Audi RS4 2008 with 90K miles

[dualquad]

I'm looking at a 2008 RS4 with about 90K miles on it.

I have read that there are 2 major potential problems with this car that are known:

1. DRC
2. Carbon buildup

This is the first Audi I have driven so I couldn't really tell if either of those are issues.
If there is Carbon buildup I have no idea if the engine sounds sluggish or if it has idle issues or starting issues. Everything seemed fine to me when I test drove it.

I am planning on getting the car looked at for a PPI, is an Audi dealership the best choice?

Any electronic issues I should look out for?

For those experienced Audi owners, what would you do when inspecting the car and would you even consider a car with 90K miles on it?

Thanks.

[lucidmatt]

There are a few threads covering this topic already, but a lot of these cars are trading hands that mileage, and much higher, so a good PPI is always the number one piece of advice. DRC you can check by looking for leaks at the fittings, carbon cleaning is basically scheduled maintenance, expect to do it every ~20k miles or less depending on your level of OCD. Electronic issues, check the age of the battery. Mine was 9 years old when I bought my car and though it never died on me, it wouldnt hold enough voltage for some onboard electronics and throw some odd codes. These cars aren't flawless but theyre much more robust than the S4. If you really want peace of mind, get a compression/leakdown test done on the engine for a thorough health check. I bought mine at 95k miles and I'm at 107k miles on it's 1 year anniversary since I bought it, awesome cars. real head turners and smile makers.

[dualquad]

I was reading the carbon related threads but I didn't see any pricing, what does that cost roughly?

Regarding the DRC issue, a new set of shocks is around $3-4K I read.

[particulardude]

Exciting! Wouldn't shy away from high miles - when you consider the age of the vehicle it's not a lot of miles per year. I just bought an 07 with 93k on it :]

Definitely do a PPI. You can likely pay them a bit more to open it up and investigate the need for a carbon cleaning. If it needs it, it will be a fair negotiating chip to either have the seller do it or knock down their ask.

With regard to having Audi do it, up to you. I bought mine out of state and the local Audi dealer seemed pretty apathetic and uninterested in entertaining some of my particular questions. As a result I went with an independent shop that had been open for over a decade and had good online reviews. Also received a nice personal touch with conversations directly with the individual doing the inspection and saved a few bucks in the process!

Any service records being provided?

Audi may be able to tell you if DRC was replaced under warranty if you provide them the vin - don't quote me on this but I want to say it was only an issue with the 07s.

Didn't come across any mentions of major electrical issues in my recent research. You never know if the car has modifications something may pop up on you.

Good luck - these cars are great!


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[WinterRunner]

They are stout cars, I just sold mine with 93K on the clock. Had her for 80 thousand miles and not one instance of being stranded or other.

Don't worry so much about the DRC, it's going to either have the fix or not. Budget 2-3K for replacement when the time comes. Carbon cleans run about 800-1200$ depending on the thoroughness and the place you have it done at. Maintenance is not cheap, but it's 1) an Audi, and 2) a high performance Audi. Just keep a little savings on hand for whatever.

Drive her and enjoy.

[dualquad]

The clutch is still original, what would a clutch job cost?
Are 4 new disc brakes about a $2K in parts?

[Gansel]

The clutch is still original, what would a clutch job cost?
Are 4 new disc brakes about a $2K in parts?

Depends if you go OEM or not. I paid 1500cad for just fronts Discs (OEM). You can get way better deal if you look around though

[Fourplay]

The clutch is still original, what would a clutch job cost?
Are 4 new disc brakes about a $2K in parts?

Clutch job would be about $1500, most of it labor cost. The actual disc is extremely cheap for a car of this caliber (something like $250 or less if you find a good deal).

Brakes can be had relatively cheaply as well if you look around a bit. Brembo was the OEM for the brakes, and you can find the replacement disks for around $260/ea. Pads aren't very expensive either, so figure $1300 in parts cost for a brake job (not sure what the labor would be on that - I do my own changes).

[dualquad]

Where do you get your carbon cleaning done in Vancouver, the dealer? How much?

At 90K miles the car hasn't ever had a Carbon cleanign done by the sounds of it.

[dualquad]

They are stout cars, I just sold mine with 93K on the clock. Had her for 80 thousand miles and not one instance of being stranded or other.

