B8 S4 Ownership

[BrittasBay]

mrdanbartlett said:

IMO you always have to think 'what is the competition' - and if you want a fast, 4 door practical car its very hard to beat for the money. Interior is ok, B&O stereo is amazing, feels more modern than some rivals to me, plus it still does mid 20's and isn't silly tax bracket. I cannot see it losing a ton of money anytine soon, given it was a £40k+ car and they are now £10k up then even if you had it 3 years and sold for £6k that is still alot of car for the money.
What will no doubt happen is that the price will bottom out, then ones with sensible miles and in good condition will hold a firm value/start appreciating.

IMO this isn't like buying a v8 in the high tax bracket and doing 18mpg with insane service costs, the engine is v solid and not exactly dated (plenty still offer 3.0-4.0 forced induction engines in their line up). I think people think the car market moves faster than it does, because cars are so expensive it really takes a long time for any drastic change. The only real cars which might struggle are the 540i's and the 745's of this world, long cars which are high tax, low mpg and have a rival which does the same things but better.

Thanks for response Dan, much appreciated - that sounds a bit more sensible and accurate then my worried doom mongering above!

[MattS5]

Adrian E said:

Early s-tronic is sensible - done ours at 35k and 70k - can't believe we've had it that long!

Spoke to the local dealership and they will do the DSG service (£225 standard fixed fee) and they have also agreed to do the sports diff, using the maintenance schedule from an RS model to price for parts and labour.
Half hour for the work, 2 litres of oil, and a sump plug. (£139.30p).

I've not requested a rear diff oil change, at 30k miles my thinking is that should be fine. I'll probably get that done around 50k Iif I still have the car then.

Thanks again for posting your costs, it helped me understand what was right/wrong etc.

[silentbrown]

Adrian E said:

Early s-tronic is sensible - done ours at 35k and 70k - can't believe we've had it that long!

That's a nudge to get mine done - Just hit 37K so will book it in.

Six months warranty remaining, and I'm thinking it may be time for a change soon, though I have absolutely no idea what for. Up GTI? Hilux double cab? R Estate?

[bungle]

Is there a B9 equivalent to this thread? Maybe I couldn't see for looking...

Inspired by the manual conversion I just read about on the M3 CSL, I was going to ask if anyone's done a manual conversion of a B9 S4. Admittedly I know nothing about the s-tronic, whether it's just an automated manual effectively, therefore straightforward (ish) as the M3 was, or fundamentally different and therefore a complete no-no (well, without spending many £££, in multiples of the actual value of the car!).

[Cupramax]

Don’t think the B9 has ever had a manual Quattro to convert with, all the Quattros are either Stronic or the ZF auto.

[Adrian E]

bungle said:

Is there a B9 equivalent to this thread? Maybe I couldn't see for looking...

Inspired by the manual conversion I just read about on the M3 CSL, I was going to ask if anyone's done a manual conversion of a B9 S4. Admittedly I know nothing about the s-tronic, whether it's just an automated manual effectively, therefore straightforward (ish) as the M3 was, or fundamentally different and therefore a complete no-no (well, without spending many £££, in multiples of the actual value of the car!).

Not aware of a B9 specific thread (could always start one!)

The s-tronic is a dual clutch auto, rather than a robotically controlled manual box (as per early SMG M3s). There's a few people running V10s from the M5 in E30 M3s. complete with the DCT dual clutch box - I think there's some manuals too. There are always options to get around a lack of firmware coding for a manual option, but it depends what you're prepared to spend to achieve it. I suspect you're right that this will be a massively expensive exercise.

What may well make it particularly tricky is identifying a manual gearbox that a. fits b. has appropriate gearing and c. matches up to the final drive at the back end. to my knowledge there isn't a manual quattro version of the B9 at all. The front wheel drive options will at least provide a pedal box and associated bits to operate the clutch, but there may be clearance issues and it depends on what gearbox that meets the above requirements needs in terms of clutch fork stroke and if it's the same as the front wheel drives or not.

I suspect this would be a massive headache. If you think about the C5 RS6 and it's delight for munching through auto boxes, even then very few people have gone to the lengths of manually converting.....

The more modern the vehicle, the more difficult it will be without some fairly significant electronics knowledge to get everything talking in the modules so they don't get confused.

[catso]

bungle said:

I was going to ask if anyone's done a manual conversion of a B9 S4. Admittedly I know nothing about the s-tronic, whether it's just an automated manual

Pretty sure the B9 (3.0 turbo) has an auto rather than DSG/S-tronic box.

