Potential S5 purchase - after a little advice

[markyy]

Hi. I’ve owned an A5 for 3 years now and dipped in and out of this and other forums for a bit, but some of the recent build threads (recent to me anyway) have got me hooked



I’m just about to order a new S5 and I have a couple of queries I think you guys may be able to help me with. First of all the spec I’m going for is :-

Black edition
Mythos Black
Drive select
Quattro Sports differential
Convenience package
Mobile telephone preparation – High
Technology package


The first question is, are there any options that I have missed that you would consider to be “essential”


I’ve read Warren_S5’s post (superb looking car by the way) and I’m wondering if the phone prep high is worth it? it seems to be a bit of a faff to get everything sorted? Any thoughts?


Next, I was a little disappointed with the choice of colours you can get on an S5. If it were still available, I would have probably went for Missano red, but that’s been dropped for MY15. There was a Mythos black A1 in the showroom and it wasn’t exactly ‘wow’


I look after my cars quite well and the paint gets treated with Swissvax Best of Show, so I’m sure with that and the fact that its an S5 it should look a lot better than the A1, but my question is,


should I save £620 and just go for Brilliant Black?


Finally, I can only afford an S5 because of the great deals available if you shop around. Currently Audi Milton Keynes have offered me the best ‘price to change’ but I live in near Newcastle. I’ve never bought a car long distance before. Has anyone on here done it? Is there anything I need to be aware of?
Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Shrek5]

Hi markky,

If you've gone to the effort of speccing sports diff I would suggest going for the damper control and dynamic steering as well to round out the ADS option.

The Audi Connect is a feature that if I were struggling to afford would be one of the first options to go however I do like it and would go for it in future. It's less of a faff now that you can use a separate SIM for the data and still use Bluetooth audio for making calls on your normal handset, but granted you would need two SIMs (your usual one for your phone plus the additional one for the car). The best feature of it IMHO is the improved traffic updates over standard TMC.

Colour wise, if I were ordering today it would be in Sepang blue, reckon that would look awesome. Are you sure Misano has been dropped as it is still available on the configurator site and I believe that was recently updated - could well be a mismatch though as it can lag reality by quite a bit.

You may already be doing this but have you looked at Drive the Deal or Orange Wheels websites? Some deals on there can be pretty good and when I was looking I would have got a better price for my old car from We Buy Any Car than the trade in (which in fairness was a fair trade in value). Alternatives would be an advert on Pistonheads. Not sure what A5 you currently have but my old A5 Sportback ended up being bought by a trader in Sheffield for better than either the WBAC or dealer prices although potentially a little less than a private sale - but no hassle and transfer was done there and then and was literally in my account in minutes.

 

[Shrek5]

A couple of other thoughts. By no means show stoppers and very much personal preference, but if you and another person share the car regularly then the convenience pack is worth a look. Also I am a fan of the advanced key, love just being able to walk up to the car without having to fish my keys out... but that's probably just me being lazy.

 

[DAYTONA 500]

My thoughts are the same as Shreks,as you've specced the Drive Select and Sports Diff the damper control and dynamic steering are a must they really transform the car at the push of a button. Your buying from an Audi Main dealer so distance doesn't matter ,I've done it twice in the last 4 years it's easy in this day and age.

 

[warren_S5]

+1 in respect of Shreks view

 

[AdamZA]

+1 to Shrek and Daytona

 

[AdamZA]

{and by extension, Warren }

 

[AdamZA]

By the way, I would consider the rear camera (Audi Parking System Advanced) to be a very worthwhile add on no matter how experienced you are as a driver. I've never had a problem parking but that camera is brilliant. For the record: my Bluetooth high with Audi connect had no issues with my SIM card settings and worked straight away with everything. Maybe I was lucky!

 

[markyy]

Thanks for the replies and the advice. The damper and steering control are only about £700 so I think i'll add them in. I've already gone for the convenience pack as Mrs Markky has the seat so close to the wheel that I generally can't even get in!
AdamZA - my wife has the rear camera on her Juke and you're right its great. Luckily enough it now gets added as standard when you select the tech pack.
Still not 100% convinced on the Mythos black yet. I've spoken to a couple of dealers and they've definately dropped Missano for MY15, even though it still shows on the configurator. They had an SQ5 on the forecourt in Sepang Blue but it didn't 'leap out' at me. hmm decisions decisions..

 

[Sandra]

Welcome to audi-sport.net Markyy. Im sure you will enjoy it in here. The guys in here are all very friendly and helpful and will keep you sane while you wait for the build and delivery of your car. Enjoy the forum. x

 

[warren_S5]

I don't like the Mythos black as much as the Phantom. Panther wasn't as dark as Phantom but had an interesting trick up it's sleeve in the daylight with a purply / blue hue.

Black is so hard to keep clean, but it does look amazing when it is. Sepang is a statement colour, and it's a big car so you have to love it (I do). I feel the colour palette is a bit thin at the moment since they've ditched Estoril / Phantom / Suzuka. Choices choices!

 

[AdamZA]

Could always tag on an Audi individual colour the temptation is always there isn't it! The same parts of our brain says no!

