motorsport_mike

Advice needed. I'm a die-hard manual fan. Not going auto anytime soon. My lease is up on my 2015 S4, and I'm not sure what to do. I didn't plan on buying a German car with 40k miles and no warranty, but I feel like that may be my only choice? (Buying out my lease)

DrGP

Buy it or trade it before lease is over. You should be able to purchase it below trade in or resale value. Above all. don't turn it back in because you will lose the equity it has.YES, IT HAS EQUITY ON A LEASE. If you find another VW, Porsche or Audi car that you want, you can use that equity on the next car lease or purchase, or put it in your packet. BUT if you trade it in on an Non VAG car, Audi will make the dealer buy the car for retail price rather than your buy out in the last 6 months of your lease. You can buy it and finance it from AFS or VW Credit without involving the dealer. If you buy it, you can either keep it and drive it a while until you actually find something else you want. Or you can trade it into any dealership or sell it privately. Your option. You can buy an extended warranty, but I don't advise that. I purchased my current S4 with 49k miles and paid $2700 for a 3 year warranty. Never needed to use it and I feel like I pissed that money away. Since the car is a 6MT, you don't have to worry about the DSG trans, but the clutch is always a potential issue which will not be covered under the manufacturers warranty or an extended warranty. I have 80 k on my 2011 now. .Clutch works fine, Just paid $1500 to replace the T stat, WP,PCV valve, serpentine belts, and coolant tube. Also had an oil change and had them change the oil in the Supercharger. PCV replacement solved my minor oil consumption issue. T stat was about to fail. But with 40k miles on yours, ,you should be 3 years/ 35k miles away from needing to do that. The other issue is what do you get to replace it if you want a MT. Pickins is slim, Here is a link to the 20 best performance cars with a MT. FYI, they somehow omitted the M2 and the 235i M and Camaro.. 20 Best Stick Shift Cars - Best Cars That Still Offer a Manual Transmission. Those on that list that I like, I probably can't afford although the Jag F type is interesting but not an all weather car. I like the Corvette and they are discounting them up to $10k right now. Just not practical for me in the winter, but I do like the Corvette.

motorsport_mike

Thanks for the advice about the equity. I really like the looks of the Camaro actually, and shifting a nice new V8 sounds sublime, but unfortunately I live with two child car seats in back and really appreciate all wheel drive as I live in snowy New England.
I guess at this point I'm considering buying mine, or trading it for another used low mileage S4, to get the CPO warranty, change colors maybe, add some Prestige options, and reset the clock on the mileage.

DrGP

I had also though about getting newer Cpo'd B8.5 S4. Good luck finding one you like with a 6MT. They are out there. If you find one at a VW Porsche Audi dealer you can trade in your existing car before lease end with no problems and get the equity out of the car. Or buy your current car and wait for your ideal car to become available.

bludool

I am in same dilemma... I have a '15 S4 6mt, with only 11k on it. It is GIAC stage 2 with suspension mods, AWE exhaust and has been bullet proof so far. Buy out is only 34k, I can't find anything that can do what this car can for even close to this price and since I have limited miles on it, it is like buying a new car. I am buying car outright, adding a set of Avant Garde M550 wheels, maybe coil overs, although really doesn't need it as I am on H&R springs now and it rides great and looks great. I have looked at the '18 Mustang, cool car, but it has no backseat and since I live in Seattle, driving in rain won't be fun. I was thinking about an '18 Golf R, but VW keeps dragging feet on when they will release. So... I am going to just stay with what I have.

DrGP

IMHO, ,this is such a great car with so many positives and few negatives. .Plus it is reliable. Factor in the limited selection of comparable cars wit MTs. B9 S4 would be a consideration if only it has a MT. And even with a MT, not sure it is a huge upgrade for the B8 .There still are some great cars out there with a MT, but not many with the same attributes of the B8 S4 or in a similar price range

fstr n u

I'm in the same boat. The only other option would be a BMW 3/4 series coupe xdrive with a manual transmission. Given how durable the Audi's are i'll keep my 2015 S4 for sometime and have fun with it. Over the next few years we'll have to see if anything else comes up. There's always the Subaru Impreza WRX STI....

Don fvcking Juan

I had this same decision last year. I didn't expect to buy out my lease, but also wasn't enthralled by any available options--I considered getting a used M5, but timing felt off.

Aside from not feeling compelled to buy anything else, the fact that I too have a manual, realize they're not offering a manual in the new S4 and a combination of low miles on my car (currently ~24k on a 2014) and popular options made me decide to just buy out. It'll hold me over until I decide to move on to something else, and when the time does come to sell, the fact it's a manual will likely up the offer a bit for any folks (like us) who are die-hard manual fans. A year since my decision and no regrets thus far.

DrGP

Good decision, great picture!