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Hi, We have been looking at buying an Audi, having never owned one before I would welcome all good advice. We have seen 3 various models that we like a 57 S3 (£22k) reasonable spec, 30k on clock but has had 3 owners, I think the first owner may have been the dealers as a demonstrator.

The other car I really like, a 56 S4 (saloon) (£25k) high spec, 28k on clock, not sure how many owners, more than I want to pay for a car, but it is very nice.

Then finally more down to earth but still nice looking, a 58 A4 2.0 T S Line (not quattro), (£19k) high spec, low mileage. I have seen that these cars are available as quattro and some have 3.2l engines, they also have tiptronic.

As someone who prefers petrol engines and who has only ever owned manual cars, what is the tiptronic like and does the quattro drive much more different to a normal front wheel drive? There are only the 2 of us, no kids or big dogs and most of the time the car will be used for short journeys so low mileage. Taking into account running costs, servicing, age of vehicles and any flaws with the particular models, I welcome any advice on which to go for or what to look for as there seems to be so many various options available.

Thanks in advance.

Hi mate,
I owned an S3 for three years from 2002 and loved it but outgrew it quickly. Moved on to B5 S4 Avant and loved that more, particularly after the remap.

I now have a B6 (2004) S4 saloon, tiptronic and almost love it. No issues with the gearbox whatsoever (as yet) but I REALLY miss turbo's.

Personally I think if it's a little short hop runaround I'd steer clear of the S4 unless you have surplus cash lying around. That also sounds expensive to me. Mine is on 63k, '54 plate and up for £13500.00. I may be wrong but it does sound high, you could almost get a B7 RS4 for that???
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1243979.htm

My 2p's worth.

I guess it's all down to what you want to do during your short trips? If it's just a nice ride you're looking for then, while being an amazing car in it's own right, the S4 is probably overkill and the 2.0T will be more than adequate. If on the other hand you want fun filled very quick short trips and a great noise to boot then the S4 is the one. However, I'd agree with Shagga and say £25k seems high. From what I've seen the RS4 are still holding their own at around £32k in the dealerships so a bit more expensive. And you say that 25k is more than you want to pay. If that's so then stick to your budget. There are some terrific cars around for £15-20k. And remember a lot of these engines are very solid so getting a higher mileage S4 for £13k may just be the ticket!

That's way OTT - £25k ?!! Get them loads cheaper than that...

A nice car though to be sure - you'll love it!

Hi guys, thanks for the views, we are off for a couple of test drives today both S3's, so we will see how it goes, Cheers.

i would go with the S3 .

S3 will be fun but economical at the same time...especially if your driving profile is short journeys.

Yeah best of luck with that one. Look forward to welcoming you to the Audi fold soon! You'll love it, great cars.

Thanks all for the comments/advice, well after looking at several S3's and test driving a few of them we finally made a decision.

Its time for me to grow old gracefully (48), the dealer had a 2009 A4 2.0 TFSI S line 8k miles, a very nice car, comfortable and still a little sporty. We both liked the car so down went the deposit and we collect the car next week.