Glad it's part of the tech pack now. My factory order for my replacement is being placed in the next couple of days once they finish sorting out the particulars - on this occasion I've just ticked most of the boxes as not only will I enjoy them but they will be good for resale value too. In my opinion, don't go over your budget but meet it.

Generally I would advise not to miss out on anything that transforms the drive as a priority and then start adding on all the toys you can in the order of likeliness of using them!

Sorry I'm probably a bad influence!

 

[Cuppa]

Echo the comments and options selected above. Colour is personal taste so won't try to steer you in any direction on that.

 

[DAYTONA 500]

Out of the new colours Tornado Grey would be my choice.

 

[colink24]

Do you mind me asking how good a deal you got? I am in the market for a new/used A5/S5 at the moment and pretty caught between what to go for.

Thanks a lot!

 

[AdamZA]

What you go for will ultimately depend on your budget of course and whether or not you are paying by finance.

If you go for a new car, Audi UK contribute £2k deposit and your dealer contributes another minimum £2k. What I would suggest, even if you're buying the car without finance, is to take the finance, get the £2k additional deposit, then clear the finance in the first two weeks. You save £2k. To get a good dealership discount, try obtaining a quote from Drive the Deal or OrangeWheels and show it to your dealer. Tell them to match it - they won't be able to but be insistent and they will get close enough for your satisfaction. Don't take the insurance products from the dealership as you can get them all cheaper elsewhere. The only thing you may want to do towards the end of the negotiation is take a policy or two as the dealership makes more money from them so you could get them to take money off the car (for arguments sake £500) and you buy one of the policies costing £400. They make more money from that policy than what they are losing in discounting the car so they may take it. Make sure you tell them you're doing it so they get a better deal so both sides are happy. This combination of everything resulted in £7k off the purchase price of the car for me and other areas of the deal made for £9k off the price (part ex, policies etc)

If you're buying a used car on finance, you don't get the £2k Audi UK contribution. You also have a double rate of interest meaning the same price car costs much much more per month to pay. The dealers also have a smaller margin on used cars so they won't negotiate much.

If you don't care where you get the car from as long as its cheapest, then use Drive the Deal or OrangeWheels. No Audi dealer will be able to match their discounts. You will save £7-8k average on a brand new Audi A5 or S5 including the Audi UK discount. If you're buying cash you will save £5-6k. The car is delivered to your door free of charge.

That's all the advice I can give you! But if any questions please ask.

 

[warren_S5]

The deals on the new ones are so good it makes buying nearly news look expensive. Audi offer better APR's on the new cars, and then provide up to £6k dealer & manufacturer and discount contribution, so if your spending over £50k+ look to be paying circa £44-45k. (Use orangewheels or DTD as a leverage tool on the dealer).

If you buy nearly new the monthly payments are all but the same, and sometimes more (unless you put more deposit in).

EDIT: Beat me to it!

 

[AdamZA]

Echoing what Warren said - for the same car (nearly new, used), to get the same monthly payments as a new car of same spec, I would have to put in £11k deposit. I drove my new car away with £1k deposit

 

[markyy]

Hi Colin,
Initially, I too, was looking for a nearly new S5. But as has been mentioned, the deals on new ones means it makes very little sense to buy anything other than new.
I tried the various web sites mentioned, but found carwow the best. Within 24 hrs you get offers from 5 main Audi dealers (with the sales person named as well)
The typical discount was about £4500 for cash purchases plus another £2000 if you took the Audi finance.
This takes it down to about the price of a nearly new anyway and you will be getting the exact spec / colour you want.
I have a couple of dealers local to me and when I went in to see them they were miles away from the carwow price and despite their protestations about not price matching, I’m now very close to signing with one them for a deal very close to the carwow price.
In summary I would have to say that with almost no effort at all you could negotiate a discount of about 10% off the price of a new S5 and a little more if you’re prepared to put the work in. I can’t say for certain, but I doubt many dealers have that amount of margin to play with on a nearly new one.

 

[colink24]

Big thanks to everyone for the replies

 

[markyy]

Well, after lots of thought / soul searching I’ve eventually ordered my S5!

The spec is:

Black edition
Audi quattro Sports differential
Audi drive select
Damper control
Dynamic steering
Convenience package
Mobile telephone preparation – High with Audi connect
Technology package – High
And finally (and the reason it took so long to place my order)
Colour: Mythos Black.

There isn’t a photograph on the internet of a Sepang Blue S5 or TTS or RS7 etc.. that I haven’t pored over as well as trying to keep up with a Sepang Blue RS4 Avant that ( rapidly ) passed me on the A19 the other day!

I know that every time I see one on the road I will have a little twinge of doubt, but in the end it just didn’t win me over. Besides from what I’ve read on here and other forums I fear theymay become a little bit… common ( only joking )

The only other option I struggled with was the 20” alloys. If they did them in Rotors’s I’d have them in a heartbeat. I think it’s a tad disappointing that the S5 BE has exactly the same wheels as nearly every other Audi I see these days ( including my current A5 ). At least this is something that can be easily rectified after I take delivery.

