[Closed] Project 2017 - RS4 Avant

My boss has an RS6. Loves it but you're gonna need deep pockets.

you might need to think about a Rottweiler to guard it. Thieves love them

I have a secure garage in a gated community 🙂

Check out the RS2

Yeah my mate had an RS4, people kept trying to nick it, even breaking into his house for the keys. So he sold it and bought a Porsche!!

Which sunglasses? (C) CFH

😀

I had a b7 S4 (4.2L V8) for 10 years, I sold it this year. I absolutely loved it, both my kids came home from hospital after being born in it. Clearly the main expense is petrol which if you have got as far as planning on buying one I am sure you have planned for, mine averaged around 20 mpg. It did everything brilliantly from going on holiday in it, to being epically fast, to being great in the snow. The only reason I sold it was it was starting to cost big money in repairs as it was 11 years old. I could get two 29ers in the back with the back seats down and the front wheels off. If you want to know anything else shout up.

What second car are you getting for when you do the weekend away/camping thing? There isn't much space in the back of them for kit...

Are you trying to start a record for simultaneous car threads? RS4's meant to be great cars.

Audi RS's particularly RS4's do have a reputation for being magnets for thieves - so I wouldn't have one! Plus they don't fit in my garage either

Be prepared to step over puddles of drool every time you leave it parked in a public place.

So lovely:
[img] [/img]

I had a b7 S4

This id like to understand. I get the BMW model naming but not Audi

Very fast but don't handle very well.

Never driven one but every review I've ever seen says that the b7 RS4 was one of the best handling Audi's of the last 20yrs. I guess it depends what your handling benchmark is... four wheel drive estate or sports car?

I have never driven one either.

However saying it's the best handling Audi in 20yrs isn't much of an accolade.

I can't say I would want that much power in a family car, I would get a mondeo estate and buy an MX5 too

A second hand one?

You mean the ones with the "white crazy powder" engrained in the carpets? The 3x too dark blacked out windows ? The ones with the baseball bat under the drivers seat ? The ones with the front splitter split, the front suspension bushes crushed ? And the disgarded thong and bottom jewellery shuved down between the rear seats ?

That the one ?

Nothing my mate Tony the Hoover couldn't sort out bikebouy.

Nothing my mate Tony the Hoover couldn't sort out

Is he part of the Henry range 🙂

B5: 1994–2001,
B6: 2000–2006,
B7: 2005–2008,
B8: 2009–2015,
B9: 2015–present[1]

God only knows what the RS4 will be like,I had a lift to Glencoe in an RS6, I hope his fancy leather seats were wipe clean. It makes no sense to me how something that big, with two bikes in the back can go that quickly round corners. Tyres may end up costing you a bit as well 😀

I've got a 2013 RS4, a car I've desired but never been in a position to buy for years. However I treated myself last year and it's lovely. The problem, is that it's so ridiculously fast, you rarely get the chance to do anything other than pootle around in it. When you floor it, you are going so fast so quickly, it's quite frightening. Fuel around town will piss you off, but I've achieved as much as 30mpg on a 170 mile trip at most legal speeds. Also 20 inch wheels are so easy to damage.

Very fast but don't handle very well.

Utter tosh. The B7 was very, very good. B8 less so. It's amazingly delicate for a big-ish car.

Those people at Evo magazine. I think they actually drove it too:
"Compared to the original model, it feels incredibly responsive, supremely controlled and also has a capacity for interaction and entertainment that its predecessor couldn’t muster. All in all, it’s pretty damn superb."

I did a car control course with Don Palmer and he really rated the B7.

Check the DRS dampers have been replaced. £900 per corner and in theory all should be done at once. There was a recall in the US on them, but UK ones were just replaced under "goodwill" up to 5 years old.

VED is about £400.

Thirsty.

Amazing noise. Loved owning it.

check out the buyers guide in VW Driver. Also have a chat to Andrew at www.volkswizard.co.uk. He is a VAG group specialist with an interest in RS4's.

20k will probably get you a B7 version.

Lovely cars to look at but to my mind they fit into the "too fast, too flash" category. I'd be worried about having it nicked, or getting nicked for going to fast.

Nothing my mate Tony the Hoover couldn't sort out
Is he part of the Henry range

[img] [/img]

Don't assume that the'gated community' will keep you safe. A friend of a friend had a visit from the local police's CID to warn him that thieves were targeting RS4s and suggested that he find somewhere secure and out of sight to hide the car until the thieves were caught. Apparently they were giving the same warning to every RS4 owner in the county.

This video tells you all you need to know:

A friend of mine has one (B7), he's been trying to sell it for a while.

