B8 S4 Ownership

Author
Discussion

Adrian E

3,248 posts

175 months

Thursday 2nd March 2017
quotequote all
bungle said:
Jeez, £225 for an oil and filter change frown
What year is yours?

Dr G

15,159 posts

241 months

Thursday 2nd March 2017
quotequote all
bungle said:
Supercharger: I can't see this anywhere in the service schedule.
Tis in there, promise!


johnxjsc1985

15,948 posts

163 months

Thursday 2nd March 2017
quotequote all
I whimped out having seen two cars that looked good but I couldn't get a warranty as they were 13 years old even with a full service History.

bungle

1,874 posts

239 months

Thursday 2nd March 2017
quotequote all
Adrian E said:
bungle said:
Jeez, £225 for an oil and filter change frown
What year is yours?
2010.

bungle

1,874 posts

239 months

Thursday 2nd March 2017
quotequote all
Dr G said:
bungle said:
Supercharger: I can't see this anywhere in the service schedule.
Tis in there, promise!

Thanks. But I 100% guarantee you that is NOT in my service schedule!! (2010 service manual). What year is yours then? Have they introduced that recommendation since 2010?

err... also noticed on the bottom of the page an oil change for the sports diff, can you scan that page as well please? That is also definitely NOT in my service manual either. FFS this is ridiculous!!

bungle

1,874 posts

239 months

Thursday 2nd March 2017
quotequote all
And just to add to my moans for the day, I've had my warranty renewal letter. You used to be able to go online to see the options and buy it, play with the different options re full or limited cover, breakdown or not, different excesses etc, but now you have to phone up a call centre instead. (during office hours)

How painful is that going to be, given I will want to know what each of the prices for the myriad options is, so I can make an informed decision?

Sounds like a right backward step!

silentbrown

8,793 posts

115 months

Thursday 2nd March 2017
quotequote all
bungle said:
None of this was on the website, where the service was for "all models over 2 litres" and the brake fluid was "all models". No little asterisk to say "S is more" etc.

Jeez, £225 for an oil and filter change frown
The Audi website changed a while back. S models are now shown separately with higher prices frown S5 servicing is even more than S4...
You're lucky yours is over 3 years old - the prices for newer cars are higher still (but there's more scope for negotiation on those!)

bungle

1,874 posts

239 months

Thursday 2nd March 2017
quotequote all
silentbrown said:
The Audi website changed a while back. S models are now shown separately with higher prices frown
This was Listers' own site I was looking at, not Audi's.

Adrian E

3,248 posts

175 months

Thursday 2nd March 2017
quotequote all
bungle said:
Thanks. But I 100% guarantee you that is NOT in my service schedule!! (2010 service manual). What year is yours then? Have they introduced that recommendation since 2010?

err... also noticed on the bottom of the page an oil change for the sports diff, can you scan that page as well please? That is also definitely NOT in my service manual either. FFS this is ridiculous!!
Our S5 is 2011 and we have a 11.2010 service book - no mention of supercharger belt change in that either. Either they've added it due to experience or it only applies to facelift cars due to the different supercharger? Would be worth doing anyway, I suspect.

Ref the QSD oil change, I recall reading it's only the RS that requires it according to the service schedule (also not in my book) but again is something worth considering.

I asked about the age of yours as we had the 3-5 year old service plan on the S5, but we used the last one at the last service. It's not due another until June but I should probably look at what it's likely to cost.....

I'm thinking, based on relatively crappy service of late, that I'll get it done at an indy I used for my S8 and not bother renewing the warranty we've NEVER claimed on!

bungle

1,874 posts

239 months

Thursday 2nd March 2017
quotequote all
Adrian E said:
Our S5 is 2011 and we have a 11.2010 service book - no mention of supercharger belt change in that either. Either they've added it due to experience or it only applies to facelift cars due to the different supercharger? Would be worth doing anyway, I suspect.

