Buying new S4 2015

[iprasad]

I'm in the market for the new 2015 S4. Anybody have any suggestions for packages I shouls consider? My goal is to keep the interior at a minimum (no navigation, etc.) and instead use that money for other things. I'm willing to give an additional 3-5k for the upgrades.

On a side note, what is a good negotiated price for S4 which has a MSRP of 51k?

[jpas4]

You can check truecar.com for your area. As far as packages are concerned, it's a very subjective thing. You noted you don't want navigation, but to me that's a mandatory thing. There's no real wrong answer if it's your car :)

[Amorphic]

Just get the nav. It comes with a host of other features which are pretty useful. You can keep the price down by avoiding drive select etc.

[golfinz]

Navi, advanced key, b&o, sports diff

[SteveYem]

Navi, advanced key, b&o, sports diff

^ This. However for 2015 Advanced Key is standard equipment on all S4's, and navigation is now called the Technology Package which also includes Side Assist.

[iprasad]

So I should get the tech package? I was thinking of using my smartphone for nav...

[BigBluu]

I'm in the non-nav minority. No regrets. I don't need/want side assist or parking camera which is included in the tech pkg. I rarely used the nav in my prior 2 cars. Waze on my phone offers route adjustments based on real-time traffic...for free!

[Slav4ikMD]

I just got a new '15 S4. Had the same dilemma re navi as I barely use it and when I have the need, have no problem using the i-phone. But keep in mind that 90% of people would likely want a navi, so consider resale value. Having said that, if you truly don't need it, skip it. But also don't forget that it comes with the whole MMI package, back up camera (which IS very useful), DVD and other stuff. But really if you plan to maybe sell the car in a few years, get it. If you want to drive it to the grown and swear you don't need navi and back-up camera, skip it.

Agree re other options, although I opted against the B&O system as I am just not a music person. A sports diff is a must. Consider upgrading to 19' wheels (although can always change on your own later for cheaper, I might have skipped that in retrospect). I think that two-toned seats are a must and are really a defining feature of this car's interior.

MSRP is 48 something not 51. I got about 2700 off MSRP plus another 1000 as a current Acura owner. I think that was not an amazing but a good deal.

[chaos2984]

you want the MMI package. If you don't get it it puts the radio buttons on the dash instead of around the shifter. I think you loose most of the steering wheel buttons. No heated mirrors and anti glare and some other things too you loose. Trust me its worth every penny its like buying a car with no steering wheel. Just haggle with them a little more. The B&O you can take it or leave it. pretty much you want the MMI Sports Diff and full leather seats if your a leather seat guy and the DSG. Thats really it.

[iprasad]

You bring up a good point about the resale value, I don't plan on selling the car, but I'm not sure what will happen 5 years from now. I didn't think the sport diff and two-toned seats were so important, will think about this more deeply. Upgrading to 19-inch wheels might prove troublesome (I'm from LI as well - Nassau County, roads aren't in perfect condition).

[Slav4ikMD]

Just checked pricing. MSRP for a base manual is 48,400 and for automatic 49,800. Not including the destination charge.

I tried to do some research, looked at true car values for 2014 etc and I believe the invoice is about 3500 less than MSRP. So go from there. And keep in mind that if you (or ANYONE in your family) has an Acura, Mercedes, BMW etc you get an extra 1000 off and that does NOT come from dealer's pocket, so that cannot be part of negotiation (although they will try to pull that off).

Also try to get things like the supercharged badge and maybe mats for free at the end, or as a final negotiation point.

[Slav4ikMD]

iprasad, PM me, I will give you my guy who I brought from. You'll tell him you are from me, and at the very least you'll get the same deal.

I might reply to your PM tomorrow morning, signing off now.

[Slav4ikMD]

Sports diff is a must. Seats up to you. What exterior color are you getting? Keep in mind that regular seats are not fully leather but a suade. Manual or auto?

