spagolli94

I'm going to be demo'ing a 2007 CPO RS4 tomorrow. I had some bad luck with my CPO BMW as it was sold to me with some issues. Nothing that couldn't be fixed, but it kind of ruined my faith in just how well dealers inspect the car before declaring it CPO. Plus, when I bought my 2002 A4, it was CPO and I needed new breaks in less than 6 months. I want to avoid those types of pitfalls this time around

Anyway, I'll have the car for the day and am planning on taking it to a German specialty shop near me. For an hour's worth of labor, they'll lift it up and look around (obviously won't touch anything). They call it their "pre-buy inspection" or something like that. It will be good to get a third party opinion on the car, but is there anything in specific I should be asking them to look for?

I'm sure the dealer is going to try to sell me StayNu and a wheel/tire policy. StayNu is a scam. I fell for it when I bought my BMW. Never again. I also passed on the wheel/tire policy when I got my BMW b/c I knew I was going to ditch the runflat tires anyway. That said, a lot of guys who have runflats on their Bimmers have lots of problems, so for them, maybe a wheel/tire warranty is a good idea.

But what about the RS4? Is it very common to have issues with bent rims, bubbled tires and other crap that happens with low profile tires? I've used Alloy Wheel Repair before and they rock. They claim to be able to straighten bent rims as well. Being they are much cheaper than the insurance and there's a chance I won't have any issues at all, perhaps I should pass on the wheel/tire insurance. Curious to hear what your thoughts are.

There is one potential deal breaker for me... The car has a clear bra, and it's the permanent sprayed-on kind. It's very subtle (I didn't notice it at first), but when you look close, you can see the thin divider line running across the hood. Not exactly ideal. But then again, both my A4 and BMW front bumpers and hoods had a fair amount of chips in them over time, so maybe a clear bra isn't such a bad idea. I'm not sure where the original owner had it done, but I'm guessing it's something like this:
http://armorcoatusa.com/

It's a 2007, CPO, local dealer, 30k miles and I've got them low enough, I feel it's a fair deal. It's inline with all the major books, as well as what I see on here, AutoTrader, eBay, etc. It's my favorite color too. Assuming it passes third party inspection with flying colors, the ONLY reason I would pass it up would be the bra. Then again, I could be waiting months to find another decent CPO deal, with similar mileage, my favorite color, etc. AND something I don't have to drive 100 miles to test drive.

Would I be crazy to pass this up for the bra? I imagine some people view them as a plus, not a minus. I'm undecided...

I know I just asked a bazillion questions. Thanks in advance for any advice!!!

Kringle

Just bought mine in December. Great car so far. Handles track days better than most people assume. There is a recall on the shocks as you probably know so that is taken care of. audi takes good care of you. Other than that I have heard of no other serious issues. Others on here may know more but I think the car is quite reliable. Mine had some minor cosmetic flaws, but all easily fixable. Seller fixed some, I took care of the others. I think if you didn't notice the clear bra then it's not an issue. I think most of the cars came with one from the factory. They are really quite pricey aftermarket. Did they not come with clear bras from the factory? Anyone know?

Other than that check they tires as they are expensive to replace and so are the breaks but there are after market options that are as good or better and half the price of OEM. (Again not a surprise.)

Overall very pleased with mine.

ELEVENS

I hate car bras, and I don't care how subtle it is. If I can see the edge, then it's not worth it for me. I'd rather respray every so often. If you don't tailgate, then you can go years and years before repainting. I try to maintain a clearance with the car ahead of me of one foot per mph.

To keep your tires from bubbling, keep them properly inflated. This car needs at least 36psi cold in the front. The low profile tire teams up with the heavy weight to wreck your tires/wheels upon impact with grade changes . Running higher profile winter tires and wheels help a lot because the roads are in (even more) disrepair and potholes can be hidden with ice/snow/darkness.

spagolli94

Yeah, I ran high pressures in my 330i for that same reason. I'm not a huge tailgater, but given our crappy roads up here, I have managed to get a fair amount of nicks and speckles in every car I've owned. So maybe this clear bra could be a good thing from me? But I'm like you - the edge kills me.

Then again, it is practically invisible unless your staring at it two feet away. See attached pics. Can you spot it? I can only see it in one of the three. So, if having something practically invisible is going to save me from get nicks and speckles that are visible, does it make sense? I'm really on the fence on this one. You mentioned getting a re-spray to remove nicks. That's basically what I'd need to do if I ever wanted to ditch the bra.

I'm also worried about maintaining the bra. For instance, if you really get hit with a big stone, of course it's going to damage the bra. Technically, it's possible to get the bra re-sprayed with fresh bra stuff. But since this car came from out of state, I have no idea if there is a qualified body shop in the area who knows how to work with this stuff.

I'm going to have the indy shop give a close look at the tires and brakes. I'll ask the dealer if the recall has been done. I'm a big believer in "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." I'm a perfectionist and I can't tell you how many things I've made worse trying to fix them. So if the suspension recall hasn't been done, but the suspension is working great, I'll leave it alone and do the recall if I have issues down the road.

All in all, would you say the RS4 is more, less or same reliability to a standard A4?

RS4bro

I would say as reliable as a A4 but there isn't as many RS 4s to compare to A4s. I haven't heard from the various forums folks complaining about nagging problems on RS 4s.

I have a clear bra on mine and love it! I had on my previous car (BMW M3) and it preserved the front, upper front fenders and mirrors well. I think it helped me get a higher re-sale value because the car was very clean.

Each his own...

benonj

When I was looking at RS4's a year ago I found the car I wanted, favorite color low milage but it had a bra. The stone chips on the bra look like ripped plastic and looked worse than chipped paint. It may not of been a spray on bra but the dealer told me he could not take it off. I passed. As an owner of a RS4 with various problems, I would still buy it again. As long as you have warranty and a decent dealer, everything can be fixed and I have found, once fixed it tends to stay fixed.

spagolli94

After demo'ing the car for a full day, I really liked it. But unfortunately, the bra was a deal breaker. I've attached some pics. I brought the car home and just looked at it a while. Instead of just enjoying the design of the car as a whole, I kept focusing on the bra. If it's already bothering me while I have new car fever, I can only imagine how much it might bother me in a couple years.

Good things come to those who wait. There are a few other gray RS4's within driving distance that I might check out if I have time, but none local. I'm sure if I keep my eye on AutoTrader, etc, some more will pop up over time and eventually I'll find the perfect car and perfect deal for me.

PARealtor

Im sure holberts would take the clear film off for you. I believe it can be done.

spagolli94

I asked. This is not a film. This is a spray-on clear bra. They actually remove the clear coat before applying the spray (so the spray will stick better).

So, it's permanent. Trust me, if it could have been removed, it would be sitting in my driveway right now.

Kringle

Wow, that last pic really showed the bra. What I have is a plastic film style bra and it is not nearly so large, just on the most impact prone areas. I can see why that one may have bugged you. Looks like the tires on thers are all seasons. For me that would kill it. Dealers often save money that way but for a high performance car like this all seasons are not the way to go.

K.