Thinking of selling S4 - what price should i get?

[hamishmcfadyen]

Hi guys - I'm unfortunately having to think about selling my fantastic S4 Avant due to a new house purchase - gutted, but i need to free up some cash to make it habitable -doh!

Question is - what sort of price should i expect to get for it if i sell it as private sale (on rs246/Autotrader, maybe eBay)??

Spec is:
Audi S4 Avant (1 previous owner)
Registered Jan 2001 (so one of the late B5 facelift models)
Full Audi Service History (including recent cam-belt change)
53K miles currenty
Audi extended comprehensive warranty till some time in November 2006
Silver
Black Leather interior
Milltek exhaust (cat back, dual-pipe) + quick-shifter - fitted by Kim at QST 9 months ago.
RS4 suspension upgrade
RS4 rear high-level boot spoiler
RS4 gearnob
Tyres have plenty of life left, original alloys but almost scratch-free
RS4 Brushed-Alloy wing-mirrors (though they are from a left-hand drive car, so could put original body-coloured ones back on if you think this would detract from price??)
Bosal detachable tow-bar (fitted 9 months ago, only used for moving small trailer around a few times)
Rear body-coloured parking sensors
Bose stereo+CD multi-changer


Last dilemma is - I'd probably sell in about 1 month. Car now needs service in 300 miles, and I'm likely to do another 1000 before i sell. Should i get it serviced at Audi garage before i sell, or just state it needs servicing when i sell - not sure what is most wise to get most money for car, but not have problems selling it??

Any advice you guys on price i should ask for/expect would really help - cheers!!

[david7m]

Firstly, completely disregard Parkes price guides etc. Have a look at the going rate on Autotrader/Top Marques - as this is a better indication of what you are likely to get (I had a shock about a month ago with my S3, needless to say, have kept it).

Location also affects price. Personally I think the towbar would put me off, although you say it has hardly been used, it suggests that it has made the car/turbo work hard. As for the service, how could the potential new owner know how long the service light had been on? Also, suggests it has been neglected.

As for the price, haven't a clue

This is just my 2p's worth mind

Dave

[jfeb]

I wouldn't mention the tow-bar if I were you and I would imagine the value is about ~£12k but S4s seem to be very hard to value right now.

[shineydave]

tow bar wouldn't bother me, as far as i'm concerned it's another extra. if it's got a full audi history i'd get it serviced at an audi dealer to keep the history current although some may disagree with this as people in the know accept that a FASH doesn't necessarily mean it's in prime condition. if not a full history why not get it down to MRC for a service and a health check. i'd rather buy something that's ready to go and has obviously been looked after so a current history of some form would be important to me. with that mileage i'd have thought around 12 to 13k, stick it in at 13 as you can always come down but you can't go up

[hamishmcfadyen]

Thanks guys - i agree - after looking at what is on offer on autotrader/sold on ebay etc..., 13K i think is a fair price. As for service - it has a documented FASH - and was bought from Audi dealership November 2005. For whoever buys it, they'll have an Audi own warranty till November 2006 which should offer some piece of mind. As the car is due a service in 600miles, I'll check what ludicrous price my local Audi stealer wants to charge me - and decide then if it is worth it, or better to just have a price which reflects fact buyer will need ot get it serviced however they prefer, straight away. That said, not servicing it may make it more difficult to sell - decisions decisions...!
One last quesiton - does anyone know if you don't service the car once it reaches -0 miles to service- will the dash show how many miles over it is running? Would be helpful if i don't decide to service it before selling, in case it is only a few miles over, to prove its due a service and not neglected/run thousands of miles over????

Cheers guys!

[shineydave]

i just think it says "service now" i don't recall it saying a mileage

[springfield]

Take the towbar off unless it is going to leave holes in the bumper which would have been sacrilage to cut in the first place,get MRC to service the car dash light should say Sevice or insp which ever is due.

[david7m]

Or the cheap option, take a picture of the dash saying 'x' miles and 'x' miles till service!

I'm dubious about cars on eBay, can understand the cheap ones, but anything over £5k to me smells fishy. Almost as if they have something to hide because they don't want people to see it, but just bid and collect per eBay rules...

Dave