Audi S5 - anything particular to look out for when buying?

[antspants]

I was looking for a TTRS but I'm now considering buying a 2011 Audi S5 Sportback, the 3.0 version rather than the v8, is there anything in particular that I should be looking out for when buying? The only thing I've heard of is brakes juddering but apart from that they seem very reliable, anybody had or got one and can comment.

I'm also interested in upgrading the supercharger pulley and getting a remap, has anybody done the same and can recommend a tuner? There is an APR dealer within a mile of one of our offices so that would be ideal.

[GeezerJT]

Hello fella i have a 2010 S5 sportback, cant really tell you what to look for as mine was in very good condition all round.

But like you i am considering the ecu remap and would welcome peoples opinion on who to do it and their experiences once done. The pricing seems to vary hugely between tuners, i have seen £400 - £1200 and i dont really understand why this would be.

[BIGYIN1314]

Cant comment on the S5, but I have the S4 which has the same engine. Ensure that the water pump has been changed under recall as it was prone to failure. Also the thermostats can be weak so make sure the car gets up to temp and stays there in all forms of driving (i.e. get out on the open road if it begins to drop as the air rushes in, its needing a new one).

With regards to tuning you have have usual players in the form of APR, Revo, Shark etc. MRC in banbury have a good reputation and are getting very impressive results. With all tuning aspects, it pays to do your own research on these companies and identify your expectations. I personally am drawn to MRC, BUT they are 350 miles away from me, yet the other 3 I mentioned are all withing 30 miles. Having someone local is always nice should things not go to plan.

[Adrian E]

antspants said:

I was looking for a TTRS but I'm now considering buying a 2011 Audi S5 Sportback, the 3.0 version rather than the v8, is there anything in particular that I should be looking out for when buying? The only thing I've heard of is brakes juddering but apart from that they seem very reliable, anybody had or got one and can comment.

I'm also interested in upgrading the supercharger pulley and getting a remap, has anybody done the same and can recommend a tuner? There is an APR dealer within a mile of one of our offices so that would be ideal.

The Sportback version has only ever been available as the 3 litre supercharged with flappy paddle s-tronic box, so that cuts the basic spec down to 1! We've got a 2011 model which we bought in the summer - very happy with it although the small fuel tank is a bit of a pain (64 litres). They're a bit more money than the equivelant S4 but the basic spec is higher (full leather supersports are standard on the S5, as are 19" wheels)

I think the water pump issues only applied on 2009-10 models, so you should have the metal water pump and not the plastic - if you look down the front of the engine on the passenger side and can see a lump of black plastic with a pulley on it, then it's the older pump. Ours had metal from the factory.

Spec is the biggest killer - as soon as you want any ADS options your search will be much more restricted. If you're not fussed about quattro sport diff, adaptive damping, adaptive steering, then there's quite a few to choose from. Download the old brochures from the owners area of the Audi site and check out the options and work out what matters to you and what you can be flexible on.

Be aware of the different types of sat nav system that could be specced. Most should have tech pack high aka HDD nav - it has a little joystick on top of the main MMI wheel as well as having a 'jukebox' option for music storage. A 6 disc CD changer and a nav drive behind the boot cover on the nearside means tech pack low. I'd avoid a car without nav as the centre console looks really bare bones without it.

Watch that the windows drop correctly as you open the door - if they catch due to being abused when frozen up they can be expensive to replace. There's some rubber treatment you can buy on ebay for a fiver that lubes the seals and stops them sticking.

Worth reading fault codes if possible - just to check all is well.

Service parts aren't crazy money - check that stuff's been done on a time based basis. Brake fluid is due at 3 years then every 2. Air con we had done at 3 years old as well and it had lost quite a lot of gas from new (dealer reckons they put the minimum in they can get away with on the line). S-tronic needs doing at about 37k miles from memory so if you're looking at average mileage cars they should've had it - budget £200 or less if it's not been done but the change interval is pretty critical to gearbox health.

Did I mention spec?!

There's a lot been for sale for months which are either poor spec, over-priced, or both. Good ones sell easily and quickly.

