B8 S4 Ownership

[InfamousK]

Took the S4 out last night and to my amazement it has bendy headlights. :O

Was thinking of getting rid of the S4 in a few months now I've got a Range Rover - y'know just to make sure it's reliable but it's rather nice to just pop out in when it's just the two of us but I can't make any sense of keeping two practical family cars.

Edited by InfamousK on Sunday 20th August 22:03

[ninjag]

RoVoFob said:

So, it drove well and seems reasonable for the money condition wise. There is some wear and tear and a little rust on the inner wheel arches, but I imagine that’s relatively easily treatable.

Gearbox wasn’t 100% seamless at low speeds, but I think that’s more the nature of dual clutch transmissions than a problem. Am checking with Audi for evidence of the first S tronic oil change tomorrow.

I think for the price I’ve agreed with the seller, it all seems good - especially considering the spec/miles/oil service level…

Yeah low speeds can sometimes not be seamless so that should be fine. If it's making a clunk when shifting down to 1st gear there's a simple and cheap fix with a transmission mount thingy.

I'm guessing that like the S4 the end of line S5 B8 will have the CREC engine. I've certainly seen a 2015 S5 with one. The two tell-tales are the engine cover is different and the supercharger has four bolts on the pulley.

If you are looking long term then the CREC engine might be worth budget creeping up as the addition of Manifold Port Injection sorts out the carbon problem and there's a whole load of other improvements.

[RoVoFob]

ninjag said:

Yeah low speeds can sometimes not be seamless so that should be fine. If it's making a clunk when shifting down to 1st gear there's a simple and cheap fix with a transmission mount thingy.

I'm guessing that like the S4 the end of line S5 B8 will have the CREC engine. I've certainly seen a 2015 S5 with one. The two tell-tales are the engine cover is different and the supercharger has four bolts on the pulley.

If you are looking long term then the CREC engine might be worth budget creeping up as the addition of Manifold Port Injection sorts out the carbon problem and there's a whole load of other improvements.

Thanks. I didn’t notice any particular clunking. It’s just a bit less seamless than the conventional auto in my old 2007 A6, as you’d expect.

Yes, as I understand it, the CREC engine is in models from late 2014 onwards. You’re talking spending around 70% more for an equivalent CREC S4 Avant or S5 Sportback, from what I can see, so it’s more budget leap than creep! May move on to a CREC in time, but not now.

[MattS5]

RoVoFob said:

What differences did you find between the 2011 and the 2016 Sportback? Do you need to replace your current one age/condition-wise or do you just fancy a change?

I’m getting to the stage of wanting to keep cars longer and longer, as the newer versions don’t provide the same experience.

Differences are minimal in all honesty. Other than styling (rectangle foglights, flat bottomed wheel) and a few driver aids (radar cruise which I never use, sports diff, heated rear seats, and an improved audio set up I think)

I only sold my last one (an 11 plate) to a work colleague (who due to disability needs an auto) and he badgered me for it as he knew how well I look after my car's.
It had been remapped with a smaller pulley which made a fun drive with around 470bhp.

The newer car I have now I also remapped to stage 1 with around 420 brake, literally the day it came out of warranty in April 2019.
Just really makes the car that little bit more fun.

The difficulty I have is why would I replace it, when it has the space, the comfort and the ability to get from 0-60 in around 4.5 seconds.
Sure, I could buy something more on the edge in terms of dynamics, but 90% of the time it's not being driven that way.
It's been to the north of Scotland and travelled the NC500, likewise down to the French Alps. An absolute dream to drive.

I could spend another £20k and trade it in to get a newer, quieter, better infotainment system, but ultimately, as an overall package would it genuinely make me happier?

The answer is definitely no currently.
I've just had the oil swapped again at my local independent, and it's cost £160.
That wouldn't happen at a main dealer, nor on a newer car with a worry of keeping it serviced to warranty schedule requirements.

I've wasted (in my income levels) way too much money on cars in the past.
I'm thinking that £20k is better placed in my pension fund for getting to early retirement at 55 currently....

I'm getting old!

People still comment on how good my car looks when I'm getting petrol or shopping , so it can't be that bad either.

