defenseman

im getting my first good car. im going to be financing it myself, and im wondering with all S4 turbo problems, should I just get an A4?

i guess what im looking for is advice and how much the cost of driving is for the two cars.

M3KILR

S4 is $$$ to maintain and fix

HIS4

The initial cost of the car is only the beginning. Maintenance of these cars is also something you need to consider. You don't want to put all your money into the initial purchase and then something breaks and you can't afford to fix it. If you can do your own wrenching, that helps a lot but parts themselves are much more expensive than other cars (i.e. Honda, Toyota, even VW)

FinickyDriver

I was in the same boat about a year ago (Negaro with 82k miles). So far water pump, winter tires, and $12 TBB, not much of a cost as far as see it.

I think what it really comes down to is, can you afford the cost of replacing the turbos if they go? I have the resources to to get free labor so I can afford $2500 (give or take) for parts. If you have someone else do it, I think the cost is between $5000-$6000! Someone correct me if my figures are off.

Definitely higher cost, but I love my s4 and don't think there is any substitute

BiturboBoy_V2.0_S3--

IMO, low on cash = buy car with warranty. new mazda 3 is a nice first car.

JasonS4+Festicle

items - really just the turbos to worry about.

It's the little stuff that will add up and kill you in the end. If you do stuff yourself it's not as bad.

BTW, this advice goes for the A4 as well. Yeah, maybe no huge turbo bill, but, if you don't do work yourself, then labor rates are no cheaper for the A4 than for the S4. Also, Audi parts are not cheap.

I'd get a car that has a warranty if I were you.

RKA

But imho, if you're financing a car, you should be able to pay the car off entirely before the car reaches 5 years or 100K miles...preferably before the warranty is up. If you're stretching your budget, and you go beyond these limits, you may quickly find yourself buried in maintenance and repair costs, and car payments.

O.W. Kenobi

If you have your heart set on an Audi, get a much older one.

DON2.0T

For 20k, I would buy an 1999.5 audi a4 1.8t and save the money for some mods and repairs if an audi is what you desire. In case of a low budget, then i would go with an second hand japanese car like an acura tl or lexus is300. Can't go wrong on those buys and you won't have to worry about repairs that much since you have just spent all your 20k in the purchase of the vehicle.

French-Fried-Rings

S4 with warranty if you can find one. Otherwise, A4 IMO