How much better is the facelift?

[DMC2]

I had a B9 when they first launched and I regretted selling it. Looking at another for transporting children and bikes, and the occasional fun drive. With the new cars around the 70k level I’m considering a pre facelift Sports Edition, is there any real world benefit to the facelift car? Forgetting the infotainment etc., I find myself never using any tech in a car! Is the drive related upgrades worth the £10-15k?

[Brooner]

As far as i can see its just that a facelift
New front bumper and front and rear headlights
GpF in the exhaust along with infotainment system oh and no matrix headlights which i love in my 2018 model
No change to the power or underpinning of the car as far as i can see
But im sure someone will correct me if im wrong

[nastro azzurro]

LED matrix headlights are standard on the facelift across all versions.

[DMC2]

But has the suspension setup or torque delivery been updated enough to warrant the new car spend....?

[nastro azzurro]

Apparently there have been some tweaks but whether you’d be able to tell I have no idea.
Facelift looks better imo, not such a fussy front end.
You’ll have to decide if it’s worth the extra however....
Good luck!

[simundo777]

I was in the same position and felt the cars were virtually identical apart from the touch screen and larger screen size.
The front end is less fussy but I do like the angles on the pre FL.

I couldn't justify the extra £10-15k as dynamically they appear to be the same.

[Jamesjd]

For me I went with the facelift one, mainly just because residuals will be higher being newer , new tech and screen and upgraded front bumper , lights etc. So when I looked into the options via pcp it actually wasn’t much more going new over used.
But if I was buying with cash I’d probably say used to save 10-15k.

[Elpeterol]

The facelift has nicer flappy paddles

[Rs4spark]

I love the Face Lift, was going to purchase in 2018 then missed the Boat with WLTP !!,
Waited - then the Sport edition came out mid late summer 19 - thought about it long time , Then was told the face lift was coming Feb 20 !!,
That put a spanner in the works.

after seeing the facelift I ordered a Carbon Black edition- better Tech-Better Looks, Love the lighting exterior & interior, centre console better & Touch screen great now I'm used to it.

I was looking for a long time for an early 50K car around an 18 Plate and in the end got fed up with traveling miles to look at <beep> ---

That was it, brand new was the only way for me- each to there own, hopefully the residues will be strong as I purchased out right.

I think long term 2-3 years on the face lift will hold stronger residuals, I also purchased the 4TH year warranty at £400 which was a no brainer.

All the best with your decision-

Got to say im on my 7TH RS4 - & to me there's nothing better as a good all rounder

[Elpeterol]

9 days before delivery

[Jubilee77]

I love the Face Lift, was going to purchase in 2018 then missed the Boat with WLTP !!,
Waited - then the Sport edition came out mid late summer 19 - thought about it long time , Then was told the face lift was coming Feb 20 !!,
That put a spanner in the works.

after seeing the facelift I ordered a Carbon Black edition- better Tech-Better Looks, Love the lighting exterior & interior, centre console better & Touch screen great now I'm used to it.

I was looking for a long time for an early 50K car around an 18 Plate and in the end got fed up with traveling miles to look at <beep> ---

That was it, brand new was the only way for me- each to there own, hopefully the residues will be strong as I purchased out right.

I think long term 2-3 years on the face lift will hold stronger residuals, I also purchased the 4TH year warranty at £400 which was a no brainer.

All the best with your decision-

Got to say im on my 7TH RS4 - & to me there's nothing better as a good all rounder

I agree with RS4spark, I had the same journey to end up buying my 2020 Facelift version. I wanted the Navarra blue, but could not find a used one to the spec I wanted. When they released the interim sports edition, not one of them was blue!! So ordered a new one to my spec.
I also understand that the latest version has had an eco tweak to make it 17% more efficient. Plus you get the reversing camera, matrix LED lights, folding mirrors, wireless phone charging all as standard equipment. Which add up to a lot if you were buying as extras on the previous versions

[Elpeterol]

I was in a similar position and feel that it was worth waiting for the face lift. It will be a keeper and the new standard matrix headlights etc made it worthwhile - it is arriving tomorrow

[Rs4spark]

I was in a similar position and feel that it was worth waiting for the face lift. It will be a keeper and the new standard matrix headlights etc made it worthwhile - it is arriving tomorrow

Enjoy the collection date, bet you cannot wait
well worth the wait -

[RS4John]

Residuals....

Just seeing the notes on residuals - it's OMG material on new cars... When you drive the car out of the showroom - deep breath...

Assuming you trade back into a dealer:

1) You will instantly lose the VAT (on a used car the dealer only pays VAT on the profit in the vehicle), the dealer doesn't want to 'buy' the VAT bit back because it hasn't got any value.
2) 1st Registration fee
3) The cost of the options installed (the trade price guides don't list options).
4) Any value-add deal stuff - the usual paint protection film/interior treatment/alloy wheel protection etc etc

So how do you avoid getting hammered?

You sit on the fence and buy used when a few months old. So the Misano RS4 I had was less than 10 months old, 6,000 miles and had already lost £25k of it's purchase price. 1st year depreciation is brutal, when I traded it 6 months later (so competent at everything it wasn't scary enough for me...weird I do realise) I lost £800, more bearable.

The dealers will stick the car back on the forecourt ignoring all of the above - however the trade-in price will reflect the brutal truth. It's tough - the fact that we are here and appreciate performance cars means that we have to pay for our pleasures.

[Elpeterol]

I’d still rather get the exact car that I want run it in as I want and keep it for a long time. My S4 lost about 50% in six years. I got a significant discount on the new car and wiil keep it for at least 5 years. Financially used makes very good sense - emotionally I’n not so sure