Stupid fast, stupid thirsty, thief magnet - apparently an RS4 interior is pretty high on thieves wish-list.

I think you need a different forum to really speak to owners and find out the protentional pit-falls, but for your money you're in B7 territory which I seem to recall can suffer from suspension problems which is a very expensive thing to fix.

for your money you're in B7 territory

Looks good.

A lease option isn't out of the question if all my cards land right at the beginning of next year.

You sir, have taste.

The B6 but amazing.

The reviews are mostly based on testing around the Nurburgring or similar. If you buy one for normal driving around the SE, its all about wanting the car, as at no point in your life will you feel able to test out the performance and handling to its maximum. Unless you are feeling suicidal!

What Rockape63 says.

I won't be taking it on track days. I want to experience it. Who knows where things will take me after that.

I would get a mondeo estate and buy a [s]MX5 [/s] Cayman too

FTFY

A good mate had a new RS4 and then changed to a new RS6. Other than engine size I know nothing about the differences but I do know that the RS6 is very thirsty and pretty uncomfortable for distance driving.
He fairly quickly also got a Golf for [s]longer distance[/s] driving which he loves [and has just been to Italy to spec a Ferrari so I'm guessing the Audi will be gone].

Oh yes..... and his house was broken into and the RS4 stolen.
Luckily they had gone on holiday that morning and I went round to change the locks and the police said that the theives had taken kitchen knives upstairs to the bedrooms. Bloody scarey 😯

Be prepared to step over puddles of drool every time you leave it parked in a public place.

Middle aged man drool. If that's your bag, crack on!
Not exactly a fanny magnet though...

OP - I hope you get a great one and really enjoy it.

Lots of hand wringing on this forum!

I did a similar thing a few years ago - always wanted a Porsche - really enjoying having it.....but they do cost if they go wrong.

Security - well worth thinking about from the above replies. Tracker?

Costs - buy the best you can and have a war chest for any problems (not sure if warranties are worth having, they have an annoying habit of not covering stuff that goes wrong).

Driving - if my first experience is anything to go by, you end up accelerating too hard, then immediately have to scrub off extra speed - takes a while to get used to the power!

Overall don't listen to the knockers - if that's what you want go and get it & enjoy it!

Go for it but my advice would be to get one with a full service history and all other receipts to prove its had the money it should have spent on it, i.e. Good tyres rather than cheap ones indicate that it has not been looked after on the cheap. 100000 miles was when mine started to cost money in repairs so I would go for as lowest mileage as you can. A couple of things to look for are the adaptive xenon headlights break after a while (they flicker then turn off), they cost £1000 per unit to replace, the rear wiper motor gets water ingress and fails and the suspension takes a battering so needs a good check over too. Mine did get stolen (house burglary) but I had a tracker so I got it back after it lost the police in a chase at 150 mph!

it lost the police in a chase at 150 mph!

and this is why they get stolen apparently, the perfect getaway car for 4 x armed blokes and a boot full of loot!

The police thought it had been taken to be used as a getaway car! At the time it was only 18 months old I was less worried about it being stolen when it was older.

I had one, a B7 with 40k on it when I bought it - was nicked a year later with 52k on it.

I paid 28k for mine, which was about the right sort of money at the time (4 years ago). They're pretty quick as you'd expect but they're not in the same league as an M5 or RS6. They sound mental, especially if you delete the cat but that can lead to issues with the engine management if you're not careful.

They get coked up (not like that) which means you have to have the head removed for a de-coke. If you don't do it, it seriously chokes the power and it runs like poop. Can't remember how much it is, but it isn't cheap and it WILL happen.
On a run I'd get around 24mpg - at Spa it was nearer 8. Day to day driving is around 19-20mpg but I've got a bit of a heavy right foot.
Tyres - I ran Pirelli's on mine which were around £1500 for a set. Even with quite a bit of track work they lasted well and my mate ran Falkens on his that were just as good and about £400 less
Be very careful what one you buy. Spec is crucial, especially if you want to sell it at some point. Whatever you buy, make sure it's had front discs recently as they're a fortune and also make sure it has Sat Nav fitted. Seriously, they're almost un-sellable if they don't have it, even thought its rubbish to use. Also be aware that they never make 420bhp as quoted, ever. At best it'll be 380bhp unless you do some mods.
Oh and if it has the big seats (why would you not) then anyone sitting in the back will have to be vertically challenged as they rob all the rear leg room.

