Audi S4 - 6 years old, 5 owners, would this put you off?

[heisthegaffer]

Hi all

Further to a previous post where I was looking at an S5 sport back but now I'm considering an S4 Avant.

Dealer has 2 similar models, both 2017/8 with 5 owners.

Is this concerning or normal as he has suggested for this type of car?

Any thoughts or opinions please?

Any thoughts also on reliability (someone on the other thread said yes) but any more views at all?

I tend to keep my cars for a long time for what it's worth.

Thanks

[Ratae]

I had a 2017 B9 S4 saloon and as nice of a car as it was I had a few issues that led me to get rid of it - water pump, thermostat housing, PCV system, leaky air con. I had all of those fixed under warranty but it still wasn't right and needed the oil cooler seals (turbo off job as it's a hot V) and had the rattling of rocker arm bearings starting to fail.

Hopefully mine was just an early 'friday car' and others are fine but I'd advise If you get one make sure it's got a robust warranty. Mine was an early 2017 66 reg on 70k for reference.

[heisthegaffer]

Ratae said:

I had a 2017 B9 S4 saloon and as nice of a car as it was I had a few issues that led me to get rid of it - water pump, thermostat housing, PCV system, leaky air con. I had all of those fixed under warranty but it still wasn't right and needed the oil cooler seals (turbo off job as it's a hot V) and had the rattling of rocker arm bearings starting to fail.

Hopefully mine was just an early 'friday car' and others are fine but I'd advise If you get one make sure it's got a robust warranty. Mine was an early 2017 66 reg on 70k for reference.

Thank, appreciate the feedback.

I probably will get a warranty as I know they're complex.

[Dog Biscuit]

Keep looking

Sounds like a problem car

Even if its not, then 6 keepers when you part with it will be hassle.

[Simon_GH]

I thought high performance are often had many owners as people ‘scratched the itch’ and then sold it on whilst they still had a licence. My mate had a mint C63s which had circa 1 new owner per year. He kept for 12 months and sold it on for something calmer.

[InformationSuperHighway]

Seems like a lot in that many years. Is there any indication on the length of time for the first owner?

If its 1 owner in the first 3 years (On lease or finance probably)
Then 4 more in very quick succession.. I'd be even more worried they were all punting a lemon on to the next guy.

[Tinkermantony]

I wanted an S4 saloon but the rocker arm issue put me off.

From my interweb research the Mercedes C43 and BMW 340i are the most reliable at this level. Jag XES/XFS is next up but the diffs seem to be a bit of a weak point.

[heisthegaffer]

Garage have no history of previous owners and I'm not sure how I can find this out?

The other thing is it was doing (presumably) 10k miles for the first 3 years then c 3k per year after.

Perhaps it was a weekend car?

[BlueJ]

If it was a high end "supercar" such as a 911 turbo, Ferrari, McLaren, Lamborghini etc. (you get the idea) then yes I'd say completely normal - a lot of people buy these to tick a box, but don't have the appetite for the costs of long term ownership.

For an S5 however the number of owners does seem high, which suggests a few people have not gelled with the car for whatever reason.

As per SuperHighway above, the mileage profile you state suggests one owner for the first few years, then a series of owners since who have each not used the car a lot - strange for so many people to sell the car after doing not that many miles.

At this age I'd be targeting a 2 - 3 owner car, no more. Good luck!

Edited by BlueJ on Saturday 24th August 10:42

[ZX10R NIN]

Could be a pre registered car, then became a mangers car & finally sold, so the 3rd owner is actually the first owner.

Which means 3 owners in 6 years.

[Dog Biscuit]

ZX10R NIN said:

Could be a pre registered car, then became a mangers car & finally sold, so the 3rd owner is actually the first owner.

Which means 3 owners in 6 years.

It could be that or it could be a hot potato equally.

I personally wouldn't want it especially because it will be the same questions being asked by the next prospective buyer.

Go to trade it in and the dealers will be sucking through their teeth.

Not exactly a rare car and not worth the mither imho unless it was markedly cheaper than the median price for them