[BiturboS4] Rumor(s) Behind The New S4

[jysap at cs.com]

Matt,

I think u missed a crtitcal point in your response to my statement. The point is QUANTITY. The 2.7TT was a mass produced car, and when it the NA shores, it did decrease the value of other Audi cars that seemed to be stable until the 2.7TT came along. From what I heard, Audi NA does NOT plan to sell V8TTs (RS6 sedans/avants) in significant numbers. In fact, there will be significantly less RS6s hitting NA shores than 2.7TT S4s.

The other factor is economic. If the RS6 is being positioned by Audi NA against the M5 sedan, then a significant amount of the Audi (performance oriented)car buying mkt will be LEFT OUT.

Thus, the only option for those who want the panache of owning a TT, or that "smack u back into your seat feeling" of driving a (twin) Turbo will have no other option than a MY 2000-2002 S4.

In my opinion, these factors will keep the value of the MY 2000-2002 S4s fairly stable. Remember, for basically $1k, I can purchase a chip and get nearly the same performance of the NEW 8 cyl non-turbo S4. If I make exhaust upgrades too, I can probably exceed the specs of the NEW 8 cyl non turbo S4 for about $4k. Why would I pay a premium (over the MSRP of a 2.7T S4) of $8-$10k for a NEW S4? It offers NO significant performance upgrades over the 2.7TT S4. Anyone willing to spend $45k+ for that car (the NEW S4), needs a lobotomy, in my opinion.

I think the NEW S4 is a mistake.Your money would be better spent trying to purchase an RS6 (good luck due to the limited importation to NA), or the next generation BMW M3 (rumored to be an 8 cyl), which should have BETTER specs than the NEW 8 cyl S4 for the premium (in MSRP) that u will be paying. I think Audi should have positioned the RS6 to compete with the new BMW M3 and have an RS8 compete against the M5. That is how I would have positioned things in North America (NA).

In fact, during our conversation, the sales guys at my local Audi dealer(reluctantly) agreed with me on those points. At the end of the day, basic economics (supply/demand) and marketing (making buyers believe that the next model is inherently superior to the existing model - I believe that Audi failed on this point with the NEW 8 cyl S4) controls the value of an automobile.

jy

Matt twentyV <matt_20v at yahoo.com> wrote:

>> I recently bought out the lease on my 00 S4, and
>> now I am glad that I did.
>> The biturbo S4 will soon become a limited
>> production run (2000-2002) and
>> its value should remain the same or possibly
>> increase due to limited
>> inventory
>> Just wanted to pass this tidbit along.
>>
>I think an examination of history would suggest
>otherwise.  Take for instance, the '92-'95 ur-S4.
>In late '99 prior to the 2.7TT S4 reaching the US,
>the urS4's were running $22-25k for clean stock
>examples (I was seriously considering one before
>deciding to take the plunge for the new one).  Once
>the 2.7TT started shipping here, prices on the old
>ones plunged.  Today, clean examples can be found for
>$12-15k.  And the inventory of the urS4 is much
>smaller- fewer than 3000 were sold (source-
>http://www.urs4.com).  I can't find any reference
>to actual quantities of the new S4, but I remember
>seeing numbers in the 10's of thousands.  (If anyone
>has a link to actual figures, please post it).
>
>Even the extremely rare '95.5 S6 Avant can now be
>found for around $20k, whereas they were closer
>to 30k prior to the new S4 and S6 Avants shipping
>here.
>
>So my guess is that prices on our beloved V6 biturbos
>will drop when the new V8TT hits our shores.  I don't
>like it either, but thats life.  Just drive your
>car and enjoy it.
>
>Matt Rooke
>'91cq- 5cyl engine NLA
>'00S4- V6tt soon to be NLA
>
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