Shopping for Rs4s is scary... anyone know this car Y465 YRS

[Contigo]

Avoid like the plague!

[Hiltoa]

I looked at the 'Steel Blue' (lol) - 'NO MORE TIMEWASTERS' is rich coming from them when they did a excellent job of wasting my time when they realised I knew a bit about what I was looking at.
The fact the seller suggested I look at the one I eventually bought before having a test drive in his suggests there's more nastiness to find than the obvious stuff I'd noticed without driving it...

I wouldn't recommend this one unless you get it silly cheap, and factor in a good chunk extra to make sure it's right again.

[davs4]

I have just bought my Black RS4 from a forum member, IMHO the safest option.

[kn9]

Here's one just on the market:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/678369.htm

Seems prices are in freefall?

[mattsimis]

I have just bought my Black RS4 from a forum member, IMHO the safest option.

Hardly.
I bought my S4 from a forum member and it had been looked over by other forums members. It had some serious manifold problems I was able to identify by description and a boost leak despite being given a clean bill of health "by the forum" just before I bought it. The "forum" also was keen to push up the price of the car to preserve their own car values.

I could put it right of course, wasnt the end of the world, but just because someone can open a web browser and spew their opinions on a forum (any forum) doesnt mean their car is actually any good.

[jmn]

I have been looking for an RS4 but have decided to leave it for the time being following advice from a friend who has been in the motor trade for over 30 years.
He has told me that anything with a big engine and/or low fuel efficiency is, at the moment, just about impossible to sell. This seems to be the case, judging by the number of RS4s (and other performance cars) which have been for sale on various websites for a long time.
The particular example he has given me, which envolved a 6 litre Vauxhall Monaro on an 06 plate, with just under 15k miles was frightening. The owner of this particular vehicle needs to sell but has not managed to get a p/ex figure of more than £14k against the more economical vehicle that he now needs.
I just cannot afford to lose thousands of pounds on a second hand car which may have the occasional expensive maintenance bill.
Hopefully things will improve when the outlook for the GB economy is a little brighter...

[S25MRS]

I didn't realise we HAD to purchase a particular car for sale via here if the other forum members said it was OK?? I'd say it was a pretty risky thing to buy something purely on the say-so of people you've never met - it's your cash, afterall.

I reckon the best way do to buy is do what the buyer of my Black RS4 did...... have a good look at it, take it for a half decent drive, KNOW what you're looking at (if not, take a professional along), talk money, and everyones happy - Cheers, you know who you are

I'm amazed (and glad) that this Red/Black/Whatever-colour-it-is-this-week, Y465 YRS thing is still for sale - just hope someone only pays what its actually worth when it finally goes.

All IMO obviously

[neckarsulm]

He has told me that anything with a big engine and/or low fuel efficiency is, at the moment, just about impossible to sell. This seems to be the case, judging by the number of RS4s (and other performance cars) which have been for sale on various websites for a long time.

I sold my B5 within two days of advertising it and it wasn't cheap, it was to a friend of a friend but it was on Autotrader where he saw it so it's not all doom and gloom.
I think the B5 should be pretty safe in the long term as they are a low volume car with a high profile and and 2.7 isn't that big for a car with supercar performance.
B7s seem knackered as the owners seem to have bought them on HP based upon their earnings before the economic slow down (eg Estate Agents) and are off loading them at the same time and the people who would buy them second hand are also feeling the pinch so little demand, then we have cost of fuel and the road tax BS and the relatively high number of B7s that were sold and you can see why it's a bit of (Phantom) Black Monday for their residuals.
That Monaro does not sound that bad for a V8, how much was it new, £30k?
I have just bought an 06 R32 with 33k for half its new price i.e. and that should be a safer place for your dosh than a V8 Vauxhall but for cars like these things are not good.
However surely it's the time to buy as cars seem to have lost so much in such a short time, they have to bottom out soon?

[RS4_Schumi]

Agree Neckarsulm. You're looking to see a Porsche "993" type effect with regard to B5 residuals. Personally, though I'm obviously biased, I think that's exactly what is playing out.

[davs4]

I have just bought my Black RS4 from a forum member, IMHO the safest option.

Hardly.
I bought my S4 from a forum member and it had been looked over by other forums members. It had some serious manifold problems I was able to identify by description and a boost leak despite being given a clean bill of health "by the forum" just before I bought it. The "forum" also was keen to push up the price of the car to preserve their own car values.

I could put it right of course, wasnt the end of the world, but just because someone can open a web browser and spew their opinions on a forum (any forum) doesnt mean their car is actually any good.

