New B7 owner incoming...

[FastShow]

I'm sure you get sick of these threads but I can't think of a better way to start my posting career here and I wanted to ask a couple of questions anyway, so here it is!

I put down a deposit yesterday on a red '05-plate B7 S4 which I'll hopefully be picking up at the weekend. It is intended to replace my incredibly faithful Leon Cupra R (not quite standard at ~265BHP and 270ft/lb torque) and I'm starting to get just a little excited!

All I need to know at this stage is what I should be looking out for when I inspect and test-drive it before signing over a rather large chunk of my money. I've read about clunky gear changes between 2nd and 3rd, so I'll look for that, but any other common faults? Anything that should have been changed on that vehicle due to known problems (having been hit by faulty VAG coil-packs on the last two cars I've owned, I'm particulalry wary on this point).

The car has done 11k, is 05-reg as stated and I'm paying approx £29k for it - this is with full Nappa leather, DVD satnav, cruise control, 6-CD changer and one of the phonekits - does this seem like a reasonable deal? I should probably add that they're giving me almost £2k over guide price on my trade-in, so in reality they've probably shaved another few quid off the S4 in the typical figure-massaging way dealers have.

That's it for now I think, I'll hopefully be posting pictures at the weekend if all goes to plan! Oh, and hello!

[FastShow]

One other quick question - is there any advantage in the big V8 blocks to using Optimax/V-Power/general 99RON fuel? My current car loves the stuff and really hates to run on anything else, but that's a highly strung turbo and not really comparable, so I thought I'd ask the people who would know. Cheers again!

[PetrolDave]

You don't get the full performance unless you use V-Power etc. On one particular motorway exit on my way to work from a standing start at the roundabout at the end of the slip road I can use full throttle all the way round the exit when using 95, but with 98/99 I have to ease off. IMHO the power difference is very noticeable.

You won't cause any damage with 95 octane but as well as being down on power I found that my S4 didn't (and my RS4 doesn't) run as smoothly on 95.

Where I live the price difference between 95 and 98/99 octane fuel is only 2p per litre at the moment - which is £1.20 per tank full (60 litres) - so it just isn't worth using anything other than 98/99.

[BlingBling]

To be honest with you most of the glitches from the B6 S4 were ironed out and were not carried over to the B7 S4. Some owners have found the gearbox a bit jerky, primarily in 1st, but a software upgrade took care of that. Again this is common on early B6 S4's.

I came from a remapped S3 to my S4 and the power delivery took time getting used. At first I question the performance. But there is no doubt itthe S4 is a very quick and capable allrounder. There is no shove in the back. The power is more linear and progressive. . All in all enjoy.

[FastShow]

I came from a remapped S3 to my S4 and the power delivery took time getting used. At first I question the performance. But there is no doubt itthe S4 is a very quick and capable allrounder. There is no shove in the back. The power is more linear and progressive. . All in all enjoy.

This is something I have found, and coming from a car with the same remapped motor as your own (I assume you had the 1.8 20VT with the KKK04 turbo), nothing ever seems to feel as fast because of that missing shove. I have no doubt the S4 is actually faster though - and in all honesty, even if it wasn't, the noise still makes the whole thing completely worth while!

[Merlot]

That's about spot on for retail. If you are really paying £27k its a lot of car for the money - half the price of a new RS4 and 80%+ of the performance. Enjoy!