S4 Cabriolet owners help and advice please

[Dorsetbloke]

Hi Guys

Currently researching buying an S4 cabriolet, probably an 04 > 05 plate, manual. Just wanted to know if there are any buying guides or owner advice on what to look out for / go for. It's a big serious engine and I don't want to miss any obvious things. Timing chains seem to crop up in discussion but not much. Mileages seem to range from 40K - 90K and obviously I want full history, oh and no I am not interested on the slightly misfiring one on Ebay thanks!!

I have been looking for a while on here but cant seem to really find much. Any information will be appreciated, including real world owner experiences and fuel consumption

Cheers for your help, much appreciated

Andy

 

[dsmclark40v]

Link here from audizine for time chain problems and what not. the one on ebay might just be changing the plugs and coil packs and it will run fine and you've grabbed yourself a bargain.

Other problems on the early ones can be syncros in the gearbox but I think 04 05 might have been ok. make sure the oil has been serviced regularly and not just the 20k longlife that audi dreamt up. starter motors are prone to fail as well.

Keep some money spare if you buy one as they are expensive cars to maintain. fuel consumption I get around 22mpg mixed driving, mainly motorway and A roads. some people get up to 27mpg I haven't worked out how yet tho

 

[Dorsetbloke]

Cheers Sam, everyone always lies about fuel consumption imo!! I used to have a 285hp ST3 and it did about 27 but some people reckon to get 32! Never... even driving it really carefully it struggled to hit 30. The S4 is only a weekend car so fuel not too important anyway. I am just after genuine feedback and experience so thanks for your time. The one on Ebay has had £7k spent on just about everything in the engine dept according to the listing and it still misfires, it looks to be a gamble to me, and too much of one at that for my money!!

 

[cobraBLACK]

What I posted here:

Just flicked through my receipts and here's what I've had done:

1. Fuel leak - fuel rails had been removed by previous owner without replacing the injector seals and one was leaking.
2. A/C faulty - air conditioning pressure switch had been damaged (possibly by front end impact); front of the car off.
3. Occasional misfires and EML - some of the external ignition wiring connectors needed replacing.
4. Oil leak - rocker cover gaskets; my dad and I did this ourselves. Can't be 100% it's fixed until I get the chance to clean up the undertray.
5. Coolant leak - inspected twice with no liquid leak detected; advised it could be vapour leak so replaced expansion tank cap but I discovered coolant drips during rocker cover gasket job.

That's in chronological order over the last year. Only 1 and 3 were done ASAP, the rest when I got fed up of them.

It's a great car but these issues (and those of others on these forums) are a bit of shock after three years owning an Impreza (where the only malfunction was a weak spring in the bypass valve).

I loved the Impreza but I don't think I could go back to one after the performance/luxury combo of the S4.

 

[Dorsetbloke]

Cheers for the input, I am certainly going to check to make sure it is well looked after and has a thorough history. I have had quite a few VAGs including a 2.5 TDi A6 and skoda VRS that I had remapped. All were 100% great and reliable as my previous jap stuff... a TT Supra funnily enough after a Cossie I had... ahhhh those were the days.

 

[dsmclark40v]

Cheers Sam, everyone always lies about fuel consumption imo!! I used to have a 285hp ST3 and it did about 27 but some people reckon to get 32! Never... even driving it really carefully it struggled to hit 30. The S4 is only a weekend car so fuel not too important anyway. I am just after genuine feedback and experience so thanks for your time. The one on Ebay has had £7k spent on just about everything in the engine dept according to the listing and it still misfires, it looks to be a gamble to me, and too much of one at that for my money!!

I just found that listing. Sounds a bit similar as to what happened to mine. When the tensioner went the exhaust valves touched on one bank. Just noticed it has walnut trim as well, yeah find another one

 

[Cabbyfan]

Whats wrong with walnut trim

 

[rjm180]

In addition to all things already mentioned,

Check roof operation. Cycle it open and closed a few times.

Check roof condition. Check material inside and out, externally there will be fold marks and slight scuffing, this is normal and happens quickly even on new hoods. From my experience these dont tend to get any worse though. Check inside the roof the condition of visible cords and look for any repairs etc.

Check roof stowage box in the boot. There is a lever in the boot which operates a stowage box. Sliding the lever lifts up the stowage box and increases boot space, however you cant have the roof down while in this condition. Its a mechanical lever connected to a cable, these can fail and are tricky to rectify yourself and main dealer will cost will be a few hundred quid so well worth a check

If you have access to a vagcom lead, scan any prospective purchases for fault codes.

I think there are some other buying guides/advice located on the net.

Fuel consumption is as you would expect from this sort of car, however its not something you can worry about. If it's only a weekend car then I guess its not a concern for you. I average betweeen 15 and 23 mpg really, 15+ around town and 23 on a motorway run, neither figures are driving hard either. Expect these figures to fall if you drive it hard. they are great cars, the power and noise from the 4.2 V8 with the roof down is immense.

 

[Dorsetbloke]

Whats wrong with walnut trim

Nothing that wrong with walnut trim 'cause the sun will be shining all the time once I get a cabby so you won't see it lol!!!!!

 

[Dorsetbloke]

I just found that listing. Sounds a bit similar as to what happened to mine. When the tensioner went the exhaust valves touched on one bank. Just noticed it has walnut trim as well, yeah find another one

I will no worries, I reckon anyone looking to bail after spending £7k has something to hide!! I'm too long in the tooth to fall for the just can't be bothered to fix it gag...

 

[Dorsetbloke]

In addition to all things already mentioned,

Check roof operation. Cycle it open and closed a few times.

Many thanks for your comments I appreciate it, the more I look the more there are comments about timing chain issues. I was under the impression that these were pretty much bullet proof so it is a bit of a concern.... there doesn't really seem any surefire way to protect against it either really. It's rather like my old '89 straight six Supra turbo. They were known for blowing head gaskets but mine never did, at least I can go into this with my eyes open (thanks Audi sport.net) instead of crossing my fingers and hoping like I had to do with the Supra (nothing like finding out you have bought a car with known issues!)

 

[cobraBLACK]

If you haven't already, check here and here for all the info you could need.

 

[Dorsetbloke]

Thanks for that, I had not found this information so very useful!

 

[boulevard]

I have owned mine since May 10. Its drinks fuel, averaging bout 17mpg but hardly any motorway driving so bills are large for Super/Optimax etc but insurance / tax no more than previous Imprezas / M3's.

I have yet to get it serviced (due april) so cannot offer up any thoughts on those sort of bills but otherwise its a cracking car, sounds lovely with the roof and foot down.

 

[NHN]

Had mine for few years back, lovely car, S4 Avant B6, not as powerful as you'd expect due to weight, one heavy mofo I tell yer, but make sure you have a tanker follow you everywhere as drinks fuel like crazy, realistic mpg is 16-19 with 20-22 on the motorway & remember its a V8 S4, they arent driven slowly everywhere, so be realistic about your intentions of driving style, you wont get good mileage per tank, as long as you understand this then lovely graceful car to own, running costs high but if you have deep pockets then isnt an issue, personally the 3.0 tdi is a stunning engine with power & economy.

 

[CHRIS555]

Daft thing but the Recaro interior in the saloon and avant is ace in the S4 but for some reason they didn't continue this interior into the cab's......

 

[NHN]

Really, strange as see no reason why they dont, have to admit the S4 interior was nice, comfy as hell.

 

[Dorsetbloke]

Thanks for the comments and time guys, much appreciated. I will take all your useful advice into consideration as I am looking etc !