insider

I own an E36 M3 and find it to be a joy and a delight. It is very precise and fun to drive fast. However, while visiting an Audi dealer over the weekend at the request of a friend to test drive and give him my opinion on an Allroad, I test drove an S4. I pushed it harder than the last S4 I drove and I really liked the car for several reasons. Its got 4 doors and I have four children. Even though its not our primary family car, it is a pain to let kids in and out of a coupe. It has a smoother ride than the M3 but seems to corner well when pushed hard.

One concern is the apparent reliability problems with the S4. There seem to be numerous posts regarding turbo failures, transmission failures and other gremlins. My M3 is as reliable as a stone.

What do you guys think?

dojo

leave it stock, it's covered. Sure it's not 100%, but the car is a surefire blast to drive, it's the All around athlete so to speak. you don't have to sacrifice anything, I've also noticed through postings that the 2000's have had more problems than the 2001's as they've improved upon the previous year.

Nothing is like all wheel drive and 2 turbos! wet or dry conditions!

my .o2 cents.

[not Steve] Trac

It is human nature to be more vocal when something goes wrong than when something goes as expected. The overwhelming majority of S4 owners have no problems and keep that fact to themselves. It makes sense that you hear about most of the problems on this board because this is a place where you come to get help. If you took a survey of AW posters that haven't had any problems, you will see there are many. My car was perfect on delivery and has been that way for the 1500 or so miles that I've had it.

Pat-SoCal

and although it is still fairly new (~10,000miles), it has held up beautifully. There isn't a thing different about it since the day I picked it up. Except that it is a hell of a lot faster than it was stock!

dojo

I completely agree! failure rate exaggerated!

Shredster

this is the beauty of a forum. As I have said before, people don't usually post, "my car is running like a top for the 2065th day in a row. But, when there is a problem, people like to post to see who else may have had the same problem or for advise, or just to let their online forum friends know about their dilemma. Yes, there have been a fair share of turbo failures reported here, but many many more (numbers far beyond those who had problems) that didn't have problems. Like myself... if I can borrow your phrase for my 1 1/2 old S4 with 33,000 hard romping, M3 ***-kickin' miles on it, "My S4 is as reliable as a stone."

NASA racer

that it's a German car and German quality control is mixed (whatever company you buy from). My 2000 S4 tip was bullet-proof and my 2001 S4 6-speed is a lemon. That's because they didn't build my 2001 6-speed properly not that 2001 6-speeds are lemons by design.

Shredster

>I've also noticed through postings that the >2000's have had more problems than the 2001's

does not hold water... maybe in some areas, but not in others.

MKH

you work in software in seattle right?

need any testers? hehehe =P

NASA racer

and SURE AS HELL isnt true of the S4s I've owned...harumph ;-)