If you purchased a car from the "Forum" and could diagnose the faults yourself and rectify them, surely that puts you in stronger position to:
a, Walkaway or
b, Deduct the cost of the work required into the sale price
I did the exact same thing, knowing what I was purchasing and what work was required before finalising a price in both parties favour. The "Forum" were not present at the test drive nor at the purchase, however information gleened from using the "Forum" was there

[mattsimis]

If you purchased a car from the "Forum" and could diagnose the faults yourself and rectify them, surely that puts you in stronger position to:
a, Walkaway or
b, Deduct the cost of the work required into the sale price
I did the exact same thing, knowing what I was purchasing and what work was required before finalising a price in both parties favour. The "Forum" were not present at the test drive nor at the purchase, however information gleened from using the "Forum" was there

This is exactly what I did (deduct price), I didnt claim otherwise.

I think its pretty obvious my point is that buying from the forum means little more than buying from anyone else. There are people here with a vested and clear interest in maintaining the price of their investments, which leads them to artificially suggest inflated prices.

And yes, people from the forum did claim to have test drove the car I bought, but as above, I got a fair deal on it and yes, the wealth of knowledge a forum offers helped my position as a buyer. However members of any car forum rarely offer genuine and unbiased car valuations if they happen to be looking at the same model outside their window. There is no need to skirt around this, this is a reality.

[Contigo]

Here's one just on the market:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/678369.htm

Seems prices are in freefall?

It's a 100k car though, so I think the price reflects the mileage and probably overall condition. I reckon you can add 1000 pounds per 10k miles under that, so as a guide a 50k car will be worth 20k pounts. Obviously this depends on condition too.

[Rs4Fan]

I have been looking for an RS4 but have decided to leave it for the time being following advice from a friend who has been in the motor trade for over 30 years.

I just cannot afford to lose thousands of pounds on a second hand car which may have the occasional expensive maintenance bill.
Hopefully things will improve when the outlook for the GB economy is a little brighter...

Frankly, if you're sensitive to the occasional astronomical maintenance bills and depreciation, the RS4 simply isn't for you. You're looking at close to supercar territory performance and that's simply not cheap to maintain or in any way economically justifyable.

You might want to try a Porsche 964 or 993. They no longer depreciate and the maintenance bills are less.

[rsmonkey918]

Oh guys here we go again.... the bottom line is that RS4's demand some commitment both in buying, running and sticking out the so-called credit crunch. If you bought to cash in at some unspecified time in the future you bought for the wrong reason, 25k for a six+ year old car with 60k+ miles on the clock is not rsational and as a few people have mentioned above, it wouldn't be the first car to suffer a crisis of conscience from owners. Totally agree with the opinion on the B7- limited edition but not exclusive to anything like the same degree as the B5 and bought by a few who maybe thought it was a second generation classic. My dream car was a Porsche 20 years ago- not any more- everyone and his dog has got one- I like unusual motors which is why I've just bought my second Smart- a Brabus with 3k on the clock and £4.5k of receipted upgrades on a '07 plate that cost £12.5k standard- for under 10k on fleabay! Not everyones cup of tea but an illustration of how things can change over time. No chance of me selling the RS- its just too special and with MRC doing the maintenance its a bit easier on the pocket- anyone hear about some garages gouging you for £200/hour???
And finally.......Audi southwest in Exeter tried to extricate £1100 for replacing two rear suspension linkages/rose joints on the gf's 225ttQ as one of them had split the top suspension arm- subject of a recall in 2001- done in 2002 but using the same faulty design rather than the new rubber type. Mileage sir? 105,000. Age Sir? 8 years of fully stamped up dealer services. Response- I'm sorry Sir we don't really care for your sort in here now we area premium brand thanks to you eight years ago- so get bent. So I did- put it thru my mates garage in Exmouth -£155 for parts, 2.5 hrs labour @ £40/hour- you do the math. Wankers.

[derdle]

He has told me that anything with a big engine and/or low fuel efficiency is, at the moment, just about impossible to sell. This seems to be the case, judging by the number of RS4s (and other performance cars) which have been for sale on various websites for a long time.

The B5 RS4 has a "small" engine by comparison at only 2671cc. It isn't too bad on fuel either - especially if you compare it with cars of similar performance that rely on large engine cc rather than turbos. If you buy a pre March 2001 model then it won't have a recognised CO2 rating and therefore not be subject the the road fund licence price escaltor over the next two years.