Now that the deal is complete an car collected I should probably come clean and tell that it was me who bought it but I guess some of you may have figured it out already even if ebay somewhat obscures bidder ID's.

Anybody wandering about bidding in error here is what happened. Without going into too much detail ( maybe more on that later) first I thought if I can get it a a low enough price I will go for it and set up snipe bid on Gixen.com. Then I kept looking a this thread and e-bay listing, and many searches online about the S4 Cabriolets. At the end I decided that this is not the best time for me to buy the car but forgot all about about my auto bid on Gixen .com and did not cancel it. Much to my surprise I got e-mail saying I won it. Contacted Paul to explain what happened and offered 1 bid step worth of compensation if he did not force me to complete purchase and either offered it to second highest bidder or relisted. After thinking about it overnight I decided that if second highest bidder does not take car I will complete the purchase myself so here I am the new owner of S4 Cabriolet.

Thanks to Paul for being understanding, new battery and 3/4 of tank of fuel +++ got me home 160+ miles in Friday traffic with plenty of fuel left spare. It was not much fun do drive with roof up and AC not working, it was not bad starting at Manchester at low 20's C but as I was coming more down south temperatures increased to over 30C at some points.

I guess that's enough for this thread and I will start another one with first impressions and what I am doing to car. I hope I will fix the roof on Saturday, AC next on the list. Then look at other things it needs doing, then put it up for sale at higher price. If it does not sell by mid September then keep it till spring and put it up for sale again in spring when convertible market picks up, if I make some money out of if - great, if not hopefully I will at least enjoy it for a while without loosing on depreciation.

Glad it's gone to a good home. It was a bit lower spec than I really wanted but I'm sure its a bargain nonetheless. If the timing was different I'm sure I'd have gone to see it....

Currently on my way to Italy. A way to go yet. I'm still this side of the English channel 😀

Enjoy the break - I may sell you an RS4 one day!

Ainars - good luck with your plans for the car +++

I confess I had a week or so ago drifted off into looking at RS4 cabs having been there and done that with the S4 .

I'm just struggling to believe they are worth two to three times as much as the equivalent S4 ?

And do they suffer the same chain rattle problem ?

And do they really slip the clutch a lot in first and second under full power as some suggest ?

Thread drift...... but....

My S4 to RS4 shift was a factor of 5+, but that was a high mileage lowish spec faulty 2004 S4, to low mileage high spec 2006 RS4. Both seem to be fairly static in value for the last few years.

I also looked at a facelift S4, similar mileage but lower spec to the RS I bought, it was 55% of the cost - which is maybe a fairer comparison.

Is the RS4 worth it? I'm not sure :ROFL:

S4 day to day, is to all intents and purposes as fast, cheaper to service, less to go wrong, more low down torque.

The RS4 however is the icon, it looks fast when not moving, it revs for ever, the ultimate model. Oh and I liked the colour +++

My thoughts were that the RS is more likely to be considered a desired classic - but then I struggle to thing of many alternate 4 door manual V8 rag tops, so the S4 is on that list also!!!!

No - but again, I have never had that on an S4 either! Similar engines, but they changed a lot for the RS that then went into the R8....

If it does, it's a faulty clutch (or defective driver) - Low down torque seems less than the S4 based on my butt dyno - so sure, ride the clutch and you will burn it out, but full throttle acceleration won't do any harm at all :D

Had a go with roof today. I should have been more methodical and actually tested it first but I dived straight for the motor. The motor is fine, commutator fairly clean, little of brush wear particles, brushes moving freely and plenty of meat left on them so just put a bit of fresh grease on bearing ad re-assembled. Time for test, surely enough I can hear motor working and roof opens half way then stops. Got the VCDS out, roof ECU full of error codes, cleared codes, 1 returned indicating implausible signal from roof compartment lid right latch microswitch. Lowered the roof manually wiggled around wiring on microswitches a bit, reset fault codes again, this time fault code did not come back. Closed roof, worked fine, just to be sure did adaption on channel 1 to be sure it learns correct values. Opened and closed it a couple of times, works fine so far so fingers crossed.

Next on the list AC. VCDS shows low pressure among other faults. Sensor reads 1 bar, VCDS says it should be between 2.6 and 29 bar, if I remember correctly it should normally be 4-8bar with engine off. Pressure sensor fault is quite common on this era of Audis but when they go faulty they give error for too high pressure and show 40 bar in measuring values. So it looks like gas has escaped and will need filling/testing for leaks.

Good news on the roof, 100% the motor was the original issue, so opening it up must have been enough to free the bushes! Hope it stays working, I like an easy fix! :)

I am pretty sure there was nothing wrong with the motor, I did not test it before taking off so cannot say for 100%. It had hardly any wear on the brushes and I would not be surprised if it has been replaced in the past. The brushes were moving freely and there was hardly any wear dust that could have reduced brush movement.

The sliding cover on the same right side where it was showing implausible switch error is broken and not closing so I think something may have been caught in mechanism on that side and disturbed switch/wiring.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1533394900

Check the big box of invoices - no mention of a roof motor that I could see.

That cover does clip back in, not sure how or when (possibly before my time) but think one of the tabs is missing meaning it shifts out of it's runner sometimes.

I ran a VCDS readiness test on the roof, all was showing okay switch wise. I guess that the dead battery may have had an effect on that.

But in any case, sorted now +++

As you say the important thing is that roof works now and it did not cost me anything other than my time. I am still a bit worried it might throw a fault at some point as you are pretty sure it was motor but I think it was latch microswitch. Weak battery might have played part as well if the roof was operated with the engine not running and voltage dropped under load and motor draw too many amps.

There are several reason I think motor or in fact the whole pump has been replaced some time in the past. I already mentioned that motor looks very fresh inside but it could be due to roof being used very little not because it was replaced. Other clues are oil under pump and it's old dried up sticky oil not fresh leaks so I think it's the oil that escaped from hoses when replacing pump and not cleaned up. The last one is 'Approved' sticker on the pump which I think might mean approved warranty claim replacement. :Confused:

The sliding flap does have at least one tab/pin broken, I can get it partially closed but not fully. It's best just to replace it. New one from dealer £86 but I have sent messages for several sellers breaking A4 Cabriolets for parts on e-bay for a price quote.

All the garages are closed on Sunday so I went to Halfords for their free AC check. Does not seem like they now what they are doing. Opened bonnet, they had a look said they cannot do anything and I need to go to garage. I asked why - they could not find ports. I showed them where they are, they connected bottle with the gauge, it showed 0 pressure in system so advised that system is completely empty and while they can charge it for £50 it could all escape very soon and stop working again. I decided to try my luck. So they started filling it but when pausing filling it would still show 0 pressure in system so he advised to stop filling as it looks like there is a big leak and whatever he fills in escapes straight away and did not charge me anything. Went home checked pressure again on VCDS, it now shows 4 bar instead of 1 so it does not escape as soon as fast as being filled in. +++ If fact now it has enough pressure to start AC but not enough to provide any meaningful cooling. Will check pressure again tomorrow again to se iff it is dropping and how much also it is hard to judge part filled system as the pressure will change considerably depending on ambient temp.

Isn’t it normal to vacuum evacuate the system and see if it holds!? It does sound like they were lacking clue, but hopefully a second cheap fix for you too +++

Yes that would be normal procedure but garages were closed on Sunday and Halfords shops only do filling from a DIY kind of kit from a small bottle.



Anyway dropped car 8am Monday morning at local garage and collected Tuesday morning 8am. They checked all lines, joints and parts that are accessible for signs of UV dye leak, did not find any so either no leaks in any visible places or no dye has been added in previous fill ups. Then did extended time nitrogen pressure test, then vacuum test and after finding no leaks finally charged it up also adding UV dye to make easier to find any leaks in future. Wallet is £64.80 lighter but S4 now has fully working AC.+++ I know I could have had it re-charged cheaper especially with Groupon coupons but these days I have no time to mess a around, wait for booking and drive the distance so for the £30 or so quid I could have saved I chose to save my time.




Saturday night when wife and kids returned from holiday she said she was not impressed with my purchase and said I have wasted money for old 'junk', calmed down a bit when I explained that I got it at reasonable price with a look at selling it at higher price and enjoying car in process for a while and have already fixed biggest flaw - the non working roof. Somehow Sunday she could not wait to get behind wheel and later to go round friend houses to show off. :ROFL: She was also disappointed Monday morning that I have taken car to garage and she could not drive it to work. :( She took it to work this morning and was picking up colleague who's car had starter motor broken down so I suggested she should seize the opportunity plug it for sale. :) The answer was : "Sell A6, I want to keep this!". :ROFL: She's becoming addicted to the sound of Mliltek.

Second cheap fix +++ The noise is addictive for sure, I am glad that it is growing on her :ROFL:

I was going to start a new thread about it but for the sake of continuity I think I will just continue here.

Not so sure about the second cheap fix; I have not tested pressures but it seems like AC already is not as cool as it was after recharging. :( A least garage put UV dye in so if it is leaking it should be easier to find a leaks if there are any.

The trim bit with sliding cover was hard to find with any breakers either not responding, saying that they do not have it or that they have sold complete interior or it being wrong colour, i finally got it for £40, not cheap but better than £86 from dealer.

Also replaced adjustable height roof compartment in boot as it was broken beyond repair. Got replacement for £30+5.99P&P which was a great price considering dealer price is £450+ but it was not without it's problems. In the end I made one out of 2 and a bit of glue that actually works , looks the part and does not rattle.+++

Attacked deteriorated headlight covers sanding them down and re-coating with UV protective lacquer. +++ Looks a million bucks better.

Also spent a lot of time on roof. It was not looking bad , just not black enough but it had some moss/lichen in it. I washed it with cleaner, sponge and brush first, looked a lot better first while wet but a lot worse when dried out as mildly soiled areas cleaned up well but others stood out more. Next step pressure whasher, that got rid of most of green stuff, then copper sulphide solution to kill any remaining moss lichen and the a coat of Fabsil water repellent. 2 weeks later any remaining discoloured bits have one and water just rolls off.

Started cleaning leather seats. They did not look too bad to start with but leather were hard and was getting got worse as I was cleaning it. Rears where not too bad but fronts seems to be possibly covered with some kind of sealant in the past which has soaked up lot of dirt. Rears cleaned up fine with Woolite but for the fronts Woolite was removing some stuff but not other so they became more patchy and worse looking. Next step much more intense citrus+alkaline cleaner which did decent job but made already dry and hard leather even dryer and harder. Several coats of conditioner + red dye they are coming up pretty good but just keep up soaking conditioner so will need couple of more goes.

Also replaced battery cove( did I mention Paul put in new battery in the morning I collected? +++) , this is cheap from dealer @ ~£8.50 but I just bought one online for £12.50 with delivery to save time and fuel going to dealers.

Valve cover gaskets were delayed in post from Germany but finally got them yesterday and hopefully will replace them tomorrow which should eliminate oil from leaking on exhaust manifolds and causing dreadful stench.

After that it should be pretty much sorted apart from rust on front wings and shone chips. I have put a sale price in window of £4395 to attract potential buyers but have not advertised it anywhere as I want to sort the leather and valve cover gaskets first.

So far I have had 2 interested persons to bu it but no serious bites.

The way it is now I have advertised it for £4395, this will include both front wing rub down, rust repair, repaint and do the front bumper at the same time as well as it's got a lot of stone chip damage. Or £4k as is or £4.8k with new wings + bumper repainting.

I guess Ian is releaved I won it and saved him a lot of graft.:ROFL:

If anybody from forum is interested I am open do discussion but would not deviate much from my £4k/£4.4K/£4.8k price points mentioned earlier

Other than that car has been absolute blast. I guess season is over now and I will not sell it cheaply so will probably enjoy it till spring when convertible market picks up. While it is almost 200kg heavier than saloon equivalent do to extra steel they have put it floor the centre of gravity is much lower so it corner very well and flat.

If I do keep it till spring I am worried I will kill tyres by then and will need to fit another set, they already are showing wear on edges which was not there when I picked it up.

As far as fuel consumption goes it did 28.9mpg on DIS on the run home from Manchester mostly in slow traffic 40-50mph without muchh start /stops. But the local blast brought it down to 12 mpg, while not as good as S8 with 14-16mpg but lot more fun going flat around corners.

Sounds like a lot of work, but also sounds very good! I wish I had the time!!!

If you are scrubbing the tyres then I am guessing you are enjoying it :ROFL:

Maybe I will buy it back next year, with new tyres on +++

Well, as one of the interested parties I'd have to say at that money I'd be looking elsewhere....

On an open auction it fetched a whisker over 3k, and it was a really great advert. The only item on the advert that has been fixed is the roof, but now it seems the AC may turn into something more costly, negating most of the increase in value from the roof fix.

It's also got another owner on the log book and more crucially you've not had it long which means the handfull of folks looking for an S4, and are willing to buy a high miler will run away presuming it's got hidden engine issues.

In short, I think you should hang on to it. The seasons actually don't make much difference to convertible sales in my experience.

I appreciate IT's comment but my prices were for everything else sorted including AC, just leaving 3 choices on front wing rust.

As far as I ca see convertible market has slowed down and prices gone down so I will probably keep it until spring.

Had another chat witht garage about AC, they suggested 3 options, put a sealant in the system as they could not see any leaks, fill it with hydrocarbon replacement gas instead of R134a which should slow down leaks they are bigger molecules or they could investigate leaks at evaporator as they cannot see any leaks elsewhere. That's 30+ hrs of labour @£40+Vat just to have a look @ evaporator.:(

I have had some more fun with the car and it goes beautifully around the corner with the extra weight down low and in the middle of car for floor strengthening. Much better in corners , flatter and less understeer than 3.0 TDI regular A4.

I never had convertible before and it was something I always wanted to try consided MX5, TT and A4 TDI before but I have to say that convertibles are not for me. Too much sun at low spoed and too much wind at high speed, I mean I should have known considering I don't like windows or sunroof open on regular cars when driving, I don't like glass sunroofs and absolutely hate panoramic sunroofs. I understand that I don't exactly help to sell this car here but I am being honest and I do not see myself buying another convertible any time soon. But I do enjoy low centre of gravity and less of front weight bias on the S4 Cab.

Is that a typo or is there something extraordinarily complicated about the cabrio?

Evaporator could well be dash out to get access to climate box ?.... Eeeeek.

Totally agree on the low center of gravity handling. It's superb.

The wind deflector makes a massive difference to the wind, but I seem to think that car had one so still too windy ?

It did not have wind deflector, and you cannot use it with kids in the back seat anyway :(