Newbie buying questions / concerns

[EvilDerboy]

Hi everyone,

I've been looking at the site for the past few days soaking up as much info as I can. I'm currently weighing up my options as my current car's lease is due up in April. I drive a Scirocco 2.0GT TSI at the moment (same engine as the Golf GTI) but 10 months ago became the proud father of a baby boy and so the Scirocco is not as practical as I would like.

Anyway with that in mind I'm looking at a fast saloon car as a replacement. Haven't gone so far as to start test driving things or even going to look at them in the metal yet. I'm just starting to have a look at what I can afford.

I'm really drawn to the RS4 for a number of reasons. I think it looks great (better than the newer B8 base model A4) and I really would like to get a bonkers fast, big engined screamer whilst I still can. In addition to the RS4 I'm considering a B8 S4, a Merc C350 Sport (petrol), BMW 335i or last gen BMW M5. RS4 remains at the top of the pile for desirability but I do have a number of concerns and was hoping for some input to help me consider my options.

1. DRC - The failure rate on this really seems quite horrific and I would probably be going for a 2006 or early 2007 car, which means Audi's 5 year DRC warranty will be up. Has anyone had to foot the bill themselves for a repair? How much did it cost? Are there third party or extended Audi warranty schemes that cover the DRC? Anyone have one? Experiences of extended warranty on this car in general would also be helpful.

2. Fuel economy - I'm a little disturbed by some comments that I've read where folk have said that it's been cheaper for them to run a cheap second car than it is to fuel up the RS4 as a daily driver. I do around 6000 miles per year and would be using it every day. My daily commute is mostly motorway/dual carriageway miles with ten minutes of urban. In the Sirocco (which is modestly tuned) I average around 28mpg driving it reasonably hard without abusing it. It costs 65 quid to fill the tank (range 350miles) and I do that every three weeks. So at the moment im around 90 quid a month in fuel. With that in mind what do you think I can expect from the RS4? Would it be feasible to have it as my daily driver? Would my fuel usage go up considerably?

3. Carbon build up - Is it really that much of an issue? I'm pretty much planning to leave the car alone in terms of tuning. Is it a REAL problem or just something that dyno enthusiasts get annoyed about?

4. Cost - I'm planning to pull the trigger on this in April. How do you think that will affect current asking prices? If the it has an impact on the cost gap between the B8 S4 it would further sway me towards the RS.

5. Insurance - Quotes for the saloon are coming in 350 quid higher than the cabriolet. Anyone know the reason for this? Also it's a grand for me to insure an RS4 and only 500 quid for me to insure an S4...

Couple of other things I'm thinking about in comparison to the rest of the cars on my shortlist. The BMW is <beep> in the snow (no one will change my mind on that). For RS4 money I can get a newer Merc. The B7 platform is any old model Vs current gen S4. Merc isn't known for being a drivers car. So you can tell I'm a bit all over the place.

Apologies for the big, question laden first post and I'm still working my way through older threads so sorry if some of my questions have been well covered in the past.

Thanks very much for your help and input.

[HYFR]

1. DRC - as long as you buy one which has had it replaced by V3 DRC it should be ok and few failures
2. Fuel economy should not be an issue for anyone that does 6,000 miles a year considering a V8 .... you will prob get 18mpg on your commute
3. carbon is not an issue ... a healthy car should pull c380-390ps on a dyno .... the difference between that an a factory rated 420 is minimal, and prob on the real road, it gets some of these horses back
4. depends how you buy
5. my insurance doubled going from cab to saloon. answer is the saloon and avant are favoured by criminals, the cab is favoured by gays


the B8 S4 is a great car, in the right spec, and just as fast as the B7 .... just not as special

[sevy]

5. my insurance doubled going from cab to saloon. answer is the saloon and avant are favoured by criminals, the cab is favoured by gays

LOL! That's quality Dave!

[sevy]

2. Fuel economy - I'm a little disturbed by some comments that I've read where folk have said that it's been cheaper for them to run a cheap second car than it is to fuel up the RS4 as a daily driver. I do around 6000 miles per year and would be using it every day. My daily commute is mostly motorway/dual carriageway miles with ten minutes of urban. In the Sirocco (which is modestly tuned) I average around 28mpg driving it reasonably hard without abusing it. It costs 65 quid to fill the tank (range 350miles) and I do that every three weeks. So at the moment im around 90 quid a month in fuel. With that in mind what do you think I can expect from the RS4? Would it be feasible to have it as my daily driver? Would my fuel usage go up considerably?

I use mine as a daily driver..do about 8-9k miles per year. My commute is about 15 miles of country A-road (which tends to move along at a steady 40-60mph) followed by 4 miles of dual carriageway which gives me the chance to floor it & give it the old Italian tune before I get into the office. Over the 2 years I've had mine it averages 23-26 mpg on the commute. Costs me £80ish to fill the tank, and maximum range is 300 miles...so a full tank lasts me about 7 working days (if I don't use the car at the weekend).

