Dear lucky RS4 owners,

I am currently in the market for a replacement for my B5 S4, and I am very much leaning toward an RS4 and I was hoping you might tell me the good and the bad of these beautiful cars. I have read almost every post on these forums and I wonder about the carbon buildup issues, or the shocks leaking. Are there any other major issues to watch out for? Are there any signs to look for when shopping for a used RS4? Any advice, thoughts or opinions that might help me in my search is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Check the oil. See if they may have forgotten to top it off. Carbon fiber parts under hood turning green.

Eric.

Good luck

how can you tell if there is carbon buildup or not?

You cant really tell carbon buildup without the dealer doing some extensive work. I would be sure to try and get the service records as that will tell you what problems it may have had that would cause you some concern...disregard any DRC issues cause thats more of a feature at this point ;)

Otherwise, drive it (if you can), get a carfax, get service records, bring it to a local audi dealership to have it inspected, and then make a deal. I did all those things and have been EXTREMELY happy with my 2007 that I purchased just a couple of months ago.

Oh and be sure to not spend more than $45k unless its a CPO (even then I'd be wavering if it was over $45k). There are 2008 RS4's in the area that are brand spanking new that are selling for mid to low $50k's