RS4 advice please guys!

[Jamesk]

Hello!

I am a long time admirer of the "uber" saloon/estate's and am in the process of buying. I currently drive a BMW540i which in fairness is a great car but only a saloon and not really large enough for my young family.

I would very much like an RS6 as I love V8's and the extra size would be handy but the 2nd hand prices are still circa £45-50k which is out of my budget. So.... RS4 is firmly in the frame [img]images/graemlins/roundeyes.gif[/img]

I have a few questions if you don't mind:

What is the space like? I hear the RS4 isn't actually that large for rear passengers - I am 6'6" so anyone sitting behind me is going to need a roomy cabin!

Performance is clearly excellent - what is the V6 engine like to live with? Manual as opposed to auto in the RS6 - good or bad?

Reliability is key - I appreciate servicing won't be routinely cheap given the components used etc but is general reliability good? As a family car it needs to start first time every time as it were [img]images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Are there any known "issues" with this model?

Thanks for any replies...

[kante3]

As a family proposition, if that was the only consideration then it certainly would not be top of my list i.e. the space is much the same as any other "mid-size" model which makes it a reasonable bit smaller than the a "5" series BM or an A6. However, I use mine regularly for holidays fully loaded with wife and two children and don't really have any problems.

I have owned mine since new and driven 83,000 relatively hard km in the last 30 months and - so far - bar a few bendy wheels reliability has been absolutely 100%. I use the car almost every day and it has never broken down or failed to start and always delivers fantastic performance.

Only 'relaibility' issue is lack of a spare wheel - I've had two punctures which can be a bit inconvenient. Also can be a bit expensive as generally you will be advised to change tyres as a pair.

Overall though, given the performance, not really an expensive car to run and I would suspect probably less than your 540.

[Bushy]

Welcome here

Good choice of car.

Well i have driven almost 60k miles with no major problems, apart for synchromesh gearbox problems it has been a great car

And IMHO the servicing costs are minimal, less than £200 with the only expensive one being the 40k which is a cam belt change costing almost £800

Hope this helps, any onther questions, ask away

Cheers

Bushy

[hbk]

Ermmm, Buy my car?

Cheers

HOWARD

[kcsun]

KEEP it Howard - you know that it is the right thing to do [img]images/graemlins/thumbs.gif[/img]

ken [img]images/graemlins/s4anogaro.gif[/img]

[Nige_RS4]

From my experience (6'4"), if you are 6'6" you will no doubt have the seat as far back as possible, thus reducing the space for passengers in the back - believe me, the gap will be around 3" - just enough for a small child to wriggle their legs into, but defo no adults unless they can wrap their legs around their neck. [img]images/graemlins/hoho.gif[/img] It's a shame really, as for me it is a big downside of the car, as I need it for transporting the family. If only Audi could've reduced the space in the boot and added a couple of extra inches for backseat passengers.

[hbk]

Yes, Your right, The right thing is to keep my car but sadly it does have to go [img]images/graemlins/cry.gif[/img]

12 MONTHS AUDI WARRANTY - Avus Silver, Full Audi Service History & UK car, TV/Sat Nav, Bose & 6 CD, Electric tilt/slide Sunroof, Tracker, Cruise Control, Armrest, Black Leather Recaros Heated/Electric seats, Carbon Fibre Trim, Chrome roof rails and Chrome Heated mirrors, Excellent condition, Standard Car with no modifications. 43750 miles. £32500

[img]images/graemlins/cry.gif[/img] [img]images/graemlins/cry.gif[/img] [img]images/graemlins/cry.gif[/img] [img]images/graemlins/cry.gif[/img] [img]images/graemlins/cry.gif[/img]