[mrdanbartlett]

MattS5 said:

Differences are minimal in all honesty. Other than styling (rectangle foglights, flat bottomed wheel) and a few driver aids (radar cruise which I never use, sports diff, heated rear seats, and an improved audio set up I think)

I only sold my last one (an 11 plate) to a work colleague (who due to disability needs an auto) and he badgered me for it as he knew how well I look after my car's.
It had been remapped with a smaller pulley which made a fun drive with around 470bhp.

The newer car I have now I also remapped to stage 1 with around 420 brake, literally the day it came out of warranty in April 2019.
Just really makes the car that little bit more fun.

The difficulty I have is why would I replace it, when it has the space, the comfort and the ability to get from 0-60 in around 4.5 seconds.
Sure, I could buy something more on the edge in terms of dynamics, but 90% of the time it's not being driven that way.
It's been to the north of Scotland and travelled the NC500, likewise down to the French Alps. An absolute dream to drive.

I could spend another £20k and trade it in to get a newer, quieter, better infotainment system, but ultimately, as an overall package would it genuinely make me happier?

The answer is definitely no currently.
I've just had the oil swapped again at my local independent, and it's cost £160.
That wouldn't happen at a main dealer, nor on a newer car with a worry of keeping it serviced to warranty schedule requirements.

I've wasted (in my income levels) way too much money on cars in the past.
I'm thinking that £20k is better placed in my pension fund for getting to early retirement at 55 currently....

I'm getting old!

People still comment on how good my car looks when I'm getting petrol or shopping , so it can't be that bad either.

Hard car to upgrade! I had to go alot higher in budget when I did. I did look at S7's though as they seem good value for the performance, just too big for me.

Re pension, if you dump a lump in remember it comes off your tax rate, i.e if you are a high brakcet earner then if you dump enough into the pension you can lower yourself into the regular band and claim the tax back.

[MattS5]

mrdanbartlett said:

Re pension, if you dump a lump in remember it comes off your tax rate, i.e if you are a high brakcet earner then if you dump enough into the pension you can lower yourself into the regular band and claim the tax back.

Yep, it's a juggling act to try and prevent the government taking too much whilst keeping finances healthy for day to day!

[RoVoFob]

So, as I hinted a few pages back, I’ve finally bought an S5 Sportback after three years of wanting an S4 Avant and working my way through far cheaper substitutes - from a bargain £1,300 2006 V70 to a Passat R36 and a pair of V8 A6s - as I didn’t want to sell my other car.

Thanks to all the thread regulars for your advice and comments - especially Adrian E for answers to my incessant questions over the years

I’m now the owner of a black 61-plate S5 Sportback with black and silver seats and 89k miles on the clock, and a looong list of options including the Black Pack (which, I’d swap for silver trim any day of the week!), B&O speakers, DAB, Tech Pack - high, Bluetooth high, full Drive Select, including sports differential , memory driver’s seat, adaptive cruise, hill hold, reversing camera along with side assist, high beam assist plus some other bits.

It’s also on 18-inch A5 wheels and all-season tyres, rather than the 20s it was sold with which, oddly, I prefer as a small wheel fan. In the end I haggled it down to sub-£10,000 - much to my surprise - which seemed like a pretty good price to me, but I have it booked in for £915’s worth of precautionary oil/filter, S tronic/filter, rear differential oil, spark plugs, brake fluid, air filter and pollen filter. That’s with an extremely well reviewed Cambridgeshire Audi specialist and is around 20% less than the Surrey specialist I also got a quote from. Seems very good value to me…

While the car drives very well - and is far sharper and slightly less comfy than I expected, even on the 18s - the wheels and paintwork are less good. It needs a proper wheel refurb/new set of second-hand wheels, a little rust treatment on the wheel arches/a few small other spots (the car spent much of its life in Scotland, so I imagine that explains this), and a damn good polish and deep clean inside for the leather, since the silver leather is quite grubby. All in, though, I’m hoping it should a solid buy…

[InfamousK]

RoVoFob said:

So, as I hinted a few pages back, I’ve finally bought an S5 Sportback after three years of wanting an S4 Avant and working my way through far cheaper substitutes - from a bargain £1,300 2006 V70 to a Passat R36 and a pair of V8 A6s - as I didn’t want to sell my other car.

