Francis007

Martin Interesting post re the costs and benefits....or pitfalls....of using an Audi specialist to service and maintain your car rather than an Audi Main Dealership. May I record my experiences of using an Audi Specialist Independent. I have owned 4 Audis in the past 20 years, all bought from new . An Audi A8, 2 Q8's and my present car, a 2026 S5 Avant. I am a fastidous owner and like to keep my cars in the very best condition. Not a fan at all of Audis....or any other main stream manufactures " long term servicing regimes ". Hence I generally have and have had a service and most imprortantly an oil change every 7 / 8000 miles. I have never used an Audi Main dealer for any services all 4 cars. The reasons are that I am fortunate to have near a superb Audi Independent Garage that I know and trust. Of course their servicing rates are a fraction of what Audi charge but more importantly to me , I truly believe that my cars are better looked and maintained to a higher standard than at the Audi garage. Also may I just add that the premise that by going down the Independent route, could affect the cars resale has not been the case with me. On my last 2 Q8's I did what most folk do and went on the WeBuyAnyCars website to find out a rough resale value . I then found a couple of Indendent dealers who specialised in more " higher end " pre owned cars. Both were pretty exacting on what cars they would actually put on their website and both were quite happy that the cars had been service their entire lives with an Independent. On both cars the important and deciding factor with the Dealers was that the Independent had a known reputation, used genuine Audi parts and was able to log on and record the services on the Audi Sevice regimes. And in fact, on both cars I was offered more than the WeBuyAnycars recommended price. So I think the main dealer stamp in the old service book was quite important once but not so much now. Just my 2 penneth.

Hi Tim Nice to hear from you and no problem at all about chatting about your impending purchase of a new S5. These are my honest thoughts about the B10 S5 Avant. A bit long winded ....but that's me I'm afraid ! Am I thrilled with it ? Yes I am with just a few caveats. Coming out of big limo cruisers for the last 20 years.....2 VW Phaetons, 1 Audi A8 and 2 Q8's , to decide on a completely different type of car at my age ( 78 years ) was a big leap. However, I did alot of research and a fair amount of test drives of alternate cars. Including another Q8 , a Lexus NX, an Audi SQ5 and a BMW 550e. And I came down to the Audi S5. Reasons are that was within my price range, size , performance, styling, build quality and the fact that its an Audi ! I specced it as a Black Edition with a few extras. Mythos black , S technology pack which gives you a Heads Up Display, uprated sound system and passenger MMI, red brake calipers ( a must ! ) and adaptive dampers. I ordered the car from Audi Bury st.Edmunds in January and it came into the U.K. in April. About the spec. I woud throroughly recommend the HUD. Not had it in any car before and it's superb. The passenger MMI is useful, We travel to Deutschalnd alot in the car and my Missus is my Navigator and she loves it. And I thought the adaptive dampers would help the drive comfort of the car as we were coming out of a Q8 with air suspension. I wasn't convinced by the panoramic sunroof or the alternate red leather interior. About the infotainment system and the mmi and safety systems. I am no techy and it has taken some hours sat in the car in my drive to learn and experiment. However Tim, if I can get on top of it, I am sure you can ! And despite some very minor glitches it's all useful and very impressive. So, to sum up. I think it's a handsome car. It drives well. The power delivery is impressive. It's well planted with the Quattro system and it's well put together with no squeaks or rattles. I am well pleased and I would highly recommend it. Just one thing . The list price of mine was something like £74,000. Do not pay anything like that as there are many discounts to be had , especially if you take out a PCP. If you are still keen , please get in touch with Polly Goddard, the Group Fleet Sales Manager of the Marriott Motor Group. She is a lovely lady who really knows her stuff and is a delight to deal with. I purchesed both my Q8's from her as well. She will really do a good deal for you. I hope this helps Tim as it's an awful lot of money to spend isnt it so you have to be sure. Anything else, just ask. Frank

