Going to buy my first rs4 tuesday.... Advice please!!

[eyeball]

for any replies.Hi all,
I'm new to this site but i'm not a new audi owner. I have had the great pleasure of owning my tsoprt quattro avant b5 for over five years now and it's been the best car I've ever owned and I have always said that there isn't another type of car that would be able to fill its shoes. so much so that most fof my friends now drive the a4 avant.
BUT.... I have alsways said i'd love a b5 RS4 in noggy blue but could I really afford it???..well I have now got the oppertunity to buy this exact cay from down near slough . I believe it was advertised either on this forum or poss a similar one only a few weeks ago. This RS is 2001 X with 69k, now I've never been to look at one and never even driven one so I could do with a little advice or guidance for you guys as I think your alot more in the know than I'll ever be. He wants 13K which I think is not bad, but I dont want to end up buying something that could cost me a small fortune. What are your thoughts, what do I need to look out for and what questions do I need to ask??? It has a full service history untill of late, where it was service by an Audi specialist Fontain ivor, are they reputable?? The cam belts were changed at 45K so I quess thet'll need changing again soon??
Please let me know your thoughts and I will be very greatfull
Cheers,
Paul

[Contigo]

Welcome. From the buyers guide sticky at top of this forum.

"Things to look out for:

1. Carpets - worn drivers side
2. Bent wheels -ok if soft, not ok if they are the hard type will cost you money
3. Clutch - can go as early as 25K. Classed as wear n tear item as far as warranty is concerned at least �1K to replace.
4. Turbos - have been known to leak oil from as little as 25K miles. Covered by warranty in most cases.
5.Easily grounded so check under belly, sumps CATs exhaust for damage.
6. Gearbox check for excessive crunching.
7. Cam belt and associated pulleys/water pump. To be replaced at 40K miles
8. A diagnostic trouble code (DTC) a check performed by VAGCOM �140 piece of software and OBD lead can check for all obvious codes. Can also determine if the car is chipped by monitoring the boost pressure on a run.
9. As with the A4s the front suspension ball joints can go. They squeeke when pressing down on the front of the car. They don't typically go until 60K miles on S4s etc.
10. 4 disks n pads cost over �1K to replace. Check their condition.
11. Rear Parcel shelf mount as with all avants. The location slots can wear and squeeke. �120 per pannel 2 off.
12. Oil leaks from either turbo lines or rocker cover gaskets.
13. Tyres at least �150 per corner for a half decent tyre. A proper Audi aligment check is approx �120. A kwik fit type alignment check is a waste of money.

General checks

14. Confirm that the Chassis No. Bottom passenger side of the windscreen matches the V5 doc.
15. Check for overspray on or under the rubbers of all window and door seals. + over spray on plastic inner arches or under the rear and front bumper.
16. Check the bolts which hold the wings on for damaged paint. Can indicate replaced wings etc.
17. Check overall alignment and gaps of bonnet to wing, bonnet to lights, bumper to lights, bumper to wing door to wing.
18. Rear diff oil seals
19. Check every single electrical item i.e. windows, central locking stereo, cruise, tailgate electric locks "

There are a few other things to be wary of like cam wear.

Take VAG com with you to check for an DTC's that have been logged.

Also remember that this car is not cheap to run and generally will cost you alot more than the standard a4 avants and sport models. It's effectively a family supercar!

Good luck!

[eyeball]

Many thanks for the advice. I dont want to sound tooo stupid but how's best to check for cam ware and what is the vag to check for DTC's have been loggged. Is this something I can do myself or is it a specialiest thing?

[Contigo]

"A diagnostic trouble code (DTC) a check performed by VAGCOM �140 piece of software and OBD lead can check for all obvious codes. Can also determine if the car is chipped by monitoring the boost pressure on a run."

Basically you connect a cable between the diagnostic port of the car (rear ashtray area) and a laptop and then run some software which will determine if there are fault codes logged. The classic one's are boost leaks and Landa sensors etc....

You can buy the cable from Ross-tech direct or a cheap clone on Ebay which will give you access to the shareware version with limited modules.

Re the Cam wear, the only real way is to remove the cam cover gaskets and check each lobe but this is not going to be practical at the time of buying etc.. and I believe it will show some fault codes on the Vag software if the cams are on their way out.

This does sound like a minefield but it's well worth getting these things checked before you buy to make it as pleasurable an experience as possible.

