Upgrading the Daily - '10-'14 S4, '10-'13 C63 AMG, or something completely different
 

I am looking to replace my daily and I've been stuck on the 2010-2013 Audi S4 (6sp) for a while now. It seems to do the snow well (with the right tires) can be upgraded easily to make more power, gets alright MPG, makes me look like an adult, and would hold my stuff and friends if I needed to use it instead of the significant others truck. The cars can be had with 60k miles on the 2010 range for about 20k give or take and go up to about 30k for the 2013-14 range. To mess up my well thought out plan, I recently spoke with a friend and they mentioned the C63 and it piqued my interest. The older ones had issues with the head studs, but it seems the 2010+ have been fixed. Other than getting horrible gas mileage and going through rear tires at a voracious pace, they seem to be decently reliable. I would have to pick up a set of snow tires for sure in this case instead of probably getting by with all seasons in the S4.To preface all of this, I have my own garage and would be able to repair pretty much anything, but my time is valuable, and I'd rather be driving than having to constantly fix everything that breaks.

My question is: Out of these two cars, what would you do? Is there another car that provides the same amount of performance and cache for $20-35k that i haven't thought of? I know the other car in this range would be the M3, but for whatever reason, it really doesn't do anything for me. Maybe another test-drive would help, but i've all but written it off at this point.

Between the two I would choose the C63 because of that glorious v8. Some other options would be a 2nd Gen CTS-V, Chevy SS, 3rd Gen CTS V sport, ISF, and for maybe $6k more you could pick up a ATS-V in the low $40s. Just a thought :) Happy Huntings

I'd test drive another M3, but I'm biased.

Just a point of reference, two of my friends had prior-gen S4s (the V8 one) and none of us were that impressed (shifter/clutch feel sucked, understeery handling, not that fast). One of them now has an E90 M3 (as do I) and is much, much happier. The S4 is more of a 335i competitor. Both of our M3s have been reliable, although the gas mileage is pretty miserable.

Also, it looks like you'd prefer a manual - the C63 is auto-only. Although much quicker than the S4 and they sound great.

C63 AMG

And where do you live?

I had a Stasis tuned '12 S4 and enjoyed the hell out of it. The C63 is really nice as well. Can't really go wrong with either, though I'd pick a C63 over a stock S4 for the same money.

Main reason I got a '14 s5 over a c63 was pricing, the s5s were cheaper in my area, and s5s actually came in 6spd. You can get decent power from various chips and tunes, somewhere around 60-90whp depending. The supercharger wine is decent when you install an intake.

My s5 has a rev limiting feature if traction control is turned off, this makes launching much easier, if you're into that sort of thing. But a lot of newer sports cars on the road could destroy my stock (as of now) s5, so be prepared for that if penis size matters to you.

C63 for the V8

S4 with minor mods and 6spd will be a riot too though, but it def pushes more at corner entries, which is personally a turn-off despite the car's ability to rocket out of corner exits with that AWD traction

I say you can't lose with either. If you will drive in snow a lot perhaps AWD will be a better choice at the end since the C63 seems to have trouble putting down power even on dry pavements (it's part of its charm but maybe not when you're actually trying to get somewhere in the snow)

I'd pick the C63 out of your two, but for the same money would look in an Jaguar XF R. Supercharged V8, 500+ hp, nicer interior, and way better steering feel than either the MB or Audi. I would pick solely on driving dynamics that is important to you. Drive one and say I am wrong.

https://www.cstatic-images.com/super...3da0a0ba96.jpg

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...9858/overview/

Thanks for the input, 35k would be the absolute max I'd be looking to spend on this, but I hadn't considered the CTS-V from either generation. Are they at the bottom of their depreciation curve?

Yeah, the earlier gen S4 was not a performer, but that V8 sounded really nice! I will have to give the M3 another chance. Do you have any experience with the bearing issues with the motors? Any of your friends have problems? I would go for manual if its an option and from what i've read, the dual clutch in the s4 has had a bunch of issues that i'd prefer to not worry about. I drove a C63 in anger on a track, and while it didn't compare to the lithe feel of an s2k, it felt very solid and pretty fast.

I live in NJ and would need to use the car to get to work, even if it snows.

Did you have any issues with the s4? manual? What kind of additional power did the Stasis tune add?

Yeah, the S4 and S5s are definitely cheaper in my area too (nj) and with the 3.0 motor and just a tune, you can unlock a lot of additional power! Will you get a tune?

Thanks for the insight. I wonder if the understeer can be dialed out with a sway bar? It would make sense considering the position of the motor. The S4 would make a lot more sense for the 2-3 months of snow that we get in the north east, but I made do with a 450whp s2000 in the snow, so it can be done.
Very interesting. I'll have to give that a look! I take it, that it's the 5.0 found in the land rovers?

The bearing issue is not uncommon, but also not a dealbreaker IMO. The unfortunate thing is it seems unrelated to model years (they changed bearing materials, but all of them have the issue), mileage, usage, etc. and oil analysis doesn't really do any good. But you can still get aftermarket warranties (what I did) or just replace them with BE bearings, which have increased bearing clearance (believed to be the root cause) for about $2k incl. labor. That's what I plan to do when my warranty is up, although that won't be til 102k/2021.

Other than that and throttle actuators (about $1k each and there are two of them, commonly fail around 50k), they are pretty solid. Got my actuators replaced under emissions warranty and otherwise it's been trouble-free in the 17 months and 10k I've had it, including a trackday. Gas mileage does suck though! Worse than the E39 M5 I had.

E9x M3 production was 44% manual in the U.S., although over 50% if you're going for the sedan. DCT is great, but I'm a manual die-hard. After adding the knob from the F10 M5, mine shifts well - certainly no S2k, but not bad. Thought about an SSK but may leave it as-is - it's good enough.