Hi guys,
Hope you're all well. New to this forum, hope to find a bit of help!
I've had an E46 M3 for a couple of years now and have decided it's time for a change. I bought the car with 83k miles on it, and whilst it was good fun, it was just an endless money pit. The last straw was a couple of weeks ago when the head gasket went. It was then I decided it's time to cut the losses and get rid, whilst they're still holding their value. Time for something more comfortable with four doors I thought, so I settled on an RS4 (2007). I'm still looking around, have done alot of research on them and wanted to run a few things by you guys to see if I've missed anything.
Firstly, I'm very used to high running costs. The M3 averaged out at 21MPG, went through a set of rear tyres every 10-12k miles and needed servicing every 10k miles. So with petrol and tyres, I'm expecting much of the same from an RS4. Servicing wise, the RS4 seems to be slightly cheaper. An inspection 1 (small service) for the M3 was around 400 quid from a specialist whilst an inspection 2 (big service) with valve clearances would set you back nearer 650 quid. Do people change the oil every 10k miles on the RS4?
Out of my research I've picked up the following points to look out for:
1) Make sure cruise control works as the switch can sometimes be faulty and Audi charge near 150 to replace it.
2) Make sure the engine idles smoothly. I gather that the engines are susceptible to carbon build up, particularly on higher mileage ones that do alot of town driving.
3) Make sure the radiators are clean and not corroded. Check for coolant leaks through the bumper.
4) Make sure the oil cooler pipes aren't corroded
5) Make sure the shocks aren't leaking
6) Make sure there are no knocks from the suspension, particularly the front control arms at full steering lock
7) Make sure the tyre pressure monitoring system works
8) Wings are soft aluminium, check for dings
9) Rust - unlike on the M3, seems not to happen on the RS4. Check bottom of all doors to be sure
10) Check for rust around the battery in the boot
11) Check centre armrest latch hasn't snapped
12) Check seat bolsters for wear (driver side in particular)
13) Check rear heaters work
14) Check sport mode works
15) Check for even wear on the tyres to be sure of alignment/good shocks
If there's anything else anyone can add to the list, I'm all ears!
What I'm after is something which can provide the same thrill as the M3, but with alot less of the drama, wondering what the next thing is that's going to go wrong, and from doing some futher reading on the RS4, it looks like it's the car to do it! I used to put 250 quid into my savings account every month for the M3 for when something inevitably went wrong, I'm hoping to reduce this number to about 150 for the RS4 and spend it mostly on servicing and consumables.
So - I've got two examples on my shortlist at the moment, one is blue, the other grey. I'm hoping to go and see them both on Friday. Exactly the same spec as each other.
Blue:
44k miles
Full service history
3 previous owners
£23500
Grey:
50k miles
Full service history
2 previous owners
£21500
I've been chatting to the dealer about the blue one, and they value my M3 at about 7k (trade, obviously). I've just applied for a loan with Sainsburys bank for £13.5k as they were offering a rate of about 2.8% (I'll see what rate they actually offer when they send the paperwork, but I've a feeling it's better than a rate a dealer will find me, plus if I want to sell the car, the loan wouldn't be linked to it). Reason being is I think it puts me in a better position to turn up and make an offer on a car if I have cold hard cash in my account, rather than offering them my car and asking to find finance for the rest. I won't have to start repaying the loan for 2 months, which effectively gives me 2 months to find a car. The blue one has been on sale for around six weeks and has already had one price reduction, so it appears they're having issues shifting it. Is the market generally slow for these cars? Do people no longer want cars with this kind of engine?
I know I could get around 9.5k for my M3 if I sold it privately but to be honest, I can't be bothered with the hassle. If I really like the blue one I was planning on offering my car (which I value to them at 7.5k) and 13.5k cash. That's £2500 under the asking price, but like I said, they've had it on sale for a while and I reckon they'd want rid of it. Plus, I can use the grey one as a sort of blackmail - If they don't take my offer I can say fine, there's a grey one just round the corner of exactly the same spec and similar mileage for 2k, cheaper, and they will definitely take my offer.
Sorry if this has gone on for a bit, thanks in advance to everyone who has read all of it and can offer any advice!
