S4 Help! :)

[Phantom_A4]

Hey Guys,

Anyone with an S4 want to give me the low down on what it's like to live with everyday? Problems you've incurred and things to look out for apart from the obvious!

I'm 20, 21 in August so it's a big thing for me to get an S4. Already have an insurance quote and it's not too bad imo, not too far off my 2.4 i had.

I'll have around 10k to spend, so i want to get the most for my money, i don't want a B6 before anyone says so

I've studied the S4 guide provided, but just would like some comments from you guys.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[docurley]

Read the thread at the top.

 

[rasA4]

welcome back Phantom!

 

[satans child]

s4 is one of the greatest cars i have ever owned and ive had some nice motors...
fast is not an under statement compared to a 2.4
as far as problems the only thing ive ever had a problem with is i kept going through maf sensors but just get a copy of vag com reset the fault codes and its good for a few more months. my mate used to have the same problems.
mods can be a bit pricey but that comes with owning an s4
but bottom line is i dont think there is a better car out there still even rs4,s to big 4 me
ps check my gallery pics are forth coming !!!:thumbsup:

 

[Phantom_A4]

Thanks Ras!

Cheers for the info Satan, just really wanted comments like yours as it doesnt mention much about maf sensors in the guides. I work for euro car parts in Guildford, so Maf's are pretty cheap for me

 

[Mcdubber1]

I've got a S4 avant that iv owned for about 6 months and love it to bits but sadly have to sell it soon due to new house and baby which im obviously gutted about. Since owning it iv replaced a few parts but just the same as you would get on any other cars like alternator,wheel bearing,abs sensor and maf. They are quite expensive to run and maintain, it cost me £500 to get alternator replaced due to there being very little room in engine bay which means bigger labour costs on alot of repairs under the bonnet.
Maybe you could buy mine?

 

[EnzoS4]

I've had the S4 for about 3yr / about 30k miles. great cars, mines fully standard and only changed the MAF once

it's been about £3k per year up-kept

but this is with a Audi services (every 4-5 months / plugs changed every 10k), I think the standard or recommendation is about 1yr and plugs every 2yr

highly recommended but the hard part is finding one that has not been driven hard or highly mod.


Good-luck

 

[shineydave]

i'm on 15 months of ownership and 10k miles so here's a brief rundown of my experience so far

what's broken -
1 MAF £75,
passenger side Lambda £55,
Alarm sounder £75 (although to be fair i think this was broken when i bought the car
wipers slowed down, easily fixed by stripping and re-greasing the rack

fuel consumption -
averaging just over 22mpg on the DIS of either V-power or Tesco 99

main spends on it so far have been -
17" RS4 reps, £250
set of tyres due to unforseen pallet in the road (don't ask) £400
custom remap at MRC £500
Vag-Com £160 (don't bother with the Fleabay copies)
RS4 front grill £50
AWE vent boost gauge £errrrrrr, still waiting for Clive to tell me what i owe him for this

in the near future i will need a set of rear brakes, rear vented discs come in under £30 each from Vag-parts

had it serviced by Audi when i bought it, big service cost £400 so this year i did it myself. bits came to under £100 for mobil 1 oil, plugs, oil filter, air filter and pollen filter

when i got the car i also changed the DV's for 710N's, samco TBB and F-pipe and did the after run cooling pump mod.

all in all it's been a pretty rewarding experience driving what is probably one of the quickest affordable cars on the road today. it always starts and performs magnificently.

go for the highest spec you can, i have around £8k of extras on mine including Nav plus with TV and CD autochanger, Leather electric Recaros, centre armrest, electric sunroof, Carbon trim, ski through load and concealed tow bar.

the facelift models are a better bet as they come with slightly updated looks both inside and out, also the brakes are better and they have RS exhaust manifolds which don't suffer the rattle of some pre facelift cars. they also have switchable ESP for the traffic light grand prix.

mine's in Nogaro blue, a stunning colour in the flesh which looks awesome when it's had a couple of coats of Meguires, my other personal favourite is Imola yellow although there's also plenty of more stealthy options for those that wish to preserve their annonymity.

 

[Phantom_A4]

Lol thanks guys

I'm looking for a saloon though mcdubber, have seen plenty for around the 10k mark, which is ok by me. Most of them with lowish miles as well. It's good to hear that you guys haven't had much go wrong for you (touch wood). I can get most parts for the S4 cheap thats why i want to get one, general maintenance and servicing is really cheap for me too as i get my parts from work and the garages we supply charge us ****** all labour.

