AudiNewb

Hi there. Been lurking about a week or so, trying to figure out some things, and have a few questions.

First of all, I'm considering a 2001.5 s4 with 78000 miles. Since i owned a 2001 a4 i've always wanted to drive an s4, and now they have fallen into my price range.

This is rough description of car from current owner:

Transferable Bumper to Bumper Warranty:
Expires: 08/05/2010
Or 100,509 Miles

I have treated this car like my baby
Full synthetic oil changes every 2500-3000 miles
Never been driven hard or raced
Always given time to cool the turbos down after a long drive
Waxed and washed every 2 weeks or more

Services performed on this car:
Transmission redone by Appleway Audi - 53k miles
New clutch done by Appleway Audi - 53k miles
New Body Control Module - 62k miles
New ABS module - 72k miles

I can prolly get the car for $10,000. The owner says warranty covers turbos (I didn't think most did, so this was/is concern). If I get the car I will be trying for stage 3 by next summer anyway.


My questions:

1. Does this sound like a good deal? (I'm pretty sure it is a great deal, but just want to verify)

2. Please list what stage 1 options are the best for a newbie like me.

3. How many of you pay shops to do you're upgrades, and how many do major ones yourself? How much will the BEST/BASIC (rs04?) turbo kit + install cost on average. If the rs04 isn't the cheapest/best upgrade what is?

AudiNewb

I think I mean ks04 not rs04. Hopefully you understand what i'm getting at, very newb still

DxC

i think you mean to say rs4/k04 ...

stock s4s use k03 turbos, rs4s use k04 turbos, which is the most popular turbo choice.

a k04 kit will cost you over 5k easily, maybe more. plus labor ...

why not look for a car that already has the K04s? you will save some good money

donromani

1. It's a good deal for that mileage car although you are probably looking at doing the timing belt in the near future (can hold off on that until you do the go stage 3 if you do it within 10k)

2. If you're really serious about going stage 3 in about a year then invest in cat back exhaust and high-flow DPs or piggie DPs as well as upgraded intercoolers. You can chip (this is stage 1) but it might not be worth it if you're only running stock turbos for another year. Get some better DVs (baileys, forge or the upgrade audi ones).

3. The kits are all good and cost around the same. You will need to upgrade to a better clutch as well and this is not included in the kits. Some kits are offered with improved exhaust manifold/headers whatever...this will cost another 2-3 grand but will improve performance. Expect to spend about 8-10 grand getting the car to a true stage 3 ( 5-6 for the kit, 1 for the clutch plus flywheel resurfacing, 1 for the exhaust and 1 for the DPs, and 1 for various other mods and tools you'll need)

Grifnsqest

Where are you located? My Stage 3 S4 is for sale. I am in Arizona. Email me at Grifnsqest@msn.com if you want the full run down on the car.

tedavis01

My general oppinion is that $10k is an OK price. The warrantee helps alot but be sure you know what is covered and where to redeam it. Also, ask if it was a track car, looking over the description seems like a lot of things were repaired at 53k, new clutch and transmissin serviced - seems odd to me. As for the advice about going to stage 3, I agree with the other folks on here, you might be able to pay the same for a little more mileage on the car with a full upgrade. Look at all of the maintenance records carefully. The add sounds like my car but I think fair market value is around 8 or 9k. Just my two cents.

Stage 1 options: definitely CPU upgrade, you feel the difference and may push you to stage 2 or 3. I have stage 1 and am happy with it as a daily driver.

CTAudiDriver

It looks like a decent deal. Will a timing belt job be covered by the warranty along with other maintenance items? The service interval for the timing belt is 75k, (some wait till around 90k though) but its a $1200 maintenance item. If it really has been babied and you continue to take care of it the K03's will last a while but the problem is there is no way of really telling how the previous owner drove the car.

If everything checks out and you like the car stock then go for it. If you'd like to go Stg. 3 just buy one that has already had it done, for 15k you can get a car that had way more than 5k spent on it and many of them are well cared for, not many ppl dump upwards of 10k on a car and then not take care of it, I bought mine stg 3 and am happy that I did, not only did it save me money but lots of time also. The feeling of getting into a stg 3 after driving a 2 liter jetta for 4.5 years was unreal!!!

Here's a link to a buyers guide that was put together a while ago,
http://www.lubrilandia.com.ar/audi/D...t-buyguide.pdf

Should help answer some of your questions, The b5 s4 is a great car as long as you really like it and don't mind too much about spending money on it you'll be happy with your decision to get one. Great ballance of luxury, performance, and versatility.

Grifnsqest

Just a personal note... if your mindset prior going INTO an S4 is finding the "cheapest/best..." may want to consider a different car. Not that our cars aren't fun to drive. And not that we all don't have budgets to work with. But, sometimes the cheapest route on these cars isn't the best route to take.

You have to be prepared to spend the money on a nice, or nicely modified car. No matter how perfect any car is, the fact is things will break, and need to be maintained. If you aren't willing to take on that responsibility, or are willing to cut corners on stuff that REALLY matters to these cars... you will be more frustrated than you think.

Scott Long

most warrantys won't cover the timing belt unless it breaks. It's not a maintenance warranty, it's a break down warranty. If you want to break the timing belt and chance the engine it's on you.

I bought the blauparts.com deluxe kit, and the valve cover gaskets. Had about $450 in parts. Then about $50 bucks more for cam seals. And $1586 in labor. So about $2000 at 85k to do the timing belt and wp job. Ouch.

complacentsee

I missed the cams seals was tripping...

I'll be going with the JHM TB kit and doing it myself. It comes with a video quide of what to do, figured it's worth a shot.