B8 S4 Questions

[A4Ultrasport]

Hi all,

I'm trying to help my brother who is considering buying a 2012 S4. I'm a B7 S4 owner, so I am pretty familiar with Audis and have driven a B8 in the past. A few quick questions:

1. What kind of financing have any of you been able to get from Audi? Curious as to how competitive their rates are at the moment. Also, is there any discounting off of MSRP right now or is this just stilly to even try for?

2. DSG vs. 6sp.... not looking for an argument on this, but am mostly curious about real world gas mileage of the two comparatively as well as maintenance costs (guessing the DSG is more to maintain).

3. Is the sport differential an absolute must? I think it would be hard to say no if he lived somewhere with mtns or coastal roads, but Minnesota isn't exactly full of roads with curves. Any pros and cons from a maintenance perspective?

4. He's looking at a premium plus, potentially with no options at all. Does bluetooth come standard on all S4s, or is this part of the prestige package only?

5. How well do the suede seats wear? Any issues with these so far?

6. Besides the waterpump issue, is there anything else maintenance wise to be wary of? Has anybody needed to do a carbon cleaning yet, or is this not as bad with forced induction?

7. Based on reviews, I don't think he's interested in the B&O. He's coming from a pretty awesome surround sound system in his Volvo S60R, so he doesn't really want to pay more for a sound system he still probably won't like. Has anybody bought this system and really loved it?

8. Can the dealer change out the V6-T badging for a supercharged badge?

Thank you in advance for the help with the random questions!

[Pworld]

1) I got $750 over invoice on my 2012. Varies from region to region and dealer to dealer, doesn't help to look around and try for a deal. The worse they can say is NO
2) I picked DSG, but i do not plan to own the car out of warranty, if i did.........6spd all day!!! I just wanted to try something different, so far, i love it. It's a great change for me.
3) Yep, it's a must to me. Even if its just for the option of ADS light, to change the throttle, steering, diff dynamics. Also breeds confidence, which i must admit, makes driving a new found joy again.
4) I think bluetooth is standard, the website might have more info on this.
5) I have no idea bout wear, car is too new, but they look, smell, feel great!
6) *shrugs* my car is too new to comment
7) Hell yes!! i play my music loud, and its pretty clear with no distortion for an OEM system, no regrets. And i am listening to my ipod must of the time, which is not as crisp as SD cards (mines is in the mail)
8) im sure they can for a fee. I just had my detailer take my V6T badges off, he said they came off super easy (only50miles on the car) I will put on the SC badges later if i decide.

I am a new owner, some of the more experience owners will chime in. But i know during my search every info helped, so i hope that i could help. This is on a 2012, i'm commenting on.

[Phrost]

1. Depends on your credit. I got approved for .9% APR through Audi, sometimes they run promotions... You just have to ask them then run your credit.
2. DSG is more to maintain, I think they get an oil/filter change for that transmission every 35k. As far as mileage difference, I think it's minor if any. Audi says both get 18 city, 27 highway, 21 combined. With my 6speed I average about 22mpg combined, and I drive really really fast
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...sg+maintenance
http://www.audiusa.com/us/brand/en/o...intenance.html
3. Sport diff is only available on the S4 (not A4) so it's kind of the reason to buy the S4 in the first place. If you drive like a mom and don't have fun, you'll never notice it. If you do like to get on it and burn around corners, it is very noticeable. I had a B7 A4 before my B8 S4, and aside from the S4 being noticeably rear-biased, you can really feel the sport diff vector the power when it needs to. I'm glad I got it in mine, but I like to have fun a lot
4. Bluetooth is standard with the premium plus package even
5. I have the suede. The suede material is nice, seems to be holding up well, but the leather sides are creasing very very easily so I hope they don't start cracking early. I'm not sure if the full nappa leather upgrade has this problem or not
6. Waterpump issue is in the past with 2010's. I haven't heard of any carbon problems with this platform, only the V8.
7. I love the B&O (more than Bose) but I still feel it could use a bigger subwoofer. But the mids and highs are fine
8. V6-T badge is standard, but you can pay them to install the supercharged badge for you for too much money. I'd rather just buy my own from ecstuning.com and put it on myself if I wanted it

[cbennet1]

Answers are based on my experience. YMMV.

