BoxcuTTer

Well, I bit the bullet and put a deposit on the S4. Car was in overall very nice condition for 100k and seemed to be taken care of. All electronics seem to be 100%. The clutch felt fine, but made a slight squeaking noise when being let out while being driven (but not when engine turned off). There is some slight pulsing in the brakes, so I'm anticipating replacing front rotors soon. I'll take to my local shop after taking delivery and get an overall report. Cosmetically, there are a lot of stone chips on the front end and V6T badges on the side that will have to be removed Maybe I'll chronicle my experiences with a high mileage S4 and it can either be a story of triumph or a cautionary tale.

I think I am going to at least price third party warranty options. Can you point me in the right direction, DrGP?

vincenz0

I just bought a 2010 S4 with 69k and prior to buying it, I spoke to the service manager at the local Audi dealer where we take my wife's Q5. He's a super knowledgable guy and a serious car enthusiast.

His feedback was that the S4s are very stout mechanically and aside from some of the early issues in 2010 (thermostat, mechatronics) that were taken care of with recalls, he hasn't seen many issues with the drivetrain at all.

PS. Why don't people like the V6T badges?

togatown

The Supercharged badges add a bit more torque.

Seriously, most people seem to think the "T" stands for turbocharged. And besides, "Supercharged" just seems way more bad ***.

BoxcuTTer

I've never been a debadge guy, but they just don't look like they belong there. Maybe Audi figured they needed something to break up the side where the side indicators used to be but I don't like it at all. Plus there's nothing about having a V6 that inherently requires advertising it. It seems like something you'd see on a 1998 Accord.

eric strauss

… your investment is about $450/month. For another $150-200/month you could lease a new S4 and have no maintenance or warranty worries and then walk away without regret… just a thought

Best of luck on your decision,

Eric

BoxcuTTer

I don't follow your math, but it's a moot point as I bought the car today.

It was a 5 hour trip home. The car pulls like a freight train. Overall I'm very happy with the way it looks and drives. Service records confirm clutch and transmission only have 25k miles on them. Prior owner states he did not have to add oil between services, which is also nice if true. At first I wasn't blown away with B&O system but after fiddling with settings, it sounds much better to my ears and has volume for days. I'm taking it to my local mechanic next week for inspection/oil change/rotation/brakes.

A few small niggles:
1. When the moon roof is in the rear open position (pitched forward) there's a whistling sound.
2. The clutch was noticeably heavy in stop and go traffic.
3. The shift **** is loose and rotates. I saw a thread that it could possibly be a loose crimp clamp but it's a bit of a bear to get access under the boot.
4. Driver's seat bolster is worn. Has anyone had any luck refurbishing/conditioning the leather bolsters?
5. Shimmy when braking means new front rotors.
6. Brake dust noticeable on the front after a few hundred miles of non-spirited driving. I saw there were some threads on various non-OEM pads to reduce dust.

togatown

Congratulations! Post up some pics when you can.

There are tons of threads out there addressing your questions here and on a couple of different other Audi forums.

3. Shift boot is not that hard to remove with a trim tool. Plenty of threads and pics to be found on that.
5/6. Lots of options for brakes and rotors out there, everyone has own preference of brands. ECS Tuning is a good parts resource for aftermarket parts such as brakes/pads but there are many others. Some go slotted/cross drilled when replacing. Totally up to you.

vincenz0

Congrats on the purchase! Definitely post some pics.

I haven't had my S4's seats refurbished, but I did on my Acura TL which had badly "cracked" and worn leather on the two front seats, which were a light tan color so they really looked bad.

I found a local shop that specializing in Fabrion Leather Repair. Their site (fabrion.net) seems to be down though so I'm not sure how you'd locate an authorized shop. The seats literally looked like new after the treatment and it was pretty affordable. I think I paid $150 to have both front seats re-done. The guy worked out of his truck and came to me. Total professional, had been doing it for 25 years and even was able to tell at first glance that the previous dealer had re-dyed the leather a slightly wrong color tan. So he fixed that too.

BoxcuTTer

Thanks, guys. Some pictures are attached. I need to have it detailed and I got a quote at the body shop today to have the stone chips repaired, so with any luck it will be looking as good as it drives.

togatown

Great color, my next car needs to be gray or silver for ease of exterior maintenance!