RS4 Sedan and Avant delivery dates slipping

[tailpipe]

I have now heard that UK deliveries for the RS4 Sedan will not commence until December 2005 and that deliveries for the Avant will not start until July/ August 2006. Does anybody have any updates on this? I am mightily disappointed by this delay.

Work is continuing on the new B8 chassis which will see its first incarnation as the A4 coupe, arriving at Paris in 2006. I just hope RS4 deliveries will start before the B8 A4 arrives.

[Benman]

Originally posted by tailpipe
I have now heard that UK deliveries for the RS4 Sedan will not commence until December 2005 and that deliveries for the Avant will not start until July/ August 2006. Does anybody have any updates on this? I am mightily disappointed by this delay.

Nothing really updated per se, but what I posted a few months ago is the case it would seem. There are alot of folks here in the States that are expecting May deliveries that will also be disapointed.

quattro GmbH is a small company with a big work load. Doesn't add up to timely deliveries...

Ben:addict:

[Audihead]

Originally posted by Benman
There are alot of folks here in the States that are expecting May deliveries that will also be disapointed.Ben:addict:

So what is the time frame we are looking at now?

:rs4addict

[Benman]

Originally posted by Audihead
So what is the time frame we are looking at now?

:rs4addict
Same as I was told four months ago. 3rd quarter of 2006 for the sedan (read July/August) and 1st quarter (read February/March) of 2007 for the Avant (IF it makes it stateside).

Remember, these are just guesstimates from people who actually work at quattro GmbH (and not sales people), so they are not etched in stone and can always change (hopefully for the better). However, they seem realistic. Sorry if this sounds like bad news.

Ben:addict:

[Audihead]

Yes it sounds like bad news. I was hoping for the original schedule: Jan. Ordering Guide, Feb 24th Start Shipping, March 24th Release from port, 2nd or 3rd week of April delivery. This really blows. If this is true, they really know how to kill enthusiasm. Does anyone at Audi or Quattro GMBH know how schedule and market things. It's bad enough we are getting a watered down content in these vehicles, now we can't get them on time. Before anyone goes off on me about the content, i understand USDOT regulations, but why can the Lambo have a flat wheel and not an Audi. Why can't we get the push start and leave the cup holders the way they were in the B6. AS far as the seats, come on. Make the buyers sign a legal waiver to get that option. Damn i'm getting pissed and off topic, but i just can't help it.:w:

[tailpipe]

Audihead,

You are so right. They've created massive demand with the new RS4 and are really annoying people (expletive deleted) by not only delaying delivery but also changing the spec.

As I said elsewhere, they need to be careful otherwise the B8 will be here before the RS4.

[RXBG]

you see, i had a premonition about this very thing happening after what i found out in geneva (and since then). i was probably the most pissed off and angry person in the world when i heard about the US spec changes. because of where i was in life i was ready for a new car and could in no way be waiting one year.

this is why i ordered my 06 S4 (which i will pick up in 2 weeks) and set my sights on the R9. i would have gotten my RS4 just a few months before the world debut of the R9 (late 2006). i expect the R9 to be on sale in the US in mid 2007- less than 2 yrs away.

it is an exciting time to love audis but it can be heartbreaking too. they are/will be producing some beautiful and fast machines spaced so achingly and painfully far apart.... yet so close

[Rstr]

Where do ppl get this info -- for US anyway? My dealer says early spring 2006.
Do you folks know something my dealer doesn't?

[Audihead]

Originally posted by Rstr
Where do ppl get this info -- for US anyway? My dealer says early spring 2006.
Do you folks know something my dealer doesn't?

Early spring was supposed to be the time, around the middle of April. Now it looks like with the delay in Europe, we will be delayed also. Europe was supposed to start getting the cars in October, the U.S. 6-8 months later. We shall see, Audi can't afford to keep doing this to people, de-contented cars and delayed introduction dates. This is the kind of thing that chases customers away to other high-performance rivals.:doh:

[Benman]

Originally posted by Audihead
I was hoping for the original schedule: Jan. Ordering Guide, Feb 24th Start Shipping, March 24th Release from port, 2nd or 3rd week of April delivery.

Before anyone goes off on me about the content, i understand USDOT regulations, but ...
"Original" schedule was something the marketing guys said, not the workers at the actual factory.

And I won't go off on you, because I COMPLETELY agree with you! What do you think it was like for all of us RS 6 buyers? How quickly some forget. It was the EXACT same thing. Dealers saying this, dealers saying that. The car would cost this, now car will cost that...etc. SAME story people. Ask ANY of the guys in the States here who WERE on the waiting list, and they'll back up what I say. We ALL thought the RS 6 was coming MONTHS before it finally did, and WITH equipment that it DIDN'T!:cry:


Originally posted by RXBG
i expect the R9 to be on sale in the US in mid 2007- less than 2 yrs away.
That's funny.:hihi: You think the delays were ONLY for the RS 6 and the RS 4? Don't expect the R9 in the States anytime before early 2008.