Hiya James So sorry to hear of your current problems with your A5 Avant. My take on it is the same as quite a few fellow owners here and as I believe you have stated yourself. My car, like yours, looks good in my opinion, is well screwed together , is comfortabe and drives well. BUT.....software, software, software !!!!! seem to be the overiding bugbear at the moment. Compared to yours, mine has had relatively limited problems. I occasionally receive a flash up on the front screen at start up to indicate that some systems are unavailable or have failed. They barely hang around for milliseconds before they disappear and the car starts up and is fine. The A5 range was I believe brought into the UK in late 2024 so yours is a relatively newish example. And because of that , may be it suffers from early software production problems ? I presume your Dealership has confirmed that you have the latest updated software ? Also , I do understand your discontent with the car. The software should have been sorted before the car was available and Audi have some questions to answer here as it seems this problem prevails in other models. Take a look at Martin Innes current problem with his new Q3 on that Forum. Think I have already mentioned this a few times so I hope I'm not being boring here but I came to the S5 from owning 2 Q8's owned over a 6 year period. Had zilch problems , software or mechanical in either car. Both felt robust and well sorted but the MMI and software was much simpler than the stuff we have on our A/ S 5's. It's technology and the future I'm afraid and aint it grand ! Hope you get your car sorted and you can enjoy it's undoubted driveability again

Hi Damian I've just looked on my map and the distance from Doncaster to Nottingham is approx 50 miles so not too far. May I recommend TTW Installations Nottingham. Fantastic auto electrical firm that I have used on my last 3 cars, all bought new. Two Q8's and my current S5 Avant. I am very fastidious on who to use and trust for work on my cars , a bit like you it looks. These guys are the very best in the business. I have had 2 channel Blackvue dash cams fitted on all 3 of my last cars and they do a superb job. Would not trust any other. They will have the experise to fit front parking sensors and rear reversing camera to your lovely S3 as they do lots of other electrical work on cars, many high end. Just look at their installations videos on their website .. Just book it in and they have a comfortable waiting room with free drinks and wi-fi. Have a look at their website. Highly recommended.

Hey Bob That's a good point about the software being slow to boot up. Not thought of that as the occasional yellow flash ups that I have experienced barely last milliseconds before they disappear. Thankyou for that.

Hi Martin Re my Q8's. I think that the " Edition 1 " units that Audi first supplied to the Dealerships when the Q8 first came on to the U. K. market in 2019 did have numerous software glitches. That's why I kept away from those models until they were all sold and more " basic " specs were available. I also believe that has happened to the " Edition 1 " S5 units that first came into the U.K. in 2025. Looks like Audi use them as guinea pigs to sort things out. Looking on Autotrader recently, ony one Edition1 S5 is now still available for purchase. All the rest are Black Editions or Vorsprung. So, in January I ordered the car to my exact spec, making sure it was a Black Edition with extras. Good to know Audi have been in touch and please let us know about any future software updates that should hopefully sort things out. In the meantime enjoy those 256 horses !.

An interesting and informative post by Martin. May I mirror Martins thoughts and opinions about his new Q3 in my new S5 Avant. My car, like Martins drives well. It's well put together, with no squeaks or rattles, looks good to my eyes, is well planted on the road and is reasonably powerful enough. Where I slightly agree with Martin is in the software although I havent had the more serious glitches that he has had in the Q3. I have had various warnings flash up on the MMI about system failures but mine last barely a second before they disappear and the car starts up. Coming from 2 previous Q8's where the systems were simpler but to me much more robust , this has come as a surprise. Also, to mirror Martins other thoughts re the various safety features that you have to disable on each start up. After 2 months ownership it is almost routine now to disable the speed warning, the distraction warning, the fatigue warning and the lane departure ! All !Removed! useless and unwanted by I suspect the great majority of owners. I drive in Deutschland a fair bit and I like to think I am a competent driver. When travelling there on the Autobahn and on the unrestricted part of the network I like to drive the car at speeds of 100 mph plus so you need to have your wits about you as that isnt a great speed to many of our German friends who come up fast in the outer lane. So, I always make doubly sure when moving from an inner lane out to an outer lane by leaning forward and moving my head to check in the nearside mirror that there isnt anyone in that blind spot....just in case ! And simply by doing that, the camera behind the steering wheel, detects that I have had eye movement to the left.....and Bong.....the distraction warning flashes up ! So, to sum up....a superb car that drives well. But the software is a little fragile in mine at least. If you are not experiencing any problems then just accept the fact thatyou are fortunate.

