B8 S4 Ownership

[GetCarter]

Adrian E said:

Which dealer had a spec'd S4 in stock?!

The one who has a buyer that just lost his job!

[FUBAR]

One that also has 2 RS Q3s, 2 R8s, an RS5 and an RS6 sitting in the showroom next to 'my' S4

[FUBAR]

lemonslap said:

Congratulations mate, look forward to the shiny pictures when you collect!

The King is dead



Long live the King!




36 hour turnaround...collect at 9am tomorrow

[Adrian E]

FUBAR said:

One that also has 2 RS Q3s, 2 R8s, an RS5 and an RS6 sitting in the showroom next to 'my' S4

Nice! Just wondered as I'm in Surrey/Sussex area and my local dealer is usually full of drudgery on display, with the occasional R8! Five Oaks seem to have some nice stuff but it's never open when I drive past so never stopped to look

[FUBAR]

Brighton Audi although Five Oaks is my nearest dealer to home.

Only went in to Brighton to book a bloody service!

Man maths....what I've saved in service, refund on extended warranty and upcoming 4 tyres pays the finance for the first 4 months

Edited by FUBAR on Thursday 25th September 13:25

[Adrian E]

Yeah, I've heard Brighton don't mind stocking some S/RS models - they do sometimes stick to the forecourt though as used stock! They had a C6 RS6 saloon on their for months....

Must pop in there next time I'm passing - might use them for servicing on the Sportback if they're good with the S/RS stuff

[lemonslap]

FUBAR said:

The King is dead



Long live the King!




36 hour turnaround...collect at 9am tomorrow

Looks Awesome! Let us know how if the driving experience is any different. I have to say I am presently avoiding my Audi dealer as I have a S1 itch that needs scratching! (PS to replace the St170 not the S4)

[FUBAR]

lemonslap said:

Let us know how if the driving experience is any different.

Only done 150 miles so far so limited observations.

I've always detested stop/start on a car, but admittedly only ever had it on manual service loaners. Its much better/suited to auto/s-tronic. Presumably it has helped with the immediate improvement in 2-3 mpg. My old car improved again when Id done 10k miles or so so hopefully this will only get better.

There is less of a marked difference between the full dynamic drive mode and the 'auto' and actually the auto mode is harder/tighter/faster than the auto on my old car. I presume this is a result of Audi adding a 4th mode/'efficiency' so stacking the modes closer together.

I was slightly annoyed that due to the speed of the deal I didn't have time to take my Miltek off. Only slightly annoyed as the resonated exhaust, while giving a nice tone to the car outside, wasn't actually that noisy (saying the as a Cerbera driver) and so thought I would run the car for 18 months then bang on a non res system but how surprised was I to find the 'dynamic exhaust' setting on the car. From the inside at least, I think it's perfect. Great sound and just the right level of dba to make me smile, without sounding chavvy. That's probably my favourite feature so far.

The in-cabin noise is greater than in my old saloon probably due to the lack of separation from the boot area. This might also be a factor in the increased exhaust noise as mentioned above.

I've had fun playing with the up-spec MMI stuff: the Audi Connect, the Google Earth, but if I'm honest, I'm not sure I'm going to really care that I can check petrol prices or weather report for my destination. It's not like I can change the weather or can be arsed to drive half way across town to save 1p/l

Panoramic Sky roof (or whatever its called) is very nice, and much better than the old glass roof that I had which used to create a horrible noise/air pressure if partially open (this one has a higher lip and some fabric at the front to stop the pressure/noise)

Oh, and the colour. Bloody love it (but why all of a sudden keep passing other Sepang Blue S/RSs??)

[h3lp]

Hey All,

A few weeks into ownership now and I'm angry...............that I even entertained driving anything else.

Think of all the time I've wasted not owning / driving an S4.

What an idiot.

Hit my first snag today though.

Out of nowhere the sound system (media and radio output) starts blaring out this horrendously distorted volume from just the rear offside speaker. It was unbearable. Turned everything off and on a few times but the problem remained.

