Risks of buying a higher-mileage RS4

[rs4dreams]

Hi all,

I've been doing a lot of homework on common issues and maintenance of an RS4, but I'd like to get some opinions on my particular situation. I am being offered a 2008 RS4 with 68000 miles (mostly highway, driven across the country a couple times) for about $36k. I would inherit the extended warranty the previous owner purchased through 75000 miles. He was able to extend his from 50k to 75k for $2800.

I would be the third owner. The second owner has a good maintenance record and it seems like he took good care of the car. He bought from a dealership with 35k miles on it, so there is less information about the first owner.

The car has had carbon cleaning done once around the 50k mark after the CEL came on. The DRC did not have any issues but was replaced right after the recall was announced. The brake pads and rotors were recently replaced. What are some big maintenance items that can be expected for the next 50k miles or so? Is it reasonable to buy this car as a DD with the hope of using it for another 50-60k miles without great risk of extremely expensive repairs? I am well aware that the cost of ownership of an RS4 is considerably higher than most other cars, and I'm fine with the extra fuel, oil, tire, brake costs. That is a worthwile sacrifice for ownership of such a beautiful machine. What I am worried about is incurring $10k repair costs on some big component.

Thanks in advance for chiming in!

[rs4fever]

Hey there, you'll find loads of info on my rs4 listing (bottom half), (Audi : RS4 | eBay) but just to answer your questions and raise a couple of issues:

CPO audis bought (i think halfway thru) 2008 and beyond no longer have their CPO warranties transfer to the next owner, so I'm not sure whether what you were looking at was a CPO or a 3rd party warranty company.

DRC issue was a recall, they did it for the S/RS6 then the RS4 - its pretty much a whole new bottom end.

Hinge on the armrest door and glove compartment door breaks all the time, so check that. Carbon clean - Audi's position is that there is no schedule for them to be done, unless you see significant power loss at the top rpm range, but yours is done, so should be good for a couple of years?

Price seems fair. I got a bunch of bites at $34 to 34.5k and my car is about the same mileage. Locking in financing seems to be a bit of an issue at the $30K+ price upwards...

Gasket leaks are the only other thing i can think of besides the regular stuff.

Will post my car on the classifieds section here once the 'system finishes experiencing a unrecoverable error'!

Cheers

j

Hi all,

I've been doing a lot of homework on common issues and maintenance of an RS4, but I'd like to get some opinions on my particular situation. I am being offered a 2008 RS4 with 68000 miles (mostly highway, driven across the country a couple times) for about $36k. I would inherit the extended warranty the previous owner purchased through 75000 miles. He was able to extend his from 50k to 75k for $2800.

I would be the third owner. The second owner has a good maintenance record and it seems like he took good care of the car. He bought from a dealership with 35k miles on it, so there is less information about the first owner.

The car has had carbon cleaning done once around the 50k mark after the CEL came on. The DRC did not have any issues but was replaced right after the recall was announced. The brake pads and rotors were recently replaced. What are some big maintenance items that can be expected for the next 50k miles or so? Is it reasonable to buy this car as a DD with the hope of using it for another 50-60k miles without great risk of extremely expensive repairs? I am well aware that the cost of ownership of an RS4 is considerably higher than most other cars, and I'm fine with the extra fuel, oil, tire, brake costs. That is a worthwile sacrifice for ownership of such a beautiful machine. What I am worried about is incurring $10k repair costs on some big component.

Thanks in advance for chiming in!