Time for an RS4 Avant

[retreat]

Just wondering if those of you in the know could help with the answers to a few questions? I am thinking of buying a used RS4 Avant and could do with your thoughts on:

1)Spec- I naturally want the thing fully loaded, do they come with SatNav, Bose and TV as standard? What are the "must haves" come trade in time?

2)What sort of uncomfortable chat am I going to have at the dealers in 12 months time when it comes to trading it in. I know that depreciation is an old chestnut, but, for example, what is a dealer paying for the 6month old car I will be buying for close to £50k?

3)I have read that there are stacks of RS4's around and that will effect residuals, however some people report that they are no longer being produced-which is it? or have I got the wrong end of the stick.

Thanks for your help,
Jim

[andyuk911]

retreat said:

1)Spec- I naturally want the thing fully loaded, do they come with SatNav, Bose and TV as standard? What are the "must haves" come trade in time?

The quick answer is no they don't come with any of the items as standard - originally there was a tech pack, but on the very last few cars the tech pack was dropped as it was cheaper to buy the sat nav on it's own. The TV is analogue, so junk .. Bluetooth have CraigB fit afterwards ... otherwise you could loose the RS Steering wheel or have an Ugly phone cradle(sorry to the chaps that have this )


2)What sort of uncomfortable chat am I going to have at the dealers in 12 months time when it comes to trading it in. I know that depreciation is an old chestnut, but, for example, what is a dealer paying for the 6month old car I will be buying for close to £50k?

This is to variable to answer, but don't buy it if you can't afford to loose ... the more you spend the more you loose .. it's a percentage game

3)I have read that there are stacks of RS4's around and that will effect residuals, however some people report that they are no longer being produced-which is it? or have I got the wrong end of the stick.

TODAY, you can no longer order an Avant, only cab or saloon. They will also stop when the RS6 is produced.

[Dave 500]

retreat said:

1)Spec- I naturally want the thing fully loaded, do they come with SatNav, Bose and TV as standard? What are the "must haves" come trade in time?

Don't know that one but the RS models come with most toys as standard.(well the RS6 did anyway)

2)What sort of uncomfortable chat am I going to have at the dealers in 12 months time when it comes to trading it in. I know that depreciation is an old chestnut, but, for example, what is a dealer paying for the 6month old car I will be buying for close to £50k?

I think they will be around the £40k mark maybe a bit lower so depreciation will cost you about £1000 a month.

3)I have read that there are stacks of RS4's around and that will effect residuals, however some people report that they are no longer being produced-which is it? or have I got the wrong end of the stick.

From what i've told no more orders are being taken but Audi still have a few left.

Happy Shopping

edit - might have Q1 wrong

Edited by Dave 500 on Sunday 2nd September 17:27

[retreat]

Many Thanks, I am enjoying the shopping!

[drybeer]

retreat said:

Just wondering if those of you in the know could help with the answers to a few questions? I am thinking of buying a used RS4 Avant and could do with your thoughts on:

1)Spec- I naturally want the thing fully loaded, do they come with SatNav, Bose and TV as standard? What are the "must haves" come trade in time?

2)What sort of uncomfortable chat am I going to have at the dealers in 12 months time when it comes to trading it in. I know that depreciation is an old chestnut, but, for example, what is a dealer paying for the 6month old car I will be buying for close to £50k?

3)I have read that there are stacks of RS4's around and that will effect residuals, however some people report that they are no longer being produced-which is it? or have I got the wrong end of the stick.

Thanks for your help,
Jim

Hi.

Standard spec includes 19" wheels, 420ps 4.2V8 FSi motor, 6 speed manual, heated front seats, full leather, bucket seats, Xenon lamps, headlamp washers, front and rear acoustic parking system, BOSE sound system, Audi Concert II CD player, flat bottomed steering wheel with buttons for driver information system and Sport button - sharpens throttle response, leaves exhaust bypass valves open and squeezes driver's bucket seat tighter.

You should make sure you get a car with DVD based Navigation, 6CD changer or i-pod adapter, adaptive Xenon lamps to ensure you can sell it again easily.

TV reception is another separate extra.

Colours - I find Sprint Blue, Daytona Grey, Phantom Black, Silver, Avus Silver and Mugello Blue are the easiest to sell so these are my tips.

My favourite is Silver - very subtle.

Misano Red and most of all Imola Yellow probably the hardest to sell.