Don't worry so much about the DRC, it's going to either have the fix or not. Budget 2-3K for replacement when the time comes. Carbon cleans run about 800-1200$ depending on the thoroughness and the place you have it done at. Maintenance is not cheap, but it's 1) an Audi, and 2) a high performance Audi. Just keep a little savings on hand for whatever.

Drive her and enjoy.

When you sold it, did it still have the same driving experience as when you bought it? (I mean within reason, it won't be 100%)

[Gansel]

Where do you get your carbon cleaning done in Vancouver, the dealer? How much?

At 90K miles the car hasn't ever had a Carbon cleanign done by the sounds of it.

Ive been quoted roughly 1000$ for a carbon at a vw/audi performance shop

[Peter1.8t]

These motors are very stout when maintained properly. Mine is at 84k miles, and has been supercharged for at least 50k of those. Compression and leakdown tests were performed not too long ago, everything was in great health. So you should have no issue driving thatcsr for many many miles. At those miles i would have a carbon cleaning done, and the injectors cleaned by a competent shop that is capable of doing FSI injectors.

Carbon cleanings I've seen range anywhere between $600-1500 in my area. If it's never been done before then it usually takes a little longer, but if it's been done before it's quicker and they charge less.

DRC failures happen. Most owners ditch the system and go with a higher quality coilover system once they start to leak.

[dualquad]

These motors are very stout when maintained properly. Mine is at 84k miles, and has been supercharged for at least 50k of those. Compression and leakdown tests were performed not too long ago, everything was in great health. So you should have no issue driving thatcsr for many many miles. At those miles i would have a carbon cleaning done, and the injectors cleaned by a competent shop that is capable of doing FSI injectors.

Carbon cleanings I've seen range anywhere between $600-1500 in my area. If it's never been done before then it usually takes a little longer, but if it's been done before it's quicker and they charge less.

DRC failures happen. Most owners ditch the system and go with a higher quality coilover system once they start to leak.

If I can't find a local shop I might have to travel to the US for it.

How long does it take roughly, probably a full day?

[Gansel]

If I can't find a local shop I might have to travel to the US for it.

How long does it take roughly, probably a full day?

If you live in Toronto im sure there is lots of performance shops that can do it

[Peter1.8t]

If I can't find a local shop I might have to travel to the US for it.

How long does it take roughly, probably a full day?

Depends on the method and severity of the build up. Shouldn't take more than a day. You should be able to find some one in your area. More cars nowadays are direct injection and require carbon cleanings.

[d2a4]

Depends on the method and severity of the build up. Shouldn't take more than a day. You should be able to find some one in your area. More cars nowadays are direct injection and require carbon cleanings.

Not really. I email a local shop who specialized in BMW (as you aware 335 also has the same issue) but they never bother to response, probably the BMW enough to keep them very busy.

[Gansel]

Not really. I email a local shop who specialized in BMW (as you aware 335 also has the same issue) but they never bother to response, probably the BMW enough to keep them very busy.

what about these guys? http://www.pfafftuning.com/

[Blackstallion]

If I can't find a local shop I might have to travel to the US for it.

How long does it take roughly, probably a full day?

Haha no need to travel to the US - many options like Chris at twins autoworks...

[Seattle squash]

You likely do flywheel when you do clutch, at least I would, putting you at $2k-$2.5k based on my experience.

[dualquad]

Yeah I found a few thanks :)

[WinterRunner]

When you sold it, did it still have the same driving experience as when you bought it? (I mean within reason, it won't be 100%)

It was better driving when sold than when new. So 110%?

[dualquad]

Hello,

I know this is not a apples to apples comparison, but when comparing reliability how would you compare the 2008 RS4 with a 2009 S5 with the same amount of mileage? Again I know they are not the same car, but just trying to get an idea of which car might be better for me reliability wise.

One thing to consider is if the car does go to the shop, getting parts for the S5 will be much easier to get correct?

[Gansel]

Man you need to just pull the trigger.. buy the car you love. If you are to worried about maintenance then you should buy a honda or buy a audi with a warranty. Its a car and its going to break regardless. If you love the car you will find a way to fix it regardless of the price.

[my_RS4]

Man you need to just pull the trigger.. buy the car you love. If you are to worried about maintenance then you should buy a honda or buy a audi with a warranty. Its a car and its going to break regardless. If you love the car you will find a way to fix it regardless of the price.

^ This.


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[Peter1.8t]

Man you need to just pull the trigger.. buy the car you love. If you are to worried about maintenance then you should buy a honda or buy a audi with a warranty. Its a car and its going to break regardless. If you love the car you will find a way to fix it regardless of the price.