When at quattro GmbH, I was invited back next year to check out the R9. When I asked when a good time was, they suggested LATE in the year as they will be getting close to the production version by then. Better yet, if I go in EARLY 2007 when finished models will be available but not on the market. Now if they won't even have R9s in Europe by Jan/Feb 2007, then what snowball's chance in Gehena do us Yanks have of seeing one in "mid" 2007? Not a good one, that's for sure.

Please remember, this is a classic example of a Boss promising the world to a client, and then when he walks out back to inform the workers of their new "quota", they all look at each other and think, "what the HECK is he smoking!:eye: :vhmmm: Such is life.

Ben:addict: :rs4addict

[Finnus]

We ALL thought the RS 6 was coming MONTHS before it finally did, and WITH equipment that it DIDN'T!

Ben,

I agree 100%. And don't forget that when they first announced it, the dealers were saying $60-70,000 USD!!! Base price was $82,700 before options, etc.

Finnus
:addict:

PS Don't get me wrong. It was worth the wait (as I'm certain the RS4 will be) and I'm very pleased with the Beast ... Audi just has to do a beter job of planning and communicating.

:addict: :addict: :addict:

[Benman]

Originally posted by Finnus

PS Don't get me wrong. It was worth the wait (as I'm certain the RS4 will be) and I'm very pleased with the Beast ... Audi just has to do a beter job of planning and communicating.

:addict: :addict: :addict:
And I agree 100% with that! In the end, the car has really been worth it, and I wouldn't see myself trading it for any other. Some like HyOctane have not had the ownership experience they should have (which sucks to say the least) but most of us really enjoy the car despite all the delays and ahem...:deal: price difference.

Should be the same story for those on board for the RS 4. It IS a really great car that impressed me to NO end.:bigeyes: :rs4addict

Ben:addict:

[RXBG]

i do expect it to go on sale here in the US in the latter half of CY 2007 as a 2008 model. but the impact of the wait is softened by the fact that i'll have a beautiful, loaded 2006 S4 to keep me happy until then.

however, when i spoke to a chief RS4 engineer in geneva i was told that the R9 will not be built by GmBH directly. by end 2007 GmBH will have expanded and have supervisory input with the factory, allowing more RS models to be built quickly somehow- maybe by incorporating the main factory's resources. the R9 will have it's own factory prod line- and not in GmBH. this is why the R9 will come out just ahead of the new RS6 and not delay the RS6 production.

driving my new car from sept 2005 to sept-dec 2007 is not bad.

BTW- did you happen to chat with anyone over at GmBH about the new 40:60 diff? over on AW there is a militant prevailing position that it is a negligible change in the new manual S4 and that you wouldn't feel it's effects except at the limit. it doesn't make sense to me that audi would put a new diff in a car if it's benefits and effects would be felt only at the limit- how many people track their cars? i say you'd be able to feel it's effects even in moderate driving scenarios.

[tailpipe]

My understanding is that new diff split improves steering and turn-in responsiveness by a small but noticeable degree. Slight loss of traction on very slippery surfaces, yes loss, but overall feel much more like a BMW, i.e. you feel more connected with the car. When traction becomes a real issue torque quickly sent to front wheels so safety never an issue. End result more dynamic handling neutral to mild oversteer rather than persistant understeer. That's what I've been told, anyway. Believing is driving. Can't wait.

[RXBG]

tailpipe- did you buy a new S4 as well? i would like to her what others think about the new differential as well.

[Benman]

Originally posted by RXBG
1:but the impact of the wait is softened by the fact that i'll have a beautiful, loaded 2006 S4 to keep me happy until then.

2:however, when i spoke to a chief RS4 engineer in geneva i was told that the R9 will not be built by GmBH directly.
driving my new car from sept 2005 to sept-dec 2007 is not bad.

3:BTW- did you happen to chat with anyone over at GmBH about the new 40:60 diff?
1: Agree, nothing like a FINE ride to tide you over...:D

2:Technically, NONE of the RS cars are "built" by quattro GmbH. It is more of a "final inspection" as the brakes, suspesions, DRC, etc... are checked only wheels and bumbers being put on (when I was there the first time for the RS 6, back then, THEY installed the DRC, but now Audi does it, and they just fill it).

Don't get me wrong. Way more attention is shown to RS models then "ordinary" Audis and are ALL inspected and driven for quality control. But just remember that quattro receives a 95% completed Audi, then puts the finishing touches on it. So in that regard, NOTHING will be different for the R9/RS9. Same process.

3: Tailpipes explaination is a good one. You really WON'T feel much of a difference until at or near the limit. Afterall, if I drive like a grandma, my RS 6 seems VERY similar to (a stiffer version of) my uncle's A6 2.7T, that is... until you get to the backroads...:hahahehe: :bye: :bye2:

Ben:addict: