Opinions on this example

[Adam]

Hi

Not a newbie but a longtimeawayie! Young daughter means I may have to defer my 996TT dream for a few years and get something practical yet fast and fun. Brought me back to Audi thoughts (used to have a chipped S3) and the RS4. Drove a new one and thought very nice but hear worrying things on depreciation so B5 seems a safer idea.

Would appreciate your thoughts on this one:

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/117951.htm

I am after a low mileage, mint one but are they really fetching £29k for a 5 year old car? Is that not 55% of new price? I know they hold their value well but I was hoping to spend £25k or less on one. I know this guy has spent a lot on mods but I always assumed they retained very little of their value. Are most people wary of modded cars when reselling. I am not but thinking of when I try to get that 996TT in a few years time.

Anything to worry about with this MTM conversion and longevity? New turbos on this car is not a good sign given mileage! The addition of a turbo boast (sic) gauge is not a great sign either IMHO - why would one add that?. Surprised that the suspension is std as that was the one area I thought needed improvement when I drove a B5 RS4 5 years ago.

[S4INT]

Hi Adam,

I saw that one advertised a couple of months ago on PH, so the fact that it's readvertised may tell you something about the price. It may also mean that you could do a bit of haggling.

It does look like a lovely car in the pics and very low mileage, but as you say, the fact it's had new turbos already is a concern, I would want to know all the reasons behind that one. The MTM conversions are one of the best out there, so I wouldn't worry about that.

It's got some choice mods, but with that power you would really want to consider upgrading the suspension as the standard set-up is a bit soft. I also wouldn't be concerned about the boost gauge - it's a useful tool on a modified car as an early warning of boost leaks etc.

I think that car would be well worth a look, good luck!

[dssean]

if its the car i looked at its been in a couple of accidents.check the colour match on the pass side front wing(on the lip under the bonnet it is far cleaner then the other side) also check the drivers side rear quarter panel as it had a bad repair in by the boot shut (also easy to spot if you look in the conpartment in the boot on that side) if it is the car then the guy who was selling it to me was very dishonest as i always ask if there was any accident damage before i meet them, then when i spotted it he came clean, so i told him to leave. if it isn't the car then .......................... sorry ... better safe then sorry
regards
sean

[Nige_RS4]

Also, the brakes look like GmBH ones (which have been painted!!), which IIRC aren't much better than stock - if you plan to do any track days, then you may need to upgrade them again!

Have you considered the noggy blue one for sale via this forum ?

[derdle]

Hi, don't know about this particular car, but turbo replacement can sometimes be "one of those things". I had mine replaced at 65k due to a suspected bearing failure on one side. It could be that the previous owner didn't let the car idle after a run in order to cool the turbos and let them slow down...might be the case with this car. Mine has the MTM stage I and I'm happy with it.

No idea either about the brakes, but some people use stock brakes on the RS4 even on the track!

Good luck with the hunt for your car.

Paul

[rs2315]

Don't spend any more than £25,000.
Some nice cars to be had for around this mark.
rs2315.

[lengster1]

No they arent fetching 29k but it doesnt stop people asking it eh?Agree with derdle about turbo replacement its a bit of a pot luck thing,it sounds bad and the price isnt good but its usually only a £3 seal that causes the huge expense.The main reason this car is still for sale is the silver leather and poss accident damage if its the same car that dssean thinks it is,audi make a crap job with interiors when they do anything other than all black,they just dont look right the dash carpets and other trims should also be done in a lighter colour for it all to "gel" properly,i remember when looking for mine this combo hung around while others were selling quickly,but its personal choice at the end of the day eh?

[Adam]

Thanks for the feedback guys. My thoughts:

1. new turbos not a no-no necessarily could even be a positive, I take it from your responses they are not an MTM upgrade. This combined with boost gauge does worry me that it sums to a boy racer.

2. brakes confused me as the usual upgrade for the S3 was AP or Porsche big reds yet these have the 4 rings on - was there are GmbH upgrade available with red calipers? Won't be tracking the car so they don't have to be race spec but obviously an upgrade is no bad thing on fast Audis.

3. Price - glad to hear its ambitious.

4. Sean you could save me a lot of time if you don't mind. There can't be that many cars of that spec and mileage around - do you remember the guys name or whereabouts in London you saw the car. I could then confirm and avoid if necessary.

5. Noggy blue not for me I fear - Misano Avus or black I think

Anyone reading who is thinking of selling a mint low mileage example at a realistic price please let me know.

Any other thoughts welcome - I will ask some other basic questions on another post.

[lengster1]

On the mod side of things, all i would say is that the std susp is very soft for the performance available,std engines are quite ok but really need an upgrade to turn them into a real flying machine the driveability is sooo much better you dont need to use the second half of the revrange to make swift progress,i dont honestly think theyre will be many standard ones left.

[Golich]

Someone has spent a HELL of a lot of money on this car producing pretty much thee ideal spec (well for me). On the face of it this is a very nice car, i.e. sunroof SAT NAV/TV, alcantara steering wheel. AND one of the best power upgrade options, i.e. MTM's 460bhp upgrade - That's a stage III not just basic remap, i.e. the full free flow CATs and CAT back exhaust system as well as a matched quality remap = not done on the cheap!

