Doug3

belt or chain? I'm considering buying a 2008 RS4 convertible with 73,000 miles.
Any advice on what to look out for is appreciated.

India Whiskey Charlie

G35Dalf

There is no 100% guaranteed way to tell if there is a loose chain or worn guides without a teardown or checking the logs. Sometimes, if the guides are worn, you'll hear it on startup, but this isn't always true. Sometimes issues can be asymtomatic.

But the B7 RS4 guides appear to be less prone to problems than the older B5 S4 4.2's and even the B7 S4 4.2's.

G35Dalf

Always loved this pic... crazy ****.

ELEVENS

+1

Doug3

On test drive, car was belching white smoke @ 4,500 RPM +.

India Whiskey Charlie

White/blue: Burning oil
Grey: From condensation in exhaust pipe upon cold start in cold weather

Reggie

You need to get the car checked out by a independent audi shop. White can be a coolant leak - blow head-gasket???

Timing belt is what we have but the tensioners can go bad on them somewhere south of 125k miles

Doug3

There's a reason that they're only asking $35,500 for it. KBB and Edmunds say it's worth $42,000.
Here's a link to the car:

http://www.centralmotorsales.com/det...-11213538.html

Reggie

Every used car I have bought I got inspected independently - you should have that done as no place I bought from said no to this,.