Just an update on my HUD new oil temp icon I got in touch with the Service Manage of the supplying Audi dealership and after a bit of investigation he thinks that Audi performed a small software update which enabled the oil temp to be shown in the HUD. This was done without any notification to UK Dealerships ! Make of that what you will. So, if true, it looks as though it was connected to the new RS5 being made available to all European markets and supposedly all new RS5's have this feature. As well as all 2026 S5's. It was not updated on any A5's that have a HUD. Not sure whether that a HUD is a standard feature or an extra. If anyone here has a 2026 S5 or is fortunate enough to have taken delivery of a new RS5, if it's possible to check and confirm I would be interested. Many thanks

Hiya Ron Many thanks for the response. No warning in messages , no yellow warning bell and oil lever reads fine. Weird eh ?

May I ask some advice please ? I'm 6 weeks into ownership of a 2026 S5 Avant and I am mightily pleased with it. It is my first car with a Heads Up Display and it is impressive , showing speed limits and warnings, driver assistance stuff, navigation if on and media info if on. A week or so ago, I noticed that it was also now showing oil temperature. The icon comes on immediatley the car is started and only starts displaying temps when the engine starts to warm up. Also there is no problem with the temp as after a few miles with engine fuly warmed, it indicates the usual optimum temps of between 90 and 100 . So not a warning in any way. Martin Innes from the Q3 website has been very helpful and thinks it boils down to one of two things. One , the hud will automatically surface the oil temp in the readout if the car thinks the engine isnt reaching normal temp fast enough. So, oil temp is out of sync with coolant temp. Or, two, a software update has changed the HUD behaviour. without informing the owners. I'd had a twin channel dash cam fitted just before this started and I presume that the battery would have been disconnected by TTW Installation of Nottingham when they also installed a Cellink Battey pack. Would that have reset the HUD settings ? I've tried to reset the settings myself via the MMI but there isnt any mention at all of an oil temp facility. Switched off and on but the oil temp icon is still there ! Please dont get me wrong. I'm quite happy to see the oil temp displayed in the HUD as it's very useful and informative but I just thouigt I would ask if anyone has any ideas that this might be flagging a problem Manythanks in advance Frank

Second post on this after 35 days of ownership and more impressions of the S5 Avant. So, the car has been away for about a week to have a 2 channel Blackvue dashcam and Cellink 8 battery installed by TTW Installations in Nottingham followed by a Gtechniq ceramic coat and a little bit of ppf on vulnerable areas of the car applied by First Choice Detailing of Christchurch Hampshire. Used both these companies for many years on previous cars and I think they are the best in the business and would recommend without hesitation. The car is settling down and I'm on top of most of the impressive tech now. Also my biggest fear after coming out of a Q8 was of poorer build quality in the S5 as reported in various road tests and subsequent creaks and or rattles. None of that so far and the car is solid and feels well put together. And so on to power and performance. Today I brought the car back from Christchurch to my home, a journey of about 30 miles. The car has just ticked over 950 miles, so on a quiet stretch of a dual carriageway through the New Forest I lit it up a little for the first time and strewth can this car move ! And just to make this relative. I am 78 years of age and been fortunate enough to have a wonderful missus of 56 years who has indulged me my great love of cars over many years. So, looking back and seeing how brake horsepower has now gone through the roof in quite ordinary cars. My current S5 Avant has 362 bhp, a decent output. Many years ago I was one of the first owners in the Southampton area to take delivery of a new Golf GTI....the original hothatch in 1976. That had 110 bhp and was considered pretty fast. And the following are some of the cars I have been fortunate enough to own and their relative BHP's VW Golf GTI 16v. 139 bhp. Peugeot 205 1.9 GTI . 130 bhp. Because of it's light weight, this was a pocket rocket. Then I grew up a bit and had more mature cars ! Saab 900 Carlsson 16v turbo. 185 bhp. When the little turbo arrow gauge clicked into the yellow turbo indicator, this car flew ! Porsche 944 S . 190 bhp BMW 528i . This was for a time the largest engine you could spec. 181 bhp. The list could go on and I hope people reading this dont think I am in any way boasting about these cars. I'm not, I realise I've been a little fortunate. My point is that all these cars listed with their relative power outputs are now easily beaten by many family SUV's and saloons and hatchbacks on the market now. I also realise that many EV's far exceed these figures. The EV route is one that I have never envisaged me taking for many reasons, hence the S5. At my age I'm staying with ICE cars until they are no longer available. Any one here have any idea where this chase for bhp will end. My current car with 362 bhp is in supercar territory only about 20 years ago. It is phenomenal and fun and whilst I am still able to do so and I'm competent I am going to hit the German autobahns a couple of times a year and mix it with the German guys there. Oh and just in case anyone is concerned here because of my age , I am fully fit and have 20/20 vision plus. I hope this is of interest to some here.

Good morning James I have just read your post this morning with interest and as you reside in Hampshire as do I, may I put an alternative to you regards the future servicing of your lovely new A6 ? I do understand your desire to look after your car and make sure it works well for many years. I am 78 years of age and have been fortunate enough to have been the owner of many fine cars in my long life, all purchased new. I stopped using Main Dealer servicing over 20 years ago and the reasons are that I refuse to pay the exhorbitant rates that they charge and also.....and just as importantly.... I'm not convinced that they offer the finest levels of expertise . Since 2006 I have owned 2 VW Phaetons, 1 Audi A8, and 2 Audi Q8's . At the moment I am the happy owner of an S5 Avant that I took delivery of four weeks ago. All of these cars were purchased new and I chose to not service any of them with Main Dealers. All were serviced and maintained to a very high level at The Village Garage Bishops Waltham. I like many other " petrol heads " on this website am not convinced by the long service regimes that Audi supposedly recommend. I endorse everything that Sparticus said in his reply to you. He's a good bloke and knows what he's doing ! So, all my cars that I have listed have had services and particuarly oil changes every 7/8000 miles. The Village Garage has been running for many years and has a fine reputation. The owner is a guy called Matt who is very clever and knowledgeable guy. And just as importantly he is a car guy who loves all things to do with high end expensive cars. I trust him completely in looking after my cars and being ultra careful when they are with him. He , in fact runs an Audi SQ5 as his personal car. Matt uses all Audi parts and as he is a listed Audi / Porsche/ VW/ Skoda specialist , you will not invalidate your Audi warranty by taking it there. Matt is able to log and reset your Audi service indicator. So, it's just a thought and I do hope you don't mind me throwing my 2 penneth in here. The plusses for me are that I believe that my car will be serviced and maintained at a higher level than it would be at an Audi Dealership and I save a ton of money as Matts rates are far lower than Audis. My missis and I have been touring Germany in the car twice a year for many years now. Our next trip which will be for 4 weeks and cover over 2000 miles will be in October and I will schedule my S5's first service with Matt just before we go. By then he will have done about 5000 miles so a complete oil change and an inspection to make sure all is well. Finally an added bonus is that Bishops Waltham is a lovely little town so whilst Matt is working on your car, you can have a quiet stroll and have a coffee and breakfast there. The above is just a thought.....and I dont have any shares in the Village Garage just in case you were suspicious 🙂 Frank

