Thinking about getting an Audi S4

As the thread title suggests, I am starting to look at 2010-2011 Audi S4s. It looks like I could get one with under 50,000 miles in the mid to high $30s.

Does anyone have any experience with these particular years for the S4? What should be expected regarding ongoing maintenance costs and consumables (would like to compare overall cost of ownership to current car)? Also considering the BMW 335i xDrive.

Background
24 year old living in midwest (get a fair amount of snow)
Don't really need a new car but I would like AWD and four doors
I have an Acura RSX type S which is fairly fun and practical but only 2 doors
Daily commute is about 25 miles total (probably 2/3rds interstate)
Drive about 8,000-9,000 miles per year
No accidents on my insurance
Two speeding tickets (both 6-10mph, one almost 5 years ago, other 3.5 years ago)

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

I have a 2010 Audi S5 convertible that I bought new and now has almost 60k miles on it.
I think the S5 isn't too different from the S4.

It's been a reliable car and not too expensive to maintain.
I've maintained it at the Audi dealership.
They sell various packages of pre-paid maintenance which is a good deal.
Last package I bought was four 4 services (the 45k mile, 55k, 65k, and 75k services I believe).

Here's a pic of it.
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Just ordered a 2014 S4. Never owned an Audi before. Looking forward to the car arriving around March.

Make sure 2010 does not have a timing belt. 2010 may be the first year for a timing chain or it may be the last year of the belt. Believe 2011 has a chain.

audiworld.com is like FerrariChat for Audis. You must register. It's free. You should be able to find out whatever you need.

Best of luck on your quest.

 

I enjoy the supercharged V6. They had a water pump recall early on, but have been pretty solid overall. If you're nervous about reliability, find a Certified Pre-Owned one. Maintenance costs will be higher than your Acura, but probably less than the BMW.

 

2010 S4s had waterpump problems. Make sure it has been replaced.

2011 S4s show repairs as average, 2012 below average (that's good) and 2013s as low.
2014 too new to rate.

source: audiworld.com

There is a thread in the S4(B8) section on reliability and the survey results are reported quarterly. the detailed results are free if you participate in the survey. if you have no repairs you just report your mileage.

BTW everyone says the Sports Differential is a must have option.

Best.

 

body style is played out. look for new design soon.

 

New Cars, Used Cars, Car Reviews and Pricing - Edmunds.com has a pretty decent cost of ownership calculator. Definitely lurk on Quattroworld Independent Audi News, Audi Forums and more to see the ins and outs of the years you are considering. For insurance quotes, contact your insurance agent or get multiple bids from all the big ones, Geico, Progressive, State Farm, All State, AAA.

Also, when the snow starts falling, put snow tires on that car, Quattro alone will not save you.

 

Every Audi ever built will puke its entire cooling system out at least twice during its lifetime. It's no big deal, just part of the ownership experience. I just wish antifreeze was better for the environment.

 

2015 Audi S4 Changes and Release Date

My concern is that Audi will not offer a manual transmission in 2015. No basis. Just a concern based on how things are going in the industry. Right now it is the only AWD car I could find with a stick and sub 5 sec 0-60 times.

 

Went from a BMW to an Audi last year, and have grown to love it.

While it's not RWD because I needed a high mpg car, it has just felt much more solid than the 335. I also have been much more impressed by my Audi dealer than I ever was by the BMW dealer. Although every dealer can be slightly, different. Audi has given me a different loaner every time I've brought my car in (A6, A4, Q5 so far), and all I have is an A3. On the polar opposite, BMW only ever provided me with a 3 series or X3 before saying that they would only provide loaners to people who's cars would be in the shop for more than one day (my warranty was still good). Needless to say I wont do business with that dealer ever again.

Audi told me they put me in a different car in hopes that I'll buy another car from them and that by giving me a chance to drive other models I'll fall in love with one of them.

 

I had an 11 S4 for 30k miles I now have a new s6.

Loved the car. Easy to maintain. Park. Has plenty of torque.

I'd figure $1k a year for services and incidentals plus gas and insurance.


Great cars. By far the best sedans I've ever owned.

 

I work in an all European shop and we see a fair number of S4s and 335xi come through and I can honestly say that the Audi is a much better car. It's a smoother ride, it handles better, it feels more spacious and is a blast in the snow. The maintainence is less expensive than the BMW. 3 Series I6 BMWs have a tendency to leak oil like crazy from the filter stand and valve cover. The Audi will have some issues with the cooling system, mostly the thermostat. If you buy used, over 50K, make sure the thermostat has been done.

 

Oh and get the 6 speed. The automatic ones aren't near as much fun

 

Good friend of mine owns a 2010 S4 and we drove it up from LA to Monterey, taking highway 1 almost the whole time, for car week back in August. Can't help you much with the economical aspects, but I can say that the car is very impressive. Being AWD, we were gripping every tight curve and then easily accelerating onto the next. It was also a very smooth ride and I was comfortable the whole 6 hours. Definitely a car I suggest buying, good luck and enjoy. 6 speed please!

 

Dealer called. Gave me the VIN.

S4 has been built. Will be put on a ship this week.

Should be here no later than Mar 10.

Life is good.

Best

 

I've had a 2010 S4 since new.
Great car.
My water pump failed the week before the recall. Fixed without issue.
I've literally had one minor problem in 50K miles (other than the water pump). Minor trim piece, which was replaced.
Now its time for an oil change, and my check engine light just went on....
hopefully my streak will continue!
I had extra rims and tires for winter. Standard tires are summer sports. Don't plan on driving it in the snow with those! With my snow tires, car was amazing in the crappy mid west snow

 

Congrats. What options did you go with? Color?

