At $14,900, Is This 2008 Audi S4 A Quattro For Kia Money?

With its Nogaro Blue overgarment and six-speed manual gearbox, today's Nice Price aliases No Dice S4 surely stands retired from nan crowd. Let's spot if its value tag will return a village.

Jeremy Clarkson has agelong averred that to beryllium a existent car enthusiast, 1 must ain an Alfa Romeo astatine slightest erstwhile successful one's lifetime. He besides famously stated that erstwhile he owned an Alfa GTV, its prop shaft fell out, turning nan coupe into an impromptu rod vaulter. Still full-cred.

Alfa Romeo's storied history of specified shenanigans, exacerbated by nan issues inherent successful a non-officially imported car, tempered opinions connected nan 1996 Alfa Romeo 155 2.5 we considered yesterday. The wide statement was that thing was bound to spell wrong, and erstwhile it does, being an unofficial entrant successful nan U.S., it will apt beryllium a situation to rectify. At $13,000, that was a span excessively acold for nan small Alfa to cross. The consequence was a 72% No Dice loss.

Alfa Romeo made it difficult for enthusiasts successful nan U.S. to build their cred arsenic nan institution went connected a hiatus successful trading cars present betwixt 1995 and 2014, leaving only utilized models to transportation nan torch.

Another European carmaker, Audi, almost abandoned nan U.S. successful nan precocious 1980s aft an unflattering and highly salacious exposé connected nan CBS news programme '60 Minutes' astir expected unintended acceleration caused income to crater. Volkswagen's luxury marque stuck it out, renaming its models to flooded nan stank of past associations while slow building income backmost up. Today, nan institution is amended known for making awesome cars for illustration today's 2008 S4 Quattro saloon than for conspiracy theories astir magical accelerator pedals.

First introduced successful 1991 arsenic a sporting version of nan larger 100 series, nan S4 exemplary had shifted to nan mid-sized A4 (there's that rebranding) by nan extremity of nan decade. Today, some nan A4 and S4 are gone from nan North American market, having been replaced, respectively, by nan A5 and S5. The existent S5, nan mid-sized model's top-tier offering, comes pinch a turbocharged V6 making a factory-rated 360 horsepower. That's not each that acold disconnected nan 340 horses this 2008 S4 Quattro was claimed to corral from nan factory, and nan older car gets its power from a naturally-aspirated V8 that besides makes beautiful noises and immoderate superior (302 pound-feet) torque.

That 4.2-liter all-alloy motor is installed backwards successful nan S4, pinch nan cam thrust chains mounted astatine nan rear of nan motor, sharing quarters pinch nan flywheel and rear main seal. Any activity connected those elements is an engine-out affair, truthful it's an basal facet that nan seller of this 157,800-mile clean-title illustration claims it to beryllium "well maintained" and "in fantabulous condition."

Another positive is that this appears to beryllium a full clip capsule car, pinch nary add-ons, screwy personalizations, aliases modernizations prevention for a magnetic mobile telephone equine connected nan dash. Everything other appears to beryllium conscionable arsenic it near nan mill successful Ingolstadt.

From nan pictures provided, nan Nogaro Blue overgarment looks coagulated and is accented by gunmetal grey mill alloys and QUATTRO book connected each of nan backmost doors. Eschewing nan wide believe of identifying capacity editions done their blacked-out trim, nan S4 has brushed metallic connected nan model surrounds, footwear lip, and nan caps of nan sideview mirrors. That each looks some swank and successful awesome shape. The wheels show nary signs of curbing, but are wrapped successful Forceum tires, which are mostly what 1 mightiness bargain only if trying to waste a car and seeking to put arsenic small arsenic imaginable for caller tires successful nan process.

The interior is besides successful awesome nick, pinch Recaro-embossed seats beforehand and rear. All 4 seats are heated, and each butt gets swaddled successful leather. One spot wherever Audis of a definite property tin autumn down is successful nan integer displays connected nan dashboard. Those each look to beryllium functioning arsenic they should here, pinch some ambiance power zones and nan double DIN stereo blazing red, and nan multi-function show showing nan full car connected nan screen.

This is simply a six-speed stick-shift car, and, arsenic nan backmost doors elude, it's Quattro AWD down that, making nan astir of nan V8's kick. The seller doesn't opportunity thing astir nan car's history, aliases whether it's had immoderate caller work different than that connection astir it being "well maintained." How overmuch clutch is left? Has it ever been replaced? How astir those timing concatenation guides? Are those original? There are a batch of questions that immoderate prospective purchaser should inquire astir this car. A pre-purchase inspection by personification who knows their measurement astir Audis wouldn't wounded either.

But to get to that Q&A convention aliases PPI by an Audi guru, we first request to get past this S4's $14,900 asking value to find if it's moreover a contender. In nan expansive strategy of things, that's not a batch of cash, but for an aged Audi, it's benignant of a large deal.

The seller claims it to beryllium a typical opportunity, advising, "Don't miss your chance to ain this uncommon gem." What do we deliberation astir this 'gem' and that $14,900 price? Is that a adjacent woody for a cool car that's been good cared for? Or is that conscionable excessively overmuch for this S4 to unrecorded up to?

You decide!

Nice Price aliases No Dice:

Denver, Colorado, Craigslist, aliases spell here if nan advertisement disappears.

H/T Don R. for nan hookup!

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