Buying guide or any pointers?

[trevkx125]

Hi, great forum you have here I joined a good few years ago but this is my first post!

I was hoping for a buying guide for the B5 RS4, could anybody point me in the right direction?

If not, the car I am interested in is a X plate in silver with 50k miles, full history and just had a new clutch and flywheel. Bearing in mind the car is 8/9 years old, are there any other expensive parts that should have been replaced or will do in the near future? Also, any idea what this would be worth selling as a private sale?

Many thanks

Trev

EDIT. Oops, just found the buyers guide in the sticky at the top of the forum!

[timba]

Good luck.

Usual things like checking cambelt has been done, try and get a vagcom scan of the car done (if the owner lets you), if anything pops up post it on here or get a specialist to give it a pre-purchase check.

[lengster1]

Bear in mind 2000 cars have the early unrevised gearbox,thats about the only real difference between 00 and 01 cars,overall condition counts for alot on cars this age so hard to put a value on without more info

[neckarsulm]

Bear in mind 2000 cars have the early unrevised gearbox,thats about the only real difference between 00 and 01 cars,overall condition counts for alot on cars this age so hard to put a value on without more info

Mine's a 2001 Y reg and it also has the weaker 'FDP' coded gearbox according to the data sticker but it's sweeter than my last (earlier) one.

[Contigo]

Yep only a handful of the later RS4's had the revised gearbox.

[derdle]

Why did it need a new clutch at 50k miles? They're normally good for 100k ish. Did previous owner "ride" the clutch or has he/she done far too many 5000rpm launches?

As timba says- make sure the cambelt has been done it should be changed according to time and/or mileage.

Paul

[Contigo]

Mine went at 40k and I only bought it at 38k so whoever had it before me must have been really poor at driving. It had a few owners too so different driving styles I suppose coupled with what could be just town mileage, lots of stop starting driving.

The Porsche Boxsters are reknowned for eating clutches too.

[SimonC]

At 50k there shouldn't be anything mileage-related to worry about. The clutch ought to last longer than that.

I think many of us are experiencing similar age-related issues now (Exhaust, oil-cooler pipes and the back-up battery for the alarm)

I would disregard any gearbox concerns relating to whether it's an early or late type. If the clutch has been done then the gearbox will have seen enough use to bring any weakness to the surface. The gearbox was my biggest concern but, after 50000 miles, the slight resistance between 2nd and 3rd I was worried about is exactly the same.

For a good condition car with low (but not stupidly low) mileage and a verifiable history I would be prepared to pay 20-odd thousand. I paid top money for mine several years ago and, apart from the utter ineptitude of the people who used to maintain it (Audi), it has rewarded me with the kind of reliability you'd be pleased with from a standard A4.

I think standard car-buying rules apply (condition, history, tyres, brakes, exhaust, etc). If it needs anything doing just get quotes. And have a look down the oil filler opening, it should be clean and shiny - if it looks sludgy in there get a very good warranty or walk away. Engines are so expensive it's almost funny.

[Contigo]

Well never heard of any of those problems mentioned above but from my experience these are the thing to be aware of.

Diverter Valves may need replacing with stronger 710N's
MAF and Lamda's can be troublesome
Thermostat's can become weak over time and need replacing (check that the car gets up to temperature withing a few minutes, 90Deg C on indicator)
Clutches can go as early as 40K so do some long runs at 80 and then dip the clutch with revs still rising and then release the cluch if it bites and picks up then clutch should be ok but if the revs continue to rise then clutch could be on it's way out.

Warped discs can be pricey so check them all over throughly.

The one thing that has bitten a few people has been the dreaded exhaust cam and followers wear problem and that needs checking out. You could ask for the vehicle to be taken to a specialist like MRC and have then remove the cam covers to check both sides for wear.


Other than that just be sensible and cautious.

[cocker]

If i were buying at this time, i would be all over this one

http://www.fontain.co.uk/vehicle-detail ... &ID=888799

Anybody know it?

[derdle]

Don't know it..but IMO you need to allow a few grand to ditch the Movits !

[Contigo]

Wonder if this was the one MarioCee was selling a while back?

[Contigo]

http://www.rs246.com/index.php?name=PNp ... ight=mario

Looks the same as the one talked about in the above thread and I'd tread with caution, even buying from Fontain.

[david7m]

If i were buying at this time, i would be all over this one

http://www.fontain.co.uk/vehicle-detail ... &ID=888799

Anybody know it?

That looks expensive!

Dave

[Contigo]

I think it's priced right considering the high spec and also the age (51 preg) and also the low mileage.

I'd check to see if it's been on the register and also if the plates it's been on match the one's in that thread.