Ref the QSD oil change, I recall reading it's only the RS that requires it according to the service schedule (also not in my book) but again is something worth considering.
All fair points. But goodness knows how we actually get a definitive answer! I don't expect that anyone at Audi will give any sort of informed answer, as we would just get referred to a call centre who would look on a database and get a "computer says no"-type answer. Or look at the service proposal for my age of car (and yours), which doesn't even have it in the service book, and say it doesn't need doing, even though (as you say) they may now have revised their advice for ALL belts due to some (unexpected) failures.

If anyone has got any decent contacts at Audi that may give an informed (correct!) view, I would appreciate it.


Adrian E said:
I asked about the age of yours as we had the 3-5 year old service plan on the S5, but we used the last one at the last service. It's not due another until June but I should probably look at what it's likely to cost.....

I'm thinking, based on relatively crappy service of late, that I'll get it done at an indy I used for my S8 and not bother renewing the warranty we've NEVER claimed on!
Yeah, my first one outside of the (free) service plan. Hence the shock at the price for an oil change.

I'm in the same boat as you. Given service prices, poor service from dealers, and the fact that even paying for the warranty is now made more difficult, I may just start taking the S4 to the same indy I've used for years for other VAG cars in our family. (and actually he will probably give me a view on supercharger belts / QSD oil change, now I come to think about it).

Adrian E

3,248 posts

175 months

Thursday 2nd March 2017
quotequote all
I put the details for our car into the 'fixed price services' link on the Audi website, for comedy. States £240 for an interim service and £495 for major service. Both of which exclude the usual host of time based recommended items on top (brake fluid, air-con, gearbox, cabin pollen filter.

Looking at the details it suggests the major service includes plugs every time, which I don't believe is part of the schedule at all? Service book states 57k/6 years. Had ours done before 5 years old at 43k so still early, but not every 2 years!

bungle

1,874 posts

239 months

Thursday 2nd March 2017
quotequote all
Adrian E said:
I put the details for our car into the 'fixed price services' link on the Audi website, for comedy. States £240 for an interim service and £495 for major service. Both of which exclude the usual host of time based recommended items on top (brake fluid, air-con, gearbox, cabin pollen filter.

Looking at the details it suggests the major service includes plugs every time, which I don't believe is part of the schedule at all? Service book states 57k/6 years. Had ours done before 5 years old at 43k so still early, but not every 2 years!
Spark plugs every 2 years is ridiculous. I'm sure they will quite happily charge you their "fixed price" £495 for a major service, but then say "it didn't need spark plugs this time, but we still have to charge you the fixed price Sir"

Would be useful if anyone had a link to a pdf copy of the latest version (facelift?) of the service book? (which DOES have the supercharger belt change in). I've just tried searching but can't find it.

I imagine if I ask to buy one at Audi, they will either charge me a small fortune, or they will only sell me a 2010 version, as that's what my car is.

Dr G

15,159 posts

241 months

Thursday 2nd March 2017
quotequote all
Audi only print one service book (and now only one service schedule) that I'm aware of, sometimes a service item is newer than the book. Newer books are definitely more comprehensive. S4/5 do not need diff oil changes, only the RS cars. That's a surprisingly expensive/annoying one too, there are actually two completely independent oil changes for a sport differential.

Audi love changing things like this, some examples:

Haldex oil changes now every 3 years regardless of mileage
2.5T needs spark plugs every 19k
RS4/5 need oil in the final drive every 19k

To everyone moaning about Audi prices - use a bloody specialist! laugh

bungle

1,874 posts

239 months

Thursday 2nd March 2017
quotequote all
Dr G said:
Audi only print one service book (and now only one service schedule) that I'm aware of, sometimes a service item is newer than the book.
Do you specifically know if the supercharger belt is therefore revised advice then (and applies to all supercharged S4s regardless of age/facelift)?

Dr G said:
Haldex oil changes now every 3 years regardless of mileage
Didn't know that, and relevant to another Audi we have!! (which I have been changing the oil on every 2 years for the last 15 years!).