Its a highly strung V8 engine that revs like mad. So expect high running costs (you need to put decent oil in it for a start, and no uni-part brake pads!) . For track work it was mint, round the Nurbergring and Spa it was the perfect car for a talentless goon like me. However if I wasn't taking it on track, I wouldn't bother. There's no where on the road that you can exploit the handling and straightline speed isn't amazing - you can buy quicker cars for a lot less money and lower running costs. My 335d with a map wasn't far off it in a straight-line for example.

Eventually it was stolen whilst parked at my mums whilst I was in the Alps. My mum lives miles away from anywhere in deepest darkest Suffolk. The police think that the crims followed me back from London, then kept an eye on the house until my mum went out. At which point they broke in and stole the keys - it was then used for robbing ATM's out of somewhere north of Norwich.

If you want one, you want one and nothing anyway says will change that. However if you're not doing track work, I'd recommend something else as they're not a lot of fun just pootling around and doing that will cause the above 'coke' issue (similar to DPF failures).

I saw a lovely new S6 Avant yesterday. Paint was not unlike the RS6 Daytona grey (kind of shiny matte metallic?), ten spoke wheels, roof rails, bike rack etc. It seemed to have the black trim pack too. As much as love the RS6 I think this was nicer because it was a bit less absurd looking.

agent007

it lost the police in a chase at 150 mph!

and this is why they get stolen apparently, the perfect getaway car for 4 x armed blokes and a boot full of loot!

No, they are broken for parts.

Lots of hand wringing on this forum!

Can't see any at all, have the moderators been busy or do I have a lousy memory?

There should be some on a forum where people spend a lot of time on their bikes. Posters bragging/moaning about how their car is too slow in the traffic lights GP should be seen as trolling, not members challenging anti-social behaviour in cars.

What happened to the Alfa, OP?

No, they are broken for parts

Well there's two on here that have been nicked for bank jobs, including mine! As per the reasons above, the investigating officer who contacted me said they're ideal for bank jobs as nothing on the norfolk forces can catch them

For 20k you're looking at quite an old one, 2006 - 2007.

As has been mentioned, make sure it has had all the money spent on it that it needs and have a good contingent fund ready for things to go wrong.

I'd possibly look at an S4 for a good chunk of performance without the RS taxes.

For 20k you're looking at quite an old one, 2006 - 2007.

But they won't be depreciating anymore. You'll spend £2-3k a year on maintenance probably but compare that to say £5-6k a year depreciation on a nearly new one and it's peanuts.

What happened to the Alfa, OP?

A combo of me not knowing the air intake was in the wheel arch, and a ford which was deeper than than the marker post indicated due to unseen wheel ruts under the surface.

Luckily my insurance company were empathetic. Well, until renewal time anyway.

But they won't be depreciating anymore.

Looking at used examples they are still dropping with some 2007 examples dropping to about 14k so there is still some money to be lost if it's not a minty fresh lower mileage example and it sounds as though the OP is thinking about putting mileage on it.

Embarrassing but nothing to be ashamed of. Poor Alfa. Would you have tried to ride it on an MTB? 😛

They sound a proper PITA to own. As lovely as they look I wouldn't want that added amount of pure buggeration factor in my life

I wouldn't have another one. Not quick enough for the amount of money it cost to run. At the time of ownership, I also had an Astravan to actually drive about in and carry bikes...

Remapped S4? Might save a few quid.

Remapped S4? Might save a few quid.

Seen this before, but it misses the point. You don't buy an RS4 to drive down your local roads at 150mph, you buy it because its an RS4. A remapped S4 is still not an RS4.

A remapped S4 is still not an RS4.

Agree, if you've always wanted an RS4 and buy the S4 then you'll only be disappointed. S4 is a great car but you don't want to think 'if only' every time an RS4 drives past.

Kryton, you should buy it.

However, it's all getting a bit pistonheads in here, isn't it?

Can I start with the 'bingo' words that we may or may not get:

"Epically fast"
"Lovely place to be"
"Mile muncher"
"Boot swallows anything"

You could surely get a similar aged (or newer) M3 for the same money.

The problem, is that it's so ridiculously fast, you rarely get the chance to do anything other than pootle around in it

This is the point I was making, too much car to be used on the roads, so you get none of the benefits with all of the costs ie fuel/tyres/maintenance.

Great car if your idea of fun is going quick in a straight line before slamming the brakes on when you get to the next car. Plus even fast cars become slow cars when you have driven them enough.

A much slower good handling car that you can take over its limit is more fun.

Remapped S4

A friend has one of these, it's:

"Epically fast"
"Lovely place to be"
"Boot swallows anything"
"not an RS4"

my mate has a b6 rs4 estate in that blue with the recaros.