Hi all,

I'm trying to help my brother who is considering buying a 2012 S4. I'm a B7 S4 owner, so I am pretty familiar with Audis and have driven a B8 in the past. A few quick questions:

1. What kind of financing have any of you been able to get from Audi? Curious as to how competitive their rates are at the moment. Also, is there any discounting off of MSRP right now or is this just stilly to even try for?


Varies by area but my dealer was negotiable. When I told him I could get 2.75, they offered 2.99. I paid $500 over invoice.

2. DSG vs. 6sp.... not looking for an argument on this, but am mostly curious about real world gas mileage of the two comparatively as well as maintenance costs (guessing the DSG is more to maintain).

Hmmm... Not familiar enough with Audi's as this is my first but it would probably be potential cost of clutch replacement vs. the oil/filter changes on a DSG.

3. Is the sport differential an absolute must? I think it would be hard to say no if he lived somewhere with mtns or coastal roads, but Minnesota isn't exactly full of roads with curves. Any pros and cons from a maintenance perspective?

4. He's looking at a premium plus, potentially with no options at all. Does bluetooth come standard on all S4s, or is this part of the prestige package only?

Standard.

5. How well do the suede seats wear? Any issues with these so far?

6. Besides the waterpump issue, is there anything else maintenance wise to be wary of? Has anybody needed to do a carbon cleaning yet, or is this not as bad with forced induction?

7. Based on reviews, I don't think he's interested in the B&O. He's coming from a pretty awesome surround sound system in his Volvo S60R, so he doesn't really want to pay more for a sound system he still probably won't like. Has anybody bought this system and really loved it?

I too am picky about sound and detest making too many changes to the car (unless it is essentially visibly undetectable) so I went with B&O. Having listened to both, it is FAR better than the standard audio, but certianly not true audiophile.

8. Can the dealer change out the V6-T badging for a supercharged badge?

They can but will likely charge several hundred $ to do it. It is easy to do (I did it so anybody can) and the badges can be had for $66 for the pair on line.

Thank you in advance for the help with the random questions!

[Psalm40]

Don't pay anymore than $1k over invoice. Maplewood offered me that. 1.9% is the current Audi finance offer.

[Dr GP]

Don't buy an S4 without the Sport dif. It is THE option that makes this car special. I don't have the B&O and don't miss it. Don't worry about the badges. They come off easily with a hair dryer and dental floss. As mentioned by others, you can pick up some SC badges from ECS tuning for a lot less than audi will charge you. They come with an installation template. Very easy to install yourself. I have a very lightly optioned Prem. I would have consider the Keyless ignition but it was not available on the Prem + in 2010. Didn't get Nav, but it does give you an enhanced radio and allows you to individualise the sport diff settings. You can live without them and still enjoy this car.

[DATZ]

I've had the Bose and the B&O; B&O is light years ahead to my ear.

[wwhan]

2. DSG vs. 6sp.... gas mileage should be the same, really depends on how you drive, DSG oil change at 35k miles (part of AudiCare). Love the DSG on my car. Pick what you enjoy.

3. Sport Differential (or full ADS) is an absolute must, unless you don't like to have fun in the corners. It is wonderful (like magic) on freeway cloverleaf off ramps. I have the Sport Differential, but wish I had the full ADS.

6. Besides the waterpump issue (which is now just 2010 history), need to add a protective screen to the front, for the SC heat exchanger, to prevent puncture (do a search, there is also an OEM solution from the A7). Also get an oil dipstick (ecstuning).

7. The B&O is great, must have for people that consider good sound important. I changed out the subwoofer, which helped the bottom end (do a search, there is a very long thread on this).

8. Anyone can change out the V6-T badging for a supercharged badge ($34/each), it is one of the easiest DIY possible.