The brakes are far from painted calipers on Gmbh disks. While it’s difficult to tell from the small photo, the fronts are not a standard caliper the shape is completely different. The Gmbh disks have much smaller holes. (Look at the Gmbh spec sheet in the downloads section.) not sure who's brakes these are. The rear callipers are forward of the axle when the standards are rear of the axle. So someone has spec'd a full brake upgrade not just the fronts, again = not cheap!

IMO all turbo cars should come with boost gauges - simple boost leaks can equal expensive unnecessary turbo replacement - particularly on twin turbo car (twice the potentential for turbo failure.) So boy racer or sensible owner - you decide?

Personally its a good and reasuring extra with the bonus that when you test drive the car you know from the get go if its producing full boost and how its holding it (no gross fluctuations). So there's a must invaluable check which is only really possible via VAGCOM if a gauge isn't present. Mind you looking at the interior pic I can't see a boost gauge anywhere?

I had my turbos replaced at 34K. The main oil seal was leaking. I’m the 2nd owner, I bought the car six months previously with 28K miles. No problems with the car up to this point and coming from a chipped S4 I was paranoid about looking after my turbos/engine. So as someone has said above, Turbos on ANY car can just be one of those unlucky things, but certainly not letting them cool down can be an expensive mistake!

Re Suspension - if ever there was a personal subjective issue - its suspension. Case in point, just last night after a couple of months of trials I've come to the conclusion the new Koni adjustables on the rear of my RS4 have made the car worse. They clonk and skip on pot holes not matter what setting. The fronts have been a positive improvement but they are set to almost their softest setting. I was so convinced it couldn't be the dampers that I replaced all the rear end bushes. No easy task. But no matter what the rears were set at, soft or hard, they are just bloody awful and the stock rears with near 70miles are back on, and my car is transformed again. But another owner on here is delighted with his Koni set up.

I acknowledge the car does feel too soft for the track, but track and road conditions are SO different. I have the H&R anti roll bars still to go on as an experiment. But for me all I needed to change was the front dampers simply because I didn’t like their compression and rebound characteristics. Its easy to forget the RS is a heavy lump of car with a seriously heavy lump of an engine placed over the front wheels. Its no 2.0L 4 cylinder in a light body like a Mitsubishi or Subaru – which I don’t want either!

Oops back to the post – IMHO this looks like a car well worth checking out. £29K with 40K miles for a 5year old car. The base car would cost easily £52K, the mods - bhp £3k?, brakes £3K? approx 50% , If it truly is a clean and well cared for car its not too badly priced compared to what's on Autotrader. I’d give £27K unless I could find a similar example cheaper. If that’s the kind of unique car you want its not too bad a price. Good luck!

[Golich]

Ooo too much time on my hands with that last post - had to get up at 6.00 am on a Sunday morn to run my girlfriend to work just waiting for daylight to wash the car

[Adam]

Personally its a good and reasuring extra with the bonus that when you test drive the car you know from the get go if its producing full boost and how its holding it (no gross fluctuations). So there's a must invaluable check which is only really possible via VAGCOM if a gauge isn't present. Mind you looking at the interior pic I can't see a boost gauge anywhere?

I had my turbos replaced at 34K. The main oil seal was leaking.

Thanks for your useful comments - could not see the gauge either but if I do check out this car what should I be looking for on a test run? Excessive or irregular boost? Are turbos generally replaced under warranty or do you have a fight on your hands?

[ScottyBoy]

No they arent fetching 29k but it doesnt stop people asking it eh?Agree with derdle about turbo replacement its a bit of a pot luck thing,it sounds bad and the price isnt good but its usually only a £3 seal that causes the huge expense.The main reason this car is still for sale is the silver leather and poss accident damage if its the same car that dssean thinks it is,audi make a crap job with interiors when they do anything other than all black,they just dont look right the dash carpets and other trims should also be done in a lighter colour for it all to "gel" properly,i remember when looking for mine this combo hung around while others were selling quickly,but its personal choice at the end of the day eh?

Dont forget thats just your opinion, unless of course you are an authority on used RS4 prices and Audi interior design!

[Golich]

Personally its a good and reasuring extra with the bonus that when you test drive the car you know from the get go if its producing full boost and how its holding it (no gross fluctuations). So there's a must invaluable check which is only really possible via VAGCOM if a gauge isn't present. Mind you looking at the interior pic I can't see a boost gauge anywhere?

I had my turbos replaced at 34K. The main oil seal was leaking.

Thanks for your useful comments - could not see the gauge either but if I do check out this car what should I be looking for on a test run? Excessive or irregular boost? Are turbos generally replaced under warranty or do you have a fight on your hands?

I'd give Kim Collins a call at QST to get the specific characteristics of the boost pressure. As it overboosts at certain revs.

[Nige_RS4]

The brakes are far from painted calipers on Gmbh disks. While it’s difficult to tell from the small photo, the fronts are not a standard caliper the shape is completely different. The Gmbh disks have much smaller holes. (Look at the Gmbh spec sheet in the downloads section.) not sure who's brakes these are. The rear callipers are forward of the axle when the standards are rear of the axle. So someone has spec'd a full brake upgrade not just the fronts, again = not cheap!

I didn't actually say they were painted std calipers - I thought the GmBH upgrade on the RS4 included new calipers?? I have never seen Audi rings on OEM or aftermarker calipers for our cars, so either they just stuck the Audi rings on, or had them painted red and stuck them on then?? They look too small to be Brembos - even the 4-pots???

Worth investigating further if you're serious about this car, as at this price, everything needs to be top notch!