I’m sorely tempted to buy a used S4 with the 3.0 supercharged V6.

2009 vintage with a smidge over 100k on the clock and full audi history is between 11k and 12k quid.

Bullet proof? Fun? Reliable?

Current BMW 335d F series estate is amazing but dull and goes back to the lease company in two weeks.

Experiences please!

Check rear callipers to see if they’ve ceased.

& Handbrake.

DSG? Check mechtronic box.

Check Coil Pack has been done.

But youll always be envious of the 4.2 V8…

amazing but dull

Say what now?

Audi has fixed price servicing for a lot of their stuff, not too sure how far back cars qualify.

DSG Mechatronic replacement (the electronics not the whole box) for a 7 speed is £1300.

DSG oil change needs to happen every 38000 miles.

Does it have NAV? If not you cant retro fit on that model so be aware of that.

Condition of discs and pads, both are expensive to replace on the S4

Wouldnt touch one without an Audi ( preferable) history, its also worth getting the reg number and politely asking Audi service to tell you if there is anything on the service record that shouts out as being a future problem. They wont give you detail if you are not the owner but should advise you if amything looks untoward.

S4 is a very underrated car, the RS4 is of course better but will cost ALOT more ( as well as being a theft target)

I had the previous model (B7) 3.0l V6 Avant. Great car (until it prematurely lunched its cambelt).

The driving experience was very efficient and it was bloody fast, but dare I say it a bit dull.

You could also see the fuel gauge going down at a rate of knots whenever you put your foot down. Newer models might be better, but I struggled to ever better 25-27mpg, and that was driving like my nan.

Newer models might be better, but I struggled to ever better 25-27mpg, and that was driving like my nan.

Surely OP is not buying for fuel economy, if he was it would be a diesel Octavia! 😉

Good feedback so far, thanks!

Defo full audi history and no so bothered about Sat nav. The one I have my eye on does have standard speakers though, are they as terrible as the standard BMW ones?

I know what I’m buying into on the mpg front!

I can tell you discs and pads a corner are £400 a set, callipers for fronts are £350 ea and rear callipers are £78ea (same as A3/Golf)

Coil pack replacement FOC from Audi if not already done.

27mpg sounds about right…

Mechtronic box fails in 1st and won’t move selector, so check that .. it’s important.

Other than that if the brakes work then just buy it and enjoy it.

I can tell you discs and pads a corner are £400 a set,

Holy crap, how so cheap. Dealers will charge £1500 for discs and pads all round.

<div class=”bbp-reply-author”>nickdavies
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But youll always be envious of the 4.2 V8…

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…til you remember that they eat their chain guides, and replacing them on the S4 requires taking off the entire front end of the car… 😀

To the OP, they’re fun and a lush place to be. As above, check the options before buying – mainly the seats, S-line trim, navigation, hifi, SD card slots etc, as although you can bodge them afterwards, it’s not ideal.

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Well, 20 months ago I was spending a lot of money extending my house and decided to sell my RS4 and buy an old S5. ( 3L supercharged) It had 105k on the clock but in pretty fine condition.  I was worried though that I think it might go wrong.

So, 20 months later it has cost me one service and two tyres and touch wood has been far and away a great deal  it doesn’t appear to have lost much value either

the power delivery is very smooth and enjoyable  I don’t even think about sport mode  on a run it can average low 30’s mpg and around shorter routes 24 mpg  I really like it

I had the previous model (B7) 3.0l V6 Avant. Great car (until it prematurely lunched its

i had a cabriolet sport with that engine and it’s not to be confused with the 3L supercharged mentioned. It’s totally totally different.

I can tell you discs and pads a corner are £400 a set,

Holy crap, how so cheap. Dealers will charge £1500 for discs and pads all round.

Well I have just changed all four discs/pads and callipers all round on my (similar, but roadster) version of it.. I did it myself apart from the fluid change, bit of a pig both rear callipers being partly seized but did find out that the rear callipers are the same fitted to Golfs and A3’s so can find them waaaayyy cheaper..

Also my best bud has an S4 Avant like the OPs and has had a couple of issues I mentioned above.. nice car.. his has just clocked 156k and still looks and feels about a year old.

I like this gen of Audi.. just touching on going all techno without going fully gamer lecteonic..

Oh another couple of points..

