New RS4 Owner - Long Time Lurker

[innercry666]

Having being lurking on here in the shadows for a while I thought it was about time I introduced myself...

I picked up a new RS4 about 6 weeks ago having owned an A4 3.0 TDI Quattro Avant BE for a couple of years. Having ticked most of the option boxes on the A4, it was supposed to be a keeper but unfortunately the build quality for what was a £46K car was pretty poor. I spent a couple of years chasing problems with Audi UK and the last time the car was with the dealer for a few days to try and sort the remaining issues, I had an RS4 as a loaner. Brand new and very few miles it was a thing of beauty. Much better build quality than the A4 and after 3 days of running it in for Audi I was devastated to hand it back!

I hasten to add I'd had an hour in one prior to this and was impressed with how good the RS4 was to drive but the lack of torque compared to 3.0 TDI Quattro was noticeable. So much so I had a BiTDI A6 as a loaner and that was going to be the car of choice, however the RS4 left a bigger hole than I was expecting! Once the decision was made to get rid of the A4, RS4 ownership was the target. When I handed back the RS4, I enquired about putting a factory order in for a new build and it turned out that Audi had jsut announced that they were to cease production and the order book was therefore shut! I thought the RS4 dream was dead before I even had chance to persuade the wife that an RS4 was a good idea!

However, after a little bit of digging into the dealer network I managed to strike a deal on an un-registered RS4 with the minimum spec I was looking for (and more besides):

Panther Black
Black Styling
Privacy Glass
Red Brake Calipers
Sports Pack w V-Spokes
Pano Sunroof
B&O
Advanced Key
Driver Assist Pack
Nappa Leather - Black
Heated front and rear seats
Convenience Pack

Looking at the various un-registered cars that were out there, there was a lot of choice but this one was the spec that I wanted. Ideally I would have had the RS4 in Daytona Grey (again) but I saw photos of Panther Black with red brake calipers on here and was pleasantly surprised by the combo so that helped make the decision. Looks good when freshly tarted-up but doesn't stay that way for long, as I'm sure some of you are aware...

I must admit I was a bit nervous about spending a chunk of money on another Audi after a fairly bad experience previously but the RS4 is definately a better built machine. The main problems with the A4 were:
Didn't drive straight with the steering wheel straight (easy to solve but not through Audi)
Trim rattles galore
Doors juddered in their frames when going over bumps
Wind noise around the doors

These were the main things I was looking for when test driving the RS4 and with the exception of the car not steering straight with the steering wheel straight the rest was nice and solid. I have had a couple of trim niggles in the RS4 but these have been sorted by the dealer. There is one issue that is hard to tell if it's an issue or not - DRC ride quality and sounds emanating from the suspension. Had another RS4 loaner recently (on Bridgestones which were a huge improvement over the Pirelli's) and it was a lot smoother over the same roads in comfort mode. In mine there is a lot of vibration that is passed to the cabin. It's not really a problem at the moment but having read the posts on here regarding the issues with the DRC I'm not that confident it won't turn into one.

So far so good though. Even the fuel economy is not that bad! The 3.0 TDI would do 35mpg on average and the RS4 is returning just under 25mpg at the moment for a mix of cross country and motorway, so that is better than I expected.

It's been interesting reading the forum over the last few weeks, getting up to speed with other's experiences, particularly with Audi dealers and with Audi UK themselves. It amazes me that Audi are able to get away with three seperate entities that operate under the same brand and that they can all sit there and point the finger and totally muddy the waters when it suits them...

Anyway, I must say the RS4 is an awesome machine to drive which definately enhances the daily grind . Right I'm off to finish fettling the paint work before it rains...

[Brooner]

welcome and FON rule 1 some pictures please

[milesg]

Welcome and FON!

Good choice sir. Panther black is awesome!!!!!

[innercry666]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

So, after the rain finally cleared I managed to get the car finished, following 8 hours of cleansing, polishing and protecting the paint work these are the results in the pics below. I agree, Panther Black is an awesome colour and suites the RS4 perfectly, but wow it takes way more work to get it looking it's best. Very pleased with the results though. The emerald flake really pops out now from certain angles which was barely noticeable before. The products used were all Autoglym:

HD Cleanser - Used loads of this to take off the residue from the delivery wrap and get the paintwork back to brass tacs.
Ultra Deep Shine - Two coats to reduce the swirls and scratches. Hard stuff to take off but gives a good base for the wax.
HD Wax - Two coats to really get the flake in the paintwork to come through.

I had intended to use a mix of Meg's and AG but decided to keep it simple as there was the ever present threat of rain. Typically though, after all that effort, it rained last night...

[MugelloR]

Lovely!!! That'll do nicely.....FON

[kmpowell]

The colour popping 'money-shot'...

[miatang]

lOOKING GOOD

[carsarecool]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

So, after the rain finally cleared I managed to get the car finished, following 8 hours of cleansing, polishing and protecting the paint work these are the results in the pics below. I agree, Panther Black is an awesome colour and suites the RS4 perfectly, but wow it takes way more work to get it looking it's best. Very pleased with the results though. The emerald flake really pops out now from certain angles which was barely noticeable before. The products used were all Autoglym:

HD Cleanser - Used loads of this to take off the residue from the delivery wrap and get the paintwork back to brass tacs.
Ultra Deep Shine - Two coats to reduce the swirls and scratches. Hard stuff to take off but gives a good base for the wax.
HD Wax - Two coats to really get the flake in the paintwork to come through.

I had intended to use a mix of Meg's and AG but decided to keep it simple as there was the ever present threat of rain. Typically though, after all that effort, it rained last night...

Nice work....I use the AG Super Resin Polish under UDS and then HD wax and that sorts the swirls (when I am pushed for time I use Ultra Gloss Protection on top off SRP). Picked up a MK7 Golf GTD yesterday in Deep Black and I spent 3 hours SRP, UDS and HD-ing it in the PM.....then the rain came......my right shoulder is killing me today (as yours must after 8 hours).

[innercry666]

Thanks guys I appreciate the comments.

My arms were pretty tired after 8 hours but it was my hands that took the punishment - HD cleanser doesn't do particularly good things to your skin either. Next time I'll get them in some gloves...

carsarecool - loving the bead porn! Do you find the UDS easier to take off if you've used a layer of SRP underneath?

I was tempted to also use a layer of extra gloss protection but I didn't have the time to allow to cure so skipped it and went for two coats of the wax. It seems to be doing the job well though:

[nastro azzurro]

Looks great. But I would say that as it's exactly the same as mine ( which I pick up next week )!

[Outtlaw]

Love the green fleck, didn't realise Panther black flipped that way thought it was more purple!
Stunning anyway and nice pics.

[innercry666]

Thanks guys. The emerald fleck popping out really surprised me as I had only seen the purple before tarting her up. Look at the car from back to front and it was emerald popping and the look the other way and it was purple. Straight on and it was jet black. I did wounder what the 'crystal paint' was all about...

nastro azzurro - looking forward to seeing some shots when you pick her up!

[nastro azzurro]

I'm looking forward to picking it up!!
I could have picked it up tomorrow but I'm off for a short break on Saturday so put it off until next Thursday. A few more days won't hurt and sitting in the sun with a cocktail will make it even easier!
I'll get some pictures up........after a bit of time with a grin on my face!