Speaking of which after an initial estimate of build wk 38, delivery mid October, I received a mail today with a confirmed build wk of 36 and a delivery of “definitely September” – We’ll see

Not sure how I’m going to cope from now until then as the ordering process and anticipation would appear to have transformed me from a middle age man into an impatient teenager, but I’m sure the posts and pictures on here will help!

 

[AdamZA]

Congrats on your order and welcome to the waiting club! Great spec - you will love the car!

 

[Shrek5]

- sorry markky, unless you have waited a full six months, or have a tale of impressively woeful service from the dealership, or better still both, you can't enter the "I'm a masochist and almost had to beg Audi to take my money and let me own an S5 club..."

I jest (mostly) of course, congratulations on the order, it will be interesting to see it in a colour other than Sepang! I think that because Sepang is such a great colour there's a risk it might actually end up being too common. (Anyone here not included of course - you've got in early ) Did you manage to see mythos before you bought? When I bought mine I didn't get to test drive an S5 (S4 instead) or see Estoril as a colour so to a large extent bought blind...

 

[markyy]

Hi Shrek5 - I've had Audi's for about 15 years now, so believe me I can give you plenty of examples of shabby service! For instance when I asked for a test drive:
Dealer: "Sorry Markyy, We don't have a demonstrator or even a used one in our group stock"
Markyy: "Yes you do, there is a Sportback in Teeside Audi"
Dealer: "Oh yes, would you like me to get it for a test drive?"
Markyy: "Sigh"

As for the colour, they had an A1 in the showroom. Wasn't knocked out by it but, hey, its a metallic black - not much else you can say about it

Also, although the masochist fun sounds interesting, i'll take a 3 month wait and a hassle free delivery any time. ( fingers crossed )

 

[Shrek5]

Lol - that's more like it...

I'm not sure what it is but we seem to keep going back for more... :thumbsup:

 

[warren_S5]

Someone asked me recently why have metallic black if you're going to have a sealant put on your car, it makes the black look imperfect / almost dusty whereas a coated black will just be deep and lusterous (and cheaper).

I'm not sure what I think really, I had always hoped the lacquer on the metallic offered a layer of extra protection but given the state of my bonnet I'm not convinced.

Only seen the new red on an A1 and it had a slightly reddish tinge when I saw it.

 

[Snake Pliskin]

Cool ...... another S5 on the forum and on order :icon_thumright:

Great spec too and nice to hear you have resisted the urge to go sepang blue.

I keep saying I'm gonna go silver next (from a cleaning POV) but I may be tempted into something that is a ******* to clean and keep clean again knowing me

 

[warren_S5]

I had to go and see another kind forum members car to actually see any of the thousands of pounds worth of options I wanted to buy. What other industry would expect you to blow £6k of options without seeing or testing a single one of them - f*****g jokers! Thankfully I also learned from the misfortunes of the owner I should under no circumstances let the dealer touch my paint!

Glad to have another on board as the A5 section could always do with a few more members, we're here to share your pains and your journey as the likelihood is we've all be there before!

 

[Statler]

I'm a masochist and almost had to beg Audi to take my money and let me own an A5... That's why I'm in this support club

Nice choice of vehicle, look forward to your anticipation thred

 

[Shrek5]

I had to go and see another kind forum members car to actually see any of the thousands of pounds worth of options I wanted to buy. What other industry would expect you to blow £6k of options without seeing or testing a single one of them - f*****g jokers! Thankfully I also learned from the misfortunes of the owner I should under no circumstances let the dealer touch my paint!

Glad to have another on board as the A5 section could always do with a few more members, we're here to share your pains and your journey as the likelihood is we've all be there before!

I wonder who that was... . But as you say, all of the options I bought I basically had to buy blind and cross my fingers they were OK, which is just daft. Surely you get a top spec variant in as a demonstrator but I guess they have an eye on the resale and know those won't justify the outlay up front from a business point of view... sod the customer!

I'm a masochist and almost had to beg Audi to take my money and let me own an A5... That's why I'm in this support club

Nice choice of vehicle, look forward to your anticipation thred

Ha, been there too. Twice in fact with Reading Audi and each time they lost my business to other dealers (and groups).

 

[Sc08 LAB]

Hi mate I got mine from Mk Audi, which is actually in Bletchley and I dealt with Sam who was very hopeful, plus they have chosen well with the eye candy.

 

[markyy]

Hi,
I went with my local dealer in the end. They came very close to the carwow price. As far as eye candy goes, there was an RS6 there on the day I ordered; I'm sure that's what you meant

Anyway - stupid question time:
My car has wifi, so instead of an expensive tracker, can I stick my old ipod touch under the back seat connected to a 12V supply and the wifi with 'find my iphone' turned on?

I realise it will never match a proper tracker or bring my insurance down, but in the worst case scenario it will at least let me know which village I need to burn down

Any thoughts?

 

[warren_S5]

I suppose it's doable, but if you want it to be fully covert you will need to splice into the main wiring loom otherwise it can be found / unplugged, but yes, it should work as long as it's connected to the cars wifi system (e.g. SIM is in), as otherwise as soon as it looses wifi surely it won't be possible to locate it (will it????).