Hello Audi World!

I come to you from the TDIClub forums - been working on VW diesels for years now, and might have the opportunity to step up to the Audi world.

I am just finishing my last project car (1998 Jetta TDI), and while passively looking for my next project, I stumbled across an S4 that needs some work.

Being new to Audi, I am hoping that you kind folks would help me out in telling me what to look out for when taking a close look at this S4. I feel kind of at a loss - I know exactly what to look for in the older VW TDI's. but am lost with the Audi's. I want to learn, so this might turn out to be a worthwhile project for me.

OK - on to the details - I have one photo so far:



It is a 2000 S4 with 106K miles - 5 speed auto (tiptronic?)

The current owner bought it wrecked to fix. He says he doesn't have the time and/or money to finish it.

He said the car runs, and so far has changed the upper oil pan (?) $600 and the timing belts $1000.
Says he has all the parts to put it back together less 2 bumper mounts, and a bumper support needs repaired.

He said the car took a light hit with no air bag deployment.

That's about all the info I have so far - I of course will look at it closely in person.

So, beside the obvious damage, what should I be looking for or asking about with this series Audi?

He is asking $3500 for it, but seems to be willing to work out a trade for my TDI which would be fantastic for me.

Thanks in advance for any help with this - I need to make an informed decision, plus I don't want a money pit where I at least won't get my money back out of it.

 

I have seen S4's with that sort of mileage in the $3.5-6k range that didn't have existing body damage, but did require minor work. The price seems sort of high to me, plus whenever there is a trade vs cash, someone always loses, but then I don't know much about the car you want to trade.

 

I'm assuming you will get the bumper, lights and hood for that price or are they scrapped?

The rest of the car looks good - rims on the one side are pretty rash free, the paint looks good. If you're looking for a project car then I wouldn't be too concerned about the typical issues like the timing belt and boost hoses.

If you're willing to trade the jetta for this then you can have a lot of fun building this S4.

 

Thanks for the replies -

I have confirmed that the car does in fact come with all the parts needed to put it together. Some parts are new, and some from another car. Says he has the hood, fender, radiator, radiator support, bumper, grille, headlights, etc. I realize that there would be a paint job in the future.

While the car was in this condition, the timing belts were done - good thing being that the nose is off anyway.

I guess my main concern is with the auto transmission - I know that the 01M VW auto trans is a very weak point - how does this tiptronic hold up?

I value my 1998 Jetta TDI at ~$3K, so to me this would be a fair trade. I got lucky with the Jetta - only have $1K into it, so with that said......

As I said, my main concern is the transmission - what is the normal maintenance routine for it?

 

I received a couple more photos - the last one shows the bumper support which needs to be straightened - he tells me that this is all it needs besides putting it all back together....

 

The TIPs hold up ok but they can't handle high-output applications without significant investment in the drivetrain. You are probably going to be capped at about 375 whp with a TIP, whereas the 6spd can handle significantly more power

 

Thanks for the info - I would probably leave everything at stock, but I know the MOD bug would get me sooner or later with a machine like this!

I just wanted to feel safe knowing that the tiptronic is relatively trouble free in a stock setup.

Thanks!

 

Here's a guide for noobs I found helpful also: https://www.audiworld.com/forums/sho...php?p=13109387

The B5 S4 is a really fun car to have, but can be expensive when things break.

 

Thank you very much for the link - exactly the type of information I was looking for.

Tentatively looking at the S4 on Saturday (if it isn't already gone) - kind of nervous as I haven't done much body work.

As for the rest, with my TDI's in the past I have relied heavily on the forums for guidance - it's nice to get a good response here - makes me feel more comfortable in diving into the unknown world of Audi!

Thanks

 

No problem, I'm glad it helped.

The forums are really good to learn more about these cars and in case you get caught up in a project and need some guidance. Another good forum is audizine.com.

Good luck with the car! I hope everything works out!