[bungle]

Excellent comprehensive answer Adrian, thank you. The fundamental killer being...

Adrian E said:

The s-tronic is a dual clutch auto, rather than a robotically controlled manual box (as per early SMG M3s).

... so that's definitely a "no".

mmm, it's hard to find a car I want to buy these days (being a manual luddite )

[Adrian E]

catso said:

Pretty sure the B9 (3.0 turbo) has an auto rather than DSG/S-tronic box.

Good point - 8 speed ZF on the S4. Lower power models do get a 7 speed s-tronic option (not clear if that's a front wheel drive / quattro split, or just engine power limits of the gearboxes)

[J886ATV]

bungle said:

mmm, it's hard to find a car I want to buy these days (being a manual luddite )

So true.... my B8 is likely to be around for a loooonnnnnggggg time

[bungle]

J886ATV said:

So true.... my B8 is likely to be around for a loooonnnnnggggg time

Yep, I'm back looking for another B8 Avant (manual) now. Not much else that fits the bill really.

[jimmyjimjim]

Adrian E said:

catso said:

Pretty sure the B9 (3.0 turbo) has an auto rather than DSG/S-tronic box.

Good point - 8 speed ZF on the S4. Lower power models do get a 7 speed s-tronic option (not clear if that's a front wheel drive / quattro split, or just engine power limits of the gearboxes)

IIRC they went auto because the DSG couldn't handle the torque of the turbo engine.

[catso]

jimmyjimjim said:

Adrian E said:

catso said:

Pretty sure the B9 (3.0 turbo) has an auto rather than DSG/S-tronic box.

Good point - 8 speed ZF on the S4. Lower power models do get a 7 speed s-tronic option (not clear if that's a front wheel drive / quattro split, or just engine power limits of the gearboxes)

IIRC they went auto because the DSG couldn't handle the torque of the turbo engine.

And to save money...

[bungle]

Have many people had timing chains done? Reading adverts, some mention they have been done, but I guess a lot haven't. Is it a time or mileage thing, or just when they start rattling on start-up etc? I guess they're not cheap to have done

[Cupramax]

It’s not a service item, only replace when they need it. I shouldn’t think many have had it done seeing as the entire engine needs to come out as the chain is at the back, not the front,

[BrittasBay]

strange one this - red B8 '09 Auto on eBay with ''The car is runs and drives perfectly but is showing ‘Sport Differential system fault’

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audi-S4-Avant/333504770...

did a quick read up on it and can be (relatively) simple diff oil leak and/or Audi diagnostic re-set to clear it - couple hundred£

or, actual full diff replacement = big ouch

anyone fancy a glass of water and a brave pill???

[bungle]

BrittasBay said:

or, actual full diff replacement = big ouch

Had that on my old B8. Was under warranty, but I think they said the bill was something like £8k all-in

[Adrian E]

BrittasBay said:

strange one this - red B8 '09 Auto on eBay with ''The car is runs and drives perfectly but is showing ‘Sport Differential system fault’

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audi-S4-Avant/333504770...

did a quick read up on it and can be (relatively) simple diff oil leak and/or Audi diagnostic re-set to clear it - couple hundred£

or, actual full diff replacement = big ouch

anyone fancy a glass of water and a brave pill???

What a weird spec! Needs a new MMI control set, as it's missing the top off the 3G click wheel, which I'm pretty sure can't be replaced alone. No B&O, sunroof, or front parking sensors and given the mileage and longlife servicing I'd say the £4.5k starting bid is pretty punchy, given the potential bork cost to repair! When fixed it'd only be worth £8k ish

[mrdanbartlett]

Adrian E said:

What a weird spec! Needs a new MMI control set, as it's missing the top off the 3G click wheel, which I'm pretty sure can't be replaced alone. No B&O, sunroof, or front parking sensors and given the mileage and longlife servicing I'd say the £4.5k starting bid is pretty punchy, given the potential bork cost to repair! When fixed it'd only be worth £8k ish

One of my kids lost my MMI button, I just ordered a replacement off ebay, I wouldn't say it was 100% exact replacement but it works fine and I've not thought about it since. £1-2.

[Easternlight]

Quick question, I replaced my battery about a year ago and didn't bother to code it (I know I should have) as I have to beg to borrow VCDS from a work colleague.
I swapped the battery live using a spare and jump leads and all has been fine.
I currently have the VCDS as I'm sorting a problem on our Yeti. Is it worth me doing the coding now ?