Audi RS4 - B5

[soc]

Been looking at these lately & discoved that the VRT is rediculously cheap. Priced a 01 (last year manufactured) with 70k miles and it was only 4.5k euro. Called the office and they confirmed it - madness. Good ones are available in the UK for around 17k so you'd likely get one on the road for around 26k - given there's 2 '00's for sale on carzone for 38k that's rediculously good value.

With insurance at only 1100 fuly comp with a 250 euro excess it seems like a decent move. Currently investigating running costs against those of an E46 M3. The only real concern I have is the youngest car I can get is a 01 and it's likely to have 70k miles or more - is it crazy to spend 25k+ on a 7 year old 70k mile car?

[CJ]

is it crazy to spend 25k+ on a 7 year old 70k mile car?

When you consider that figure is way above any beyond what most FTO owners would have in the kitty, thats a yes! That said, I don't go in for all of this year snobbery business - if the car is a minter, thats good enough for me. Others might disagree, but it doesn't sound like great value for money. Its a serious machine all the same....

CJ

[Bernard]

I'd rather drive an RS4 a few years old than spend the same and drive a focus.

[soc]

is it crazy to spend 25k+ on a 7 year old 70k mile car?

When you consider that figure is way above any beyond what most FTO owners would have in the kitty, thats a yes! That said, I don't go in for all of this year snobbery business - if the car is a minter, thats good enough for me. Others might disagree, but it doesn't sound like great value for money. Its a serious machine all the same....

CJ

The head agrees - poor value for money so the heart is crying I'd really like an Avant but I just wouldn't be happy unless it's got some serious performance - arrgh, what to do.....

[Myfeckin FTO]

26K is v good value for a 00/01 RS4.
Take one for a test drive over here and see how you feel - http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Audi/RS4/2.7-Bi/908685/

I would consider one when I get the far side of 40 - don't get me wrong - it is a fantastic car - but the Zed provides more thrills and better looks than an Audi most people won't distinguish from a rebadged TDI.

If you are spending circa 30K on a car and want a 4 seat high performance 4WD then try and import an R34 GTR instead.

If you want to stay Euro - then consider an M5 as well - http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/BMW/M5/car/977834/

And as always - the left field option - the Jag XKR - some amount of power and metal for the money - http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Jaguar/ ... et/964685/

[Bernard]

an Audi most people won't distinguish from a rebadged TDI.

That would be half the appeal for me, not that I'm in a position to even think about it...

[soc]

@MfFTO - as usual you've thrown out some excellent suggestions After driving Rusmans Zed I would really like one - unfortunately my wife is the opposite of a petrolhead (hates modding) - end result is that she doesn't like anything that appeals primarly to true petrolheads (i.e. Zed, scooby, Skyline, etc) as they're usually the most obviously modified . And in general I just do as I'm told

So at this point I'm looking for something subtle but with big power. I'd also like something with a 6 cylinders or more (love that noise). I was on a major E46 M3 trip for a while but I was always unsure about the running costs. I did consider an E39 M5 but I wouldn't feel comfortable having such an obvious attraction to car thieves outside the house so that's a non-runner. Tthen I was looking at the B6 S4 as the money wasn't too bad (04 for around 34k). Ideally I'd prefer and Avant which is when I started eyeing up the B5 RS4 but they were mad money on carzone (38K for a 01) - then I checked the UK and the VRT and discovered you should be able to get a 01 OTR here for under 30k - suddenly they seemed more reasonable.

I don't necessarily need more space but I would like some. Plus the only other real coupe that appeals to me right now is a 911 and unfortunately I can't afford the one I really want (993/996 turbo).

So now I'm weighing up the options between an E46 M3 (around 02), a B5 RS4 (01) and a B7 S4 (03/04).

[CJ]

So at this point I'm looking for something subtle but with big power...

...I was on a major E46 M3 trip for a while but I was always unsure about the running costs.

If you want big power, running costs will most certainly be a factor, you don't get one without the other in most cases.

Re your first point, this is the reason I went down the VR-4 route - it doesn't stand out too much but boy can it move. That said, I accept that 16mpg, 900 euro road tax, 6k oil changes and 10k AYC services is part of the deal. Theres no doubting that you can get serious bang for your buck if you go Jap, that said, its a matter of finding a big power sleeper that fits the bill.

CJ

[soc]

So at this point I'm looking for something subtle but with big power...

...I was on a major E46 M3 trip for a while but I was always unsure about the running costs.

If you want big power, running costs will most certainly be a factor, you don't get one without the other in most cases.

Absolutely agree - at this point it's more about comparing running costs between the options. The S4 seems the lowest which would make sense as it's got the least performance (handling & power) but the RS4 doesn't seem to be much more. The M3 seems to have the highest costs and also more potenital known issues.