IT was nearly written off when JUST the seats were stolen.

he is paranoid to leave it anywhere.

he is a mechanic to trade and a set of disks and pads still cost him > 800 quid

it did something wierd where it filled the cylinders with water when the ecu got confused.

looks and drives the nuts and id love one if someone else was paying the bills and the insurance and fuel. but for now its a nice car to admire from afar as oppose to sinking all my money into it ......

how ever - much like my other mates elise , its pretty much stagnated in value since he bought it.

my mate has a b6 rs4 estate

Audi didn't make a B6 RS4 - just the S4.

RS4's were B5, B7 and B8

Very fast but don't handle very well.

Yawn. Rated as a M3 beater by some.

All it is is a middle aged, middle man, middle management man crush.

Once you admit that to yourself (yourselves) you'll be much better off.

There are so many downsides to owning one of these, image apart, that a bloke with a family whose always complaining about "not enough time with them, training angst and not being better on a bike than >> that bloke, the Mrs Car needs replacing oh sod that I'll get me a flash ponce mobile instead"

Sorry K57, but your posts on here have a great deal to say about the stage of life you are currently in.

When you fall off the other side of it, post on here and let us know what else you don't have/need/why's my family left me blah di blah.

No offence.

as has already been mentioned - the interior is high on the steal list - a quick look at the VAG scene cars shows just how many RS4 interiors find their way into golfs and A3's.

bikebouy - Member

All it is is a middle aged, middle man, middle management man crush.

Once you admit that to yourself (yourselves) you'll be much better off.

There are so many downsides to owning one of these, image apart, that a bloke with a family whose always complaining about "not enough time with them, training angst and not being better on a bike than >> that bloke, the Mrs Car needs replacing oh sod that I'll get me a flash ponce mobile instead"

Sorry K57, but your posts on here have a great deal to say about the stage of life you are currently in.

When you fall off the other side of it, post on here and let us know what else you don't have/need/why's my family left me blah di blah.

No offence

How can you write that and then "no offence"

There's obviously a reasonable amount of offence in the post...

Is suppose so, but hey. I don't mean to be offensive and sorry if it's come over that way.

All it is is a middle aged, middle man, middle management man crush.

Once you admit that to yourself (yourselves) you'll be much better off.

And there goes all the fun from the thread....

Most of these posts aren't about reality, they're about fantasy, a bit of whatif from the male hindbrain, as I'm sure we all realise- and we've all been there, a bit of imagination and man maths.
In my opinion there's no way a 10 year old supercar is going to be practical or affordable transport for a travelling salesman for any length of time, irrespective of the initial purchase price.

No, hang on.

He can spend what he likes on what he likes .. no problem with that at all. If you've followed enough of K57's threads over the years you see a pattern. Sorry to be one to point that out.

Best of luck, hope you find a decent one.

Meh, if he's going to have a full on midlife crisis then an RS4's as good a way to scratch the itch as any 😀
Also, the extra BHP may get him home 5 mins earlier which is 5 mins more on trainneroad - marginal gains!

it did something wierd where it filled the cylinders with water when the ecu got confused.

Whu...?

How can you write that and then "no offence"

I initially thought that, then laughed because I do moan a lot I admit that, and it probably comes across as needy and ungrateful or even materialistic if you don't know me.

they're about fantasy

your posts on here have a great deal to say about the stage of life you are currently in.

Yes I'm 44 what do you expect? But my wife won't go without her new mini/SUV, my kids aren't doing without and my bike stock is being managed/turnover nicely. It might be that have a opportunity to drive something a bit exotic for a bit that also happens to work with my lifestyle, why should I turned that down if that's what I want to do? I'm not suggesting it my change my life in any shape or form, and indeed I may be in here next year bemoaning the incredibly un-useful vehicle I've just bought.

Also, the extra BHP may get him home 5 mins earlier which is 5 mins more on trainneroad - marginal gains!

I like your thinking here, one on the list for the conversation with Mrs K.

see a pattern

Moan, moan, buy something slightly compromised from the original idea?

^^^^ no need to defend yourself, probably same thought process as many go through, with the added advantage of having the ability/funds/health to realise some of it... 🙂

with the added advantage of having the ability/funds/health to realise some of it.

Lets hope so, I've some dark circled eyes and a growing Rioja habit as evidence of how hard I've worked to date to hopefully reap the probably temporary reward of this little trinket.

Meh, if he's going to have a full on midlife crisis then an RS4's as good a way to scratch the itch as any

Yup exactly, and the RS4 a cool, fast, iconic car that's actually pretty damn good at doing what it's designed for - i.e a practical, everyday, all weather supercar (designed for those who like to be a bit more discreet).

Far better the OP buys this (or another genuine sportscar) for his midlife crisis that some expensive, showy blinged up SUV that's not particularly good at anything.

