Should I but a S4?

I

imported_timwiti

Guest
I am thinking of buying a 2003 S4 to replace my S3. Mainly because I've just had a kid and the wife thinks the S3 is too small. I think the S4 is really the only replacement I want.

I'm just a bit worried about the running costs.
I don't wnat the car if I can't afford to drive it properly.
What is a realistic fuel consumption I can expect?
Is it practicle enough?
30k is my maximum so I'm obviously limited in choice.

I've had a 10min test drive but will I be equally impressed after 6 months?
 
fantastic engine drive combo, you can always get a chip if you get bored /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

on my commute i see more like 20mpg overall thats 5-10 miles traffic 30 miles of motorway.

can achieve 30mpg + 60-70mph in 6th on the motorway

or you could go back to 1.8t quattro sport a4, i prefer the v6 biturb though pulls the heavy car better

check out the latest diesels like 2.7tdi and 3.0tdi i hear good things on performance..
 
1.8T in a much bigger car does'nt sound tempting.
Diesel dosn't appeal at all - I'm not too bothered about mpg - just don't want anything stupid.

Looking at 2003 saloon with 20k miles - 29k with lots of extras.
 
Mine averages about 18-19mpg

If you do miuch town work or get stuck in traffic jams then you'll see much much worse.

I swapped from my TT to the S4 due to our soon to be parent status but we only do about 10-12k a year so running costs are not too bad.
 
Listen mate you wont get much room in the back of the S4 i have trouble with my A4....big boot just crap behind the driver and passenger seat for rear seated passengers. If your short it maybe worth it but if your 6ft+ i'd reconsider
 
They're are identicle....apart from the roof line. B6 versions are exactly the same length:
Avant Dimensions
Saloon Dimensions
I looked at a MkV Golf yesterday and I reckon it's got the same or more rear leg room but just a much smaller boot.
 
Thats the thing i wish they would of compromised some of the massive boot space for a few more inches of leg room at the rear it would of made all the difference IMO
 
look at the a6, mines massive the front is like armchairs, plenty of room left and right and behind, i pretty much stretch out and am always comfy, and so are the back passengers tons of leg room. and with the v6 biturbo it pulls very well. i think the car weighs around 1.8 tons +-, when considering s3 weighs around 1.5 tons +- theres a lot more car with not that much extra weight, s3's are horribly overweight for their size.

space in the a6 is reason i moved up from a passat a few years back and haven't looked back since.
 
Go for it. I had an S3 and upgraded to an S4, never looked back.

S3's never did have much room behindthe front seats and the S4 is better although not palatial. Saying that you'd have to have long legs to need the seat so far back, on passenger side no problem, plenty of space.

Quattro is better on S4 as it is a proper 4WD permanent, fuel economy well it's OK but I've had mine five months now and still puts a smile on my face. Realistically getting 180-190 miles from £30 of Optimax per week on a mixture of mainly commuting 'stop-start' miles and some motorway, but I am a little heavy with the right foot every now and again!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/angel.gif

Boot is twice the size of the S3 and still foldbale seats if needed although not quite the flexibility of the S3 hatch.

As for your £30K, I've seen some on Autotrader sub that and one on E-Bay today with a £20K start price for a '53' plate.

As dummi said if you do get bored and I doubt you will for a while, S/S exhaust and / or remap available to up the speed. Good luck! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif
 
Overall, I like my S4,,,, but to be honest only because of the AMD Stage 3 Mods. The standard car just didn't 'do it' for me! My average fuel consumption, according to the DIS, is 16-17 MPG.
 
Std car just fine, much better than an S3. Buy an Avant for the ability to raise the net and fill to the roof - modern prams nearly fill the boot.

21-22mpg (real, not what the DIS says) on rural Scottish roads.

£30k easily buys an 03. £32-33k gets a good 04. Discrete and fast. Enjoy!
 
The DIS on the S3 says I average 23MPG over a long period. I don't really monitor how much I put in - wish I had now.
Surely the S4 MUST use a lot more than the S3.
18-22MPG from the posts so far - not a great deal of difference.

I do 15k a year.
Based on above the S4 would only cost me about £1k more a year - 20quid a week??
Can this be right? if it is I'm buying

03 black S4 - 21k miles - satnav/tv leather/alacantra, bose, cruise, multichanger 4 new tyres, fASH 1 owner, (fridge?)
£29k.
From Audi dealer - almost seems a bit too cheap?
 
Its not too cheap, its about right. I paid £32.5k recently for an 04 Avant with <5 miles. I've also got an 03 S4 Avant and find the DIS on the 03 is about right whereas the one on the 04 overreads by 1.5-2.0mpg.

To help you choose, the 03MY have a 66 litre tank and the 04MY 63 litres, the 04 can be set with a/c down to 16c vs 18c for the 03 and the 04 seems to have a lighter clutch.

You will need to fill up at 250-300 miles (you can safely run the range down to 10 miles) which as you do high miles as I do means lots of stops. The upside is 19k service intervals.
 
So 50 quid for 250-300 miles for the S4 - How many would the S3 get for 50 quid?
 