[eyeball]

Hi Contigo,
Many thanks for the info. I've just been sat reading the posts on the cam ware issue. This seems very worrying and possibly a very expensive experience. As for the test equipment that I need, i think I've left it a bit to late for this. I'm really worries now, I know I can only do a listening check for the cams but thats all I can do. just dont know what todo about the rest of the cheqs. I know it's a 250 mile trip to see the car and another 250 back home if I buy it or not. Just wouldn't like to be driving that sort of distance in the new vehicle if the engine decides to expire on me.EEEK!!
Regarding the cam noise, there's doesnt seem tobe any definative sound to look out for or for how long this noise is for or at what revs. I know there could be tappet noise and tensioner noise on start up from cold but this should go pretty quickly?? The cam noise should be there wether cold or warm..Is this right???
If you were me...what would you do come tuesday??????
Cheers,
Paul

[eyeball]

Does anyone know who could run these checks, ie the AA or is there someone or somewhere in the slough area that could check this?
Cheers,
Paul

[Contigo]

I'm in Newbury mate not too far away but it sounds like you have to make your mind up about whether to go or not. Does it have to be that car?

If it sounds too good to be true it generally is!

[eyeball]

Hiya Contigo,
They guy who's selling it seems very genuine and the car sounds genuine, with full service history untill it was serviced at an audi specialists. If you look the the famous auction site fleabay you can see it there. Its the noggy blue one with the reg s4 jjg. If you get the chance please take a look. I really do want the car but it a long way to go if it turns out bad. He lives in bracknell, I dont know how far this from you but if your available tuesday daytime and can help then that would be great and i'll see you right for your time????
Cheers,
Paul

[eyeball]

With ref to the wheels ie hard or soft. I read about them bending but why are the hard ones bad, is this because the can damage the tyre. How can you tell, do the hard wheels end in AE or something???

[Seez]

It seems that car is sold, but if the car is genuine it was a very good price, seems the man was inundated with offers!

[Contigo]

Yes the Hard wheels end in AE and you can determine the part no. by removing the centre hub cap. I might be able to take a look mate if it's still available.

Looks like a nice motor but Seez says it's sold now.

[eyeball]

Sorry about the delay. i've been out all day. Yes the car does say sold as I've got first shout at her. There was another guy who had beat me to the car but he'll paid a deposit then when he was due to collect he dropped out??? So the seller called me up and I said i'll buy it. It does sound a good bargain and it seems a genuine sale as he had bought a new car and needed to sell asap hence the price. I'd like to know why the other guy dropped out of the sale?? Contigo, yes it would be very much appreciated if you could make it over to see the car with me because i'm sure you have alot better knowledge than me. As i said earlier I'll see you right for your time mate. I hoping to get down there for about 12 ish but if you can give me your mobile or something then I will call you if thats ok?
As for the wheels, are they that bad, would that put you off buying?
If you want to email me with your number then my emaill address is paulcarr69@ntlworld.com ypu could try Pm ing me but I'm not sure how that all works?
Cheers, Paul.
Ps i might not be able to get to the pc again tonight but i'll be on tomorrow for sure.

[FazS3]

Im pretty sure this car Andy went to view, was it not on pistonheads,then it was sold on there too? It has been on ebay for a while. check some old posts fella, im pretty sure its that car, with the shabby paintwork!

[eyeball]

Hiya Faz,
That doesnt sound very promising, I think it was adevertised on one of the forums. The thing is, I only saw it on ebay a couple of weeks ago so maybe it has been advertised for a while. I could do with hearing from Andy to double check. I asked the seller if it was in good condition and he said it had a bit of touch up on the bumper but other than that it was ok??? I did say to him that I'm fussy about my cars and he said his was nice. I hadthis problem when buying my present audi, I travelled hundreds of miles to find the rightone. All the sellers saying the same old thing"yer the cars lovely never had paintwork..bla,bla,bla) and when you get there it's nothing like.lol
I just hope this isnt the one Andy went to see as its a 500 mile round trip for me.
Is Andy on this forum??

[Timmilne]

I think you'll fine the full run down on this car here:

http://www.rs246.com/index.php?name=PNp ... 703432d15a

For what it's worth, I saw the car and liked it, especially because the bloke selling it seemed very genuine. I didn't buy because it was too much money than I wanted to spend, but at 13K I think it's a deal. I've since gone off the idea of buying one for now.