ThatGuyInSeattle

Hey all-

I am new to the forum and in the market for a 2010 or 2011 Audi S4.

From everything I have read, it is the car for me. The challenge is that I will have to get one used, and I want to make sure I get one for the right price in the right condition, so I would really appreciate any thoughts or any help so that I can have a good purchase and ownership experiences.

I have two questions:

1. what should I pay?

Here are specs on a local option

2010 Audi S4 Prem Plus
Mileage: 27,150
Drive Select Package
navigation
Bang and Olfsen upgraded stereo
Bluetooth
parking sensors

While I do realize that the dealer needs to make some money, I want to get it for a reasonable price. The challenge is the range.

Dealer asking: $45,950
KBB: $41,652
Edmunds TMV: $34,864
Truecar: $43-$46k

Two words: Holy Crap. How do I sort out what the actual market price is?

Second question: I am going to have a local mechanic check it out before I make the final sale (should I just go to the Audi dealer for that?), and I want to know if there are any problems that should make me walk away from the deal.

Thanks a bunch! I appreciate any help. I love the car, I just want to start off on the right foot with a good purchase.

ThatGuyInSeattle

ob_1jr

I assume for that price it is Certified Pre-owned right? If so it gets extra warranty. If not, only about 5-10K more and you can get one brand new.

jmk32

I just got a 2010 Prestige, loaded with 30k miles, last month, and paid a lot less than $45k. Not a CPO, which definitely adds a premium to the price. But I think you can do better than that if you keep looking. I did a national search for my car on cars.com as I was looking for particular colors and interior (magma) and options.

Some dealers I talked to were willing to play on the pricing a bit...

Good luck!

bryanatmsu

I just bought a used 2010 S4 Prestige (Nav, Park Assist, B&O, CF trim, sport diff, two sets of wheels) with 39,900 for $36.5K in January from a dealer in OH.
Most of the 2010 S4s I was finding in the Midwest were around $38-$43K depending on options/miles/CPO/etc.

GR8-LIFE

The KBB is a bunch of bs and is a tool dealers try to use as marketing their sale. KBB is also what some lenders use for loans on a pre-owned

Unfortunately, EDMUNDs TMV (True Market Value) has typically been the closest value to what its truly worth. But the figure you really want to acquire is the BlackBook value (which is even less than edmunds). Blackbook is what the car would sell for at an auction and its typically what dealers will give you towards a trade. If You take your car over to carmax and let them appraise it, you will have an idea of what the blackbook value is and what you would get on your trade. You can even go to carmax with a car you purchased that same day from a dealer but this is not for the faint of heart.

Some might think a dealer is giving a great deal on their trade but the dealer is probably adjusting it on the new car side, if its brand new, or if its pre-owned, then the dealer is making money because he offered blackbook to the previous owner and is selling the car to you for a good % over blackbook. The dealer a has a little money into prepping the car (that he just took in as a trade) for sale so you have to consider that but generally, the selling price of the car being taken in is way above blackbook. If its a CPO then you naturally have to add that in as well but offering blackbook in this biz is a firm rule of thumb and in fact, the profit made on used cars is often more than made on new cars for that reason.

One thing dealers capitalize on is the fact that you will get a "Tax Credit" of your trade (unless you live in a state with no sales tax) so they push that. That fact also allows some wiggle room for a profit

You can be certain that whenever you see an online price, this is a ceiling price and serves as a marketing ploy to make the buyer think he's getting a good deal once the dealer lowers the price. Its all a game. Get blackbook value (or use EDMUNDS TMV) and you will truly know whats its worth.

BTW, Blackbook is not offered free to the public but you can get it.

JD15

Obviously that car is extremely overpriced; you could get a fairly well equipped new 2013 for around $7k-8k more than what the dealer is asking for the 2010.

DrGP

The S4s are really holding their value in the used car market. Many times an new model can be obtained for not much more than a used unit. That being said. There is a $15K spread between a base model s4 Prem+ and a fully loaded Prestige. When you buy used, a prestige model of the same production year will generally not cost that much more than a nicely equipped prem+. So if you want or need one with all the bells and whistles and new S4 could cost over $60K. But a used one will cost a lot less. A well equipped new S4 will go around $55k and a lightly equipped unit can be had for around $50K.

B8 S FOR

^Agreed! The car you are looking at only has 27K on it. So 43K CPO is what I would shoot for because most of the new 2013s I have seen are around $58K + Tax, Title, fees and Audicare = after a discount $61-62K! Big difference from 43K! As most will tell you the B8 S4 is really holding its value. They are in high demand and only around 4-6K of them are imported to the US per year. Good Luck!