Approach to buying an RS4
 

Sorry if I'm long winded on my first thread...

Hello all, been lurking here for a while and getting close to pulling the trigger.

I'm looking to tap into your collective, expert opinions on the best approach to buying an RS4, beyond the standard used car checks. I'm thinking of purchasing the Ross-Tech software but I'm still learning VCDS's capabilities and what it can offer in revealing past issues on a particular car. What are the main features I should use and look for?

I'm also aware of the DRC issue and carbon cleaning (which can be detected using VCDS). I guess my biggest concern is going to test drive a car that I have no baseline experience to measure from. Most cars I can detect suspension, engine or brake issues, but I am concerned being an RS4 newbie puts me at a disadvantage.

And I've learned from experience that some dealers are not all that forthcoming (either due to negligence, ignorance or apathy) when doing a full vehicle checkup, so I don't necessarily trust bringing it to them - especially non-Audi. And I may not even have that luxury, depending on where I find my dream car (I'm in Ontario, Canada btw).

Is the RS4 friendly to DIY'ers?
Thanks to all and it's been great so far reading all your experiences.

Mark

btw, it may be obvious but I'm new to Audi....

An Audi dealer will inspect a car for you for about $150. Any dealer would be willing to take the car to Audi for you at your expense. That will cover the basics, but just expect to have to do a carbon clean. No point running all over the world to find a car that has recently had one when ur talking about a "normal maintenance" issue. I test drove 3 and all had different levels of carbon, which can certainly be felt. Getting a car that you can get a warranty on saves a lot of the back end drama. Some Audi dealers will even broker a deal for you a a nominal fee, I paid $700, which then allows you to CPO it. Otherwise the aftermarket warranties are around $4k.

VAG-COM will only reveal faults since the last reset, which usually gets done at the routine inspections. And even if it has never been reset, you'll need to be very proficient at using it, and know what data to log (timing retard, IAT, rpm, load, etc), for it to hint at carbon buildup. But it's really superfluous. You can expect that it will need a carbon clean if it has more than 15,000 miles since the last time it was done. Better yet, 10,000 miles. The DRC suspension, coils, etc. have been adequately addressed by the manufacturer. Carbon is the RS4 Achilles heel and Audi has chosen to stick it's head in the sand (and stick it to the owners) on this one.

Thanks folks. Much appreciated.

I'm hearing the carbon buildup is starting to even affect A6's. Good point about not trying to find the lowest carbon affected car - I'll expect to have to do it no matter what.

And I will shoot to have the car inspected at an Audit dealer. Doesn't sound like it's worth buying VAG-COM. I will likely be looking into the TT-RS steering wheel at some point so I'll look into it then.

I imagine not all cars are eligible for CPO? Is there a place that lists which aspects need to be met, to be eligible? It seems worth it as well. I'm starting to look to the States to import one as there's only a very small pool of cars available across Canada at any given time... 15 or so.

Thanks again. You folks are great. Great forum too.

btw, anything I should immediately look for/pay attention to on the test drive?

Has to be sold directly by an Audi dealer to qualify for CPO.

Thanks for the info. So any car I may find, I can approach Audi Canada and for a fee, sell it through them, to be covered?

CPO can be transferred from private owner if the car was CPOed after 09/11 like my car.

CPO sucked prior to 09/11 because it was not a selling point to a car if you tried to sell it privately, now it is. I could have gotten my car for 45k w/o CPO and 46.5K w/ CPO.

Carbon affects all FSI engines I believe.