Depreciation - well we know that there are nice cars for around the £44000 mark for retail sale now, so expect £3000 - £4000 less to trade in when 18 months old.

Hardly anyone sells their car at 6 months old - most demonstrator cars can be bought with a little off the new price.

Production is indeed finished, and now these cars are in short supply - so I do not see values dropping much below £40000 for some time. There is too much demand.

There are one or two brand new unregistered Avants that I can still lay my hands on, giving you the "untouched" and "unthrashed" car you might want.

[Nickat audi]

Hi Jim,

You have answered most of your questions as SatNav, Bose, colour etc... are essential to resale.
As for resale I would expect the car to be around 40k. As production has now ceased and a replacement years away I expect that residuals will be strong relative to any other car in that price bracket.

Otherwise it's a great car and a driving exerience well worth the money.

Let me know if I can help at all,

Nick Groves
[e-mail]
www.camberleyaudi.co.uk

[Max59]

Hi - I'm new here but have owned a few Audis in the past, including an R8, an RS6 and a TT 3.2

Surely the suggestion isn't that you could buy an RS4 now for 44K, then trade it in 18 months later for 40K? That doesn't allow for the usual dealer cut. Wouldn't a more realistic figure be a trade-in of 36K or are you really saying that the dealer price of an RS4 avant will still be 44K in 18 months?

[audidoody]

Max59 said:

Hi - I'm new here but have owned a few Audis in the past, including an R8, an RS6 and a TT 3.2

Surely the suggestion isn't that you could buy an RS4 now for 44K, then trade it in 18 months later for 40K? That doesn't allow for the usual dealer cut. Wouldn't a more realistic figure be a trade-in of 36K or are you really saying that the dealer price of an RS4 avant will still be 44K in 18 months?

You've owned an R8 "in the past"??

[boysey]

If it helps, I traded my RS4 Sprint Blue Saloon last month: March 06 plate (17 months old), 14K miles, needed tyres and a service and got £41k against a keenly priced 4 month old Avant ...

[drybeer]

Max59 said:

Hi - I'm new here but have owned a few Audis in the past, including an R8, an RS6 and a TT 3.2

Surely the suggestion isn't that you could buy an RS4 now for 44K, then trade it in 18 months later for 40K? That doesn't allow for the usual dealer cut. Wouldn't a more realistic figure be a trade-in of 36K or are you really saying that the dealer price of an RS4 avant will still be 44K in 18 months?

No not at all.

I'm saying a car currently bought brand new is £50k plus the extras you opt for (not much choice as they're all built and on UK soil now).

However currently an 18 month old example would be around £44000 retail and you should expect around £3000 - 33000 less in part exchange.

Hope that clarifies things.

Since it seems to be the thing to do on this thread:

Andrew Dryburgh.
[e-mail]
www.carlisle.audi.co.uk 

Edited by drybeer on Monday 3rd September 21:08

Edited by drybeer on Monday 3rd September 21:09

[drybeer]

andyuk911 said:

TODAY, you can no longer order an Avant, only cab or saloon. They will also stop when the RS6 is produced.

Not quite correct - some saloons and Avants are currently in the UK for sale - but you cannot order any saloons or Avants afresh as of around May 2007.

Only Cabriolet continues to be available to factory order. This will be phased out before the A5 cabriolet is launched.

[Max59]

audidoody said:

You've owned an R8 "in the past"??

Oops, I meant an S8

[Max59]

drybeer said:

Max59 said:

Hi - I'm new here but have owned a few Audis in the past, including an R8, an RS6 and a TT 3.2

Surely the suggestion isn't that you could buy an RS4 now for 44K, then trade it in 18 months later for 40K? That doesn't allow for the usual dealer cut. Wouldn't a more realistic figure be a trade-in of 36K or are you really saying that the dealer price of an RS4 avant will still be 44K in 18 months?

No not at all.

I'm saying a car currently bought brand new is £50k plus the extras you opt for (not much choice as they're all built and on UK soil now).
However currently an 18 month old example would be around £44000 retail and you should expect around £3000 - 33000 less in part exchange.
Hope that clarifies things.

Since it seems to be the thing to do on this thread
Andrew Dryburgh.

Thanks for the clarification. If we extrapolate this a 3 year old RS4 should retain approx 70% of the new price which is good by industry standards.

Thanks,
- Michael

[Adam B]

by good I think you mean excellent, but I guess in line with the similarly excellent depreciation pattern of the B5 RS4