S4 Vs RS6 running costs
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Discussion

Lord Pikey

Original Poster:

3,258 posts

246 months

Wednesday 18th November 2009
quotequote all
Good Morning all.

Im looks at silly V8's at the moment and after getting a 400gbp reduction on an insurance quote for a "S" Audi over an E39 M5 i have shifted my want list.

Basically for my budget of 13k i can get a highish millage RS6 Avant or a S4 Avanti.


Obviously the RS6 is a heavier car, but a friend suggested that the twin turbos might actually achieve a better fuel economy than the NA S4. Is there anything to back this up?

Any owners on here that can give me servicing costs for each car at indys?

Can anyone give me an idea of rpms in 6th for about 100 mph

Motorway speeds mpg for either car would be nice if someone has any ball park figures

Cheers.

PS: i tried the search but it really does not like single letter and number inputs

B16JUS

2,386 posts

268 months

Wednesday 18th November 2009
quotequote all
i averaged 15mpg in my rs6 front brakes and pads were £1000 not a cheap car at all and to be honest as a mile muncher superb but not really a throw about car.

J

Lord Pikey

Original Poster:

3,258 posts

246 months

Wednesday 18th November 2009
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Thats my prefered car to be honest. There are a couple of classified that read very well.

And after the info about the 1k brakes id say that the RS6 is now of the running. Tell me more about the S4 smile

Edited by Lord Pikey on Wednesday 18th November 08:37

psymonr

148 posts

212 months

Wednesday 18th November 2009
quotequote all
I've got some S4 running costs posted up on my profile if you want to have a look, though I've only had it about 6 months but in relation to B16JUS's £1k discs and pads for the RS6, I had my front discs and pads done the other day, OEM ones, £325 fitted,

ETA: Motorway speeds I think 80mph comes at about 3.5k rpm, 6th in the S4 seems a litte oddly set for cruising, high rpm for the speeds I feel, but at that speed you are looking in the mid to high twenties mpg wise, On a long motorway run 25mpg is quite reasonable with a little bit of restraint, but I find on A-roads only with traffic and stop starting I get about 18-19mpg, though if I'm out for a drive with little traffic around 14-15mpg,

Edited by psymonr on Wednesday 18th November 08:49

TonyHetherington

32,091 posts

281 months

Wednesday 18th November 2009
quotequote all
I have a manual S4 Avant with low miles - amazing car and with very low costs (comparitively). Fuel is the biggest cost. I made a post listing all of my costs over the first 6 months, here;

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Ok we're 2 months further down the line now but the only addition is 0.5 litres of oil @ approx £50 for 4litres.

B16JUS

2,386 posts

268 months

Wednesday 18th November 2009
quotequote all
psymonr said:
I've got some S4 running costs posted up on my profile if you want to have a look, though I've only had it about 6 months but in relation to B16JUS's £1k discs and pads for the RS6, I had my front discs and pads done the other day, OEM ones, £325 fitted,

ETA: Motorway speeds I think 80mph comes at about 3.5k rpm, 6th in the S4 seems a litte oddly set for cruising, high rpm for the speeds I feel, but at that speed you are looking in the mid to high twenties mpg wise, On a long motorway run 25mpg is quite reasonable with a little bit of restraint, but I find on A-roads only with traffic and stop starting I get about 18-19mpg, though if I'm out for a drive with little traffic around 14-15mpg,

Edited by psymonr on Wednesday 18th November 08:49
the discs and pads on the rs6 are a lot bigger and have 4 pads per caliper ( not that the brakes are that good either )

maby a company make pattern parts now but at the time i could only get them from audi pads alone were over £300

psymonr

148 posts

212 months

Wednesday 18th November 2009
quotequote all
B16JUS said:
the discs and pads on the rs6 are a lot bigger and have 4 pads per caliper ( not that the brakes are that good either )

maby a company make pattern parts now but at the time i could only get them from audi pads alone were over £300
No, I know that, the S4 is much closer related to a normal A4 Quattro unlike the RS cars, more items are borrowed from other ranges, I'm just making the point of the cost of parts and therefore the knock on effect of running it, and RS car will always have much higher running costs due to the nature of the parts, and to be fair Audi quoted me less than £400 to do the same job, the S4 is cheaper to run than the RS6 is what I'm getting at,

Edited for bad quoting!

Edited by psymonr on Wednesday 18th November 09:14

marctwo

3,666 posts

291 months

Wednesday 18th November 2009
quotequote all
I was looking at the B6 S4 vs B5 RS4 and was advised that the RS car running costs were considerably higher. I'd love an RS but my wallet says no. I think the S4 is a very good car for the money and the running costs are within reason.

The Tiptronic S4s have higher gearing than the manuals resulting in a sub 3k rpm cruise at 80mph and better fuel economy, not that I have ever managed over 30 though!

Lord Pikey

Original Poster:

3,258 posts

246 months

Wednesday 18th November 2009
quotequote all
Thanks all.

Im getting a bit concerned by this tall 6th gear. My run to work is 40 miles of emtpy autobahn at 5.30am. So its safe to say ill be crusiing about 120 which is causing my current escort to complain horribly smile

Maybe i should be looking at the Monaro as im told that has a nice long silly 6th gear..

thoughts?