Enzo, you service your quite a bit! Also change your sparkers a lot, what ones do you use on the S4?

 

[Dan Gliballs]

Well walk about 500 yards to my house, and i'll talk you through it LOL!!!

 

[DIPS_A4]

HEY WELCOME BACK PHANTOM HOPE UR GOOD. NICE TO SEE YOU POSTING ON HERE AGAIN DUDE!

 

[EnzoS4]

Lol thanks guys

Enzo, you service your quite a bit! Also change your sparkers a lot, what ones do you use on the S4?

I have Audi do all my services - so standard S4 plugs which are about £10 each (£60) and use APS for other things like replacing parts / fault finding.

 

[Phantom_A4]

I work at Eurocarparts, we do all OEM and some Aftermarket stuff, can get your sparkers and generally most bits cheaper than Audi and they are genuine as well.

If you need anything or want a quote me give me a buzz on 01483461333 or e-mail me Gavin.Ong@ecpdc.eurocarparts.com!

I am pushing to get us advertised on here too, but untill that happens ill have to do it myself lol

btw thanks dips, didn't leave mate, just sat back

 

[newtoS4]

Hi,

I bought my 2000 plate avant 1 month ago.
I love it.
Subtle, fast, great handling.

I have had no problems yet and have put just under 3000 miles on it.
Parts as you say not that expensive, especially as you can get them cheap.
I get 30 mpg on a run, that's 80-90 on the m-ways.
But about 18mpg round town.

One thing that I find amazing for a car this rapid is the ease of living with it. It's not so low that it hits speed bumps any worse than "normal cars".
Doesn't seem fussy about fuel vareity and transports family about safely and quietly. Then when alone shifts me about much faster than I should. Saves me needing 2 cars and I don't mind my wife having the "fun" car in the family. She's in a mini cooper convertible.

Mine's got 76K on it and a wheel bering is just starting to moan. When I first got it I spent most of my time worrying about any noise from the bonnet. Now I just get in and drive. Will get the oil changed every 10K and hopefully all will be well.

Also lots of advice and help on this forum and audi world and rs246.com

Go on get an S4...

As some say
Come on in the water is lovely!

 

[SonicDeathmonkey]

I have put 140K on mine....

Make sure you get the water pump changed when doing the timing belts, saves you about 5 hours labour for the cost of a 50 quid part.

Brake discs go quite often. Must be my driving style...

Mine chews up the inside of the back tyres a little quicker than it should do too.

I changed the MAF myself. Had the fuel pump changed, but still running original turbos.

Oh, and one of my cats smashed itself to bits about 6 months ago. Audi wanted silly money to change it.

 

[Phantom_A4]

140k and only those problems, sounds good to me lol!

 

[SonicDeathmonkey]

I forgot about the heater fan packed up at 80K, and I also have the ****** volume problem on the stereo, which I have not been ***** to fix in the last year. I am quite happy with it stuck at the default volume!

 

[satans child]

you can buy mine when ive finished bruv shall we say £40.000 cheap at half the price:icon_thumright: lol

 

[QuantumJohn]

Good luck with the search Phantom.

I ended up braking an 18K mile 2000 S4 avant (long story) so hopefully know my way round them pretty well. The engine out of it is now in my new S4. They are pretty simple to work on if you want to do the servicing etc your self and even the big jobs aren't that bad.
Most things that go wrong are just the sort of stuff you have to look out for on any modern car, MAF's, EGT sensors, Lambda sensors, driveshft gaitors.
Get yourself VAG-COM (or get friendly with someone who does) and check for fault codes often then you can catch these problems early.

If it hasn't already get a boost gauge fitted as this will highlight if there are any boost leaks which can potentially damage the turbos.
Otherwise it is just service items and they are not going to be too expensive for you!

Wait until you get to the tuning, then it gets fun.

John

 

[Dan Gliballs]

I get 30 mpg on a run, that's 80-90 on the m-ways.

I have NEVER managed that LOL!!!

 

[ZeroK66]

Bought mine with 30k on the clock from Audi dealership. Serviced every 5k from new...

38k the turbos popped... ended up costing me 4k+ min to fix. I ended up spending more on the repair than my purchase price of the car. Result is 500HP and endless smiles.

As long as you get a well maintained example, get it checked by a 2.7t specialist for boost leaks regularly (or just replace the pipes that are known to pop) and get the MAF replaced you should have a relatively cheap awesome daily driver.

I can only assume a boost leak caused my engine failure. Audi rejected the warranty for reasons I cant bother to go into all over again (never own another audi as a result) - but the car itself is just awesome - LOVE IT!