S4 value.

Charlie Farley

Charlie Farley

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Evening chaps.
Just curious really on the subject matter of S4 B7 values .

I've something in mind and wanted to test the water on values first.
so then B7 S4 saloon auto, 86k miles in average condition, NO MOT, and need tires, wipers, etc, and has a bit of a start-up rattle that doesn't really go away.

any suggestions on value guys or is it a walk-away situation?

cheers
rob
 
The start up rattle is the big concern I’d suggest. It’s an engine out job to replace the timing chain and the rattle could be pointing to that.
Plus requiring tyres and wipers gives a clue to the standard it’s been looked after to. Wipers aren’t exactly an expensive part to keep on top of.
 
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Sveneng said:
The start up rattle is the big concern I’d suggest. It’s an engine out job to replace the timing chain and the rattle could be pointing to that.
Click to expand...
Thats what concerns me a bit, i know the V8 lump has the chain issues but this doesnt really sound like chain rattle but it is a rattle if that makes sense.
 
potentially a big expense so add that to the lack of MOT it's going to drag the value down a rock bottom trade price then.
 
Evening Rob,

I’d say you want to be going in mega cheap if it’s got a few issues. A quick look on Autotrader I can see some nice examples with similar mileage going around £7k.
I’d probably save your money and wait.
I assume it’s not your friends one that you were considering a little while ago?
 
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That said , what are trade values these days on S4's?
 
If you get the car for the right price factoring in the need for a replacement timing chain and it doesn’t need it then that’d be a bonus.
 
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Rob Avant said:
Evening Rob,

I’d say you want to be going in mega cheap if it’s got a few issues. A quick look on Autotrader I can see some nice examples with similar mileage going around £7k.
I’d probably save your money and wait.
I assume it’s not your friends one that you were considering a little while ago?
Click to expand...
Yes it is Rob.
 
I'm always up for a project but V8 rebuilds are not cheap full stop which may sway the argument against buying even at a silly cheap price.
 
audi upgrades
knowing what he paid for it 12 months ago and potentially what it's now worth in its current condition is a massive gap Rob.
He paid over the top for it to be honest but he wanted it and there weren't many close-by, so the seller had him by the nuts really.
Sad really as it was nice when he got it , just let it go to pot over the last year.
I'm thinking £3k tops but in the absence of any real value data thats just a number in my head.
 
And its an auto, which is not the end of the world but i'm not a fan, really like to stick with manuals if at all possible.
 
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I think he would be gutted with a £9k loss, id just cry if it was me.
 
That’s a shame, perhaps offer him £3k just to test the water. Although a £9k loss would sting quite a bit :sob:
You’d probably make that back selling the wheels, seats, interior trim, breaks, door blades etc.
 
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Why’s he thinking of getting rid of it after only a year?
Mines an auto and that’s why I specifically went for an S4 over an RS4. Although hindsight is a wonderful thing and now it’s not my daily drive, plus with RS4 values climbing, a manual wouldn’t have been such a compromise.
 
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The interior is probably the best part of the car to be honest Rob, it is immaculate, and its allmost like new.
My brain is ticking over now.
Sveneng said:
Why’s he thinking of getting rid of it after only a year?
Mines an auto and that’s why I specifically went for an S4 over an RS4. Although hindsight is a wonderful thing and now it’s not my daily drive, plus with RS4 values climbing, a manual wouldn’t have been such a compromise.
Click to expand...
He has some personal issues to address and it needs to go full stop, but i think he needs to get as much as he can if thats really possible now.
 
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Given what he paid and with the potential issues you’ve raised sounds like he needs to be prepared to take a big hit on what he paid. Unfortunate for him, but unless you’re attached to owning his actual S4 or helping him out you’d be wise to look at others as well.
 
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Not really attached to it as such, just having seen it from day one of his ownership it was a really nice example, the kind you'd look forever to find, but he's just neglected it, and now it's showing that neglect in so many departments.
I have to say that when i last drove it , it flew, it's been remapped properly, not a chip box, and has a full Milltek system that sounds out of this world.
I'd give him the cash now but that rattle just concerns me, i mean does £3k sound to much still, any ideas on its trade value.
 
I don’t know about trade in values. Can you put the details into We Buy Any Car and see what they’d offer?
 
wowcher, webuyanything ( aka BCA) quoting £2600 now thats low, i dont think id have the nerve to offer him that, and that still leaves the dilemma of the rattle, no mot and any other work needed.

May have to have a think on this over night.
 
Worse case , if it needs a rebuild what sort of ballpark cost are we looking at here.
£3k ish for the engine work.
 
Charlie Farley said:
Worse case , if it needs a rebuild what sort of ballpark cost are we looking at here.
£3k ish for the engine work.
Click to expand...
When I researched it several years ago it was around £3k - £4k for the timing chain replacement.
 
Ouch, thats a big chunk of cash .
That may swing things against it given it needs other work.
 
Totally agree, my tfsi old bus has been a constant drain on my wallet from day 2 of ownership in all departments , service /parts/mods and daily driving.
Have I regretted it after 8 years, not at all , sometimes I've questioned it though..lol
 
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As much as i like a challenge i'm giving it a miss.
scanned it with my vcds and shows 32 faults logged.
some are due to minor issues and voltage supply , probably flat battery etc but others are more serious and i just cant be dealing with the hassle .

nothing lost and certainly no worse off in the wallet dept.
 
Last edited:
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You’ve made the right call I’d say. With even a hint of rattle I think you were being very generous at £3k, never mind the rest of the faults. But at the same time you don’t want to insult a friend (who has massively overpaid) with a lower offer.

Find a better one and don’t tarnish your friendship, everyone’s a winner!
 
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Looks like he's scrapping it now, such a waste of a what was a really nice S4, well a really nice car full stop.:sadlike:
 
He paid £12k a year ago and now it’s going to be scrapped. Were the fault codes you got from scanning with VCDS that terminal? Hiw much will he get for scrapping it? Surely he can get more by putting up for auction sold as a non runner with all faults declared.
 
he just wants it gone now, it is peeing out oil, fans running until battery is flat even with the engine off, knock sensors 1 and 2 have issues, battery scuttle area was overflowing with water due to a blocked drain plug and the list goes on.
I suspect the ecu has been flooded with that water ingress too, would account for a lot of the electrical gremlins, but oil is everywhere.
 
I'm letting him sort it out now, i've helped out so far and would have taken it off his hands but it's just a hassle now and he won't break it up.
only so much one can do even as a friend.
 
Sounds like you’ve gone above and beyond for him already. You’re right though, you can only do so much. Ultimately it’s for him to sort out, just seems a pity both financially for him and to see a potentially fixable car off the road forever.
 
It is shame indeed, anyway down to him now.

cheers
rob
 
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