Your going from a gruff 4 cylinder to a wonderful V8. There is so much torque low down that you don't need to go through 5k revs much. On a gentle cruise 27-28mpg is possible (15 when hammered!).
 
[ QUOTE ]
So 50 quid for 250-300 miles for the S4 - How many would the S3 get for 50 quid?

[/ QUOTE ]
I think that range should be 200-300miles. it's easy to only get 200 out of a tank.
 
ScoTTy how much do put in a week then on average?
I put about 35 a week in my S3 if that goes up 20 pounds no problem
I'm no good with MPG!
 
AndrewRichmond

I'm already down in Hull for the weekend - is your 03 for sale?
 
Afraid not. My wife drives the 03 and I drive the 04.

Getting a Boxster S tomorrow for the sun. First ever P car - never thought I would. It will be interesting to compare it to the S4's, however, I think I allready know the answer - better in the dry, worse in the wet!
 
[ QUOTE ]
ScoTTy how much do put in a week then on average?
I put about 35 a week in my S3 if that goes up 20 pounds no problem
I'm no good with MPG!

[/ QUOTE ]
We don't really have a weekly amount. My wife used to drive it to and from work but since she stopped worked (and is currently very pregnant) it's not getting used daily. I leave the S4 in the garage and get a bus to my local station and then get a train into the City. It seems weird sometimes but it would cost £2-3 in fuel and £4.50 for parking making a weekly cost of about £35ish. As it is I pay about £8 a week. I can easily afford to use the S4 but it seems so wasteful to use a car when you have a bus coming every 7-10 minutes. The buses also have bus lanes so it's not only cheaper but quicker to. I can also have the odd beer or three without having to worry about driving home. I am also a bit precious about the S4 and don't like leaving in the train station car park although I do time to time.
I haven't fueled the S4 for a couple of weeks as we've only been to baby shops, local relatives etc etc. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

I did the same as you seem to be doing. I had a tuned TT and I worked out the annual fuel cost of that and then worked out the extra the S4 would cost. I think it was about £50-80 month more so wasn't an issue.

I was a little shocked when I found the S4 takes 9L of Mobil1 and it makes servicing a bit more. Nothing stupid though.

I think the real cost is in depreciation. I have my TT for over three years and by importing and then selling privately I only lost £7.5k over three years. I'm probably looking at that for the last year I've had the S4!!

p.s. A day at Castle Combe meant I got about 115 miles (if I remember correctly) out of the tank. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I've been back to look at the S4 again and am still very interested.
I agree ScoTTy the depretialtion will be the main cost.
Only 1.5yrs waranty left on the car though and I hope to keep for at least 3yrs.
We still can't agree on price!
 
Cool!! You'd better change you sig then. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
True..., I get it next wednesday though so 3.2 until then...
This is probably the wrong forum but anyone got TV on their Nav +? is it any good or worth putting in?
 
What sort of deal did you get The911SC.

Can I expect prices to drop soon with the facelift model?

I thought the Tv was great - well worth it
 
My deal fell through when Audi said I could not have a towbar (see post).

Would a A4 3.0 sport be a reasonable cheaper alternative to an S4 (to an S3 owner)?

Are Recarro seats and other goodies on the S4 available on models other than the S4.
 
Towing with an S4?!... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh_roll.gif
Did you go look at the ebony black one in Hull at £29,995?
 
That was the one I was looking at.

I need a towbar for my jetski.
 
Aha... thats better; had visions of an S4 tootling along a country road towing a caravan!..

I considered that one from Hull also since it shows up on the list next to the one I bought. I am a bit of a sunroof fan and although the black one had a TV it didnt have the roof so I opted for the moro blue one...

I am sure prices will drop (as they have recently; that car would have been 32K a couple of months ago) but that is the nature of cars really.
Anyone who wants solid equity in the car, go buy a Porsche Boxster. Had mine for 3 years and lost about 6K in total.
 
It also smelled of smoke - I wondered if it would ever go.
It certainly didn't smell like a newish car.
My 2000 S3 still has the nice leather smell.
Audi claimed the leather/alcantra seats do not smell so much of leather anyway.
The tv and Bose were excellent!
 
Picked it up today and its absolutely awesome. Its stuck in my garage at the moment due to the insurance covernote not coming through on time and not being able to tax it!!... Grrrrr!.....

First impressions; the pick up in 2nd and 3rd is superb; the 3.2 A3 was quite quick in a revvy way but this is sheer grunt!..

Never mind, got a coat of swissol on it at least while waiting!...
Pics to follow!.
 
Where did you get it from?

I'm thinking of a 3.0 sport instead due to the towbar - poor alternative I know but can't think of anything else.

Could maybe afford a new one - 3.2FSI?? any good - nothing like as good as S4 so don't really want to spend all that on one - (would regret not getting the S4)

The S3 just isn't big enough. (due to baby).
 
I've come in late to this thread but my reply is:

1. buy the S4 - forget the towbar. Fuel consumption not an issue if you can stay sub 12k a year. Biggest problem is tyre consumption - doing well to get 10k miles per corner.

2. buy a 10 year old barge for £2K to carry the crap and tow the toys. Mine's a 940 Volvo estate. Really, really makes you appreciate the S4! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Here's mine now...
s4_1.jpg
 
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