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Hello Fred, Discounts are fine, but the all important aspect is how competitive the premium is before any discount is taken off. As with many others, I have alway run my renewal quote through the comparison websites to actually see how competitive it is. Regards, Gareth.

Congratulations Tim on the purchase of your superb new car. Enjoy it ! Also for your entertaining and descriptive post. Pleased it all went well. I too , like Ron, have also used DrivetheDeal once before. I have nothing but praise for them as I bought my first Q8 through them and they pointed me to the way of Audi Bury St.Edmunds where I bought my second Q8 and this present car. So Tim , take it easy for the first 1000 miles or so and then give it a blast somewhere.....and smile ! I was in mine with my Missus this afternoon and quite gently going round a roundabout before I took a turning off which goes up a quite steep incline to the town of Romsey. It was a dual carriageway and quiet so I switched the car into the dynamic setting, the valves opened, steering and suspension firmed up, the exhaust crackled and I gave it a blast and I'm still smiling now ! There's still a little bit of a boy racer in me, even at the age of 78 years and I cannot wait till we depart for Deutschland in October and play with our German brethren on the unrestricted part of the autobahn network. Tim, it looks as though you have specced the car very well as it's almost identical to mine minus the adaptive dampers. And I only specced those as I was coming out of a Q8 with air suspension. Finally, I know you mentioned that the car is in Mythos Black and can be difficult to keep clean. Not sure if you have already gone down that route with previous cars but have you thought about a ceramic coat for yours ? I first had one applied to my first Q8 and was so impressed, had the second Q8 coated and now my S5 Avant. Worth ever penny in my book. So, enjoy the car and keep in touch. Frank

@westwardbound Congratulations on the new car. I've used drivethedeal twice before, first time as you say dealers couldn't get anywhere near the price, 2nd time I had quit out the agreement due to ongoing delays ( not dealers fault - manufacturer kept changing the build date ). I have nothing but praise for drivethedeal. If you ever get the chance to try, I have a couple of questions about the software setup on the new 2026 model with tech pack if that's ok? When you go in to sound settings, do you still have just Treble / Bass slide bars or have Audi finally got round to providing equaliser settings that can also control the mid-range? ( i.e. sound settings will now resemble a graphic equaliser ) Not sure if anyone with the 2025 software has the same sound issues, but when I'm using DAB radio, and I'm scrolling to the next station ( using arrow keys on steering wheel ), regardless of what volume setting I'm on, the next radio station will play at that volume for a few secs, then the sound starts to fade away. A minor issue, but it's soooooo annoying. I'm pretty sure it has to be a little software bug on my MY. Do you experience the same on MY2026? Does your car default to Android Auto every time you start the car? I believe the system should default to whatever media was last used when the engine is switched off ( that's how all my other VW and Skoda cars worked and it's how Audi says it should ), but each time I get in to the car, my 2025 system defaults to Android Auto. I've used every option under the sun not to auto fire up Android Auto but to no avail. When I switch the car off, it 's on the 'Home' screen, i.e. on my car it has Google photo map + built in Spotify app displayed. When the engine is started again, that built in Spotify app starts playing, but it the Android Auto app + Android Auto spotify app, (which is different from the built in Spotify app). In other words, the car ends up playing music whilst the MMi displays different music. I keep having to hit the home button every time I drive off. You'd think 'Home' would be the default! Meanwhile,the headup display is showing the correct music from the spotify app. I'm sure they made a right mess of MY2025 software. And speaking of Android auto... If I do use Android-Auto and I switch off the engine one of three things will happen at random - there's no consistency to this... a: Nothing. I just get out the car as normal and walk away. Or... b. Android Auto will continue playing music whisper quiet thru my phone speakers. It can be many hours before I realise the app is still running. Or... c. Android Auto will continue playing music at max volume thru my phone speakers, which almost gives me a heart attack. The major software bugs on MY2025 are well documented, but there's a whole list of minor software annoyances. Just wondering if MY2026 tackles any of this? It all worked perfectly in my previous Skodas. We also have a Toyota, It all works perfectly in the Toyota.

Hi, my renewal is next month & was just wondering if any companies offer a discount for being a premium member? Thanks.

