Thinking of an S4 - New member

[cliveyp]

Hey guys, just joined this site, although have read a few posts as a guest. My name is Clive and i'm from Worcestershire. I've had a few VAG based cars along the line, mainly Golf MK2's (one of which i still own as a long term project), but including a Leon Cupra R, A3 2.0T Quattro, Lupo GTI (actually the wifes) and the current MK4 Golf GTI Anniversary.

Its the Anniversary that i'm looking to change, for two main reasons:

1: We have a baby on the way, due late March, and an extra 4 door would be beneficial (we also have a Beemer 3 series, so at least have some practicality already)
2: In preparation for the baby, i could do with releasing a couple of grand from the money held in the car.

So, ideally i'm looking in the region of £5-5.5k and am setting my sights towards an S4 (Avant even considered). I would prefer a facelift model, but obviously condition and histroy would be better.

Do you guys know of any, or can you give me any tips towards finding that right car? If i find a willing seller, i would love to part-ex the Anni, if only to make it a smoother transaction.......otherwise, I need to find one in quick turnaround from selling the MK4

[Trig]

I did the same and got burnt a little.

Must haves are
FSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If over 80K miles then must have turbos replaced, they are a time bomb.£3K plus
Have a health check at MRC before you buy, its worth the money.£150
AT ABSOLUTE BARE MINIMUM, have a VAGCOM check.

Start saving, they are not cheap to run.

Saying that, would I swap mine? No Way, its fookin awesome

[Ash25]

I did the same and got burnt a little.

Must haves are
FSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If over 80K miles then must have turbos replaced, they are a time bomb.£3K plus
Have a health check at MRC before you buy, its worth the money.£150
AT ABSOLUTE BARE MINIMUM, have a VAGCOM check.

Start saving, they are not cheap to run.

Saying that, would I swap mine? No Way, its fookin awesome

i would agree about most of the above, BUT not with the replace turbos bit.

many people have s4's with loads more miles on them on the original turbos, where did you get the 80000 miles figure from anyway? yes its true that the turbos can go early, but thay can also last a long time! if the cr has been properly warmed up and cooled down then that would help, but of course how can you know that when buying a car?

obviously full service history, and i would prob prefer an independent specialist to have looked over the car in the past to be honest, rather than audi!

and yes, get MRC or Grizz at Unit 20 to have a look at the car if possible, or get a health check done as soon as you get it.

you say you have a family on the way, the rear legroom in the s4 is pants, but i would think you have a few more years left for that to be a problem, unless you are mega tall!

they are awesome cars, and very good for tuning potential if you want to go that route.

i am sure some more people will pop round with more info. if not go to audisrs.com as most of the B5 s4 peeps are on there as well.

at the price you have said, you can pick up a good example.

good luck!

Ash

[Trig]

I did the same and got burnt a little.

Must haves are
FSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If over 80K miles then must have turbos replaced, they are a time bomb.£3K plus
Have a health check at MRC before you buy, its worth the money.£150
AT ABSOLUTE BARE MINIMUM, have a VAGCOM check.

Start saving, they are not cheap to run.

Saying that, would I swap mine? No Way, its fookin awesome

i would agree about most of the above, BUT not with the replace turbos bit.




Ash

Read it on here in the buying guide bit I believe!

I read quite alot about these before buying mine and the general concencus was at 80K miles the turbos are due for replacement.
Mine had done 81.5K and one went pop 5 weeks after buying it.
Doug said they wouldn't last long when he health checked it, but that was AFTER I bought it!!!!

Just something to be aware of!!!

[dazzer]

Turbo life is purely a lottery merely as it's down to the care of previous owners - warm up, cool-down procedure, good oil and boost leak prevention!

Always nice to have a few quid stashed away for the possibility that's for sure.

One of the most underated, best looking sublime cars on the road today, even after all these years - JIMHO.

[Dippy]

I'm approaching 85K on original turbos with mods as my sig. No sign of problems, but then I do look after them.

When it comes to buying a used car I would agree that if it has done 80K or more, then you need to be prepared for the possibility of turbo replacement, because the window of 'end of normal life' has unfortunately opened.

