Danny B

I have been looking at 2nd hand RS4 Avants, 2000 & 2001 models (X & Y reg) with under 60,000 miles and as many options as possible.
The cheapest has been £20k and the most expensive £28k these are private sales and not on dealer forecourts.
Why is there so much variation on price? surely the extra £8k cannot be becuase it has 20,000 miles less than the 60,000 mile car??
When I asked the bloke why it was £5k more than another I had seen he put the phone down and told me to stop wasting his time...all I want to know is am I missing something?

Sat Nav, Recaro heated seats, Bose stereo and a full service history is all I'm after.

stilover

I take it that you sell all your cars as cheaply as possible then????

The guy is obviously trying to get as much cash back as he possibly can, and feels asking what he is asking is what he wants for his car. If he gets no interest, then he'll probably lower his price.
Asking such a question on the phone like you did, I'd have put the phone down too.

Edcase

20,000 miles can be a couple of years of ownership, plus the difference between some major services, so with a car that has the value of an RS4 or RS6 yes of course there is going to be a major difference.

Ultimately in 99% of cases you get what you pay for in life, its that simple. Make your choice.

FWIW I would have put the phone down on you as well.

Rabid

If some ********** put the phone down on me for asking an innocent question then he could stick his car up his ****.

An intelligent person would explain where the 5K difference was and negotiated the potential buyer up.

RS4 is awesome but I don't see it offering enough value over and above an S4 which can be modified to give a taste of the performance for a lot less cash.

Big a1

I'd see someone asking why your car was priced at a premium as a good oppurtunity to try and 'sell' your car to a potential buyer. If the chap had listed lower miles, specialist service history, a few choice options etc instead of putting the phone down he could have got a sale.

All depends I suppose in the manner in which the question was asked...

Wolfsburger

They`re not even in the same ball-park my friend!

Karl 227

I would have expected a comment like that ^^ from "Ingolstadter"

Danny B

I didn't ask the question as bluntly as that, I merely stated that I had seen a car on a *dealer* forecourt with 6 months warranty but with more miles for £5k less that what he was asking and wanted to know if I was overlooking something, ie- did his car have some super duper options that the dealer car didn't?
He then started to say that his car was for sale at £28k and if I didn't want it this conversation would be ended, and it was

mynickers

To be fair he's made his price clear, you can make him an offer if you don't think he's valued it correctly or you can look elsewhere.

TopBanana

Maybe if he can't get £28k for it he'd rather keep it.

Danny B

Going back to my original question and not about this one particular bloke, does anyone know what an average price is of a 2000 / 2001 RS4 Avant with under 60,000 miles and the options I have specified above would be?
I can't believe that this 6yr old car is still fetching £28k when the original purchase price was £50k

TopBanana

Your original two questions were about this one guy you div

Rabid

Of course they are, using the same 2.7 engine (obviously not quite the same)and bodyshell, an S4 will give you a taste of the RS4 for half the money. On a bang per buck basis the S4 (modified) has it.

I wouldn't have either, having driven an RS2 and RS4 my money would go on the RS2 and some mods. The RS2 is a much more thrilling drive than the RS4.

big MO

the RS4 avant is a rare and special car, therefore the norm depreciation, mileage, age molarky associated with mainstream doesn't apply. He could be singing 28K all day long, a few will be fobbed off but at the end of the day the seller will get what he wanted for it. Nature of the beast. Mid 20s is about norm, 20K a real bargain but more questions to be asked.

john banks

I don't think you do often get what you pay for with used cars. You have to bargain and find the best car for you. Some sellers have their heads in the clouds, just move on or avoid them.

turboman786

The bottom line is that some people price there cars VERY optimistcally....its a buyers market, so these people will realise in time that they have to price em keen to get rid!!

Stenton13

To be honest I hate it when people trying to sell cars are arrogant and rude about the prices they advertise them at.

Of course, I can perfectly understand that they might not want to come down in price, but I do think some people are rude (and really crap salespeople) when they attempt to make you feel guilty for showing interest in their car! On the flip side, some people are very good at selling their cars (friendly, informative etc) and value your interest.

If you aren't happy with the bloke, walk away. Really gets my goat though!

Wolfsburger

You`re missing the point. Would you rather have a modified 330i or an M3 for example?

I can`t get my head round this modifying lark, at the end of the day you`ll be left with an S4 that`s been meddled with and therefore attractive to a very small audience come resale time or a proper RS4.

For me it`s a no brainer, the RS4 is streets ahead of the S4, modified or not.

Jeff Wiltshire

Have you actually driven either the S4 or RS4 (modified or otherwise) ?

Wolfsburger

Yep, driven a standard RS4 and a standard S4. My point is that modifying the S4 will be an expensive and largely pointless avenue to explore.

For more money surely a standard RS4 would be the way to go.

If you look at the amount of people who spend thousands modifying their cars only to struggle to sell them later, (some even remove the mods to sell on their own in an attempt to recover the cost) I just think the money would be spent on an RS4 in the first place.

Of course this is only my opinion, but a modded S4 is just an S4 at the end of the day, an RS4 will always be a bit special.

Skittles

Yep agree with you on this...

Edcase

Absolutely, 100%.

Been there, done it, learnt my lesson.

Then bought an RS6.

Never looked back. (except briefly in my rearview mirror at people I've just overtaken)

Fabioso

Ok so the guy put the phone down. Hmmmm he is obviously not that keen to sell his car to you. I think people both buyers and sellers privately can get a bit too sensitive to some of the "stark cold realities" of car seliing/buying

As a prospective purchaser you really can choose to ignore his car, he has kind of made it easy for you. Is his price optimistic for his car ? well probably....but given the nature of the exclusivity I can understand why he feels "his baby" is worth more but I agree with some of the other posters he's probably not going about it in the best way if he really is serious about selling.

At the end iof the day, as a buyer you will probably move on and its probably at his loss that you have. Hope you get a suitable example soon.

Havng been in both situations I always feel the buyer holds most of the aces....becos u have multiple cars to choose from, where as the seller only has one car to sell and if he doesn't sell he's then stuck with it.........and at those kind of figures that might be quite a bitter pill to swallow.

Business is business, if someone's acting in way you don't like then move on because as sure as eggs is eggs an equivalent (or in this case better!) deal is just around the corner!! Good luck m8

Danny B

Cheers Fabioso, I have moved on since speaking to him and have a couple lined up to view this weekend.