mikerocks974

Hi, this is my first post to the B5 forum. My first car was a 97 A4 1.8t with a chip and intake and I've been in love with Audi every since. I loved that car and had such a blast driving it. I parted ways with it a few years ago and have been wishing for an S4 ever since. I like Audi's style; luxurious and classy with out being flashy or owned by every other yuppie out there. The feel of driving and Audi is unlike any other car, it feels like the car is glued to road.
So, after driving a Lexus GS300 for a while I've decided that its finally time to become one with my twin turbo lady.
Herein lies my query... Im currently looking at 2 S4's and I'm not sure which once will be better off in the long run, i.e. durability.
The 1st one is an 2001.5 with 52000 miles blk on black with sport package and silver alcantra seats, the second is a 2000 stage 2 with 67000 miles and its had both turbos replaced <1000mi ago, primary and secondary water pumps, timing belt, and tie rods replaced, RS4 clutch, gear shift was just replaced 200 miles ago as well and replaced the throttle body and F-hoses with samco silicon hoses.
I would appreciate any input from the many S4 gurus on this site. I just want to make sure I can get the least problematic S4 I can get. I realize that higher maintenance cost is the price you have to pay for owning a fine tuned, german engineered silken rocket, but i would prefer to minimize my risk of problems.
Thanks again.

The_Jerbel (Jordan)

well maintained by the sounds of it. Really, I would go and look at both cars and have them both inspected before making a decision. I would probably go with the '00 if it were me, that is if they both came out to be equal in the maintainance and looks departments.

Slave IV

I didn't even read all of that but it makes me happy to be here to!

vonSol::kinkS4

Inquire and read the owner of the car. See if he's an enthusiast, one who is meticulous about his car etc. It seems as if, from the provided information, the 2000 would give you some headache in the long run. Isn't there a 'Buyers Guide' in looking for a used B5 S4 on the archives?

Anyway, good luck w/ your search.

mikerocks974

One thing that I was wondering was why did the 2000 S4 get all that stuff replaced? Probably cause he was having trouble with it, right? Or preventative maint? I will def have to get more info from the seller.

I do plan on going to stage 2 anyways, so it would save me some money... but its still older and has more miles... :/ Tough choice

The_Jerbel (Jordan)

F-hose, TB boot, etc are things that commonly wear out on these cars, so people routinely replace them just for prevention. Sounds like the '00 driver is an enthusiast who has invested in maintaining and modding the car, whereas the '01.5 driver is probably just a guy with an S4. 01.5 isn't modded (most likely) so has been driven more gently, '00 has been maintained well (by the sounds of it).

The_Jerbel (Jordan)

most likely need replacing on the 01.5 very soon anyways. There are a number of things that need to
be replaced at around 60 000 miles.
In the end, go and see each of them and inspect them and then decide.

S4gasm (LoTR)

and it ain't cheap.

JMS-Four

already had some things replaced, as well as some minor preventative stuff done.

At least with that one, you know you shouldn't need a TB replacement for another 75k miles.

Also, having the RS4 clutch in there is a bonus, since Audi quotes some huge number for labor. And at stage 2, the RS4 clutch is likely ideal.

TRE's are a normal wear item. Mine went at around 85k from what I can tell.