Thanks to all the thread regulars for your advice and comments - especially Adrian E for answers to my incessant questions over the years

I’m now the owner of a black 61-plate S5 Sportback with black and silver seats and 89k miles on the clock, and a looong list of options including the Black Pack (which, I’d swap for silver trim any day of the week!), B&O speakers, DAB, Tech Pack - high, Bluetooth high, full Drive Select, including sports differential , memory driver’s seat, adaptive cruise, hill hold, reversing camera along with side assist, high beam assist plus some other bits.

It’s also on 18-inch A5 wheels and all-season tyres, rather than the 20s it was sold with which, oddly, I prefer as a small wheel fan. In the end I haggled it down to sub-£10,000 - much to my surprise - which seemed like a pretty good price to me, but I have it booked in for £915’s worth of precautionary oil/filter, S tronic/filter, rear differential oil, spark plugs, brake fluid, air filter and pollen filter. That’s with an extremely well reviewed Cambridgeshire Audi specialist and is around 20% less than the Surrey specialist I also got a quote from. Seems very good value to me…

While the car drives very well - and is far sharper and slightly less comfy than I expected, even on the 18s - the wheels and paintwork are less good. It needs a proper wheel refurb/new set of second-hand wheels, a little rust treatment on the wheel arches/a few small other spots (the car spent much of its life in Scotland, so I imagine that explains this), and a damn good polish and deep clean inside for the leather, since the silver leather is quite grubby. All in, though, I’m hoping it should a solid buy…

Sounds like a potential bargain you have there, get some pictures up!

[RoVoFob]

InfamousK said:

Sounds like a potential bargain you have there, get some pictures up!

Depends whether it blows up in the next few months or not, but we’ll see!

Have inadvertently convinced a colleague to get an S4/S5 and everything else for sale seems significantly more expensive and/or far lower spec and with mismatched tyres, patchy histories and other bodywork issues that need attention.

Here it is. Not the snazziest of S5s, but hope to give the paint some attention and get a new set of alloys in time, which should spruce it up nicely…

[ninjag]

RoVoFob said:

So, as I hinted a few pages back, I’ve finally bought an S5 Sportback after three years of wanting an S4 Avant and working my way through far cheaper substitutes - from a bargain £1,300 2006 V70 to a Passat R36 and a pair of V8 A6s - as I didn’t want to sell my other car.

Thanks to all the thread regulars for your advice and comments - especially Adrian E for answers to my incessant questions over the years

I’m now the owner of a black 61-plate S5 Sportback with black and silver seats and 89k miles on the clock, and a looong list of options including the Black Pack (which, I’d swap for silver trim any day of the week!), B&O speakers, DAB, Tech Pack - high, Bluetooth high, full Drive Select, including sports differential , memory driver’s seat, adaptive cruise, hill hold, reversing camera along with side assist, high beam assist plus some other bits.

It’s also on 18-inch A5 wheels and all-season tyres, rather than the 20s it was sold with which, oddly, I prefer as a small wheel fan. In the end I haggled it down to sub-£10,000 - much to my surprise - which seemed like a pretty good price to me, but I have it booked in for £915’s worth of precautionary oil/filter, S tronic/filter, rear differential oil, spark plugs, brake fluid, air filter and pollen filter. That’s with an extremely well reviewed Cambridgeshire Audi specialist and is around 20% less than the Surrey specialist I also got a quote from. Seems very good value to me…

While the car drives very well - and is far sharper and slightly less comfy than I expected, even on the 18s - the wheels and paintwork are less good. It needs a proper wheel refurb/new set of second-hand wheels, a little rust treatment on the wheel arches/a few small other spots (the car spent much of its life in Scotland, so I imagine that explains this), and a damn good polish and deep clean inside for the leather, since the silver leather is quite grubby. All in, though, I’m hoping it should a solid buy…

A nice bucket load of spec, looks like a solid buy with a good MOT history as well.

Good shout on the servicing planned, that's exactly what I do with any new car I buy because even with paperwork you never really know if some stuff has really been done. £915 seems not too bad, I reckon about 5 hours labour from that price depending on their labour rates.