Left her for 30 mins, tried it again now it's back to normal.

Any ideas? Loose connection in the amp maybe?

[jimmyjimjim]

I've seen people complain of that a few times (on other sites), seems to be a very occasional thing(once or twice a year), chalked up to Audi electrical gremlins.

[F40GT346]

Interesting, my drivers side front speaker sounded blown for one day. I was driving back from long term parking at an airport and had to fade the sound entirely to the rear speakers. I booked it in to the dealer to get the speaker checked but the next day it was back to normal and has been since. It seemed a very strange intermittent fault which persisted for a day despite turning the car on and off a few times.

Otherwise very happy with my S4 which is a 2011 S4 Avant, DSG with Sports Diff and panoramic roof.

Drove a standard A4 (tdi manual non-quattro) on loan from the dealer the other day and couldnt believe how different it felt, like a completely different car, which highlighted how much development work there is in the S4.

[FUBAR]

I appreciate this is a 'first world problem' but my new car doesn't have the reversing camera, and I liked that feature in my old car. The Audi chaps gave me the contact number of an approved installer who uses OEM equipment (and therefore full warranty support) but they want £900

Anyone have any suggestions (other than "don't bother" ) ?

[jimmyjimjim]

I was reading up on that a while back (bored), and it was quite a chore, depending on whether you had MMI (with Nav) and parking sensors or not.

You basically needed both to use the OEM camera.

[FUBAR]

I do have both. They said it was expensive to run the wiring from the camera to the MMI. But £900??

[jimmyjimjim]

I was going to say that 900 noted still strikes me as a bit high, then started reading about all the issues that people have had retro-fitting the camera...

I'd just pay up if you wanted it, frankly. There's not a single simple step by step guide that I can fund, and it seems like a bit of a chore. There's also a chunk of vag-com coding required and after install calibration - I'm oot.

US install priced seems to be about $1400, so 900 quid starts to seem more reasonable, if it includes everything.

[FUBAR]

Just annoying as it was only about £200 more on the spec sheet (I didnt spec my car).

At £900 Ive come to really like the Park Plus system

[Adrian E]

The reason it's so expensive to do retrospectively is that you need a replacement MMI control unit as well - if you don't have camera or TV then you don't have the right one, irrespective of other spec. The actual camera fitting is probably the easiest bit, but running additional wiring required down to the front of the car is a ball ache apparently. I looked at it for our S5 and decided I would happily live without, unless I needed to buy a replacement module for another reason, in which case I would look for a camera compatible one

[bungle]

FUBAR said:

Just annoying as it was only about £200 more on the spec sheet (I didnt spec my car).

One of the frustrations of buying "previously enjoyed" (but usually more than countered by the huge discount from buying new).

I wish the 1st owner of my car had specced hill-hold (about £60 option I think!) but he didn't! And I've got lots of (very expensive) options I probably won't (or rarely) use, but I don't have memory seats. Oh well!

[jimmyjimjim]

bungle said:

FUBAR said:

Just annoying as it was only about £200 more on the spec sheet (I didnt spec my car).

One of the frustrations of buying "previously enjoyed" (but usually more than countered by the huge discount from buying new).

I wish the 1st owner of my car had specced hill-hold (about £60 option I think!) but he didn't! And I've got lots of (very expensive) options I probably won't (or rarely) use, but I don't have memory seats. Oh well!

Hill hold assist is a cheap retrofit; 3 extension wires and a switch. Looks time consuming, though.

http://www.audienthusiasts.com/Project_HillHold.ht...

[Adrian E]

I plan to do hill hold at some point - would be a real bonus with s-tronic as it's not as good at resisting slippage on steep hills when manoeuvring as a torque converter

Memory seats I don't think can be done (at a viable price) but electric fold mirrors linked to central locking can be done for reasonably sensible money (new mechanisms, door trim and some coding)