X3

Despite both my Audi's occasionally having things fail, break, require large sums of time and money to fix. I'm still glad I have them. They have given me countless hours of enjoyment that you just can't put a price on. Also many of my good friends I've met through the Audi community.

My s4 I've had for 6 years now, logged over 100k miles, took it from stock to modifying every section of the car using only the best parts to make something that I wanted. Still love driving that car till this day.

When my rs4 was for sale, it took me all of 5 seconds to make the decision to buy it sight unseen. Emailed the dealership saying I was interested, he emailed back promptly saying there were already 10 people trying to get financing arranged, so I picked up the phone and said I'll buy it with cash right now. Wired him the money the following day. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. That car puts a smile on my face every time I drive it, and I still look back 2 or 3 times when walking away..

[ven0m]

Man you need to just pull the trigger.. buy the car you love. If you are to worried about maintenance then you should buy a honda or buy a audi with a warranty. Its a car and its going to break regardless. If you love the car you will find a way to fix it regardless of the price.

x4

[dualquad]

/ 12

That's just not my personality, I cant' change that :)

I'm looking at one with 150K on it, but what is bothering me is that for almost the entire year 2015 the car was stored.

[Seattle squash]

x4

x5 - put the cheese and wine away, realize it's the good time of the month, and just do it!

[my_RS4]

/ 12

That's just not my personality, I cant' change that :)

I'm looking at one with 150K on it, but what is bothering me is that for almost the entire year 2015 the car was stored.

Curious what the price is with those miles. There's a really nice PB one in the classifieds with 55k miles. AND that Imola with 92k miles.
Either of those peak your interest?


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[dualquad]

Curious what the price is with those miles. There's a really nice PB one in the classifieds with 55k miles. AND that Imola with 92k miles.
Either of those peak your interest?


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I'm in Canada :)

The owner is asking $25 CND so about 19K USD.

[Blackstallion]

I'm in Canada :)

The owner is asking $25 CND so about 19K USD.

The PB one is in Canada but I think it just recently sold - clean example...

[dualquad]

The PB one is in Canada but I think it just recently sold - clean example...

link?
what is PB sorry?

[CoreyRS]

link?
what is PB sorry?

Phantom Black (color)

other colors:
Avus Silver
Daytona Grey
Misano Red
Sprint Blue
Imola Yellow
Ibis White
Lava Grey
Papaya Orange
Glut Orange
Suzuka Grey
Goodwood Green

[dualquad]

I drove a 2009 S5 over the weekend with about 100K miles on it (same as the RS4), the engine just seemed much more powerful. For some reason the RS4 didn't seem like a v8 to me, but I'll admit I really didn't push it as I was a bit nervous (maybe 3500 RPM max). Maybe the carbon was never cleaned!

[Peter1.8t]

I drove a 2009 S5 over the weekend with about 100K miles on it (same as the RS4), the engine just seemed much more powerful. For some reason the RS4 didn't seem like a v8 to me, but I'll admit I really didn't push it as I was a bit nervous (maybe 3500 RPM max). Maybe the carbon was never cleaned!

Could need a CC.

Also the RS4 engine is a bit of a screamer. You need to rev it out more to get power out of it. The s5 was designed different to appeal more to the person that will use it as a daily drive. Peak torque happens much earlier in the rev range.

[Blackstallion]

Ill go out on a limb and say your over thinking this - yes its not my money but I'm surprised your not waking up plucking fresh grey hairs...

[nr103]

I drove a 2009 S5 over the weekend with about 100K miles on it (same as the RS4), the engine just seemed much more powerful. For some reason the RS4 didn't seem like a v8 to me, but I'll admit I really didn't push it as I was a bit nervous (maybe 3500 RPM max). Maybe the carbon was never cleaned!

Didn't go past 3500 on a car that revs to 8k? I think that explains your lack of excitement and V8 feel

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[WinterRunner]

^ Seriously, it's a high revving machine. The engine WANTS you to rev her, to push her. It's the best part about it....

[dualquad]

Ill go out on a limb and say your over thinking this - yes its not my money but I'm surprised your not waking up plucking fresh grey hairs...

I wouldn't go that far, but yes I am overthinking my next car purchase. I admit it!

[dualquad]

The PB one is in Canada but I think it just recently sold - clean example...

Which one are you referring too? link pls?