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Best buy special - is a used Audi RS 4 worth it?

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<i> Image: Supplied </i>
<i> Image: Supplied </i>

Back in the mid-2000s, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz all released fire-breathing compact sedans powered by V8 engines. 

Audi's B7 RS 4 used a 4.2-litre V8 engine generating 309kW and 430Nm. It was available in sedan and Avant form and could be identified by its flared wheel arches and air-vents the size of a blue whale's mouth. It used a six-speed manual gearbox and like all fast Audis, power is transferred to all four wheels.  

Fast forward to 2018 and all those fast compact cars offered by the Teutonic three features a form of forced induction. The upcoming RS 4 (only in station wagon form) uses a 3.0-litre supercharged engine while the BMW M3 and Mercedes-AMG C63 use turbochargers to replace displacement. 

One more thing, the trio of automakers have also banished the manual gearbox from their performance cars. 

Mercifully, you can still buy a B7 RS 4. We found one via Gumtree auto with an asking price of R220 000. It wears my favourite colour 'Sprint Blue' and is according to the ad "mechanically perfect'. 

This particular example has a 165 000km on the clock and according to the ad has undergone its major service at 160 000km and has had a carbon clean up. For those of you not aware, the design of these engine in the RS 4 are prone to causing carbon build-up on the intake valves. 

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Images: Gumtree

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What does that mean? 

Well, less air can pass through and if a normally aspirated engine is deprived of good air flow then power can be drastically reduced.

Check out a time lapse video of an RS 4 carbon clean here

There's a gallery of images of the car that can be viewed here , and the seller says the exterior is in near perfect condition with the interior only having minor wear and tear. 

What else does it have? 

The owner says new tyres have been fitted three months ago and on the original spec sheet, a Bose sound system and satnav were ticked off. Pretty neat. 

Should you buy it?

Before you do that, if you're based in the Western Cape and you're a serious buyer it's imperative you take it for a test drive. 

Only then can you truly get a sense of what the car is capable of, as well as give it a proper prod and poke. This is an old car that doesn't have a warranty, however it has had a carbon clean up and hopefully was serviced at the agents (another factor you need to consider). 

At R220 000 it seems like a decent deal, perhaps you could talk the seller down to R200 000? Who knows, there might be a deal willing to be made. 

Happy car hunting!

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Image: Gumtree


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