I just traded up! 2010 to 2012 S4

[MerkurRS]

It started a few months ago after I began to shop for an extended warranty for my 2010 S4, Ibis white, Prestige, yadda, yadda....
After shopping a few Audi dealers, I received two prices on both the Fidelity and the Zurich warranties ($3900- $4900) for full coverage. I really loved my 2010, it had all the options I like: Prestige, Sport Diff/ ADS-lite, Carbon Atlas, black alcantara, DSG, Drive Assist, B&O and it even had the black-optics grill added. Everything I like...almost.

So I crunched the numbers and realized for just a few bucks more than just a warranty, I could get a 2012 CPO car!

The search began a month ago....then last week one popped up in Cary, North Carolina- just 443 miles from my home. I found a nearly identical car, except this one in Glacier White and with the Titanium/ Black Optics.

I worked with Len at Cary Audi, emailing back and forth many, many times. Calling and texting too.
Well, Len and the dealer were awesome to deal with. We negotiated everything sight-unseen and set the pick up date for Yesterday, Friday the 7th. I left my house at 2:15 AM, drove straight down (a few usual stretch/ fuel/ food breaks) and arrived at about 10:30 AM. Completed the paperwork, braved the cold-driving wind and rain while I installed my Rock-Euro intake, Passport 9500ix and EZ-pass for the ride home and left about 2:30pm and got home at almost 11:00 PM (with a few stops). What a LONG day of driving. It was funny driving two different, but identical cars all day long!

The car ran great. I can feel the differences in the DSG- less jerky.
After a full detail this weekend following a very wet and messy drive home, I have to install a few upgrades this weekend (just ordered for the '10 car), like the B8.5 S4 shifter knob, aluminum trimmed window and seat switches. Yes...I know, the V6T badges have to go! I also don't like the body-coloured mirrors you get with the Black Optics package, so I will either get carbon-fiber ones or maybe even Alum-Optics power-folding ones.
Ok, I can't type anymore...time for sleep!!

Out with the Old:


In with the New:

[S4 00 2.7]

Congrats on swap. I like the picture with the ice.

[Rappydog]

Nice!.... Now get some sleep!

[M3PowerPlay]

Very nice! Congratulations!

[raudiace4]

Fuck yeah. B8s FTW!!! 2012 FTW!!

[Buckeye_S4]

Congrats, now you have "the best" S4 (2012). Love the white. FWIW I like the body colored mirrors and honestly in those pictures with white vs silver you can barely tell the difference.

[MrFunk]

I'll start by saying => You got the best year now! :)

However:
Why do people feel these cars are only as good as their warranties? Say you kept your 2010. Do you think you'd have spent 5k in repairs in the 4 years or 5 years following the warranty expiring? Doubtful. You must have been relatively close to paying off the 10' car also if you bought new... once pay'd off you are saving that car payment... couple that with the fact that I highly doubt you'd have 5k+ in warranty work done in the following years. -

Just makes no sense to me.
I know you did the math between buying the new car or getting the warranty. But did you do the math comparing that to not doing anything, paying off the car and pocketing the loot? I get it if you've been having issues with the car...

I'm a believer that these cars are more than just the value of the warranty.

[RickFLS4]

^ You need to shop for warranties before the car hits 25K miles and take on a deductible to make pricing reasonable. IMO they are worth the cost. I paid just under $3,600 ($250 deductible) to extend (Pure Protection Platinum through FD) to just under 125K miles a couple of weeks ago. I may not expect a major repair, but realize even one would be more than this cost - DSG or sport diff in particular. Even a/c repairs can be in the thousands. In my case, it was worth it for piece of mind, particularly for the period between 100K and 125K miles. If I decide to sell before the end of warranty, it can be transferred to new owner.

