Cillian
New Member
So I’m looking for an old avant so do you think I should go for the B5 RS4 or B7 RS4?? Any thoughts or ideas would be great!! Many thanks!,
So I’m In The Market For An Old Audi Avant!! In RS Form!!
- Thread starter Cillian
- Start date
What’s your budget and how much time/effort/heartache are you willing to endure?
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Cillian
New Member
Budget £20-£25k. I’m no mechanic by any means but it will be cherished. Will also be my daily but won’t be doing many miles.
There will be split opinions here. From my perspective, the B5 sounds amazing and gives you the thrills when the boost arrives. The B7 is arguably more engaging in the handling department, sounds great but maybe doesn’t give you that ‘boost’ feeling. Both drink the petrol like no tomorrow, both will cost you far more than you think from a maintenance perspective. Many parts for the B5 are no longer available so expect to pay premium prices from those who’ve stockpiled.
Best advice I can give is: go drive both and find out the real cost of living from both owners. I’m a B5 owner and have sunk nearly £25k into maintenance (and performance improvements) in less than 2 years. That’s not including the cost to buy.
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Best advice I can give is: go drive both and find out the real cost of living from both owners. I’m a B5 owner and have sunk nearly £25k into maintenance (and performance improvements) in less than 2 years. That’s not including the cost to buy.
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Cillian
New Member
I'll throw a curve ball in there - have you considered a C5 RS6? I haven't been following the market but I reckon you should easily be able to get a well looked after low mileage one for £12-14k these days. I ran one for a year and really enjoyed it. Its got the turbo's, the V8 rumble and an easy 500bhp. Plus they have some serious road presence! As far as i'm aware they don't have the same issues as the B5 in terms of parts availability (yet) but i could be wrong. Your budget would probably stretch to a nice RS6 Plus as well, but wouldn't leave much in reserve.
I have daily driven a B5 S4 in the past, doing around 300 miles a week for a year, and to be honest I had no real problems (apart from the cost of petrol). This may not be a widely held opinion, but I've had 4 B5 S4's and have found them to be very reliable providing they are well looked after, not abused and not modified to a crazy extent.
In fairness it was 6/7 years ago that i daily drove one and at the time all parts were readily available. It would probably play on my mind a little if I were to daily one now, that should something need replaced, there's a chance it wouldn't be available. However there area a lot of companies making aftermarket parts to fill the void and people have found work-arounds or alternatives to a lot of the parts which are NLA. So while its annoying, if your heart is set on a B5 Rs i'd go for it.
My current B5 S4 is a weekend car and does less than 3k a year, lives in the garage and doesn't see the rain. But every time i use it it puts a smile on my face and to date its never let me down with the exception of 1 flat battery. They are great cars and there's something very addictive about them. Up my way you barely see any B5's around anymore, which is part of the attraction for me.
If you end up going the B5 route, I would recommend finding one thats been well looked after, regularly serviced, enthusiast owned etc. And in terms of holding value, the lower the miles the better. I paid good money for my current S4 when I bought it, however the car had been with 1 owner for 17 of its 18 years, the mileage was low and it had full Audi service history. Paying a premium for this has probably saved me ££££'s in maintenance and repairs in the years since, although i've still managed to spend thousands on it!
I've never been in or driven a B7 RS4 so cant comment on them, they are very good looking cars though!
I have daily driven a B5 S4 in the past, doing around 300 miles a week for a year, and to be honest I had no real problems (apart from the cost of petrol). This may not be a widely held opinion, but I've had 4 B5 S4's and have found them to be very reliable providing they are well looked after, not abused and not modified to a crazy extent.
In fairness it was 6/7 years ago that i daily drove one and at the time all parts were readily available. It would probably play on my mind a little if I were to daily one now, that should something need replaced, there's a chance it wouldn't be available. However there area a lot of companies making aftermarket parts to fill the void and people have found work-arounds or alternatives to a lot of the parts which are NLA. So while its annoying, if your heart is set on a B5 Rs i'd go for it.
My current B5 S4 is a weekend car and does less than 3k a year, lives in the garage and doesn't see the rain. But every time i use it it puts a smile on my face and to date its never let me down with the exception of 1 flat battery. They are great cars and there's something very addictive about them. Up my way you barely see any B5's around anymore, which is part of the attraction for me.
If you end up going the B5 route, I would recommend finding one thats been well looked after, regularly serviced, enthusiast owned etc. And in terms of holding value, the lower the miles the better. I paid good money for my current S4 when I bought it, however the car had been with 1 owner for 17 of its 18 years, the mileage was low and it had full Audi service history. Paying a premium for this has probably saved me ££££'s in maintenance and repairs in the years since, although i've still managed to spend thousands on it!
I've never been in or driven a B7 RS4 so cant comment on them, they are very good looking cars though!