Dr G

15,994 posts

273 months

Wednesday 18th November 2009
quotequote all
S4 is not an expensive car to run at all for the performance; they're well assembled with relatively simple mechanicals. THe only (minor) known issues are well documented and not hideous to sort.

For 13k I would say steer clear of an RS6, unless you're lucky the purchase price won't even be nearly the end of the story...

TonyHetherington

32,091 posts

281 months

Wednesday 18th November 2009
quotequote all
I find it quite ok doing 99mph in my manual car for sustained periods - and that's with an exhaust too. The MPG just never really goes over 23 on long motorway runs whereas I seem to remember Marc gets more like 27 in his auto.

marctwo

3,666 posts

291 months

Wednesday 18th November 2009
quotequote all
26/27 mpg at around 80mph with cruise control. The best I have managed it 29.7 which was with cruise at 65/70mph. 100mph is about 3200rpm in 6th and very comfortable and quiet.

Lord Pikey

Original Poster:

3,258 posts

246 months

Wednesday 18th November 2009
quotequote all
marctwo said:
26/27 mpg at around 80mph with cruise control. The best I have managed it 29.7 which was with cruise at 65/70mph. 100mph is about 3200rpm in 6th and very comfortable and quiet.
bounce

B16JUS

2,386 posts

268 months

Wednesday 18th November 2009
quotequote all
as long as there isnt a lot of stop start or slowing down the rs6 cruises at them speeds with ease, but 13k for a 65-70k car remember parts cost money also suspension has problems luckly mine was ok but some arnt but i belive you can replace them with aftermarket coilovers now which is good.

Tallbut Buxomly

12,254 posts

247 months

Wednesday 18th November 2009
quotequote all
Yup there is a fairly general concensus that the rs6 is a very expensive car to run whereas the b6 s4 is a frankly brilliant and under appreciated piece of kit. Servicing is based either on standard or variable so 12k or if mileage is high enough then can run to 18k miles between services if longlifed.


S4 has a chain that i believe its recommended is changed at 90k and which rattles slightly on start up for i am told less than 5 secs or so but if it continues to rattle walk away.
As a car they are built very solidly and reliably and very little ever goes wrong with them. I have an 01 b6 a4 which has 251k miles and aside from a few small man faults ( rear anti roll bar 250 quid and wiper mech 80 quid) the only other thing thats gone wrong was a pully assembly being snapped/broken costing 300 to fix the cause of which is unkown but not common.

You really cannot go terribly wrong with a b6 s4/a4.

Lord Pikey

Original Poster:

3,258 posts

246 months

Wednesday 18th November 2009
quotequote all
Cheers all. some great advice here

Just one more question. Does the S6 of the same age (2002) suffer from the running costs of the RS6 or is it friendlier like the S4?



Edited by Lord Pikey on Wednesday 18th November 20:10

ecain63

10,653 posts

206 months

Wednesday 18th November 2009
quotequote all
As an owner of an RS6 i can suggest this:

If you only have 13k to play with, dont bother. You will only find dogs at that price and the crippling, re-mortgage worthy bills will soon mount up. Front discs are £600+, pads are £200 approx. If your suspension goes then you are looking at £1500 a corner (and you have to do 2 at a time), or £2000 for a coilover conversion. A gearbox will set you back £7000 if it goes. A belt change requires 7 hours labour plus parts - and Audi charge £100 to £130 an hour. I had a 20k service today and that cost me £700 (german car specialist, not Audi). It would have been more if it hadnt come through with zero faults. If you do decide on the RS6 then get a very good warranty. If the car has full Audi history then you will be looking at £1500 - £2000 for an Audi warranty. Otherwise there are other companies who can offer cover, but beware and research on the forums (im on RS246.COM and there are loads of guys on there who can advise). You should be looking at spending £18 - £20k on a decent model, and £20 - £24k for a pristene / low milage model. A 'Plus' model will cost you circa £30k at the mo.

I think the S4 may offer better options for you, with being easier to live with and cheaper running costs. Just my 2 pence worth.

ecain63

10,653 posts

206 months

Wednesday 18th November 2009
quotequote all
S6 is cheaper to run, and the suspension does not suffer from the same problems as the RS due to a different set up. Could be a more viable option for you.

Lord Pikey

Original Poster:

3,258 posts

246 months

Wednesday 18th November 2009
quotequote all
ecain63 said:
S6 is cheaper to run, and the suspension does not suffer from the same problems as the RS due to a different set up. Could be a more viable option for you.
Brilliant, because this seems a bit of a bargain

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Audi-S6-AVANT-4-2-V8-ESTATE-...

ecain63

10,653 posts

206 months

Wednesday 18th November 2009
quotequote all
Phone Audi about this one with regards to the Tow Bar. I know that they dont allow a tow bar on the RS6 (they actually void all warranty if you have one fitted), so check that it is permitted on the S6. Othewise, it looks like a good one.

If you want a set of RS6 wheels for it then let me know as i have a set going cheap.