Optimal re-sale spec?

[Jezzer]

If you spec just the armrest ie without the phone does that delete the RS steering wheel for the multi function s/wheel. I know it sounds a stupid question as it's only an armrest but I've got to make sure.

[bjacks]

If you spec just the armrest ie without the phone does that delete the RS steering wheel for the multi function s/wheel. I know it sounds a stupid question as it's only an armrest but I've got to make sure.

I hope not! Only reason that you get a multi function wheel with the phone prep is because it needs more buttons I'd guess!

Cheers

Ben

[adrianrs2]

Personally i would wait for the avant,it's showing on the system at my dealer for June/July allocation. In my experience saloons are much harder to resell and lose more money because eveyone wants the avant. Also with no limited run placed on the new RS4 this will also make them harder to sell at a premium price.
Adrian

[bobjebb]

any more specifics on dates and timings much appreciated, I've heard nothing, so want to get onto my dealer. Thanks

[bjacks]

I'd love to wait for the avant but just can't! If they said definately June/July then great, but with no firm date (that I've been advised on) it's just a finger in the air job.

Cheers

Ben

[martinhans]

The avant is scheduled to start production in July. first deliveries to Germany then to the UK - i have been told that by a german dealer who has been told it officially from quattro. (they tell their own dealers everything).

The reason for the delay on the UK saloon is due to extra road testing - we had by far the biggest warranty bill on the B5 and the beancounters at the UK warranty division want to make sure they dont have a repeat of the soft wheels broken gearbox debacle.

The reason for the delay of the avant over the saloon is due to the new engine filling the entire engine bay - they have relocated the battery from the engine bay into the boot - as they do on the s8 - this is fine on the saloon where it can be tucked away but the avant is causing them problems on siting the battery due to RF shielding issues and safety.

The big secret why they released an RS4 saloon is America - due to american safety laws you cannot put a battery in the passenger compartment - it has to go in the trunk - boot for us european sorts - therefore they cannot sell the avant RS4 in america. SInce audi wants to do more business in america the RS4 is an important halo model for the 4 range - so they made the saloon.

The RS4 convertible will be released some time next year towarrds the end of the RS run as a spoiler to the new M3 convertible.

ANd for those of you who are worried that the RS4 will be mass produced - quattro who finish all the RS models based on 75 percent complete S models i.e S4 can only produce 20 cars a day based on 2 shifts. they can go up to 35 on 3 shifts a day but will only do this if production is behind shcedule for technical reasons. therefore quattro's total car output factoring in german holidays is about 6,000 to 7,000 units a year max.

Factor into this that all S-Line individual models from the other ranges such as TT, S4 S8 are done by quattro within this allowance - i.e all those nast bright orange TT's with purple leather and so on and these individual cars account for about 25 percent of quattros production capacity and you can expect a total output in the region of 5,000 to 6,000 units a year.

Add in that a good slice of RS4 saloon production is going to america and that the total production run will be under 2.5 years and you can expect RS models to continue to be in limited supply as previous models.

Also factor that the RS3 has a finite production window due to the RS6 requiring build slots in 2008 and the fears are unfounded of an en-masse sales avalance of RS models as BMW did with the M3.

and if the convertible was a shocker - quattro are planning a RS version of the new Audi coupe to take on the M3 directly.....

[bobjebb]

very useful, thanks! So if anyone were to hazard a guess on Avant delivery for us lot.... September?

[Jezzer]

My dealer has been told by Audi GB that I can expect my car by September.

[Merlot]

The avant is scheduled to start production in July. first deliveries to Germany then to the UK - i have been told that by a german dealer who has been told it officially from quattro. (they tell their own dealers everything).

The reason for the delay on the UK saloon is due to extra road testing - we had by far the biggest warranty bill on the B5 and the beancounters at the UK warranty division want to make sure they dont have a repeat of the soft wheels broken gearbox debacle.

The reason for the delay of the avant over the saloon is due to the new engine filling the entire engine bay - they have relocated the battery from the engine bay into the boot - as they do on the s8 - this is fine on the saloon where it can be tucked away but the avant is causing them problems on siting the battery due to RF shielding issues and safety.

The big secret why they released an RS4 saloon is America - due to american safety laws you cannot put a battery in the passenger compartment - it has to go in the trunk - boot for us european sorts - therefore they cannot sell the avant RS4 in america. SInce audi wants to do more business in america the RS4 is an important halo model for the 4 range - so they made the saloon.

The RS4 convertible will be released some time next year towarrds the end of the RS run as a spoiler to the new M3 convertible.

ANd for those of you who are worried that the RS4 will be mass produced - quattro who finish all the RS models based on 75 percent complete S models i.e S4 can only produce 20 cars a day based on 2 shifts. they can go up to 35 on 3 shifts a day but will only do this if production is behind shcedule for technical reasons. therefore quattro's total car output factoring in german holidays is about 6,000 to 7,000 units a year max.

Factor into this that all S-Line individual models from the other ranges such as TT, S4 S8 are done by quattro within this allowance - i.e all those nast bright orange TT's with purple leather and so on and these individual cars account for about 25 percent of quattros production capacity and you can expect a total output in the region of 5,000 to 6,000 units a year.

Add in that a good slice of RS4 saloon production is going to america and that the total production run will be under 2.5 years and you can expect RS models to continue to be in limited supply as previous models.