[Dr G]

You could do a lot worse than to read the B8 S4 thread; as a car it's pretty much the same and that thread answers every questionyou might have then a few more on top.

[antspants]

Adrian E said:

The Sportback version has only ever been available as the 3 litre supercharged with flappy paddle s-tronic box, so that cuts the basic spec down to 1! We've got a 2011 model which we bought in the summer - very happy with it although the small fuel tank is a bit of a pain (64 litres). They're a bit more money than the equivelant S4 but the basic spec is higher (full leather supersports are standard on the S5, as are 19" wheels)

I think the water pump issues only applied on 2009-10 models, so you should have the metal water pump and not the plastic - if you look down the front of the engine on the passenger side and can see a lump of black plastic with a pulley on it, then it's the older pump. Ours had metal from the factory.

Spec is the biggest killer - as soon as you want any ADS options your search will be much more restricted. If you're not fussed about quattro sport diff, adaptive damping, adaptive steering, then there's quite a few to choose from. Download the old brochures from the owners area of the Audi site and check out the options and work out what matters to you and what you can be flexible on.

Be aware of the different types of sat nav system that could be specced. Most should have tech pack high aka HDD nav - it has a little joystick on top of the main MMI wheel as well as having a 'jukebox' option for music storage. A 6 disc CD changer and a nav drive behind the boot cover on the nearside means tech pack low. I'd avoid a car without nav as the centre console looks really bare bones without it.

Watch that the windows drop correctly as you open the door - if they catch due to being abused when frozen up they can be expensive to replace. There's some rubber treatment you can buy on ebay for a fiver that lubes the seals and stops them sticking.

Worth reading fault codes if possible - just to check all is well.

Service parts aren't crazy money - check that stuff's been done on a time based basis. Brake fluid is due at 3 years then every 2. Air con we had done at 3 years old as well and it had lost quite a lot of gas from new (dealer reckons they put the minimum in they can get away with on the line). S-tronic needs doing at about 37k miles from memory so if you're looking at average mileage cars they should've had it - budget £200 or less if it's not been done but the change interval is pretty critical to gearbox health.

Did I mention spec?!

There's a lot been for sale for months which are either poor spec, over-priced, or both. Good ones sell easily and quickly.

This is great information thank you

[MrTickle]

I bought the missus an S5 Sportback. It had the quattro sports diff, adaptive damping, adaptive steering and 20" alloys. Despite all of this, we ended up getting shot after 5 months as it just seemed very boring to drive despite the spec.

I would recommend a good long test drive over a mix of roads before choosing one over the TTRS.

Fuel economy isn't wildly different to the V8 either despite official figures. In the real world you will average early 20's.

I haven't checked up on pricing recently - but we paid £25K for a dealer 60 plate earlier this year and sold it privately for £23K to move on. Bedford Audi had a 60 plate (45K mile) RS5 coupe for £28.5K for sale until yesterday... that seems a much better option IMO.

[maxpower5]

Had an S5 sportback for 2 years. Great car and beautifully made in comparison to its rivals. They are comfortable and quick and can carry 4 people with luggage.

Minor downsides for me was that the steering was too slow and the supercharger too muted. I installed the stratmosphere intake which imo sounded great. May be a little too much for some though.

The biggest killer for me though was the horrendous fuel consumption. I think in the books they state and average of 30mpg combined. Mine never went above 19..

Would still recommend it though as they are lovely cars and see very few on the road.

[Adrian E]

maxpower5 said:

Had an S5 sportback for 2 years. Great car and beautifully made in comparison to its rivals. They are comfortable and quick and can carry 4 people with luggage.

Minor downsides for me was that the steering was too slow and the supercharger too muted. I installed the stratmosphere intake which imo sounded great. May be a little too much for some though.

The biggest killer for me though was the horrendous fuel consumption. I think in the books they state and average of 30mpg combined. Mine never went above 19..

Would still recommend it though as they are lovely cars and see very few on the road.

Ours is doing about 22 based on a tank to tank fill check, with mixed use. Slightly better than my 12 yr old 4.2 S8, but not by much! At least it's on 95 RON....

[antspants]

I ended up going for something more like the TTRS and bought a Boxster S instead, loving it so far