Might be worth considering getting the supercharger belt changed if it was never done. I think the mileage for it is 60k and may as well do the serpentine belt at the same time. Also, could be worth checking the crank pulley for play as if it's the same as the S4 then I believe they are two piece and can be prone to failing. I think there was a few revisions with it in later years. but can't remember for sure.

Congrats though, great cars and it's an absolute peach of an engine.

[Adrian E]

Good effort! I have a set of A5 Coupe 5 spoke 18s fitted with all season tyres, but mine also came with factory 20" 9 spokes, which I keep for summer use. I don't find the ride significantly different between the 2 sets.

If you've got very old firmware and nav files I can help with that, if you wanted to use it as a backup (I tend to use Waze now in the Audi)

As well as the above suggestions, is there any history of thermostat replacement(s)? Mine's had 2 in 90k miles, and that involves pulling the supercharger. If it needs lifting at any point it's well worth having the oil changed in the supercharger. You can only change it by removing the whole thing.....also worth considering the updated PCV if it's not been changed (but requires connecting to ODIS to update the ECU) as that's also buried down the back of the engine and accessible with the supercharger off.

[Cupramax]

You’ll find out why you’ve got 18”s next time you try and buy some new 20” tyres. Last time I bought some I paid approx £195 each, the same tyres now PS4s in the correct 265/30 20 are £253 and that’s not even fitted from Camskill who are generally cheapest. That’s over a grand for a set of tyres. 18” Ps5’s you can do for just over £120 each.

[RoVoFob]

ninjag said:

A nice bucket load of spec, looks like a solid buy with a good MOT history as well.

Good shout on the servicing planned, that's exactly what I do with any new car I buy because even with paperwork you never really know if some stuff has really been done. £915 seems not too bad, I reckon about 5 hours labour from that price depending on their labour rates.

Might be worth considering getting the supercharger belt changed if it was never done. I think the mileage for it is 60k and may as well do the serpentine belt at the same time. Also, could be worth checking the crank pulley for play as if it's the same as the S4 then I believe they are two piece and can be prone to failing. I think there was a few revisions with it in later years. but can't remember for sure.

Congrats though, great cars and it's an absolute peach of an engine.

Yes, the MOT history is very good - far better than many much newer and lower mileage S4s/S5s that my colleague is currently looking at, which surprised me.

Will have a think about the supercharger bits you’ve mentioned - thanks for flagging them. Hadn’t thought about those. The specialist knows I’ve just bought the car and said they’d give it a decent once over to see if anything else needs doing, so hopefully that’ll flag any preventive maintenance worth doing sooner rather than later.

[RoVoFob]

Adrian E said:

Good effort! I have a set of A5 Coupe 5 spoke 18s fitted with all season tyres, but mine also came with factory 20" 9 spokes, which I keep for summer use. I don't find the ride significantly different between the 2 sets.

If you've got very old firmware and nav files I can help with that, if you wanted to use it as a backup (I tend to use Waze now in the Audi)

As well as the above suggestions, is there any history of thermostat replacement(s)? Mine's had 2 in 90k miles, and that involves pulling the supercharger. If it needs lifting at any point it's well worth having the oil changed in the supercharger. You can only change it by removing the whole thing.....also worth considering the updated PCV if it's not been changed (but requires connecting to ODIS to update the ECU) as that's also buried down the back of the engine and accessible with the supercharger off.

Interesting that there’s little difference in ride. My old A6 was like a different car on 18s rather than 19s, though the smaller wheels were about 5kg lighter, which probably made most of the difference. Also, Audi recommends much higher pressures for 18s on mud/snow tyres than summers, so that may reduce the difference, too.

Whatever I do wheel-wise, I’m likely to stick with 18s, as I prefer the look of 18s over 19s and 20s. I like the stealth factor, so may remove the wing and rear badges, too. Front one as well, if there’s a non-damaging way to remove it.

Yes, had a new thermostat and water pump from Audi in November 2018 and around 18,000 miles ago. Thanks. No idea re: firmware, but will check it out, as I like to use in built nav rather than my phone.