OP car looks great and obviously I understand value of having warranty (presuming you are not tuning). My only concern about a swap like that is not knowing the history of the car... Many posts here about people modifying cars and returning them to stock before trade in or lease return. Even with warranty coverage, it is a PITA to take it in a lot. Hopefully that won't be the case, but that's they only risk I see - going from known to unknown. Congrats and enjoy the car.

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[FiftyFive]

Definitely wouldn't drive this car without a warranty but maybe I'm a bit biased at this point. Congrats on the pick up; you must really love it.

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[mjt2470]

Congrats on the new car! Speaking as a current 2011 S4 owner, I agree with you about the DSG being jerky at times. I'm going to live with it.

[sacandagaD]

Great looking car, and love those wheels, I think the rotors are best looking wheel Audi has. I've been looking at replicas from Hartmann longingly, now might just have to pull the trigger after seeing them on your car.

[Mike00]

^ You need to shop for warranties before the car hits 25K miles and take on a deductible to make pricing reasonable. IMO they are worth the cost. I paid just under $3,600 ($250 deductible) to extend (Pure Protection Platinum through FD) to just under 125K miles a couple of weeks ago. I may not expect a major repair, but realize even one would be more than this cost - DSG or sport diff in particular. Even a/c repairs can be in the thousands. In my case, it was worth it for piece of mind, particularly for the period between 100K and 125K miles. If I decide to sell before the end of warranty, it can be transferred to new owner.

OP car looks great and obviously I understand value of having warranty (presuming you are not tuning). My only concern about a swap like that is not knowing the history of the car... Many posts here about people modifying cars and returning them to stock before trade in or lease return. Even with warranty coverage, it is a PITA to take it in a lot. Hopefully that won't be the case, but that's they only risk I see - going from known to unknown. Congrats and enjoy the car.

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This. Owning a DSG and Sport Diff car, well lets just say I don't want to think of those parts ever breaking. The engine has been reliable in all the cars it's in but the DSG/Sport diff have had issues and the thought of dealing with that kind of repair is a bit sickening. If I had to put 10-12k in a 4-6 year old car - well I'd not want to sell it for at least another 3 days. the 2500-3k is cheap insurance and peace of mind.

[MerkurRS]

I am pretty damn happy with my new '12 S4, not that the previous car was all that bad.

But....the Titanium Package is just killer on Glacier White- I think!
I have had the car just over a week now and I have installed:

1. Roc-Euro Intake
2. Passport 9500xi
3. Vag'ed
4. face-lift seat and door switches
5. face-lift "S4" shift knob- (now w/ Magma stitching)
6. colour-matched steering wheel threads to match Magma shifter boot
7. Tinted windows (35% sides/ 20% rear window)
8. Borla Exhaust....simply amazing!!
9. JBL sub-woofer upgrade
10. Carbon-fiber "Supercharged" badges....just arrived today, not yet on

The only thing left to do is find some good carbon-fiber mirror housings.

I am sooooo F'n happy driving this

[GeoJoe]

[caphie]

I just traded up, too. I went from a 2011 with DSG and Sport Diff (that's it) to a 2013 with the 6MT and nearly everything else. I had one primary goal: to move to a 6MT.

Now that I am there I am 90% happy. However, my previous car was APR Stage II and this one is stock. Whoa. Do I ever miss the tune! Also, the steering feels completely different in the 2013, and I'm not completely sure I like it (Alu Kreuz on order, so my fingers are crossed).

The manual transmission is a blast, though.

I have to say, though, that I agree with the comments about the warranty. I would have banked the cost difference between these cars to cover non-warranty repairs if I were not desperately seeking a manual gearbox. My 2011 was a fantastic car, and paying the difference to upgrade was a shock to the wallet. Now, I'm sitting in a car with gobs of warranty and the thought of redoing the APR tune on my brain. At least now the tune can be done through the ODB port and can be easily removed in the event of a need for warranty work (I do all my own service).

Decisions. Decisions.

[caphie]

Beautiful car, by the way. I've never been a fan of white cars, but yours could change my mind!