Sell S4 and get RS4 or mod it to hell??

[Ash25]

hi guys, hope everyone has gotten over the christmas spending blues!

I am in a bit of a dilemma in that I am thinking of selling my beloved S4 and going for an RS4 but i just love my saloon!

I have a 99 prefaclift avus S4 which has been to see MRC for a remap and gutting of precats etc, it has a milltek backbox , H&R coilovers and i runs well at approx 330bhp so i am told. done about 95000 miles.

choices are to mod the beast - upgrade turbos and go for about 420-450bhp with all the other bits included like fmic ,fuel pump etc which would cost in the region of £4000 i reckon (tell me if i am wrong). brake upgrade would be another £1200-£1500 or so? or go whole hog and go for 500bhp or so but this would mean loadsa extra cash wouldn't it? oh and the car being off the road for a while!

if i sell my s4 and get an rs4 ( i see they are going for around £20000 or thereabouts) i will have AN RS4!!! BUT i will prob get that remapped and modded to same level as my s4 (ie - suspension, exhaust) and the car would have the same sort of bhp - about 420-450 or so.

obviously my car is a saloon and the rs4 an avant, which i do love but i also like the look of the rs4 saloon conversion, but this looks like a hell of a lot of money and time and effort! seen some people on here have done it and it looks awesome, and with the cost of all involved it seems that all in all if i go for an rs4/sell s4 or mod the s4 it will be a similar price in the end? (not including the mods that will have to be done to the rs4!)

basically how do the cars compare once they have about the same bhp (420-450)? would the s4 with all the arbs/suspension/exhaust etc match the handling of the rs4 with just a remap or would it also need the handling sorting out?

just wondered if anyone else has had the same thoughts as me and were considering changing cars at all? why did people mod their s4s instead of getting an rs4 and mod that instead? (apart from initial outlay for the car itself?)

in a bit of a dilemma as seriously thinking of selling up, but all in all is it worth the extra £15000 or so to 'step up' so to speak to the rs4?

what do you guys think?

[Blue_Thunder]

Ash, i'm based in Liverpool and have modified my S4 up to around the 400bhp mark.

If you want to come for a spin, drop me a PM.

[Ads4]

For the 12k you'd have to spend on an RS4 after selling your S4, I'd do the turbo upgrade/brakes/FMIC/manifolds etc for around 7k which will see you @ 480bhp or thereabouts, and then the wide body conversion for around 5k. The RS4 saloon conversion looks superb, and is definately a head turner IMO.

[S4TAN]

What he said. ^^^

[JonnyX]

For the 12k you'd have to spend on an RS4 after selling your S4, I'd do the turbo upgrade/brakes/FMIC/manifolds etc for around 7k which will see you @ 480bhp or thereabouts, and then the wide body conversion for around 5k. The RS4 saloon conversion looks superb, and is definately a head turner IMO.

Yes, they do look good. However, you get absolutely none of that money back. It depends
if you can stand that or not.

If you get turbos at a price and don't do much else you would probably be able to get that
done for < 4K. However, most people take the opportunity to do other things like clutch,
flywheel etc.

[jeffw]

The issue is, and always will be, that a RS4 is worth more than an S4. Spend 12K modifing a S4 and you'll have something worth maybe 2-3K more than a standard S4. Buy a RS4 and it always have a higher value.

[jeffw]

You can do what I did and buy a modified RS4

[wombar]

Yes, they do look good. However, you get absolutely none of that money back. It depends if you can stand that or not.

That is something you REALLY need to think about, you can spend the money but I doubt you'll ever come close to getting it back. You can stick all kinds of goodies onto an S4, but when/if you come to sell it, you're still selling an S4.

Of the RS4 conversions I've seen on here, I would say they were money well spent because I prefer saloons to estates any day of the week. However, when it comes to sale time, you're realistically only going to be able to get about £4k-5k more than a standard S4 (if you go the whole hog and replace the lot), unless you're REALLY lucky and find someone who wants the exact spec you're selling and has deep pockets.

However, that's not really the point of modding, it's to get something unusual that you don't see every day. RS4's are fantastic and also pretty rare, but you see even fewer RS4 conversions and they really are something special when it's all running.

It all depends whether you want to go through the expense and time of the conversion.

[quattronutter]

i was in the same boat and was either going to buy an rs4 or s4 and convert to rs4 saloon,i decided on the later as the extra cash can be put into builing a very good spec engine,with the rs4 saloon spec it will also hold money better than an s4 with hi spec engine,you dont see many rs4 saloons about either...good to be different

[clubsport]

If you can afford an RS4, then that has to be the way to go,,,,surely a better platform should you intend to tune further, also probably more liklihood on getting a higher proprtion of your outlay back when you sell.


