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Copied from general discussions, I did not realise there was an RS4 specific area, apologies for the formatting, posted from phone

Hi, new member here looking for an RS4 as our only family car. Following on from my first post in the classifieds section (WTB RS4 Avant) I thought I'd seek some opinions and advice on a car I'm looking at:<br /><br />Black RS4 Avant<br /><br />The car comes with 6 months warranty and the garage will do a de-coking for at a trade price. It is on the original suspension, front discs and pads were done 10k miles ago, they will check rears and replace if required. The car comes with nothing in the way of receipts or evidence of money spent. I got the number of the garage that had looked after the car for the last 5 years from the dealer and I spoke to someone who knew the car and assured me it was a good one and that the previous owner had always had everything that needed doing, done.<br /><br />How would you go about assessing this car? The spec meets my requirements so I feel like I'm going to do something reckless if I go to see the car and I like it. Is it known to anyone on this forum (I know the previous owner's name was Jason). The dealer seems straightforward and they are familiar with the common issues on these cars. Do you think it's crucial to test drive the car before I buy it...after all it does come with a pretty comprehensive warranty.<br /><br />The bodywork on the car looks great. Is it necessary you think to get the car on a ramp and have a poke around underneath? <br /><br />Is an aftermarket warranty recommended at this point when the cars are 7+ years old. Mondial?<br /><br />Any advice is appreciated<br /><br />Yasir<br/>

a test drive would def be recommended, you'll be wanting to see if there are any knocking noises from the suspension at all which could be a leaking DRC Damper, and see if there is a noticeable 'kick' at 5500rpm. i would be a bit weary having no paperwork, can the garage that has maintained it not send you copies? even if the car is fine for you, it would hinder your resale value having no provable history.

Hi there,

Just a couple of things

If as you say you are buying as a family car and it's your only car, safety and reliability are paramount

As Graham has mentioned before there must be paperwork showing previous works undertaken, and if the garage cannot come up with it then walk at that point

The car sales have said front Discs were replaced 10k ago ? How do they know this? 10k they could need changing again?

Before buying this car take it to a (reputable) Indie/dealership and have it fully inspect it first

I went with Warrenty Direct and they said they would not cover mine without FSH mine was FASH

Most warranties I have seen sold with second hand cars are not worth the paper their written on, read the small print

Where about are you ?

It's advertised with FSH which means record of money spent on service and repairs and dates?

Thanks guys, the link is embedded in the text above... Try this. http://www.ashtons.uk.com.mobi.starkwoo ... ls/4123418

It is in Devon, I am in Cambridgeshire, 3hrs plus and hard to get time to make the return trip.

I really like the spec and color combo. Fairly low miles.

They bought the car from another dealer ( possibly Audi) that had taken in as PX.

toyneg wrote:a test drive would def be recommended, you'll be wanting to see if there are any knocking noises from the suspension at all which could be a leaking DRC Damper, and see if there is a noticeable 'kick' at 5500rpm. i would be a bit weary having no paperwork, can the garage that has maintained it not send you copies? even if the car is fine for you, it would hinder your resale value having no provable history.

What does the "kick" signify? Just before I killed my engine I had noticed a slight stutter under normal acceleration on a couple of occasions. I didn't have the opportunity to narrow it down to a specific rev range and/or throttle opening before I murdered her ...

yes a test drive is a must i would say. most warrantys will wriggle out of wear and tear items. duncan , the 5.5k rpm kick is usually a good indication that the vacuum system is working well. iirc the airbox flap opens at this point with is vacuum operated. good luck guys.

DuncanF wrote:

toyneg wrote:a test drive would def be recommended, you'll be wanting to see if there are any knocking noises from the suspension at all which could be a leaking DRC Damper, and see if there is a noticeable 'kick' at 5500rpm. i would be a bit weary having no paperwork, can the garage that has maintained it not send you copies? even if the car is fine for you, it would hinder your resale value having no provable history.

What does the "kick" signify? Just before I killed my engine I had noticed a slight stutter under normal acceleration on a couple of occasions. I didn't have the opportunity to narrow it down to a specific rev range and/or throttle opening before I murdered her ...

at around 5500rpm the inlet flap opens so you feel a 'kick' of power. personally these cars need a MRC Stage 2 to really bring them up to what you would expect from a 400hp v8 haha

Basically the dealership are saying, we don't have the paperwork but we don't think it matters because anything the car needs doing will be done by our technicians before it gets to you.

When I spoke to the garage that had maintained the car they said they had looked after it for 5 years and that in their opinion I should not be concerned. They went through the last invoice but I didn't ask if they could print everything for me.

Despite this, as you guys have confirmed, I am hesitant to spend 20k plus on a car that does not have a fully documented history.... Even though it's probably a mint example *sigh*

Thing is they aren't Unit 20 or MRC, but the sales guy does know a thing or two about coking and DRC. They have done a de coke or 2 before and do the whole before and after pics thing. But now after reading about walnut media and what not in thinking this is the kind of work a pro should be doing.

toyneg wrote:

DuncanF wrote:

toyneg wrote:a test drive would def be recommended, you'll be wanting to see if there are any knocking noises from the suspension at all which could be a leaking DRC Damper, and see if there is a noticeable 'kick' at 5500rpm. i would be a bit weary having no paperwork, can the garage that has maintained it not send you copies? even if the car is fine for you, it would hinder your resale value having no provable history.

What does the "kick" signify? Just before I killed my engine I had noticed a slight stutter under normal acceleration on a couple of occasions. I didn't have the opportunity to narrow it down to a specific rev range and/or throttle opening before I murdered her ...

at around 5500rpm the inlet flap opens so you feel a 'kick' of power. personally these cars need a MRC Stage 2 to really bring them up to what you would expect from a 400hp v8 haha

I think FSH in this case simply means a booklet with stamps at the appropriate intervals

R1RS4 wrote:It's advertised with FSH which means record of money spent on service and repairs and dates?

if I am brutally honest - if I was spending £20k on a car I would want all the paperwork, without it I would walk away.

You're right...thanks for the advice. Sometimes just need to hear it from someone else.

toyneg wrote:if I am brutally honest - if I was spending £20k on a car I would want all the paperwork, without it I would walk away.

+1

The_Coat wrote:

toyneg wrote:if I am brutally honest - if I was spending £20k on a car I would want all the paperwork, without it I would walk away.

+1

+2

toyneg wrote:if I am brutally honest - if I was spending £20k on a car I would want all the paperwork, without it I would walk away.

+3