I have only driven Nissan/Infiniti vehicle all my life. I just sold my 07 G35 6MT Coupe. We are expecting our first child in a 2 months, so I am looking for a 4-dr car, but don't want to give up the sporty aspect just yet. The G35x Sedan is way too common, so I don't want to go in that direction.

I live in WI, so for every sports car I have owned, I have always had a separate set of snow wheels/tires that I swap out in Oct/Nov. Driving my G35 was quite a challenge in this last winter, although I survived.

So what lead me to look at an RS4 is ... all wheel drive, 4 doors (easy baby seat access), luxury ride inside, not too common (A4 is very common and I do see a few S4's around), not a big fan of stick, although my g35 was stick, I drive about 16000 miles a year, lots of highway, I want a all year car, and don't mind swapping out wheels. That 420hp just sounds so exciting compared to anything else on the market.

Here is the scary part for me...I don't know the first thing about an Audi, let alone a German engineered vehicle. I have only owned Nissan/Infiniti vehicles for over 15 years. I am a DIY-er, I have contributed many articles to my other forums, I have done everything from oil changes to engine performance mods, brake jobs, electrical jobs myself. I am not big into visual mods, mostly performance and functional mods. I have access to all the Nissan/Infiniti tech manuals and know my local dealer techs well.

So here are the questions:

- How is Audi's service? Are they quick to blame the owner or willing to fix issues under warranty easily?
- How is it to maintain an Audi, is it easy to perform DIY service? (not to save cost, but I really enjoy using all the tools in my garage)
- How much do parts and labor cost compared to other manufacturers? Say an oil change, brake job?
- What don't you like about Audi's in general?
- What don't you like about your current RS4? Would you buy it again?
- How does it perform on snow with say blizzaks?
- How does it perform on track day?
- How prone is the front paint to chipping?
- Any major Rattles, squeaks, noise in the cabin after a couple of 1000 miles?
- In my current car, bad roads and tight suspension have led me to not enjoy driving a stiff ride, how stiff is the RS4 ride?
- What are the common problems with the RS4 (S4) line?
- Do Audi's retain resale value (say a over 60 mo finance)?
- Where can one find an RS4 owner's manual or the service/maintenance manual?
- How is the stock audio and navigation system?


I know those are a lot of questions, I really appreciate you guys being patient with me and giving a potential new owner some honest feedback.

 

So here are the questions:
Here are the answers - but I'm not able to answer some - especially directly questioning the RS4. I have it's big brother, the RS6.

- How is Audi's service? Are they quick to blame the owner or willing to fix issues under warranty easily?
Thus far, they've been great to me. Never a question, never a problem - just fix it for me. Even my shocks have been taken care of w/o any issues (shocks on the RS6 are an issue)

- How is it to maintain an Audi, is it easy to perform DIY service? (not to save cost, but I really enjoy using all the tools in my garage)
Until you reach 5 years or 35K (or what ever it is right now), just let Audi do it. They cover everything other than the rubber to the road.

- How much do parts and labor cost compared to other manufacturers? Say an oil change, brake job?
Cost compared to others? No clue. Brake job was easy. Pull the wheels, pull the calipers, rotors fall off. Pads are easy enough too.

- What don't you like about Audi's in general?
I can't really think of anything I don't care for on either of my Audis. Compared to the Cayenne Turbo I got rid of recently, I LOVE the Audi. Fit, finish, ease of use of the gadgets and toys is wonderful (the Porsche SUCKED comparatively. - sorry, I'm a bit biased at the present, as I really learned to HATE the damn Porsche SUV.)

I guess if I'm hard pressed to say I'm not happy w/anything in particular it's the navigation system of both cars. The RS6's nav is archaic and a pain to use. The R8's is good, but the detail of the map is a bit lame - no, quite lame.

- What don't you like about your current RS4? Would you buy it again?
I'd buy an RS4 in an instant after seeing one recently. I just don't need to replace my RS6.

- How does it perform on snow with say blizzaks?
I'll let you know this winter when I put winter tires on mine. (:

- How does it perform on track day?
n/a - at least so far. (bummer!)

- How prone is the front paint to chipping?
Nothing major yet on either vehicle.

- Any major Rattles, squeaks, noise in the cabin after a couple of 1000 miles?
None. There is one small funky plastic washer sound right behind me in the R8 at 4 - 4.2K that's a tad annoying, though. Been there since I got the car. Rats.

- In my current car, bad roads and tight suspension have led me to not enjoy driving a stiff ride, how stiff is the RS4 ride?
If they've done to the RS4 what they've done to the R8 (electrically dampened shocks) the ride should be sweet. Firm, but smooth and supple at the same time. Push the button and it's go-kart like and a blast.

- What are the common problems with the RS4 (S4) line?
- Do Audi's retain resale value (say a over 60 mo finance)?
- Where can one find an RS4 owner's manual or the service/maintenance manual?
n/a

- How is the stock audio and navigation system?
See above on nav. Sound system's actually quite nice. Don't expect the thud, thud, thud of the 15" subs in the lowered Honda next to you at the light, but it's nice. - and blow the Honda away when the light turns green!

I know those are a lot of questions, I really appreciate you guys being patient with me and giving a potential new owner some honest feedback.

Like I said at the top of this post - my answers are a bit RS6 biased, but if the RS4 is anything like I think it is - newer systems, upgraded everything and such, then you'll not go wrong. I'm now trying to figure out how to upgrade the RS6 to the R8's new stuff...

The fit, finish and quality of the Audi over your Japanese cars is much better. (not knocking Japanese vehicles either). It's just that the Germans do it better.