Morning Stephen Forgot to say one thing in my post. If you do decide to give Matt a go, when you ring up, you will probably speak to Kirsty his wife, who runs reception. Actually request for Matt to work on your car. All the other guys are competent but Matt is that man you need to work on an RS4 Frank

Hi Stephen I have just spotted your post and as you haven't received any responses I have a long shot for you . I am a commited petrol head of many years and been fortunate enough to have owned many fine cars. I like and have always liked to keep and maintain my cars in top condition and am extremely careful on who I use to maintain them. Now I know you reside in London and you did mention the Home Counties . This is where the long shot comes in ! I reside in Hampshire and have been using the same Audi / Porsche / VW/ Skoda independent specialist for almost 20 years now. The name of the garage is The Village Garage at Bishops Waltham. The owner and Chief Engineer is a guy called Matt and I would trust him with my life, let alone my car !. Extremely clever and knowledgable he runs the garage with four other mechanics but if you ask, Matt will do specialist work on a specialist car....which your RS4 is. In the past 20 years Matt has serviced and maintained for me one Audi A8, 2 VW Phaetons and 2 Audi Q8's . All purchased new but I refuse to pay the exhorbitant rates of the Main Dealers. Not only that but I know and believe Matt does a far better job and is far more competent than most of the guys who who work in Audi Service bays. And just for the record, I have recently bought a new S5 Avant. It is 2 weeks old but Matt will do all the servicing for me. So, a long shot but Bishops Waltham is barely a 90 minute drive from where you are and it's a pleasant little village where you can have a coffee and a lunch whilst Matt has a look at your car. It's just a suggestion and I hope it helps. Frank

I hope someone finds this of interest. If boring, please ignore. So, after precisely 2 weeks of ownership from new and 500 miles, the following are my thoughts about my S5 Avant and in particular to how it compares to my previous car , a Q8. Firstly and most obviously is the tech in this car compared to the Q8 which was 7 years into it's development and used a vastly inferior architecture to the latest Audi MMI. I am 78 years of age and to say I am astounded about how good this is and what it can do, is an understatement. Particuarly the " Hey Audi " feature which is outstanding. I never used the voice recognition in the Q8 as it was so poor but with this, it understands everything you say and you can control almost everything with it. I am smitten !!! Even though I havent had a blast yet, the S5 is clearly a much more powerful and faster car. The Q8 was not a slow car with 335 bhp and a 0 to 60 time of about 6 seconds but it had alot of weight to haul around. Nect build quality ? I detest creaks and rattles in cars. One of the reasons I was a proud owner of 2 VW Phaetons as the build quality on those cars was unsurpassed in my opinion . I was a little concerned reading some reviews that seem to say that the build quality on newer model Audis had taken a dive. At the moment, thats not true and the car seems solid and well screwed together Next, how comfortable would the S5 be compared to the Q8. This was my worse fear realising I was coming out of a car with air suspension and designed and built with comfort in mind and into one where handling and road holding was paramount. On that, the jury is still out and I know I was taking a bit of a punt on this. On roads I know and in comfort mode the suspension on the S5 certainly crashes and bangs a bit more. But nothing that really bothers me and I get the feeling that it is more to do with the 35 section tyres compared to the 40's on the Q8 rather than the adaptive dampers versus the air suspension. And finally....perception ? Isnt it strange that the Q8 is still considerd the flagship model of the Audi SUV range but in 6 years of owning two they rarely received a glance or a comment although to my mind, they were pretty handsome cars. Whereas in 14 days of ownership I have had numerous people come up when I have parked up, to ask and admire the car. I think the age range of the admirers is substantially lower that anyone who came up to look at the Q8 which tells you something maybe. I hope this is of interest. If not just delete. Frank