With thanks to all on this thread for sharing their thoughts and experiences, but particularly to Frank for his engaging and descriptive posts, I have taken the plunge and bought a new S5. I collected it yesterday so this is a short note focused on my car history and the S5 buying process rather than a detailed review. My recent cars have been estates and SUVs: Skoda Octavia VRS (2L turbodiesel); Audi S4 Avant (3L petrol); Mercedes GLC AMG 43; and my current car a 2022 Subaru Outback. The GLC taught me that I prefer an estate to an SUV, and as much as I admire the Outback for its efficiency, ruggedness and sheer “go anywhere in any weather” nature, the performance is a little benign even for a very recent retiree. So my new car is an S5 Avant Black Edition with Tech Pack and red brake calipers in Mythos Black metallic with the black interior. As a post-Build Week 2/26 car it comes with the mid-model-year factory updates including the revised multifunction steering wheel with physical/tactile buttons and scroll wheel replacing the gloss-black haptic touch sliders; the updated chassis and software calibration featuring the rear-biased Dynamic+ Mode; and the updated driver assistance packages, including Adaptive Cruise Assist Pro with assisted lane changes. Happy to comment further on these changes if there is interest once I have fathomed them out! I bought the car brand new through the drivethedeal brokerage with a significant discount; it was listed on their website as a “Special Deal” which usually means there is only one car or a handful of cars available at the price. It clearly benefited not only from the Audi Finance contribution but also from favourable end Q2 support. Happy to share the price if anyone is interested (it was publically available on the drivethedeal website). I offered my local dealer the opportunity to match it to be told that they could not get within £8K. The car isn’t my ideal spec - I would have liked the clever glass roof and adaptive suspension but there were no Vorsprung available with similar financial incentives. And I know metallic black is a difficult colour to look after, but again that was the only colour available on an Avant with this discount. Beyond the initial contact, all my dealings including finance and payment were made direct with the supplying Audi main dealer. I don’t think I can name them, but they were extremely professional both before and during collection, and gave me the full handover experience including a reveal and detailed walkthrough of the car. I then drove 230 miles home on a range of roads. My very initial thoughts echo everything I have read here: very nice drive; feels like lots of power (I haven’t ventured there yet given a running in period), more compliant then expected ride; and lots and lots and lots (!) of tech to learn! Whilst significantly shorter than the Outback, with mirrors folded the S5 is slightly wider - which I will need to become comfortable with very quickly as my narrow allocated parking space is between two walls! I think the camera/parking aids will help here. So my Outback goes to its new owner on Friday and I will focus on learning and enjoying the S5. I plan to offer further thoughts on the forum as I gain more understanding of the car, and really look forward to reading your continued contributions.

As a new member does anyone know, and have experience of a B5 RS4 Specialist in the north east of England? I'm aware of Unit 20, but they are across near Liverpool and it would be useful if there is someone closer?

I think its going to be a long time untill its running, the new ecu has gone missing and demon tweeks are useless, i would never buy anything from them ever again. I was going to get everything needed to finish it off from them.

Not of any interest to anyone?

VCDS will pinpoint. Generally speaking, usually glovebox out to locate motor. Anyway cross that bridge once you get it scanned.

There's a fair chance one or more of the air duct flaps are not working. Motor or linkage failure is common.

Salut ai mai rezolvat problema am si eu fix Asa problema mersi mult

Hi, wonder if anyone can shed some light on this as my local dealer is not sure and doesn't want to start taking apart the dashboard unnecessarily. I've noticed in the winter months on longer journeys when the engine is up at higher temperature the climate controlled heating just gives up blowing and I start to feel a draft, etc.. In the summer months the same applies to cooling and the blower just stops delivering the cold air to keep the cabin at setpoint. When it does this I generally note that cold air is still delivered to the rear passenger vent in the back of the armrest but nothing from the front vents. Putting on AC max results in a lot of noise from inside the dash over to the left around the glove compartment. However, turning off AC immediately starts to release more air through the front vents and then, after a few minutes of restored air, turning the AC back on starts to chill the air again, though not as chilled as when starting the car from fresh. Is this the AC compressor at fault, blower motor, blend valve(s) or perhaps even some sensors somewhere? The only fault code the dealer has managed to extract from the ECU related to icing up on the AC compressor? I have had the refrigerant recharged recently which the AC service agent said wasn't significantly low on gas.

It needs to be done using a decent code reader & diagnostic machine. If you don't have access to one, most garages and battery suppliers will be able to do it for you.

Yeah I will just change everything, from what I can see it look like it might be coming from the plastic flange bit that connects to the egr cooler, I think there is another plastic piece behind that aswell (back towards the inside of the car ) but not sure what that's called

Loads of stripping down therefore it would be wise to replace everything down there, you won't want to do it twice, also you will need to adhere to any torque settings for bolts. Steve.

Thanks guys, how do I get the battery coded to the car please??

No it doesn't in look like a nice job, yes it could be that, I think it might be a good idea to also change the other plastic parts in the coolant system down there

Hi probably the oil cooler, not a nice job. Steve.

Thanks Steve, having had more of a closer look it does look like I also have coolant inside the v. So now need to find out what is leaking in there .

Hi I think you have solved it yourself as a broken bolt won't maintain uniform pressure on the gasket therefore water will escape. Steve.

Hi its obviously in its early stages, the reason it is slipping in higher gears is because of the torque load in higher gears, it used to be the old way of testing the clutch, find a nice hill and change up to early floor the throttle and if the clutch was good the engine would labour, if not it revved up, I would get it checked ASAP as when the clutch slips it creates a phenomenal increase in gearbox temps and cooks the rear crank seal which is a whole different story, having had it happen to me I can say its not a good day out. Steve.

Don. If you can smell the coolant it must be escaping somewhere, though at a mere 1500 miles per year the loss may be so small that you don't get a warning before the garage tops it up during annual servicing.

Thanks for the information which suggests that the old caliper was indeed at fault, even if nothing was visibly wrong with it.

The more you drive a slipping clutch, the worse it will get, causing high fuel consumption, and eventually the car will not move. Do you have good breakdown insurance?

The stop/start system may be present in your car, but if the battery is defective it won't work. As Steve said, find out if the system is installed. Whatever type of battery you fit ensure it is coded to the car.