I purchased my 2005 Audi S4 Avant in early 2020 just before the dreaded COVID hit Europe and closed down the world as we knew it. The car is a petrol engined V8 4200cc automatic and makes 350 horsepower which is then distributed to all four wheels via the amazing Quattro system.
She was first registered in Switzerland and then in 2006 switched to UK number plates in 2007 and is LHD. I found her on sale at a London dealer and they delivered the car to Roma and then flew home. The car was NOT exactly as they had described and the airbag warning light indicates that she has had a front end impact at some stage, this was confirmed when I had to replace a component inside the front bumper which controls one of the engine cooling fans. But for the money the car was solid.
For the first two years of lockdown ownership I used her very little. I removed the wheels and got them refurbished in gun metal grey, fitted new Conti Sport tyres plus a new 12V battery, replaced a power steering pipe which failed, fitted a new set of Brembo discs and pads and cleaned the Recaro leather seats so the car was looking better and better!!
Eventually we could travel again and I started to use the car. She proved to be a very fast and comfortable motorway cruiser. I love the Q car look, in other words she looks like a 2.0 diesel as she has no external badges at all so if any cars try to intimidate me on the motorway this car leaves them in the dust!! My most memorable journey was through France heading to the UK, I travelled 800 of the 900km through snow and even with summer tyres the Audi never lost her footing. In the winter I travel with snow chains on board to meet the legal requirements but she has never needed them!!
I bought the car with 190k kms on the clock and a full service history from an official Audi dealer in Switzerland, since then I have always had her serviced by independent car workshops but with top quality oils. On the motorway with cruise control at sensible speeds I can get near to 10km per litre which is about 28mpg, the car has a small fuel tank so the maxumum range is only about 550km, the tank is small cos she has a full size spare wheel under the rear floor pan. The Audi is now showing 222k kms and goodness I have enjoyed the ride!.
So why is she now up for sale, I hear you ask?? Well several reasons but mainly cos I dont really need a car these days so she is standing around which is NOT good for any vehicle of course. Wish me luck, I currently have an Italian guy very interested plus a few others (Italy, France and UK) also keen so I will see how things play out. Anyway I have loved the journey, thanks Audi! Some pics follow.
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