As has been said, these cars CAN be expensive to maintain.

Clive, based on what you have stated, I have to advise you against an S4. Babies are expensive to maintain too

[cliveyp]

So......for my situation, would you guys recommend staying with the 4-pot turbos, and going for an S3 instead?

[Blue_Thunder]

Do they do a 4 door S3?

[Ash25]

I did the same and got burnt a little.

Must haves are
FSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If over 80K miles then must have turbos replaced, they are a time bomb.£3K plus
Have a health check at MRC before you buy, its worth the money.£150
AT ABSOLUTE BARE MINIMUM, have a VAGCOM check.

Start saving, they are not cheap to run.

Saying that, would I swap mine? No Way, its fookin awesome

i would agree about most of the above, BUT not with the replace turbos bit.




Ash

Read it on here in the buying guide bit I believe!

I read quite alot about these before buying mine and the general concencus was at 80K miles the turbos are due for replacement.
Mine had done 81.5K and one went pop 5 weeks after buying it.
Doug said they wouldn't last long when he health checked it, but that was AFTER I bought it!!!!

Just something to be aware of!!!

sorry mate, wasnt getting at you, didn't realise it was in the buying guide!

yeah it would be advisable to have cash stashed away for the turbos to be replaced, but i would say you would need that at any age car with the b5 S4 as it has been said before its a lottery when they will go. all depends on how they have been warmed up/cooled down in the past.

don't think the older s3's came as a 4 door option? newer ones do i think but they are expensive.

to the OP, it depends if you can afford to run the s4 if it breaks down as it is expensive to fix minor things and also to fuel it! its faaaaar too tempting to drive on boost more often than not which drinks petrol.

on the other hand it is a wonderful car when you get a good one. i absolutely love mine, even when it isnt on the road!

Ash

[Trig]

i would agree about most of the above, BUT not with the replace turbos bit.




Ash

Read it on here in the buying guide bit I believe!

I read quite alot about these before buying mine and the general concencus was at 80K miles the turbos are due for replacement.
Mine had done 81.5K and one went pop 5 weeks after buying it.
Doug said they wouldn't last long when he health checked it, but that was AFTER I bought it!!!!

Just something to be aware of!!!

sorry mate, wasnt getting at you, didn't realise it was in the buying guide!


Ash

No probs,nothing taken.

[Leongti]

I bought my S4 avant about 3 month back and made sure to take my mate with me who works on VAGs for a living, his VAG-COM was very handy and highlighted any problems that it had.

Mine has over 100k (just) and hopefully the turbos are all ok as the car runs great - bar the expense of keeping it running though.

With a little one on the way I'd probably think a cheaper car to run would be the better option but you might be able to swallow it

[Ryanmt]

Quite alot of you are saying running costs are alot, are you just on about fuel? Because on the MPG thread it all seems fairly reasonable for the car. I know people say turbos are 3k etc but what about DIY repairs and recon turbos.. still very expensive to run!?

[cliveyp]

I know they don't do the MK1 S3 as a 4 door, the only aim behind getting one of these would be the chance of more power and a couple of grand in the bank. The practicality would have to be in the 3 series then!

Fuel costs are not really any bother to me, I've run and still have VW VR6's, so am used to thirsty motors! I don't think I can justify the chance of having to spend 3k should a turbo fault arise. If costs cam be dramatically reduced if doing it myself, well, that's ok. I'm not averse to a bit of spannering!

Is the KO3 any different to the 150bhp 20vt?

[Trig]

Did mine myself and cost £3.5K with K04's, RS4 downpipes, turbo pipes, clutch Cam belt etc etc.

[spurtle]

Agree with Ash25: don't worry about the turbos being replaced. I sold my S4 with 140,000 miles on the clock, remapped, driven hard and still running fine on the original turbos.

As with any car, things can go wrong, and the price you pay for S4 performance is the risk of an expensive repair bill - but this isn't inevitable, just something you need to be prepared for. If you couldn't raise the funds for a turbo replacement, then this probably isn't the car for you. If you want a fantastic performance car for £5k and you're realistic about the cost of ownership, then you won't regret buying an S4.