Cheers
Tom
Hope you're all well. New to this forum, hope to find a bit of help!
I've had an E46 M3 for a couple of years now and have decided it's time for a change. I bought the car with 83k miles on it, and whilst it was good fun, it was just an endless money pit. The last straw was a couple of weeks ago when the head gasket went. It was then I decided it's time to cut the losses and get rid, whilst they're still holding their value. Time for something more comfortable with four doors I thought, so I settled on an RS4 (2007). I'm still looking around, have done alot of research on them and wanted to run a few things by you guys to see if I've missed anything.
Firstly, I'm very used to high running costs. The M3 averaged out at 21MPG, went through a set of rear tyres every 10-12k miles and needed servicing every 10k miles. So with petrol and tyres, I'm expecting much of the same from an RS4. Servicing wise, the RS4 seems to be slightly cheaper. An inspection 1 (small service) for the M3 was around 400 quid from a specialist whilst an inspection 2 (big service) with valve clearances would set you back nearer 650 quid. Do people change the oil every 10k miles on the RS4?
Out of my research I've picked up the following points to look out for:
1) Make sure cruise control works as the switch can sometimes be faulty and Audi charge near 150 to replace it.
2) Make sure the engine idles smoothly. I gather that the engines are susceptible to carbon build up, particularly on higher mileage ones that do alot of town driving.
3) Make sure the radiators are clean and not corroded. Check for coolant leaks through the bumper.
4) Make sure the oil cooler pipes aren't corroded
5) Make sure the shocks aren't leaking
6) Make sure there are no knocks from the suspension, particularly the front control arms at full steering lock
7) Make sure the tyre pressure monitoring system works
8) Wings are soft aluminium, check for dings
9) Rust - unlike on the M3, seems not to happen on the RS4. Check bottom of all doors to be sure
10) Check for rust around the battery in the boot
11) Check centre armrest latch hasn't snapped
12) Check seat bolsters for wear (driver side in particular)
13) Check rear heaters work
14) Check sport mode works
15) Check for even wear on the tyres to be sure of alignment/good shocks
If there's anything else anyone can add to the list, I'm all ears!
What I'm after is something which can provide the same thrill as the M3, but with alot less of the drama, wondering what the next thing is that's going to go wrong, and from doing some futher reading on the RS4, it looks like it's the car to do it! I used to put 250 quid into my savings account every month for the M3 for when something inevitably went wrong, I'm hoping to reduce this number to about 150 for the RS4 and spend it mostly on servicing and consumables.
So - I've got two examples on my shortlist at the moment, one is blue, the other grey. I'm hoping to go and see them both on Friday. Exactly the same spec as each other.
Blue:
44k miles
Full service history
3 previous owners
£23500
Grey:
50k miles
Full service history
2 previous owners
£21500
I've been chatting to the dealer about the blue one, and they value my M3 at about 7k (trade, obviously). I've just applied for a loan with Sainsburys bank for £13.5k as they were offering a rate of about 2.8% (I'll see what rate they actually offer when they send the paperwork, but I've a feeling it's better than a rate a dealer will find me, plus if I want to sell the car, the loan wouldn't be linked to it). Reason being is I think it puts me in a better position to turn up and make an offer on a car if I have cold hard cash in my account, rather than offering them my car and asking to find finance for the rest. I won't have to start repaying the loan for 2 months, which effectively gives me 2 months to find a car. The blue one has been on sale for around six weeks and has already had one price reduction, so it appears they're having issues shifting it. Is the market generally slow for these cars? Do people no longer want cars with this kind of engine?
I know I could get around 9.5k for my M3 if I sold it privately but to be honest, I can't be bothered with the hassle. If I really like the blue one I was planning on offering my car (which I value to them at 7.5k) and 13.5k cash. That's £2500 under the asking price, but like I said, they've had it on sale for a while and I reckon they'd want rid of it. Plus, I can use the grey one as a sort of blackmail - If they don't take my offer I can say fine, there's a grey one just round the corner of exactly the same spec and similar mileage for 2k, cheaper, and they will definitely take my offer.
Sorry if this has gone on for a bit, thanks in advance to everyone who has read all of it and can offer any advice!
Cheers
Tom
