Neon01

I'm considering picking up a 2013 S4 with Prestige package and rear sport diff (may have other options, but I don't know). Asking is $33k and it has about 62k miles on it. Excellent shape, one owner, always garaged. Ext maintenance until 75k (one more service). Color isn't ideal, but overall it seems like a decent deal. I still worry about the fact that it's not under warranty though. USAA has quoted $2472 for 24 month/24k mile extended warranty, or $3636 for a 3 yr/36k. I'm not sure if that's transferable, but from what I've read they are very comprehensive, there is no deductible, and they won't try to jerk you around to get coverage.

Edit: Took an extended test drive and went over the car with the current owner today. Here are my thoughts (below): https://www.audiworld.com/forums/s4-.../#post24699029

I could go for something with less miles and possibly CPO, but most of those seem to be much closer to $40k.

Thoughts? I wanted to stick with a 2013 so I get bluetooth streaming, and this seemed like one of the better prices I could find for that model year.

DrGP

Not bad but I would really try to get one with less mileage. .My 2011 has 56k and I had it for just over a yr. Had 48K when I bought it last May. Bought a 3 yr extended warranty from Fidelity. Don't remember what I paid for it. BTW, what color is it?

KTAudi

I'm a total newbie, but also looking for a 2013 S4 (but Premium Plus). Everything I've seen on the usual used car sites is closer to $37.5k for Premium Plus and around $40k+ for Prestige (most in the 30-40k mile range). Seems like a decent deal pricewise, even for that mileage. But who knows, maybe I need to lower my price range!

togatown

36k out the door would be a pretty good price for a 2013 with the Aftermarket warranty, and the remainder of AudiCare Plus ( since I think the 75k service might be the DSG service and if so, pretty expensive at the dealer).

Mileage is a little high. How long do you plan to keep it and how much mileage will you expect to put on it?

Neon01

I drive about 10k a year, maybe a little less. Sadly, I hardly ever keep cars more than 2 years or so, so I would figure selling this one around about mid-late 2017. At my current pace it would have probably between 80-85k at that time.

togatown

If you plan on getting out of it in 2 years and the warranty is not transferable anyway, might as well just get the 2 year term. If it is transferable, might be worth it to get the 3 year, just for a better resale or in case you really love the car and decide to keep it longer.

Or....you could gamble and just skip the warranty,

Neon01

Checked the car out today. It was a little more used than represented in the ad/phone. Definitely showed the highway miles - the plastic covering on the fog lights were a little pitted from road spray, and the front lower splitter connections to the bumper (those little plastic vertical struts) were broken, so the splitter wasn't firmly attached. It wasn't exactly hanging, but it wasn't a firm connection either. Didn't look like that could be replaced independent of the bumper either. Not the kind of thing you could see from a distance though.

The wheels had a good deal of curb rash at the edges (they're the 19" peelers). I'm not sure what a refinishing would cost, but this doesn't bother me that much.

Also, there was some kind of warning light on the dash - it showed a headlight with an arrow next to it in yellow. The owner said it was due to a malfunction in the adaptive headlights? He claimed it had popped up when he had one of the bulbs changed recently. Is that a thing?

The interior was in excellent shape, and other than the couple issues mentioned the car was tip top. Tires and brakes were almost new, no wear on the seats, no odors, undercarriage looked very clean - no oil or other fluids from what I could tell. Fluids were fresh and topped off. No strange noises, vibrations, or other weirdness at high speed or low. No squeal or issues even at full turning lock while maneuvering in a parking lot. Wound the windows down and drove in forward and reverse in a parking lot, listening close for suspicious sounds - nothing.

Overall, I was slightly disappointed with the condition, but it was representative for the mileage, to be honest. Part of me doesn't mind a few dings here and there. Makes me less worried about it since it's already been a bit "used".

I asked him to get the trouble light checked.

I'm torn between pulling the trigger on it and looking for an example with lower miles, but any one I've seen online that's a 2013 with under 35k miles is close to $40k. Even with the extended warranty for 2 years, I'm still saving ~$5k.

Any suggestions?

eric strauss

… why not consider a lease?

S4 leases are pretty good and then you are fully warranteed, gap insured and you can get something else at the end of your lease. You may actually end up with less capital locked away as you could have a minimum down payment?

The math may not work for you, but I have long ago stopped buying German cars - even thought I love them. I generally do a 36 month lease, I brake even at about two years and then jump over to something else I am interested in. Once you have Audi loyalty money, you get 1-3K off of your next lease automatically, even before you start dealing. If you have a good relationship with your dealer, they may even offer to buy out your lease to get a CPO. That happened with my 2010 Q5. They were sold out in CA, so they bought me out after 1.5 years and I jumped into an A6 3.0 Sport package for the same payment. Jumped out of my A6 six months early when they offered me a $1700 check back. Then went to an S4.

Happy Shopping

Eric

Neon01

I've tried to make a lease work, since it really makes the most sense for me (like you said), but the math just doesn't seem to work. The primary reason I can come up with for this is that I tend to buy cars that are a couple years old. They've slid pretty far down the depreciation curve at that point, so someone else has taken the hit. This doesn't really happen with leases, even if you assume one halfway in, since the new "owner" is assuming the higher payments of the person that bought it brand new.

WilliCO

...and the advantage improves if you can buy the good used version and keep it for 6 or 7 years. If you play it right, you might be able to drive 3 or 4 of those with no payment. That's the golden age.

I'm usually pro-lease in the economics conversations between leasing and buying new. But there is no more economical way to drive a European luxury car than to find a good deal on a low-mileage CPO two model years old, paying it off quickly, and holding it as long as possible.