[iprasad]

Thanks for that note - I visited Audi of Huntington recently and I plan on visiting Audi of Smithtown next, do you recommend any places?
I'm thinking of getting the metallic blue color and I'm going with the automatic. Why do you say sports diff is so important?

[Slav4ikMD]

PM me if you want, I'll connect you with my guy at Biener. Nothing special about him per se, but at least you can go with a number that you'll know I paid, which was very decent. (BTW sorry I got it wrong, I got 2200+1000 off I think, would need to check). But up to you really, I get no commission! LOL

re sports diff: to be honest I've never driven a car without a sports diff on S4, but I hear it's very different handling.

[iprasad]

Hah! I know, this is the reason why I'm on a S4 forum :)
I test drove the car without the sports diff, not sure what the differences are.
Sent you a PM too, thanks!

[doug97gxe]

Sports Diff is a must... Nav is ok .. my wifes car has Nav but i use Waze in her car and mine.. Waze is great it tells you where cops are reported.. objects on the road.. construction zones.. traffic up a head.. and with the kivic one you can use waze to display on ur screen where the nav would be

[jygesq]

You really should go all the way and equip like my car below. Rear camera is a must, for that you must get tech package. It includes side assist which is a major safety addition. Sport diff is also a must, it is the biggest handling addition for the least amount of money $1100. I love S-tronic, even though all my cars since 1968 have been sticks. Go to motorweek review s4,stronic ,s5 manual tranny. Once you have done that the only thing is the additional $1250 for leather. You van also get a good discount on equipped car. I got 7.5 % off msrp, in limited market, in large one 10 %,off is possible. It is a major purchase get what you really want, not just for the trade value,but for your enjoyment.B&O is worth it as well. IMHO,

[johnstah]

Hah! I know, this is the reason why I'm on a S4 forum :)
I test drove the car without the sports diff, not sure what the differences are.
Sent you a PM too, thanks!

Take a sharp turn in a corner going at moderate speed on a nonsport differential car vs a sport diff and you'll know.

I have non sport and I ended up getting front/rear sway bars, endlinks and alu kreuz to improve my suspension performance [wrench]

[dansjuice]

I was thinking the same thing about not getting all the extras to keep the cost down. Most the S4's at dealers are already well equipped so you would have to special order one bone stock. If you don't get nav then you can't stream music through your phone which is pretty much a necessity. Tell them to throw in audicare at no cost. If your leasing then it will raise your residual and lower your payment. Check signature for options. Asking was $57900 purchased at $53500

edit- I didn't have nav in the sig but that was also equipped.

[golfinz]

I'm sticking my original recommendations (ie what Steve confirmed and provided the names of the packages): navi, advanced key, sports diff, and b&o. Some people write off the b&o system but I'm really impressed by it. Whatever packages you need to get to get these options, get it. I also prefer the alcantara to leather, so that "saves" a grand or so.

Good luck!

[Chris Furman]

In my opinion, Nav does not affect resale value. Proper Maintenance records, no accidents, and well take care of vehicle affect resale value more than anything.

I just picked up my brand new Ibis White, Black/Silver Alcantara S4 Manual tonight. Only had 3 options, B&O sound, Sports Diff and All Weather Mats.. listed MSRP $51445

And it has Auto-dimming mirrors, inside and out, Drive Select, etc. And I save myself a few thousand bucks. I have been backing up cars for over 20 years without a rear view camera with no issues, sure it's nice to have, but not a must have for me at least.

[raudiace4]

SD and B&O are musts. Without that you cannot live.

[doug97gxe]

If you don't get nav then you can't stream music through your phone.

false.. there is alternative methods

[ryan780]

make sure you get the 19' wheels, I'm pretty sure if you get the 18" wheels speed is limited to like 120 mph

[BigBluu]

Waze is great it tells you where cops are reported.

Love this...better than radar detector. Unless you're the first one to spot them. [:(]


I have been backing up cars for over 20 years without a rear view camera with no issues, sure it's nice to have, but not a must have for me at least.