Dr G said:
To everyone moaning about Audi prices - use a bloody specialist! laugh
Yeah you're right. I probably will. But whilst under extended warranty it just makes things more difficult when you don't have a FASH etc.

GrahamC230K

384 posts

243 months

Thursday 2nd March 2017
quotequote all
Adrian E said:
Our S5 is 2011 and we have a 11.2010 service book - no mention of supercharger belt change in that either. Either they've added it due to experience or it only applies to facelift cars due to the different supercharger? Would be worth doing anyway, I suspect.

Ref the QSD oil change, I recall reading it's only the RS that requires it according to the service schedule (also not in my book) but again is something worth considering.

I asked about the age of yours as we had the 3-5 year old service plan on the S5, but we used the last one at the last service. It's not due another until June but I should probably look at what it's likely to cost.....

I'm thinking, based on relatively crappy service of late, that I'll get it done at an indy I used for my S8 and not bother renewing the warranty we've NEVER claimed on!
It's not in the earlier service books. My dealer alerted me to the requirement to do this job my 2010 S4.

Dr G

15,159 posts

241 months

Friday 3rd March 2017
quotequote all
...and I've seen it stated by a dealer (Camberley) as due on a '59 that had at the time done ~57k miles.

So yes, does apply to all 3.0TFSI.

geeks

9,122 posts

138 months

Friday 3rd March 2017
quotequote all
Oh great and powerful (company directors hehe ) S4 owners, I have been toying with the idea of pickin up the new S4. However while having a poke around Audis used car section I have noticed that the B8.5 can be picked up in a decent spec as a bit of a bargain! I am a bit early I wont be looking to change out my A4 for another 6 months or so but if the right one came up I would swap out early.

With that in mind, whats the B8.5 S4 like on.. Fuel? Tyres? General Maintenance? Anything to avoid? Any must have options?

There is an appeal to a S/C whine, having never owned a car with that type of forced induction it seems like an ideal time to tick that one off the list smile

silentbrown

8,793 posts

115 months

Friday 3rd March 2017
quotequote all
Dr G said:
...and I've seen it stated by a dealer (Camberley) as due on a '59 that had at the time done ~57k miles.
Had a call from my local dealer a while ago that Audi had reduced the cam belt change interval for my previous B8 (2.0TFSI) and that it was due a belt change.

Chain-driven cams on that engine... smile

I was tempted to book it in and see if they claimed they'd actually done the job!


Adrian E

3,248 posts

175 months

Friday 3rd March 2017
quotequote all
geeks said:
I have noticed that the B8.5 can be picked up in a decent spec as a bit of a bargain! I am a bit early I wont be looking to change out my A4 for another 6 months or so but if the right one came up I would swap out early.

With that in mind, whats the B8.5 S4 like on.. Fuel? Tyres? General Maintenance? Anything to avoid? Any must have options?
There will always be a market for enthusiast spec S4s with ADS options - poverty spec cars will be more difficult to shift when the realities of fuel consumption compared to newer stuff becomes more of a cost of ownership factor. The B8.5 is allegedly much better on fuel so you should see high 20s on a run. Tyre wear isn't a major issue as long as you stick to decent rubber.

Buy at the right price and spec and you should find it easy enough to move on in the future. I haven't driven a B9 S4 yet so can't comment on how different it might be to drive. The tacked on centre screen does annoy me though....

catso

14,772 posts

266 months

Friday 3rd March 2017
quotequote all
silentbrown said:
Had a call from my local dealer a while ago that Audi had reduced the cam belt change interval for my previous B8 (2.0TFSI) and that it was due a belt change.

Chain-driven cams on that engine... smile

I was tempted to book it in and see if they claimed they'd actually done the job!
Don't take it so lighty.

I had an A3 3.2 (cam-chain engine) and I received a letter from the dealer advising that it required a cam-belt change due to age/mileage. I spoke to them and we resolved that issue, however shortly afterwards the cam-chain tensioner went for a st and it needed a new cam-chain...