I want to replace my S5 grille with one that is a full honeycomb grille with NO plate mount. I saw everything from taking a day and removing the whole bumber to taking an hour and a half. How hard is it and where is a good place to order one in the U.S.?
Spoke to my body shop guy and he quoted me about 200 Canadian to swap out grills, providing the replacement had good fitment. Said it is pretty straight forward.
Some clarification might help:
1. Irrespective of model year (facelift or pre-facelift), the bumper has to come off to replace the grille.
2. The actual grille structure and attachment differs between facelift and pre-facelift (but both require the removal of the bumper).
3. Removal and refitting of the grille shouldn't take more than 1.5 to 2 hours. However, there's a couple of ways it can be done. This link - http://www.a5oc.com/forums/audi-a5-s5-tech/5783-diy-grill-swap.html
explains the process most effectively. Note that it is entirely possible to do the job without removing the front wheels, or jacking the car.
4. The plate holder on the honeycomb grille is simply and easily removed (it's a simple bolt-on arrangement), but generally comes with the grille no matter where you buy the grille.
5. Sources for the grille are everywhere. If you just have to have OEM, there's plenty of places that will happily take AU$1200 or more from you. Fleabay is a better option if you aren't made of money. However, you do get what you pay for, so cheaper isn't generally better. Expect to pay between between AU$350 and AU$450 for a decent grille.