Would you buy an ex Audi press car?

[RS4John]

Thanks RS5 Owner - duly changed, I'd have thought the user name would have been the root of the profile and fixed...

[fairzy]

Looks lovely. Well done mate.


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[PieterZ]

Driving it hard on a cold engine or long drives of several people trying it flat out may give more wear on the engine.
You never know what you get as a second owner. But that also applies for private owned second hand ones.
Owning from new gives you peace of mind, after all you run it in.
I decided on a new one.
But that doesn't mean pre owned is bad in all cases.
I've had plenty second hand ones with no issues. (Non RS)

[Geoff A]

Never had a press car that's been found wanting for spec. They are usually rammed and want for nothing, just to showcase options. And Misano is an ace colour btw

[JampoTT]

I've just done exactly the same (except I swapped out my V10 RS6 for a car in VERY similar spec to yours, John... from Bedford Audi.
2k miles on it, and although a 'Press' car, I got the impression the very high spec (every conceivable option, including the silver headlining and boot rails you don't think were optional!) meant it was more of a touring / static press car than a 'trackday' model.

First impressions, loving it!

[RS4John]

Well done!

I did a ton of research including speaking with Audi direct to discover what kind of history the car had experienced, would the warranty be affected because of it's early life etc. The silver headliner cars were press launch vehicles, mostly used for short press articles, the journos are explicitly told not to use the vehicles on a race track (they have to sign the car out on that basis) at the risk of being permanently banned from Audi's press office invite list. So I'm pretty certain it didn't get 'tracked'. I figured that it's extremely hard to get even 25% of the available performance on a public road - the corners just get closer together So even if the car has been driven quickly, in manual mode, it won't have come to much harm, the greatest risk to premature engine wear occurs with cold/low revs/high torque output and there isn't much evidence of that.

I've researched YouTube/Google/Google Images carefully and aside from one 1 hour video of my actual car being extensively tested, seeing it in the background as a journo was leaving the press launch car park and a web business journal article (they claimed being able to get 30.8 mpg on a trip Lincoln to Lutterworth so that wasn't really trying was it?) I haven't been able to find it anywhere else.

The paint finish on mine is exceptional, like no Audi I've ever owned so I suspect that there was extra attention paid during and after the build process, maybe they have the press cars professionally detailed - it is extremely well screwed together too.

[JampoTT]

Well done!

I did a ton of research including speaking with Audi direct to discover what kind of history the car had experienced, would the warranty be affected because of it's early life etc. The silver headliner cars were press launch vehicles, mostly used for short press articles, the journos are explicitly told not to use the vehicles on a race track (they have to sign the car out on that basis) at the risk of being permanently banned from Audi's press office invite list. So I'm pretty certain it didn't get 'tracked'. I figured that it's extremely hard to get even 25% of the available performance on a public road - the corners just get closer together So even if the car has been driven quickly, in manual mode, it won't have come to much harm, the greatest risk to premature engine wear occurs with cold/low revs/high torque output and there isn't much evidence of that.

I've researched YouTube/Google/Google Images carefully and aside from one 1 hour video of my actual car being extensively tested, seeing it in the background as a journo was leaving the press launch car park and a web business journal article (they claimed being able to get 30.8 mpg on a trip Lincoln to Lutterworth so that wasn't really trying was it?) I haven't been able to find it anywhere else.

The paint finish on mine is exceptional, like no Audi I've ever owned so I suspect that there was extra attention paid during and after the build process, maybe they have the press cars professionally detailed - it is extremely well screwed together too.

Mine has a very similar reg to yours (although will shortly be swapped to my own plate!) so it seems likely we have pretty much 'car twins'

TBH *I* will drive the car 'hard' (though unlikely to track it). My V10 RS6 did 130k miles in 8 years (I owned it for 7 of those).

Slightly different to yours externally - mine now has the 20" alloys painted black, and carbon door mirrors (proper Audi ones) fitted, presumably both by the dealer to either rectify some scuffs or just to make it look a little different. Either way, its fine by me.

I've fitted a thick rubber boot mat (for dog transport duties) and have ordered the same boot protector you mentioned on another thread (I bought some film, but the cleaning and fitting instructions look beyond my level of patience so a more solid plastic protector looks a better option!)

Dealership handed it over with tyres at 36/29 (wrong!) so I fixed that, but otherwise a very enjoyable experience...

[RS4John]

Fabulous - mine is on a personal plate too. DVLA have really got their act together now on Reg transfers - just needs an overnight process to complete between paying for RFL and being able to apply the personal reg.

For the 1st time in close to 30 years I ran the previous RSQ3 past the end of the manufacturers warranty and had it MOT'd - I extended the warranty cover with Audi but noted the policy really didn't cover anything that was likely to need repair which was a nagging worry.

So the previous RS6 at 130k miles - was it fairly reliable? I'm now not going to do big miles now so will likely keep this RS4 to the 5 year mark, maybe longer.

[kmpowell]

All the KW67 MW* cars were built for the private press/media launch event Audi UK put on in January of this year.

Audi put on a 50:50 split of DRC and non DRC cars, and allowed the invited press/media guests to test back to back. The drivers were taken out, then allowed to go out on their own.

At that point, UK spec had not yet been 100% confirmed, so some cars ended up with EU options that were not then available over here, such as the headliner and also the Alcantara steering wheel etc.

This video shows all the cars in the car park, with all the different colour/spec combinations.


Once the event was over, some cars then went out on 'long-term' press duties, and the rest were sent back to AUK HQ ready for distribution to the dealer network to be sold.

[HPsauce]

My first Audi (an S8) was a press car used at a launch event and had an array of extras that I never otherwise saw in combination, it was literally a case of "what didn't it have?".

[RS4John]

Thanks! I don't suppose it would be possible to discover which journals had which cars would it?

[JampoTT]

All the KW67 MW* cars were built for the private press/media launch event Audi UK put on in January of this year.

Audi put on a 50:50 split of DRC and non DRC cars, and allowed the invited press/media guests to test back to back. The drivers were taken out, then allowed to go out on their own.

At that point, UK spec had not yet been 100% confirmed, so some cars ended up with EU options that were not then available over here, such as the headliner and also the Alcantara steering wheel etc.

This video shows all the cars in the car park, with all the different colour/spec combinations.


Once the event was over, some cars then went out on 'long-term' press duties, and the rest were sent back to AUK HQ ready for distribution to the dealer network to be sold.

Thanks Vek.

[kmpowell]

All the KW67 MW* cars were built for the private press/media launch event Audi UK put on in January of this year.

Audi put on a 50:50 split of DRC and non DRC cars, and allowed the invited press/media guests to test back to back. The drivers were taken out, then allowed to go out on their own.

At that point, UK spec had not yet been 100% confirmed, so some cars ended up with EU options that were not then available over here, such as the headliner and also the Alcantara steering wheel etc.

This video shows all the cars in the car park, with all the different colour/spec combinations.


Once the event was over, some cars then went out on 'long-term' press duties, and the rest were sent back to AUK HQ ready for distribution to the dealer network to be sold.

Thanks Vek.

No problem Jim. Congrats on the purchase, hope you're enjoying it.

[Markp]

I worked for Ford on the Escort Cosworth launch (yes I know, I am old). You would not believe a) how slowly and carefully most (not all) of the journos drove on the launch routes we set for them (in Luxembourg), and b) how well prepared and cared for the cars were by the team of mechanics and engineers who prepped and cared for them (they spend every night in a workshop being gone through for the next day. Any damage done was invariably to livers in the hotel bar.

[RS4John]

I'm old too MarkP...61...