 

Just out of curiosity, has anyone lurking in here been considering the forthcoming Audi S3? I'm a 5'8" guy so the rear seat behind me is still usable. I love the interior design, which feels much more like a TT than a sedan and the S3s will get the cool diamond-stitched leather.

I used to be an all-manual guy, but I'm willing to consider a dual clutch in my next daily driver solely because I really want adaptive cruise control -- which cannot be had with a stick. That's the really bummer on the 335s (which I have now in a stick) -- manual or 8spd torque converter automatic.

 

Prestige
Ice Silver Metallic
6 spd manual trans
adaptive damper system
sports differential

About the only option I did not get is adaptive cruise control. this is a nanny I can do without.

 

Picked up the special ordered 2014 S4 on Monday in Salt Lake. It took almost 3 hours to go over the car and how to work all the gadgets and high tech stuff. this is my first Audi.
Then had to go back the next day to clear up some questions which took about 30 min.

Drove home on Wednesday so we have over 500 mi on the car already. Break-in ends at 1k miles and then can rev the engine to the redline ~7k. Limit now is 5k. This supercharged engine has so much torque this is really not a problem.

First impressions: the car is amazing and lots of fun to drive...especially in the twisties in DYNAMIC MODE. Very sports car like. Great on the Interstate. Plenty of passing power. The 6spdMT reminds me of our 2011 Boxster S which is fantastic. Traded my M3 in 2004. This car is so much better in every way AND it is AWD which the M3 was not.

Ice Silver Metallic
Prestige Which covers almost all the possible options except
Sports Differential
Adaptive Damping System
Luna Silver Leather seats with silver contract stitching. Very nice indeed.

I got this car so I would have something fun to drive in the winter when the Fcar is in the garage. The car has way exceeded my expectations. Looks like the S4 will fill the bill nicely.
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Great looking car.

Hopefully it will continue to exceed your expectations.

 

+1, I continue to hear nothing but exceeded expectations and reviews about this car.

 

Congrats, it looks great! You're going to love it. We've had a few Audis, and have looked at BMW each time we were looking to buy. Had a 2007 S4 Avant for 7 years, V8 manual, BMW offered nothing comparable. We had the silver leather and it held up very well, didn't get too dirty, and cleaned up easily. It was a fantastic car, and we just replaced it last fall with a 2014 S7, also with silver leather, and of course the twin turbo V8 and DSG. That's my wife's car, my DD is a 2010 S5, V8 manual. It's the same chassis as your S4, and equipped similarly with the adaptive shocks and sport diff. It really is a great drive, and fun in winter - put on a good set of winter tires, set it in Dynamic mode, turn off the stability control, and it will do tail out power slides on the snow all day long with fabulous control

 

The car has a manual transmission. It blips on downshfts into 2nd or 3rd as you let out the clutch.

then I watched a review on Fifth Gear of the new 911 Targa...manual transmission, AWD. Automatically blips shifting into 2nd and 3rd. Audi is in the same family (Volkwagen).

You can still blip yourself but if you forget...

 

I will compare to our 2011 Boxster S with 18k miles.

S4 has much more torque (325 lbft v 266 lbft) and is faster 0-60 despite weighing 700 lbs more. Part of this could be the altitude as the S4 has a 333 hp supercharged V6 engine vs the boxer NA 6 with 315 hp.

Boxster is flatter in the turns. But the S4 is amazing with AWD in Dymanic Mode and is equipped with sports differential and adaptive damping.

Whereas the Boxster TPMS gives the tire pressure of each tire, the Audi just shows when a tire is low. You have to figure out which one.

otherwise, the S4 electronic gizmos far outshine the 3 year old Boxster S and much more user friendly.

Audi 20gb hard drive is handy as you can load your CDs and iPod music. Just say "play album" fom the jukebox...she will ask you the name of the artist...give you the albums and then you select which one.

can store 50 staions on sat, radio, etc. Boxster can store 18 stations for each source: sat, AM, FM. S4 has HDD radio and can hook up to the internet where you can use 8 devices. Yes, 8 in a 4 passenger car.

Both cars give you the altitude but the S4 also gives you the speed limit on highways and shows you the neareast gas stations on route w/o going into a sub screen.

The Boxster S cost $70k new and the S4 was $60k. A comparably equipped S5 convertible is $68k. Of course the 2014 Boxster S is over $80k now.

The seats in the S4 are much more comfortable to my back than the Boxster S...too hard for me but my wife finds them very comfortable. S4 has 2 seat memory settings, the Boxster S has 3. Boxster has a/c seats...not an option on the S4.

Both cars have adaptive lights, auto dimming mirrors, automatic windshield washers and headlight washers and cruise control. S4 lights turn off/on automatically. Pcar is manual.

S4 has Lane Assist which lets you know if a car is passing on either side or in your blind spot on either side. Love it.

S4 has much more storage: 12 cu ft with the seats up, 20 cu ft with the seats down. Boxster has about 10 cu ft with both trunks. Skis are no problem.

S4 has keyless entry and start/stop. Love it.

S4 Driving modes; dynamic (=sporty), comfort, automatic and individual where you can set the engine response, exhaust note, steering frimness, suspension firmness, differential sportiness to your individual taste. You can change between modes on the fly at the push of a button.

We will be taking the S4 on an extended trip in a couple of weeks and looking forward to it.

Best