Good choice OP 🙂

Our next door neighbour had an rs4, some shits broke down his front door at 0300 kicked the shit out of him until he gave the, the keys and drove off in it .
He moved house shortly after , and never really got over the ordeal.
I used to be a police officer, and can confirm that 5 door high powered estates are high on the shopping list of thieves.
I would love to own one, but could not justify the risk of having it stolen

First thing I'd be looking at it 'do I have the money to run this car how I want & when I want?'.

If not, then I am not sure there's much point as it'll just be something that sits in the garage/on the drive that you feel guilty about using.

A bloke at work bought himself a 2006 V8 Vantage a few years back. He's a real petrolhead, has got a couple of track day cars and probably does around 10 track days/year generally with an hour of tuition every time, spends every weekend from the sound of it in the garage tinkering with car related stuff etc.
I think he's doing pretty well for himself; mortgage paid off, no kids, partner who works full time in a decent job, RAF pension & I imagine he earns a half decent amount at our place......basically, in terms of disposable income he is probably doing OK...

But, the Aston seems to be stretching him in terms of costs....and I can't see it being that far away from something like an RS4.
Tyres are over £1k a set, servicing is the thick end of £1k, VED is around £500 I think, fuel consumption is around 18mpg driving it 'normally'.
He used to drive it to work on a Friday, but that's stopped and I heard him talking to someone the other day saying it hasn't been out of the garage for 3 months.....

It's one of those things where I think if you have the money, then why not? Go for it. But the cost of buying the car is often not representative of the cost to drive the car.
Unless you know you could afford to get in it when you want & drive it how you want I think I would find it an annoying encumbrance.

A local family won £1million on one of those lotto raffle numbers that are printed on the ticket. He treated himself to an RS6 avant; not new though, one a couple of years old.
In that situation I think it makes sense, but not in a situation where you have to decide between 'filling the RS4 up' or paying the electricity bill.....

Christ I've always wanted an RS4, 911 or similar - I'd have bought one when I was 20's if I could have afforded it, but I couldn't.

So why when your find yourself in your 40's and finally have the money to afford such a car is it all of a sudden a 'midlife crisis' to go and buy one?

How can you write that and then "no offence"

There's obviously a reasonable amount of offence in the post...

You can't really argue against a reasonable amount of offence. That would be unreasonable.

Well done for not writing "offense".

to be fair i knew it was the previous model- its an 06 so i guess that makes it the first of the b7s but all the audis look the damned same.

still a great fun car just wouldnt want the bills associated with it .

and sorry it wasnt water - it was fuel. it just kept pumping fuel in flooded them right out. - even with a confused ECU it would be damned hard to get water in the cylinders unless something was broke. what did happen though was audi came and collected and sorted it .... and it was far from new at that time !

stumpy talks sense.

Look, I like K57. Honestly I do.

I've enjoyed all his posts over the years and if you have followed them, like I have, you will see a pattern. Sorry to be the one to type the obvious...rather point the obvious out.

But we've all been there, I have. I'm just pointing out that fast cars aren't all they are cracked upto be. There is/there are so much/many more things to life than a big engined/large wheel-arch thirsty vehicle for pottering along at 50mph on the North Circular.

And I'm sure K57 knows I'm not being offensive, far from it.

And I'm sure K57 knows I'm not being offensive, far from it.

I don't think you are, but before we continue with RS4's which I'd genuinely like to do to learn more about buying an owning one, I'd like to know what this pattern is to see if it coincides with my own thoughts on the matter?

There is/there are so much/many more things to life

Quite, you haven't read my orienteering thread? Which FWIW entailed a night -in the pouring rain on Saturday/Sunday orienteering around 12 miles of Epping Forest. I've moved on from being materialistic, and being materialistic isn't the reason I want to buy this car. I am a so far underachieving petrol head, and while I've go the chance I'd like to own syuch a vehicle. I'm not buying it for you to point at and be jealous of me about, I'm buying it so I can (hopefully) enjoy it for a short period.

Same as a few other things I'm trying out at the moment. Some free, some in nature, some in the City. This is me pushing outside my preconcieved lifestyle box in order to test the boundaries and explore life a little, before its to late.

I am a so far underachieving petrol head, and while I've go the chance I'd like to own syuch a vehicle

I still think an MX5 will be a more rewarding car to drive.

All the high power modern cars I have driven are just not attainable on the road and actually leave you feeling a bit disappointed.

Meh,

I'm still saying Panigale.

Autoblipper, slipper clutch, traction control, 190bhp in a <200kg machine.. 0-100 quicker than the RS will do 0-60 😉

Pffft.