Wombar, you're still around!....any joy on the car front or still waiting for the nogaro/black recaro leather, 10k mile car for £5k that the order of Nuns have tired of

[dazzer]

There is a universal truth to all of this - All cars cost you money. As you have said you are likely to spend money on the RS4 for common upgrades such as brakes and suspension so the differential is going to be down to the stuff under the bonnet and some depreciation depending on how long you keep said motor. As for the RS4 body conversion well your heart has really got to want it, in which case assuming you can afford the initial outlay, you should not really be concerned about clawback of monetary value.

Surely this game is about getting personal enjoyment when it comes to the crunch and instead of worrying about depreciation think more about how long you should keep the car to clawback the enjoyment value. Stop sweating over the dosh and follow your heart.

[S4TAN]

Definitely 2nd that. ^^^

[Ash25]

cheers for all the replies guys.

thanks for the offer blue thunder, might take you up on that spin in the next few weeks if that is ok?

i totally agree with you all on doing the mods for personal satisfaction and not for monetary value as if i sell with the mods then i won't get anywhere near the value i put in back from the buyer. if i did go the whole hog of modding it to rs4 or more standards then the car would stay with me forever as i wouldn't see the point in selling( until i get itchy fingers and the rs6 comes down in price that is- and if i need an avant!!!!) after all that hard work ,time and effort has been put into it.

the whole point of modding i feel is to be a little different than the standard, and to get the car running and feeling how you would want it, true the rs4 is a 'limited edition' but as you have said an rs4 saloon is even more limited. the cost involved with a full rs4 conversion may be large but it seems that it would be worth it in the end, however long it may take!

with the mods i have done so far i am reluctant to sell the s4 as it is running brilliantly, but there is always the pull of an rs4 there in the back of my confused brain, but if i could justify the body conversion in my head then it would all go away.

for all those who have done the body conversion/seen one, do you know if it is the same for a prefacelift and the facelift to go to an rs4 body? in other words do you still need all the same panels and little bits in either case? would i need the headlights as well as the prefacelift has a twopiece light rather than the later all-in-one? and would all the interior panels fit as well as the glass to the new panels? what about the wing mirrors? considering i have no bodyshop skills at all, how much do you think labour would be to change the panels and all the gubbins? the parts seem failrly expensive enough let alone fitting and painting!

for the engine does anyone know what the main differences are between the rs4 and s4? i know the turbos, are different, and injectors but what else? i would prob go for a milltek upgrade but how does the rs4 exhaust compare? i heard dougs at mrc exhaust and it sounded amazing, i do like a car with a good exhaust note, IF it has the power/engine to back it up, all those small hatchbacks with aftermarket exhausts really do my head in!

if i go the rs4 route what sort of tuning is possible and for waht cost over the exhaut/suspension/brake initial outlay? other than a remap how much is needed for the next big step up in power/driveability gains?

sorry for all the questions, have been searching for a long time over this and my head is totally in a muddle on what to do, sometimes i think of just enjoying what i have and saving the cash altogether!!! but once you get one of these cars its impossible to not get the modding bug! i blame this forum

Ash

[Blue_Thunder]

Grizz over on the Wirral fitted RS4 arches to his old S4, so you won't need to go too far to find someone that could do the work
Send him a PM, he occasionally gets hold of the parts and will be able to price up the work as well.

AFAIK most of the widebodied S4's around are actually pre-facelift. Most opt for the facelift headlights anyway, just to modernise the look. Interior door panels are all the same, so there would be no fitment issues there.

No problem with taking you for a spin, just drop me a PM with your number and we'll sort something out. If you make your way to the next North West meet( http://www.rs246.com/index.php?name=PNp ... ic&t=67014 ), i'm sure someone will be able to take you out in an RS4 for a comparison.

[wombar]

Wombar, you're still around!....any joy on the car front or still waiting for the nogaro/black recaro leather, 10k mile car for £5k that the order of Nuns have tired of

Haha, yep I'm still on the lookout. Not looking as hard though to be honest because I've got a few things going on in my life which means I probably won't end up with an S4.

Emmigration is on the cards for the end of the year potentially (still mulling it over), and I'm earmarking the money for the move. I've seen a few people really struggle to shift their S4's and don't need that stress come leaving day.

Of course, we'll see what happens in the interim