Current state of S2 market

[naim22]

Why are S2's so pricey (& who is buying them)?

The RS2 I somewhat understand (even if not the crazy money!), it's limited run & is one of very few performance cars to be made (& badged) by two manufacturers. Likewise the original quattro will always be the rallying legend.

The S2 however makes zero sense at the money they are now, it never rallied in the same way, its not massively rare or particularly well known & the presence of the TTRS & RS3 mean the most distinctive & best feature of the S2 hasn't been exclusive to it for some years now IMO.

The prices of the TTRS & RS3 mean its not that much more to get one over an S2.
To get an S2 in good condition & low mileage may even require TTRS/RS3 money completely.

case in point:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audi-RS3-2...MAAOSwgY9XemQW

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1994-Audi-...EAAOSwA4pZbNep

At 5K they made sense, at 13K I'm lost I'm afraid

[jubjub]

Always interesting to see what actually sells in relation to asking prices....
But c'mon, £5k... thats a bit insulting to think they should be that price. Its a modern day classic, and when you look at other cars of the era,and most classics have risen in price.

Prepared to get shot down in flames, but id stick my finger in the air and say the S2 is more than half the car an RS2 is... with a couple tweeks performance wise its not far off it.

Lets not forget, if there was no S2, there would have been no RS2, so its got provenance/a relation to it...and you can't take that away....

[Error404]

Get your flame suit on!

Bottom line, all cars are only worth what people want to pay for them. S2s are very rare now and speculation is driving prices IMHO.

[jubjub]

Get your flame suit on!

Bottom line, all cars are only worth what people want to pay for them. S2s are very rare now and speculation is driving prices IMHO.

Speculation indeed... there was a time you could have bought an Intergrale for S2 money, or a Porsche 968/944 turbo/s2, which have risen markedly ... S2 is their equal /have parity IMO

[naim22]

Do people think it is just a product of old cars in general & their prices in general?

It's not that I don't like the S2 (in fact I rate it very highly) I just feel there comes a point where logic should prevail. I do however get that Audi went through a bit of a poor patch post S2 & only really returned to form with the B7 RS4 & TTRS/RS3 IMO. Why they ever ditched the 5 cylinder only to bring it back I'll never know...

Even as an RS2 owner I still feel the prices on those are eyewatering these days

I do agree that performance wise the RS2 offers little over a modded S2 however I believe that the bulk of the value in an RS2 lies in its connection with Porsche, its limited numbers & the fact it's performance is 'out of the box'. The S2 cannot offer those things.

Old 911s are even worse for this, a basic 993 costs more than a sorted 996 Turbo.
I don't think Audi is quite there yet, but it feels as if its certainly headed that way.

[mcandmar]

I wouldn't swap my S2 for a TTRS or RS3

[naim22]

I wouldn't swap my S2 for a TTRS or RS3

Out of interest, why?

Depending on whether you own an Avant or Coupe, either one is the successor IMO
Only much more powerful and still keeps all of the key S2 characteristics.

[ride0238]

Living here in the US, we did not get the S2. Its looks are fabulous with all wheel drive and 220 or 230 HP makes the car special. I see the prices only going higher. They are able to be imported to America now that they have turned 25 years old. I just bought one from Spain and I can't wait to get it. I wish Audi had sent them to America.

A lot of people in America turn their CQ into S2 clones, so I think the value is just going to continue to rise.

[blackS2]

Out of interest, why?

Depending on whether you own an Avant or Coupe, either one is the successor IMO
Only much more powerful and still keeps all of the key S2 characteristics.

No, absolutely not.

TTRS and RS3 have nothing to do with S2 characteristics.

Yes you have the sound and a much more modern car.

But if one is a true 20VT quattro enthusiast, there is no substitute to the UQ, S2, S4,S6,RS2.

UQ was never an option to me after a test drive - feels like Golf 2 and to expensive. But beautiful.

S2 was always the cheapest way to get true Audi rallye Feeling and potential.

No TTRS will ever give you that. Its a Golf platform.

I sold my S2 after 13 years because I was sick of driving such an old car - and because of converting it to 510HP.

I was test driving a TTRS an yes - its a modern car with a touch of S2 Sound. And the TTRS is the better car for all day driving, comfort and security. But no substitute.

In a ideal world - buy a S2 for fun or 1/4 mile and a TTRS for all day.

Or spend the money for one R8 V10 - like I did

[anthonys2]

S2 whether in Coupe or Avant have gone up quite a bit in the last 2 years and will continue to do so because they are such rare cars. They have such an enthusiast appeal about them and they are still a damn good looking car after all this time. The TTRS and RS3 are nice cars but I wouldn't swap mine for either of them.

The S2 is a modern day classic and even after 17 years of ownership I still love driving mine! Mine is still original power (which is rare) upgraded alloys to S8 18s, in black with black leather (best combo IMO) sits on konis and has a Milltek with a custom down pipe and regarded on here as a good example. My point is I have been offered various cars plus cash I have turned down on every occasion and will continue to do so. These cars are keepers and now the market is open to the U.S values will continue to rise

[montyrs2]

So here are my thoughts.

The S2 vs TTRS or RS3 is no different to the E30 M3 and an E92 M3 etc. In fact they are the othery way completely where you have to pay double for the old one.

The simple fact is that old cars have been built and are not being built again and get rarer each day as cars are broken, crashed etc.

There was a day when you would take a MK1 Escort to the scrap yard and pay them to take it. Now a bare rotten shell is worth a few £k if you have the paperwork and companies are making new shells to support the classic rally boys.

Anyone on here who says the S2 is a better car than the RS3 or an Evo or similar is either lying or in denial. But I wouldn't swap mine for the world as I prefer the looks the uniqueness of it the history and so on.

[RichLV]

Just to join the discussion, I was never a fan of small chassis Audi's/VW's because of the stupid haldex system. I've seen a lot of cases where owners struggled with damn haldex clutches, which were not working even after overhauls.

Classic Audi's still have a proper center diff with a prop-shaft to rear wheels. Even if it's old. I'd think about swapping my UrS4 if they stuck the new 5-pot in an S5/RS5 with proper quattro drivetrain, for example.

[Antsa]

Always interesting to see what actually sells in relation to asking prices....
But c'mon, £5k... thats a bit insulting to think they should be that price. Its a modern day classic, and when you look at other cars of the era,and most classics have risen in price.

I got mine exactly for 5k€. I admit that it still needs some work and parts for few thousands worth even before engine mods. But still, not too bad for S2. Others that I have seen are easily over 10k.

[SteveH]

Go pull up in the fuel station with a well looked after S2 and you'll get folk come up to you and ask about the car. Pull up in an RS3/TTRS and nobody will have anything to say to you. These cars are rare and as such have great appeal to folk who know what they are. Personally I love to see any old car on the road which has been well looked after. Much more interesting to see a piece of automotive history still being cared for, rather than something brand new and soulless off the production line.

[mcandmar]

Out of interest, why?

^ what they said. When i look at a TTRS/RS3 i just see a Golf in drag. Sure there quicker and out handle the ancient Audi 80 chassis, but they will never have the character.

At 5K they made sense, at 13K I'm lost I'm afraid

I can remember a time when the S2 was 2-3k and the RS2 was 12-13k and i said the RS2 was way over priced for what it was. You could build a better car out of an S2 for a fraction of that cost. 10 years later and i am still daily driving my S2 avant and it still makes me smile. I have driven later RS models and none of them tempted me.

Back to your original question, i am not convinced they are worth 13k. Have they really been changing hands for that much?