The Rads (both) get a bit sludgy so make sure they’re flushed, the water washer bottle goes manky and causes the pump to pack up and its a pig to get to.. the sensors (MAF) tend to read random and often it’s the sensors packing up.. also there is a tiny air feed from the back of the injectors that runs down the rear of the engine and fits to a tiny sensor right in the wrong place for fat hands.. and it splits and sends the wrong info to the mixture sensor so the car runs lumpy at between 800-1200rpm from cold…

If the oil hasn’t been changed regularly the filter collapses and folds in on itself restricting the in/out flow of oil through it into the engine…

Nice car though!

And if it’s got 18’s on it get some 225/45/18’s on it not the 40’s.. The 45’s are way smoother..

Sports rear diff was an option, dont know if that would make a difference to you for purchase decisions? (its a computer controlled torque vectoring diff, so not a simple retrofit like a mechanical LSD)

They are pretty good to tune, remap is knocking on 400bhp, pulley and remap 450bhp.

Seriously rapid car for cross country pace in comfort. Obviously not going to be as involving as a lightweight, or no aids rwd, but a very nice fast road car.

If you found the F 335D (310bhp, awd) dull, then an S4 will probably offer a similarly competent, but not “exciting” experience.

Have you test driven one?

…til you remember that they eat their chain guides, and replacing them on the S4 requires taking off the entire front end of the car…

And the engine out if its a rear chain guide like on a B6/7 V8, C5s are at least belt drive on the front so easy DIY.

As for things like discs, pads etc, you can often buy the identical part without the dealer mark up, eg Audi dont normally make certain parts, they buy them from brembo, bosch etc, so you can just buy them without Audi mark up. Decent indy can also massively cut down of hourly rate compared to Audi.

I’ve got a 2007 S4 4.2 cabriolet it’s awesome  ! Lql Parts are same as any other car, GSF and europarts always have offers

we Dont use it as every day car would cost a fortune…

Are you prepared for big bills?  It’s a 10 year old car, and you are coming from a lease.

I’m happy to do most consumable mechanical work myself like brakes, filters,  fluid changes, including the gearbox etc.

Other work like plugs, bushings are Ok too. Just don’t want the threat of unknown but avoidable failure!

Angeldust- what do you think the big bills would be? If I assume the engine is tough and the gearbox is the usual hit/Miss VAG affair but it seems regular oil changes – what would that leave that’s big? Cheers

All the big bills stuff has been outlined in this thread.

Check the plastic water pump has been replaced with a metal one.

Personally, I’d opt for the last of the V8 avants.

You’ll find the steering pretty uncommunicative & it a little understeery coming from a BMW.

what do you think the big bills would be?

Supercharger rebuild? I don’t know what the mileage would be if at all,  just a thought.

If you can replace consumables yourself then there won’t be too many. As long as it’s been serviced, at that mileage you would think any matrerial weaknesses would have already reared their ugly heads.

I have a 12 year old 330, owned for almost 3 years and it has had nothing spent on it other than tyres and normal service schedule items.

The water pump might fail as many do, which would be an £800 bill, but the ages and mileages others have suffered this fate are all over the place, so I will deal with it if it happens.

If a car is good and has been well maintained (which you can judge by its condition, service history and mot history to a large extent), then no reason for it to have any unexpected big bills unless there are known issues with certain things, which due diligence will raise when you are searching for info about your interested car and you can take into account – in my opinion.

The only thing to remember is that a once expensive car is still expensive to run even if it is cheap(er) to buy.

You can get big bills on any car at any time from my experience.  There’s a huge element of luck involved.  It worked for me fine, so no reason it won’t work for you.

My advice to anyone buying something a bit exotic is to spend a grand less than you can afford. That way any big bills early on are not the end of the world. I’m glad I followed my own advice when I bought a Mazda Rx7… I loved the car but it did need a full engine rebuild in my first year of ownership…

Those Mazda’s a great cars but they all need engine rebuilds at various stages. Sort of the reason I never got round to buying one.

Some good info on the Audi here though. I was looking at getting one recently but opted for an M-Sport 530 Touring instead. Great car that apart from the run flats

Hey Mintyjim,

How did you get on? did you take the plunge?

I just sold my b8 rs4. It was epic and lovely and idled at 7mpg. I’d get 210 miles on a tank so £75.

Blimey. That’s impressive!

I’ve got b8 S4 avant, that has a pulley and remap. Up there with the rs4 and get a rather frugal 24mpg.

Always wanted an rs4 though, love the look with those arches…