Also factor that the RS3 has a finite production window due to the RS6 requiring build slots in 2008 and the fears are unfounded of an en-masse sales avalance of RS models as BMW did with the M3.

and if the convertible was a shocker - quattro are planning a RS version of the new Audi coupe to take on the M3 directly.....

Many thanks - when is the coupe launched?

[kam100]

Hi guys, brilliant forum you have here.
Newbie here..

Was thinking of buying a used S4 Saloon in the next week or so, but was worried about the RS4 coming out and destroying the residuals on the S4 (which goes without saying).. so I enquired if they had any allocated vehicles which were not yet allocated to owners.. they confirmed that they have a saloon coming in Juneish time and if i place down a £1500 deposit right now (time of buying S4) they will let me take the RS4 which was supposed to be their demo car (still speccable). I argued that £1500 is a bit much, and that im good for it, so take £500 and we'll call it a deal. He refused and said Audi simply won't allow orders withouth £1500 down.

How true is this? Whats the wait like on the RS4 currently.
I have always been a Bmw man previously and am well clued up on Bmw practices or mis practices should i say, but am trying to learn the Audi way of things sharpish! think im doing quite well having never bought a car before and landing a decent spec/price S4 immediately (with excellent £42k part ex for my 8 month old Range Rover Sport) as well as being offered this RS4 already, but i don't want to walk into something which will sting me.. i.e. loosing loads of money on the S4 between now and June and then loosing loads on the RS4 between then and April 2007 when my E90 M3 V8 should be landing.

[kam100]

Anyway.. not much activity on here it seems..
i went ahead and we ordered 2 RS4's today. No S4 to sandwich the gap, rather save my money for the RS4.
Specc'd colour and £500 down, they want further £1k with spec sheet. Getting June allocated cars..

Spec so far:

RS4 Manual 6 Sp : £49980
Sprint Blue Valcona RS4 Black Leather with Piano Black trim
Tech Pack, (DVD Sat Nav, 6CD, Adaptive Xenons) : £2295.00
Front Centre Armrest : £0.00
Auto Boot Opener : £30.00
Tracker Retrieve : £299.00
GSM Phone on dash : £400.00
Dimming Mirror, Auto Lights/Rain : £200.00

Total: £53204.00

Anyone had any finance quotes on the RS4 yet? systems are showing similar residuals as S4, which can't be true surely.. usual 45% calculation over 36 months works out to approx £24k but so far quotes are showing at more like £17k after 3 years.

Oh and was told by my dealer, that Avants wouldnt start rollouts till early 2007. Told via memo from Audi. Not sure if its crap or not, but guess we will soon find out.

[bjacks]

Wise move chap re the S4, bound to have lost a reasonable sum in a short space of time.

There seems to be a few RS4's popping up already, especially in Sprint - why not get one of those?

The fact that dealers are letting customers have their demos and physical cars being availible now is beginning to cause some concern I think - perhaps they are not as desirable as previously thought - they are somewhat overpriced.

What's the spec of the 2nd one you ordered?

All the best

Ben

[GaryC]

I think speccing a Tracker Retrieve is a mistake - get at least a Tracker Monitor and preferably a Horizon or Echo. When insuring my RS6 every company except one insisted on at least a Tracker Monitor. With a Retrieve you'll almost certainly be cutting down on your options.

Gary.

[Gekko]

Wise move chap re the S4, bound to have lost a reasonable sum in a short space of time.

There seems to be a few RS4's popping up already, especially in Sprint - why not get one of those?

The fact that dealers are letting customers have their demos and physical cars being availible now is beginning to cause some concern I think - perhaps they are not as desirable as previously thought - they are somewhat overpriced.

What's the spec of the 2nd one you ordered?

All the best

Ben

RS4 Manual 6 Sp : £49980

Phantom Black or Misano Red (still undecided, opinions/suggestions appreciated!)
Valcona Leather with Black Racing Trim (as seen in brochure towards last pages)
Tech Pack, (DVD Sat Nav, 6CD, Adaptive Xenons) : £2295.00
Front Centre Armrest : £0.00
Auto Boot Opener : £30.00
Dimming Mirror, Auto Lights/Rain : £200.00

Not sure about fitting tracker- unless it helps significantly reduce insurance, I won't bother.... helps the cops find the robbers but the car's still soiled once retreived! I won't bother with GSM Phone prep either, don't think it helps resale & it's not something I'd use. Also, can anyone comment on whether de-chroming & going for black gloss trim finish on the exterior is worth doing? Any advantages doing this for resale????

[kam100]

My brother in law above ordered the above, and im also debating whether to take the sprint blue
or the phantom black..
Where are all these physical RS4's then? none on the Autotrader yet, and no Audi dealer seems to have any knocking around yet? I think when they actually arrive, more orders will come piling in.

I don't really want a tracker and would prefer not to have car back if it got nicked, just that im 24 right now, so insurance is still quite high bracket, so best quote is £1300 with tracker (they don't specify which one - just has to have one!). I reckon with the retrieve best bet of them not finding it again, so more chance of not getting the trashed/joy rode car back again.

Im a little nervous about this car as i think residuals may be a little shaky, as im only looking also to keep it 10 months or so, as i have had a new M3 on order since 2004, but if its the case the RS4 has lost too much money between now and then, i'll keep it and flog the M3 which im 3rd in line for with Sytners. Got my order in quite late on the RS4, so thats why im thinking im a little late to ride the premium wave.. Lets see though..

Felt good walking into a garage and ordering £106k worth of cars though! don't do that everyday!