S4 purchase advice + higher mileage

[plg101]

Hi all,

Newbie here (though I have been lurking for a while)

I'm looking at prices at the moment and am contemplating an A6 3.0tdi at about £15k; have been impressed by it as a cruising barge.

However I got to drive an S5 for a week and kind of fell for the V8 burble.

Given that S4 prices seem pretty competitive right now; I have seen a 2004 S4, 55k miles, auto, with Bose for £12k before haggling (from a main Audi dealer). I know its not the same car, but its a similar engine and inside my budget.

I would be doing 12k per year, some company miles.

Two questions:
1) What are Audi warranty prices like (I'm guessing £1k per year?), and are they worth it? And how long can you keep the warranty renewal going for?

2) Assuming you keep the service regime to spec, how are these cars as you get towards 100k miles in terms of big non-warranty costs? If I budget £1k per year would that be a reasonable guide?

Fuel costs, I'm expecting about 22-23mpg.

Many thanks for any advice....

[BlingBling]

When I bought mine a few years back it had less than 1yrs OEM warranty and dealer threw in and additonal 2yrs warranty from Warranty Direct. The cover was platinum IIRC and the cover was virtually identical to Audi's own. I am not sure how much it was but nowhere near 1K per year becasue there is no way a stealer will stump up 2K our of thier own pocket for warranty. Have a look on tinternet for prices.

The cars in general are bomb proof. Mine is a 2003 with 55K on the clock and has never visisted a garage. A few owners on here have done upwards of 100K without a problem.

22-23mpg is about right for urban driving depending upon your style. On a long run you can avg 26 easily.

[p1tse]

what do those mpg translate to for mileage per tank?

[BlingBling]

as much as 330 miles on a tank. M/way driving.

[tweek]

If you are considering using it for company miles, I would not as you'll spend a lot more than they pay. The S cars eat tyres at a fair rate amongst other things, you may get upto 10-12k miles from a set of 4 due to more camber in the setup, my 1st A4 quattro would cover 25k miles before needing new tyres.

As for warranty, get one. My Audi extended warranty is coming to an end and they are touting for business £1280 IIRC with mileage capped at 15k per year, think I told the sales person "I think you are taking the p*ss". Suggest you look at after market as some bits can be painfully expensive, also check the way the glovebox opens, if it is stiff sooner or later the hinge will break and costs approx £150 to fix and not covered under extended warranty, it's a problem with a lot of VAG cars..

As for mpg, I get around 23mpg on the DIS commuting, etc but my wallet disagrees and thinks closer to 20mpg.

HTH's

Pete

[Merlot]

Very strong cars - warranty expensive so I wouldn't bother (mine is coming up to six years old and I did not extend the warranty), 20/21mpg, eats tyres as already said - my last set of SC2's were dire, will be changing to PS2's next. Early cars have a 66 litre tank, later ones 63 litres. Just make sure that the aux front rads have been changed.

[Pete.S]

also check the way the glovebox opens, if it is stiff sooner or later the hinge will break and costs approx £150 to fix and not covered under extended warranty

Actually here's a good tip I picked up from my good Audi tech mate - as soon as it gets stiff, don't start forcing the box open, as that will indeed break the hinges, just flick off the end of the dashboard next to the glovebox with a screwdriver & take out & replace the tubular glove box damper, only about £13, job done

[tweek]

Nice tip, pity the sodding Audi dealer I bought from didn't do it especially as it is a known fault. Lazy bar stewards! I'll get it fixed next time I can face a dealer and send the bill to Inchape if their still trading.

[S25MRS]

£12k for that age from main stealer before haggling! Mistake isnt it? Or is it a bit scabby? If neither, must be cheapest available in the country!

[Merlot]

Its cheap but 03 cars are only making £8k in the trade at the moment so its not that cheap. Personally I wouldn't buy an auto either.

[S25MRS]

Yes, 'in the trade'......but just noticed, doesn't say wether its a saloon or avant. Guessing saloon at that price.