This!


false.. there is alternative methods

http://www.amazon.com/ViseeO-WMA1000-Tune2air/dp/B00B52LLJ6/ref=cm_wl_huc_item

[chaos2984]

The nav is a big resale item because it has the whole tech package. I think the biggest thing is where the buttons are located. I would hate if they were on the dash if I didn't have the package. I think they are very convienent where they are if you have the package. Also to me leather is a must because of the leather arm rest's in the door panels. And I love the smell and look of the leather. I would of liked a alcantara steering wheel though. Mine was 56,xxx and I got out the door after TTT for 50K Deals can be had. But I will warn you do not and I mean DO NOT lease this car unless they come up with a Lease Offer. These cars with no lease offer do not lease well at all, the numbers are terrible.

advanced key is now standard on all B8.5's and the side assist is not a necessity its just hey if it comes with so be it. But the 3 main things I looked for was the full leather(hard to find) MMI package and the Sports Diff. But I got the side assist and the B&O also because the car had it and it was hard to find a car with what I wanted being a model year end deal.

[iprasad]

That's pretty good, you were able to negotiate a price from 56k to 50k...did it include "incentives" that audi offers? Usually I see the car for a discount of about 3k + 1k (from various incentives).

[golfinz]

make sure you get the 19' wheels, I'm pretty sure if you get the 18" wheels speed is limited to like 120 mph

This is false. The speed limiter only comes into play if you get all season tires. You can get 18s with summer tires and the limit is 155. If you get all season tires the limit is 130. Not like you're going 130 anyways though

[Sundowner]

it's personal preference, but I went with the 'pole dancer' package - i.e. stripped bare .

Only option on the sticker was the 19" rims, and only because I like the peelers and they were hard to pass-up for the option price.
I have no need for nav - the software on my phone is about eleventy times better anyway.
I have no need for the rest of the technology package - my head swivels and streaming music doesn't much matter when you already have an SD card or an iPod you can just leave in the glove box.
I prefer the alcantara over leather - Camrys have leather. Only S4's come with alcantara, why would you even want pedestrian leather?
I don't need B&O -the car makes its own music.
I don't need a DSG counting my hard launches or shitting the mechatronic unit all over the pavement
I don't need a sport diff or the leaking that comes with that. If I wanted a car that behaved like a RWD car, I'd have bought a 335.

Also went with Ibis because I have an issue with paying for a paint color on a car with a $50k MSRP. fuck that shit. It helps that I also think the car looks best in Ibis. Maybe if Audi had a color like Estoril Blue from BMW, which is arguably the best color in the history of ever, but I digress.

Do what makes you happy, paying $45k made me happy. YMMV.

[amz]

Unless you plan on driving your S4 into the ground, get nav. It will probably pay for itself with the increased value when it comes time to sell the car.

[Sundowner]

Unless you plan on driving your S4 into the ground, get nav. It will probably pay for itself with the increased value when it comes time to sell the car.

If we cared about resale value, we'd all be driving Honda Fit's ;)

[BoostEasy]

I'm in the market for the new 2015 S4. Anybody have any suggestions for packages I shouls consider? My goal is to keep the interior at a minimum (no navigation, etc.) and instead use that money for other things. I'm willing to give an additional 3-5k for the upgrades.

On a side note, what is a good negotiated price for S4 which has a MSRP of 51k?

The number one thing I'd recommend is shopping around a lot. Use chug.net and Audi's own dealer finder website to locate cars and dealerships. I found chug pretty useful for finding the cars with options that I wanted but some dealers didn't advertise all options properly.

Then just start calling/emailing the dealers asking them what the best price they can do on the car and mention what other dealers are offering for similar options.

I ultimately got a 2014 in late Oct of 2013 for about 7% under MSRP with all of the options I wanted. There's plenty of Audi dealers around metro NYC, NJ etc that they must compete.

If you're ok with buying a 2014 now you should be able to save a bit more than that but inventory will obviously be lower so you may have to settle on options.