[RoVoFob]

Cupramax said:

You’ll find out why you’ve got 18”s next time you try and buy some new 20” tyres. Last time I bought some I paid approx £195 each, the same tyres now PS4s in the correct 265/30 20 are £253 and that’s not even fitted from Camskill who are generally cheapest. That’s over a grand for a set of tyres. 18” Ps5’s you can do for just over £120 each.

Exactly. I never understand why new car buyers pay through the nose for supersized anvils on each corner. I’d rather have smaller wheels and pay more for the best possible tyres.

[Adrian E]

RoVoFob said:

Cupramax said:

You’ll find out why you’ve got 18”s next time you try and buy some new 20” tyres. Last time I bought some I paid approx £195 each, the same tyres now PS4s in the correct 265/30 20 are £253 and that’s not even fitted from Camskill who are generally cheapest. That’s over a grand for a set of tyres. 18” Ps5’s you can do for just over £120 each.

Exactly. I never understand why new car buyers pay through the nose for supersized anvils on each corner. I’d rather have smaller wheels and pay more for the best possible tyres.

I tried replying earlier and the forum was having a 'moment' so will try again!

Prices are about what I paid last year - for 20" fitment PS4s were £255 fitted (ordered through blackcircles and fitted by local Protyre depot)

My 'winter' 18" set (A5 Coupe 5 spokes) are now fitted with Cross Climate 2's which were £125 each, supply only. Had them fitted when the wheels were refurbished after 6+ winters with Dunlop Winter 3D tyres.

Mine came with the 20s - personally I like the peeler design best (which was a 19" fitment on the S5) but you luck in to what's available at the time.

Mine doesn't have adaptive damping and I recall when I test drove it I expected the ride to be dreadful, but thought it was fine to live with day to day.

I wouldn't have paid extra for bigger wheels, that's for sure! My Golf GTI runs standard 18s

[RoVoFob]

Adrian E said:

Prices are about what I paid last year - for 20" fitment PS4s were £255 fitted (ordered through blackcircles and fitted by local Protyre depot)

My 'winter' 18" set (A5 Coupe 5 spokes) are now fitted with Cross Climate 2's which were £125 each, supply only. Had them fitted when the wheels were refurbished after 6+ winters with Dunlop Winter 3D tyres.

Mine came with the 20s - personally I like the peeler design best (which was a 19" fitment on the S5) but you luck in to what's available at the time.

Mine doesn't have adaptive damping and I recall when I test drove it I expected the ride to be dreadful, but thought it was fine to live with day to day.

I wouldn't have paid extra for bigger wheels, that's for sure! My Golf GTI runs standard 18s

It’s crazy that 20s cost twice as much as 18s, but I imagine 245/40/18s are fitted to a far broader range of cars than 20s, so they’re cheaper because of that. The peelers do look cool, though.

The adaptive damping in mine is reasonable firm in all settings, though Dynamic is a notch or two firmer, as you’d expect. The S4 Avant I drove on 19-inch peelers with adaptive damping was much smoother, though could have been because that car was pretty tired and unloved, so I imagine there was a lot of slack in it!

[DonkeyApple]

I'm a fan of the highest profile tyres possible for a model. But I don't track this sort of car and they're used either in London where the roads can be poor and speeds low or out in the country where the speeds are higher but surfaces can be much worse. I also favour all seasons just because the roads are yucky out here far more often than bone dry and fantastic.

The fact that the tyres are then half the price is an added bonus especially as I like to bin them at around 3mm.

To date I've not noticed any issues with the 18s I've put on my estate and am more than happy with the Firestones.

[DemonDriverDan]

Anyone had an issue with B1S1 fault for the lambda? It's come on a few times for me, each time I clear the fault and it'll come back a few months later. The cat has been removed on mine so assumed that will be affecting the reading slightly but wondered if anyone else had experienced the same?

[si_xsi]

Mr brother just purchased a 2010 S4 Avant 130k miles, having sold his 2016 BMW 535d touring. Its been rejected back to the dealer after 2 weeks, full refund etc Haven't caught up with him yet to find out what the issues were. Was a nice spec though, 1 owner car, full audi SH, but had a replacement engine by Audi at 50k miles and new gearbox at 122k miles, in Spain. Owner had a house down there.