What s4 to buy?

[Leaningtown]

I'm new to the s4 I currently have a a3 but i want a nice upgrade.
I an looking at an s4 b5 or b6.
I like the idea of getting a b5 as you can get remaps and power gain is fairly easy and cheep with it being twin turbo.
I also like the b6 as it has more power and the v8 is good and less to go wrong but it's not easy to modify for more power.
Why car would be more fun to drive if they were about the same bhp?
I only do around 6k a year so mpg is not a problem at all.
Thanks for any info nick

[chris_m]

I've never owned either but drove the b5 S4 and it's a great car even standard. I have a B7 RS4 so not exactly a great comparison to the b6 S4 but me and my money would have the b5 because as you say, you can do so much more with them. My rs4 feels underpowered to me now and is because of the power delivery. I wouldn't like the idea of a 300bhp version of my car, if the b6 you ended up with even made that figure. In saloon form, I prefer the look of the b5 anyway.

[marc1]

Many reasons to go for either. Both great cars, but lots of nails out there, so buy on condition.

If you want a B6, I'd suggest this one viewtopic.php?f=63&t=118323&p=772426#p772426 which has had practically everything done to it bar a supercharger. There are more mods that aren't listed in the ad. Not sure if it's still available though.

If you fancy a B5, I would suggest paying more and getting a KO4 car. Get a well cared for and well modded car and it will be very quick.

The B5 will generally cost you more to maintain. Really depends on what you want, and whether you're after big power. If so go for the B5. The V8 rumble is great, and the B6 is a capable car, but won't hit the numbers the B5 will (KO4 cars), without the S/C.

[Silverfox42]

I ran an S4 B6 Avant for 3 years/50k and loved it. I changed to an A3 3.2 Sportback and immediately regretted letting the S4 go - so much that I got another S4 within 6 months!
IMO the nature of the power delivery of the B5 is low down, the B6 higher up the rev range.
Modding potential of the B5 is huge, and limited unless you spend a lot more on the B6.

Hard to find an unmodified B5 these days, but if I was in your position, I would go for that.

[Leaningtown]

Thanks for all the advice I think I will end up with the b5 with a bit of work it will be a lot better for me.
I like the look of the b5 more as well.
I am a mechanic so doing work on it is not a problem so should be cheeper to carry out repairs and modifications.
The car I'm interested in in the end is a family everyday car but a nimble fun row car when I want to have fun.
With than in mind I think the b5 is a better option.
Thanks again everyone nick

[marc1]

Rule 1 when you get one.

[FaisalJ]

If you wanted extra reason to be cautious about a B6 S4, look into the cam chain tensioner problem. I used to have a B6 S4 and really liked it, but felt like I had to sell before mileage got too high and I got into trouble with the cam chain issues.

From memory, a small plastic part of the assembly can fail causing the chain to lose tension. Engine out job to replace as the chain is at the back of the engine...I believe about £2.5-3k is the ballpark cost of putting it right.

[IanH755]

The B6 sounds much nicer than the B5 but the B5 has that 3k rpm turbo/torque hit which feels much more fun than the more linear B6 and is much easier to tune.