Hope that helps...

And for what it's worth, I had similar concerns to you before I bought mine...but it was the best decision I ever made. I can honestly say that even if I've had the worst day at work, I've got a smile on my face by the time I get home cos driving the RS4 is just soooo much fun!

[spikeyboy101]

I had a very similar desion to make - i was going from a modded B6 S4 and thinking about an RS4 or B8 S4.

Toyed with it for a long time - had two test drives in the B8 S4 - then 1 test drive in the RS4 - that was it it had to be the RS4.

Someone put it very well to me - the S4 is a cruiser, the RS4 is a bruiser.

V8 sound track, road holding to die for, cabin that feels just right, looks the nuts, and you get the admiring looks from people around - none of these you get with the B8 S4.

Im not worried about carbon as most opinions are that its not an issue.

DRC i am slightly concerned with, my car is coming up to 5 years, has SS+ and is on the original DRC - no know issues yet - i did take out a two year warranty, but who knows if it will cover the DRC if it fails.

Fuel for me is actually slightly better than my modded B6 S4 - filled her up last week and DIS showed 350 range - on a run im getting around 25 mpg, round town around 18 mpg (S4 gave 22 mpg and 16 mpg)

Who have you tried for insurance ? alot swear by Admiral. Also i was surprised how cheap Aviva were. Im currently with Adrian flux on their modded policy paying around £600

[EvilDerboy]

Thanks for the replies guys.

[EvilDerboy]

Something else to ask. What's the general consensus on where to buy one of these? Obviously it goes without saying that you should give it a thorough going over regardless of where you get it from but, with it being the kind of car that it is, are there any horror stories about buying from an independant showroom rather than a franchised Audi dealership?

[MB2]

Have a look over in the B8 S4 forum but am pretty sure they were getting similar mpg to RS4s despite Audi's claims to the contrary, road tax is less if get the auto version, depreciation I am guessing will be a lot more...although car will be newer of course & still have some warranty left for peace of mind.

[EvilDerboy]

On the subject of depreciation. I'll be looking at a purchase in April next year. Based on how the cars value has been depreciating so far. Can anyone hazard a guess on what an RS4 valued at £24k will be worth then?

[P_G]

EvilDerboy, I am one of the ones running a second car now but just to quantify, I was doing some 350-400 miles a week commuting plus some extra trips to London Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester so in effect £100-120 a week in fuel for normal commute and then some for the longer trips plus weekend spirited driving (so average total £150-160 per week) and I was avergaing 18,-19,000 miles per annum. The RS averaged 23-24 mpg, my SEAT averages 63 mpg which on that amount of miles is a lot of money.

If I was just sub 6k miles per year communting I wouldn't bother with a diesel; some would.

[EvilDerboy]

EvilDerboy, I am one of the ones running a second car now but just to quantify, I was doing some 350-400 miles a week commuting plus some extra trips to London Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester so in effect £100-120 a week in fuel for normal commute and then some for the longer trips plus weekend spirited driving (so average total £150-160 per week) and I was avergaing 18,-19,000 miles per annum. The RS averaged 23-24 mpg, my SEAT averages 63 mpg which on that amount of miles is a lot of money.

If I was just sub 6k miles per year communting I wouldn't bother with a diesel; some would.

Yeah no chance of me looking at diesel. Not doing the miles to benefit. At the moment I'm a bit torn on the financials. For example the cost of a loan for an RS4 over 4 years is the same as a PCP for an S4 (B8). I'm hoping that the price gap between the two (at the vehicle ages that I'm looking at) will have opened up enough to justify going for the RS4.

[ShaneyB]

No brainer. If you buy the S4 and pull up next to a B7 RS4 on a forecourt you'll be gutted.

Buy it!

PS: Mercs & Beemers are equally <beep> in the snow. Had to dig my wife and neighbour's Merc's out during the last downfall.

[EvilDerboy]

No brainer. If you buy the S4 and pull up next to a B7 RS4 on a forecourt you'll be gutted.

Buy it!

PS: Mercs & Beemers are equally <beep> in the snow. Had to dig my wife and neighbour's Merc's out during the last downfall.

To be honest, although some say that the RS4 is starting to look dated, I simply don't see it. I think it looks better than the B8 S4. I also think the interior still looks the business as well. Theres is video on youtube with a couple of brainless American idiots doing a comparison and if it wasn't for the LED DRLs the RS4 would look like the newer model in my opinion (from the outside at least).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkHnH2xs7wE

I think it's going to come down to the financials and how difficult it is to get a hold of a good one. I'd prefer to have a car that I will actually own at the end of it but I don't want to take the loan over so long a period I'm stuck with an ancient car before Im in a position that I have equity in it.