Audi A5 Forum & Audi S5 Forum banner

Soooo, if I was looking at a 14 plate (uk) s5 coupe, what would I need to look out for?

937 Views 4 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  ScoobyDoo555
Hi All,

Just starting to look in more depth, and I think I've found something of interest.

Black edition, mid 90k miles. Dynamic ride, pano roof.
Price seems "strong" at £16k.

Are the miles an issue? FASH. Assuming, but need to check that the S-Tronic has been serviced too.

Thoughts?
  • Like
Reactions: 1
1 - 5 of 5 Posts
That does look high-ish miles for a 14 plate S5. S and RS models do tend to be mostly enthusiasts and a 'toy', so in general they are usually quite low miles, but that is a general assumption. :)

In May 2014 the engine was revised quite heavily. Still a supercharged 3.0 v6 and both pre and post are considered good reliable engines. Also the DSG gearbox is on the 3rd gen, I think so the common issues with sensors and mechatronics have been resolved and they normally don't give issues if serviced every 40k miles (35k first service).

So long as serviced well and regularly then yes they are good at those miles.

Also, I would go for full MMI which will have the buttons and knobs around the gear selector, but I guess this does have that as it has the dynamic ride and pano roof, but not a given. :)

Engine issues can be thermostat, water pump, crank pulley and sometimes timing chains, but this can be due to poor servicing.

Also these are very tunable so a lot can be tuned. 450bhp from a simple remap is very attainable! But this doesn't mean it's been thrashed, as said, a lot of owner like on here are enthusiasts so look after their car.

There can be lemons out there, but they do tend to have a sketchy past, like insurance write offs, so so long as you do proper checks or buy from a decent dealer, you should be good. Plenty of tuners, specialists around and forums like these, so if you are unfortunate to have a problem, it usually can be sorted without paying through the nose at the dealers.
See less See more
  • Like
Reactions: 1
Thanks Dave,

So, the key is good servicing (isn't it always). TBH, the mileage was a little consideration, but I do low miles each year anyway - I don't hoon about as I've always run out of talent before the car does. So over 2 or 3 years, the mileage might even out a bit.
But as you say, as long as it's been serviced properly, that's the key thing.

Cheers.
Dan
  • Like
Reactions: 1
Those of us with 2013+ cars are hoping that Audi did finally fix the problems in the 0B5 gearbox but I'm sure I'm not the only one worried that one day I'll see a gearbox warning message. Based on the limited evidence of web forum reports I'd suggest that some of the problems were at least partly due to poor maintenance, and we've see plenty of cases where gearbox service has been missed, even on supposedly FASH advertised cars. For a 90K car that gearbox must have been serviced at least twice.

There was a recall on the CREC engine to replace a couple of the fuel rails. We already know that the coolant system (primarily the pump) is prone to failure so maybe worth checking for any signs of coolant leak. Other than that at 90K it is in the window for lots of parts to be wearing out - suspension, steering, wheel bearings and of course that crank pulley.
  • Like
Reactions: 1
Thanks Dippy,

Yeh, I'm trying to balance the standard wear and tear items that would occur on a 90K+ car with some of the bigger Audi issues.

Servicing seems to be the biggy. I know when I bought my 911, I had the car checked over with a fine toothcomb, and the resulting report was like reading "War & Peace". I don't think I need to go to that level of macro-inspection though ( I hope not!)

And yes, I would prefer a lower-miles car, but if I'm reading the vibes right, you can buy an S5 on condition rather than mileage. So we shall see.

But thanks for the info :)

Dan
1 - 5 of 5 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top