danrudy

Hi Folks...after many years being absent an Audi I will be returning to the fold Wed. I used to have a 2000 s4 for 3 years (loved it) but then ventured into Benz and BMW territory. I was about to lease another 335i (I really liked the one I am returning) but on a lark did a test drive of the s4 and ...WOW!!!. Really felt head and shoulder above the 335i. So, I spent christmas weekend educating myself and ventured in and put a deposit on a S4 a day later which I will pick up on Wed when my BMW lease ends Wed as well.

So now that I am back in the audi fold it occurred to me that I am ill prepared. I very much loved having the maintenance cared for by BMW. Now with the prospect of actually paying for oil changes again it occurred to me "what have I done??"

So please do no laugh and kindly educate me. What should I expect to pay in maintenance costs with the 2011 s4 over the course of the 36 month /10 mile lease/yr lease? I see that there are scheduled required visits at 5k 15k 25k and 35k miles. Can someone tell me what these entail and are going to cost. I suspect I will be getting a hard sell at dealership when I go in there Wed to buy some aftercare warranties and Audicare. Is it worth it? should I pass? THe dealership where I will lease the car is not the closest one to me so I assume it will be transferable to other dealerships...correct?

Now the embarrassing question....I assume I am only responsible for the routine basic maintenance but any real car major car issues (transmission, brake system, engine etc) are all going to be covered fully by Audi during the lifetime of this lease. Is there anything that any wise Audi Owl can alert me to that I will be happy to have discovered before my signing rather then in mid lease that will spare me clutching my chest later?

I do not mean to come off as overly scared (I am not). It is just that I rushed into leasing this thing without carefuly planning it out like I normally do as I was completely seduced by the S4 when I test drove it. It was so much more fun, fast, responsive and quiet to drive then the 335i that I was in complete shock and was repeating to myself all Christmas weekend..."i must have this car, I must have this car" All normal thought processes left my brain.

Thanks so much in advance and thanks for reading!!!

Oh yeah....am getting the premium plus with Nav. Phantom Black with the Alu-opti kit and black interior.

Dan

psymon_pwnz

Since you're only doing 30k lease, I recommed you ask them how much each individual service costs. The first service is free so you'll only have two to pay out of pocket for.

Audi care works at any dealership so you don't have to go to the one you bought from.

I have a 45k lease and will probably buy it out at the end if it doesn't give me problems. Thus, I bought the audi care.

S5nirvana

I beleive the first service is free.

So on your lease arrangement, you'd only have to pay for service 2/3....

Probably wouldn't get ur $'s worth on such a short lease.

danrudy

Thanks for quick reply. As a rule I always turn down warranty stuff from dealer but this seems to pay for(1/2) itself if in fact the 1% bump in residual occurs.

IAS5

Ask the dealer for a pm pricing menu brochure. They have them. It itemizes the work done, the mileage schedule, and the price for each service.

MattPec

With the bump in residual this is a no brainer for the lease. The maintenance is annual or on the mileage recs, whichever comes first, so you may only pay out of pocket once if you don't hit 25k before the lease is up. Still think it's worth it with the bump.

danrudy

Thanks guys....
The way I calculate it with my trusty lease calculator is a s follows:
Laying out the $800 for the Audicare will cause a 1% bump in RV which translates into about $15/month in savings on my 36 month lease.

15 x 36 = $540 dollars saved over the 3 years in payment costs. Thus, the true cost of the Audicare is actually only $260. (800 - 540 = 260)

So the question is, should I expect to lay out more than $260 in maintenance fee's over the course of my 36 month/ 10,000/yr lease? I will call local dealer in AM before I pick up car (a more distant dealership) to find out the approximate costs. I figure I will only need it for the 15k service and may never even get to the 25k service so it is not definite I even will need it for the one service. Any other benefits of owning it?


New question? Worth $600 for the "wear and tear" coverage? I generally think not but after my experience with BMW I am almost a definite yes. It seems they are on the prowl to make money on lease turn ins these days.

danrudy

One quick thought about Audicare that I hope some savvy leasor can confirm for mer.

When I give them $800 (or perhaps $400 if negotiat it to less) and this Raises my RV by 1% is the money I give them put into the lease as a cap cost as well or is kept out? My math above in this thread assumed it was kept out of the lease (since it was essentially a warranty item) However, since it is effecting the RV I am wondering if it also effects the cap cost as an additional $800 put down on the price of the car. I assume not as there would be no real motivation to negotiate it downward or have it thrown in for free as others have suggested. However, I would like some savvy leasors to confirm this for me. (that it only effects RV and does not apply to the cap cost...if it did...it would be the biggest no brainer of all time)
Thanks
Dan