I also highly recommend Sport diff if you like to drive the car harder and I actually highly recommend the alcantara seats. They're much more friendly in summer and winter than full leather (which I've had plenty of cars with), hold your body in place during cornering a lot better and one of the reasons I bought this car over another BMW.

[chaos2984]

That's pretty good, you were able to negotiate a price from 56k to 50k...did it include "incentives" that audi offers? Usually I see the car for a discount of about 3k + 1k (from various incentives).

Yea I got a 1500 MMI package discount 1K audi discount and a 1500 AFS discount. Then negotiated discount of like 5k more off.

Also The leather in the S4 is not pleather. Its a nice premium leather not some cheap fake leather that cracks and rots. Im sure if someone came you to you and wanted to trade you TRUE RS4 seats for your alcantara seats im sure you wouldn't turn him down. For me personally I didn't want the issue of if I ever spilled something it would stain the alcantra. The leather doesn't stain you just wipe it off.

[Slav4ikMD]

I am also on Long Island, NY and can tell you from my experience that I did contact many dealerships and people either just don't get to you or tell you to f$%k yourself once they see that you are looking for a bargain.

I am impressed that people have gotten 4-5k off MSRP. Couldn't do it, had to walk away from places, 3200 off was the best I could get. Maybe it's a NY thing who knows...

[Frinkferta]

it's personal preference, but I went with the 'pole dancer' package - i.e. stripped bare .

Only option on the sticker was the 19" rims, and only because I like the peelers and they were hard to pass-up for the option price.
I have no need for nav - the software on my phone is about eleventy times better anyway.
I have no need for the rest of the technology package - my head swivels and streaming music doesn't much matter when you already have an SD card or an iPod you can just leave in the glove box.
I prefer the alcantara over leather - Camrys have leather. Only S4's come with alcantara, why would you even want pedestrian leather?
I don't need B&O -the car makes its own music.
I don't need a DSG counting my hard launches or shitting the mechatronic unit all over the pavement
I don't need a sport diff or the leaking that comes with that. If I wanted a car that behaved like a RWD car, I'd have bought a 335.

Also went with Ibis because I have an issue with paying for a paint color on a car with a $50k MSRP. fuck that shit. It helps that I also think the car looks best in Ibis. Maybe if Audi had a color like Estoril Blue from BMW, which is arguably the best color in the history of ever, but I digress.

Do what makes you happy, paying $45k made me happy. YMMV.

Sounds like you are a real car guy, skipping the creature comforts. I once thought of myself this way, but the modern amenities sure are cozy with Audi!

[VenturiRS]

Also The leather in the S4 is not pleather. Its a nice premium leather not some cheap fake leather that cracks and rots.

It wrinkles though [:(]
I'm still trying to figure out how to get out of the car without crunching the side bolster. [:(]

[d.p]

It wrinkles though [:(]
I'm still trying to figure out how to get out of the car without crunching the side bolster. [:(]

Slide in through the window or jump down through sun roof?

[Pilfer]

It wrinkles though [:(]
I'm still trying to figure out how to get out of the car without crunching the side bolster. [:(]

It's pretty hard to do that every time. I clean and condition my leather once a month or so and have kept the wrinkles on the lower bolster at a minimum I think but they're visible. I drive it daily though and have 25k mi on it so I try not to worry. These seats are incredibly comfortable in my opinion and have become more so as time passes. My only complaint is I wish you could adjust the side bolsters to be more snug.

[chaos2984]

It's pretty hard to do that every time. I clean and condition my leather once a month or so and have kept the wrinkles on the lower bolster at a minimum I think but they're visible. I drive it daily though and have 25k mi on it so I try not to worry. These seats are incredibly comfortable in my opinion and have become more so as time passes. My only complaint is I wish you could adjust the side bolsters to be more snug.

That's what I do as well. Yea I wish it had those nice European RS4 seats in there lol.

[vpr80]

NAV is a must for previous mentioned reasons.

Sport Diff is a must, it's an S4 damn it.

B&O is good value for the money.

CF Trim looks sweet for little extra.

Ohhh wait that's my car :)