Hova26

Hello. I'm new to this forum but I just wanted everyone's thoughts on this topic. I currently own a 2018 A5 with 17k miles (Manhattan gray, premium plus, heated steering wheel, heated/cooled seats, virtual cockpit) and may be looking to get rid of it in favor of a 2014 S5 prestige with 66k miles (phantom black pearl, black/magma red nappa leather interior, black optic, carbon inlays, sport diff, power rear sunshade). The S5 is $23900. I bought my A5 brand new and currently owe around $32k. I know I can get at least $30K for it. I will admit I've been fawning for an S5 for a while now and even when I bought my A5, I really wanted an S5. Call it being a little impatient and cheap at the time. My overall question is would I be trading down or should I keep my A5? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

JD15

The B8 S5 is a nice car, but long term, I wouldn't recommend trading a 2018 A5 with only 17k miles for a 2014 S5 with a 66k miles if it will be your daily driver. The probability of expensive repairs on a six year old car as it ages is much higher than it is on your current car.

Are you planning to take out a loan for the S5? If so, Is that even possible for an older used car?

Hova26

I have the same sentiments with regards to it being an older car. While I can tune my engine to get it somewhat close to the hp of an S5, a V6T sounds a lot better than an IL4. Yea I checked and a loan would be possible. In any case, you make a valid point. Thanks for the feedback.

belzebutt

Will you really notice the slightly higher performance more than the dated interior and archaic infotainment, not to mention the inevitable repair bills and wear and tear?

JD15

I didn't own a B8 S5, but I do own a B9 S5 and had an A5 SB as a loaner earlier this year. I was very impressed by the A5 powertrain's combination of responsiveness and efficiency. The 2.0T/DSG work well together and are a noticeable upgrade compared to the powertrain in my old B8 A4. If I already owned a B9 A5, I doubt that I would upgrade to another B9 model, let alone a B8.5, because the B9 A5 is already a very good car. As both cars age, I suspect that you will appreciate having a car that is four model years newer and has 50k less miles on the odometer.

DaveSNJ

Yeah, there's no way I would make the swap you're considering. Save your shekels and upgrade to a B10 S5 in a couple years.

m444

+1, Stay with the newer low mileage 2018 A5 model, unless you like to tinker with cars and have extra cash laying around. I had a B8 S4 & a C7 S6.
At older age and higher mileage there can be a lot of gremlins to deal with.

bruce_miranda

How many times in the real world are you going to appreciate a more powerful engine, than a lovely interior.

Hova26

Yea for me I know I am def going to notice the interior. The exterior of the car definitely aged a lot better than the interior.

Hova26

Yea at this point I think I am going to keep my car. The engine note of the B8.5 would be nice temporarily but the tech and not having things like a digital instrument cluster or Apple Carplay would get to me after a while.