so will have to wait until next week. We do get a nice new TT to play with as consolation though...

p.s. what's your view Gareth, are we buying these RS4s at the right time, or with the new (bloated) A4 arriving next year will we see B7s looking a little 'old hat'?

[audijohn]

A great time to but doc, nice choice of colour.

[mac4RS]

are we buying these RS4s at the right time, or with the new (bloated) A4 arriving next year will we see B7s looking a little 'old hat'?

The B5 RS4 still looks great, these cars have a unique look to them and I'm sure this will be retained for many years to come.

[mac4RS]

I couldn't get mine delivered on Saturday, so will have to wait until next week.

PS - Doc - will you be going to the Audi International Day @ Castle Combe (Wilts) in Oct (13th) ? There will quite a few of us there (see thread on Trackdays and Meets).

Mac

[PP]

..... are we buying these RS4s at the right time, or with the new (bloated) A4 arriving next year will we see B7s looking a little 'old hat'?

IMO It's not the wrong time to buy the car if you have a need for it and are going to enjoy it. The B7 is unlikely to retain the charismatic look of the RS2 and so when the new RS4 arrives (to follow the E92 M3 CSL), clearly that will dent residuals so a £35k car (a bit like the M3 CSL) a year from now is looking realistic. Great buy at that price.

Gareth???

[mac4RS]

The B7 is unlikely to retain the charismatic look of the RS2

I should have probably added that the unique look extends also to the RS2 & 6. All these cars just look something special, and time will just add to this, as they are fairly rare now and will become so in the future.

From a personal view, I have never driven a car where I have people young and old have stopped & pointed at my car so much. Probably it doesn't help that it is in Sprint Blue. My wife finds this quite amusing, as she says " this is not a Lambo or Ferrari - it's just a estate car", albeit quite a nice one.

Future classics??

Mac

[Norrs2]

[/quote]


Future classics??

Mac[/quote]

All RS's are current, as well as future classics, due to their low numbers (especially RS2 (180) & B5 RS4 (400ish)) and they are very different to mainstream Audi's.

[Gareth]

I couldn't get mine delivered on Saturday, so will have to wait until next week. We do get a nice new TT to play with as consolation though...

p.s. what's your view Gareth, are we buying these RS4s at the right time, or with the new (bloated) A4 arriving next year will we see B7s looking a little 'old hat'?

Hi Steve

So the TT came early-or is it a loaner? Yes, you are buying the RS4 at the right time-hence the reason I bought one too!!!

The main sports/GT cars of interest for our clients right now-and have been for the last 3-6 months- are;

Audi RS4 saloon and avant
Porsche 997C2S
Audi TT Coupe and Roadster
E92 M3
E60 M5

all in the £25k-£55k range. For the £55k-£100k range it's;

997GT3/RS/TT
AM V8
R8

Outside of these main cars there is very little else that people want to, or are, inclined to buy.

With the RS4 there are a number of Porsche/BMW owners who I have convinced (and forced!!) to test the Saloon and/or Avant extensively and as a result a number have turned their back on the M5/M3/997 and settled for the RS4 as a "one stop solution"

Given that strength of demand relative to poor supply (of new or good, late cars) that trend of retaining value can only be maintained.

I think the new shape B8 A4 will make the B7 RS4 look a little dated in ways (interior/lights/specification and options) but to me that will only add to the charm, not detract from it.

Good colour choice too Steve