The RS line is one Hell of a great series of vehicles. Go getcha one.

 

I have a BMW M6 and an 2007 RS4 and the Audi is a blast. I have never owned an Audi product before but they have started to turnout some great cars. The beauty of the RS4 is that it is very unobtrusive and unless a true aficionado sees the car, the average person will not appreciate it. It is super easy to drive and has every option that you would ever want. The front brakes did have to be replaced to the tune of $1600.00. If you need a repair, RS4 parts are in short supply because there are so few cars produced. Go test drive one, the economy is slow and you probably can make a deal now.

I am very happy with the car, and I am very hard to please.

 

Guys, I really appreciate the feedback and such diligent answering of my questions, KfabR8.
I almost test drove one today while I was in IL this afternoon, but I wanted to beat the 5pm traffic in construction season, so I decided to head home to the WI border. I think I might take the wife out this weekend to test drive one. She loves the look of it so much, especially those the subtle changes (subtle in her mind, rather apparent in mine) from the A4, hence doesn't make the car an attention magnet.

 

No problem, glad to help.

I have to agree w/hwdggs - the subtleness of the RS is one of it's great aspects. True sleeper unless you come up next to either another Audihead or some of the more in the know street racer guys. There's still the occasional query of "Hey, is that one of the FAST Audis?" (no offense Audi guys - this is what I hear, not what I say)

Then there's the opposite end of the spectrum: Take a ride around the block in an R8 and watch the heads turn and the stares happen - nothing subtle at all there!

 

I just bought a new RS4 2 weekends ago. So far, I have no complaints with the car. They are dealing on these cars in my area (SoCal) - I was able to get roughly 15% off sticker.

The engine/drivetrain are amazing. The car is extremely easy to drive fast, but it is also perfectly happy to cruise around town. The throttle/power delivery do make you drive faster than normal.

I have already put 1200 miles on the car, and 800 of that was a trip from LA to San Francisco and back. This car loves the open road! It was great on the highway, and if I kept the speed under 80, I got over 25 MPG.

As far as service goes, I have not had to have anything major done yet. I did take it in to have the oil checked after I burned a quart in 600 miles. The service manager dropped what he was doing, scanned the ECU to make sure it was all good. They do burn a little oil, which is normal on an engine like this on break-in. They even washed the car for me free of charge. We also just had LoJack and the paint protection service applied and the car was ready when they said it would be, and they actually called to tell me it was ready. I'm used to having to hound the service department for an update, so that was a welcome surprise.

My only complaint, and I think it's my driving style, is that the car does not like a hard powershift from 1st to 2nd, or 2nd to 3rd. If you engage the clutch too quickly, the power is pulled for a couple of seconds and then fed back in, just like traction control.

Other than that, the car is ultra-quiet on road, handles like it is on rails. It will put a smile on your face every time you drive it. And be careful, if you test drive one, the chances of driving home in one is extremely high.

-Scott

 

Push the little button that makes the yellow light on the dash light up. It sounds like you're dealing with the car trying to keep you from having fun.

It's referred to as ESP in my RS6 and the R8 calls it the ESP/ASR - Electronic stability program/Anti Slip Regulation

I just call it the "Fun Button". When the little yellow car with skid marks icon is lit up, it's fun time!

 

Excellent tip, thanks! I haven't played with the traction control/ESP yet. I spoke to the service manager at my dealership that races Audi's, and he said that they build in precautions so you don't grenade the clutch or tranny with the 4WD.

I'll give it a try tonight.

-Scott

 

This is my first high end sports car.

My first sports car was a Seat Ibiza Gti 2.0. This car had great traction -- rarely got the wheels to spin -- great on snow.
The high speed behavior was great.
The car used to over-steer when pushed to the limit.
It was a front-wheel-drive car.

I also owned a VW Gti 1.8t. The traction of this car was much better than the Honda Civic Sedan EX I owned before. But it did not even approach the Seat Ibiza Gti.

In the RS4 I never got the wheels to spin. Not even on a rainy road.
I think this is done by the differential locks -- I think there are 3 of them.
The high speed behavior is great -- I tend to drive faster now -- got the speeding tickets to prove it.
The breaks are great -- very stable breaking.
The sound of the engine is addicting. Also at high RPM the engine sounds willing to go.
I tend to drive now at higher RPM then I used to -- 5000RPM happens quite often now.
I was 3 times on a track with the car.
I found out that I'm not a race-car-driver.
But it is still fun.

I also drove the R8. The R8 behaves considerable better in turns. Speed in turns can be considerable higher compared to the RS4.

The engine matches a 300HP turbo engine at low to medium RPM.
The 420HP only come into play when driving at very high RPM.
Thus a 420HP turbo engine would outperform the RS4.





"The first point (using an init() function in preference to a constructor) is bogus. Using constructors and exception handling is a more general and systematic way of dealing with resource acquisition and initialization errors. This style is a relic of pre-exception C++." -- Stroustrup

 

I have a 08 RS4 Titanuim packaged Daytona Gray Audi and I can't say enough about it. I have zero complaints outside of the tires. I went threw my P-Zero's in 9,000 miles, but that is to be expected if you drive somewhat aggressively on these sticky gumballs (I replaced them with Michelin Pilot Sports). Get the Audi Care package if you can(imade them add at no cost when bargining with the sales weasels) that covers everything service-wise on the car outside of tires. It is one of the easiest cars to drive fast and you'll want to do it often! You won't regret your purchase as these are highly reliable cars that you won't see on the road at every turn, kids and adults alike comment on how they like the car when I have it out as it has a pretty mean stance once you get closer to it.

Good Luck