That'll be mine then. Only trying to get a bit of cash out the car, so happy to px against a reasonably priced 8L or similar.
When people say the extra tax / running costs of the S4 put them off, well thats only true to an extent. Pre-March 2006 and the tax is pretty much the same between S3 / S4 at about £245 per year. And even if you go post-March 2006, its only an extra 56p per day. So don't rule it out on that basis. Especially when you are looking at cars whose fuel consumption is going to be somewhere in the 20's anyway.
Fuel wise, my stage 2 1.8T averaged about 27 mpg. My V6 4 motion was about 25-26 mpg, my 4.2 V8 S4 about 23 mpg (over the 15 months I have been driving it). So, compared to my 1.8T only about 4 mpg difference. But jumped from 230 BHP to 345 BHP with 4wd. Bargain.
Servicing costs, okay, so it uses more oil in the oil change, 9L, but filters are all the same price. Brakes are only marginally more expensive (£200 for decent front discs approx.), so its not exactly breaking the bank. Okay, they are excluded from Audi's fixed price servicing, but its still not too bad really.
Of course, with your budget, your likely comparing the B7 S4, and 8P S3. In that case, 8P S3 everytime. My B6 S4 doesn't at all feel like a barge, the handling is tight and precise, as it would need to be with that power. It feel like a REAL sports car compared to my previous fast cars. That said, with not a lot of tinkering, the 8P will get to similar power, but in a smaller, tighter, lighter package. Gotta be easily as much fun, even if it doesn't sound half as good.
In short, get what your heart wants. Or px for my S4 just now while you save for the RS4 you really want...
