Buying at the 'wrong' end of the market- tips?

[Coaster]

Autoprestige cars in Yorkshire have advertised quite a few cheap RS4s and the one I called about was uber high mileage but not mentioned in the ad. I looked at that Avus car online when first advertised as I really like cloth seats and not a fan of leather but decided not for me. I think they usually sell cars that have something wrong with them so the question is this: is the cloth interior the ONLY reason for the low price? If so and you're planning to keep it for a good few years then go for it.

[The_Coat]

But.... having said all that, you might want to search for peoples' experience with that dealer on this forum first.....

Thanks, it's game over for that one then! I will do like 99% of the posters say, and "avoid like the plague". Wow, what a reputation!

I called these guys up when I was looking and I have never spoken to someone so rude and unhelpful. After the call I looked them up on google and then on here and I was shocked that they are still in business.

[kmpowell]

Quick question re Flat Bottom steering wheel...

I've seen a low milage '07 car that I'm interested in, but it doesn't have the flat bottom steering wheel, which seemed odd as it has all the other options boxes ticked. I've done a bit of research and deduced that were two types of Bluetooth?

- Bluetooth with slab of ugly plastic attached to the console - flat bottom steering wheel was available
- Bluetooth without slab of ugly plastic attached to the console - flat bottom steering wheel wasn't available

I'm presume it's the high v low option, but what's the difference and why can't you have the FBSW with the latter?

Thanks [again!] in advance.

[Coaster]

FBSW was standard and unrelated to BT and phone options. The MFSW was an option. I would not let this stop you. The FBSW is nothing to get excited about- see my other thread on the topic.

[kmpowell]

FBSW was standard and unrelated to BT and phone options. The MFSW was an option.

Hmmm, that's interesting. I knew the FBSW was an option, but on all the cars I've seen with bluetooth that doesn't have the slab on the dash, they've not had the FBSW, and there have been a few comments to say that was connected.

So what's the technical difference between the two BT systems?

[andre3k]

FBSW was standard and unrelated to BT and phone options. The MFSW was an option. I would not let this stop you. The FBSW is nothing to get excited about- see my other thread on the topic.

This is wrong info I think.

[andre3k]

Quick question re Flat Bottom steering wheel...

I've seen a low milage '07 car that I'm interested in, but it doesn't have the flat bottom steering wheel, which seemed odd as it has all the other options boxes ticked. I've done a bit of research and deduced that were two types of Bluetooth?

- Bluetooth with slab of ugly plastic attached to the console - flat bottom steering wheel was available
- Bluetooth without slab of ugly plastic attached to the console - flat bottom steering wheel wasn't available

I'm presume it's the high v low option, but what's the difference and why can't you have the FBSW with the latter?

Thanks [again!] in advance.

I expect PetrolDave will chime in on this in a bit, but don't confuse bluetooth with telephone prep. All cars as far as I'm aware with telephone prep had bluetooth capability as standard, however telephone integration was either as you've suggested: a dash cradle & FBSW or in the armrest with MFSW.

[kmpowell]

All cars as far as I'm aware with telephone prep had bluetooth capability as standard, however telephone integration was either as you've suggested: a dash cradle & FBSW or in the armrest with MFSW.

I see, that makes sense then, and ties in with what I've seen...

So, basic telephone bluetooth was standard, then if you wanted a cradle there were two options; a) High, on dash with slab of plastic or b) Low, in armrest (which incidentally this car has got so I've asked them to confirm if it has a cradle in it).

I wonder why you couldn't spec a FBSW with the low prep?

[kmpowell]

Just found the original brochures in PDF form...

there's no mention of Bluetooth in the standard equipment list, only two cost options which backs up my theory re the multi function wheel...

"GSM mobile telephone preparation on dashboard, with hands-free function, Bluetooth interface, charger and roof aerial for
optimal reception. Can be operated via a multi-function steering wheel, if ordered. A phone adapter is required at extra cost.
Please see your Audi Centre for phone compatibility and full details - Total RRP inc. VAT £400.00"

"GSM mobile telephone preparation in front centre armrest, with hands-free function, Bluetooth interface, charger and roof aerial for
optimal reception. A phone adapter is required at extra cost. Please see your Audi Centre for phone compatibility and full details.
Only available in combination with 3-spoke Sports part-perforated leather multi-function steering wheel - Total RRP inc. VAT £400.00"

[kmpowell]

So with that one solved, on to the next anomaly that I could use your assistance on... the Avant I am looking at has the bigger Cabriolet style door mirrors. The dealer says the car has the "Door-mirrors – electrically folding Total RRP inc. VAT £120" option, which meant the normal mirrors were substituted for the bigger cab style... true or false, does anybody here have the electric folding mirrors who can substantiate that?

Thanks again

[nij]

So with that one solved, on to the next anomaly that I could use your assistance on... the Avant I am looking at has the bigger Cabriolet style door mirrors. The dealer says the car has the "Door-mirrors – electrically folding Total RRP inc. VAT £120" option, which meant the normal mirrors were substituted for the bigger cab style... true or false, does anybody here have the electric folding mirrors who can substantiate that?

This is true, it will also allow memory setting with auto dip, though not many would choose this option as it's a normal A4 mirror. RS4 mirrors is fixed with no memory option.

[kmpowell]

So with that one solved, on to the next anomaly that I could use your assistance on... the Avant I am looking at has the bigger Cabriolet style door mirrors. The dealer says the car has the "Door-mirrors – electrically folding Total RRP inc. VAT £120" option, which meant the normal mirrors were substituted for the bigger cab style... true or false, does anybody here have the electric folding mirrors who can substantiate that?

This is true, it will also allow memory setting with auto dip, though not many would choose this option as it's a normal A4 mirror. RS4 mirrors is fixed with no memory option.

Thanks for that! Well the anomalies are falling one by one, which is great. At this rate it looks like it could be the car! Just a few more things to check out, and a visit to inspect to see if it really is as good as it looks in the pics.

I'm sure I'll be back tonight/tomorrow with more questions!

[PetrolDave]

I expect PetrolDave will chime in on this in a bit.

1) There were two factory phone options:
- cradle on the dash, which came with the FBSW (as the phone can be controlled from the cradle).
- cradle in the centre console, which came with the MFSW (as you can't reach the phone to control it).
2) The Audi phone modules come with BT as standard, so if you've got an AUdi phone module then you've got BT.
3) Many people retrofitted the Audi phone kit in BT only form (no antenna amplifier), those have no cradle anywhere and the phone must be controlled using the RNS-E.

[kmpowell]

Thanks for that. Probably a stupid question but given the car im considering has the armrest bluetooth cradle and MFSW, does the phone have to be plugged into the cradle in order for the MFSW controls to work, or can I answer etc without it being snapped in place (in my pocket or a cubby side pocket)?

[PetrolDave]

does the phone have to be plugged into the cradle in order for the MFSW controls to work?

So long as the phone has paired over Bluetooth the MFSW controls will work, there's no need for it to be in the cradle (many phones cannot be plugged into the cradle as Audi don't sell adapters for many phones) .