2002 RS4 any good?

[cpinch73]

Really need some advice hear...

I'm currently running a A3 3.2 s-line on a 54 plate and really like it, however I have to small children and want go camping quite a lot each year. As you can imagine the A3 doesn't have a lot of room at all and only being a 3 door is a tad annoying. I've worked out at a push I can afford £13,000 on a new motor and love RS4's but for that money would only be able to afford the 2001/2002 2.7L version. Can anyone tell me are these any good and could I be buying into any problems?

Any advice would be very appreciated.

Thanks

 

[graemep]

I've been running one now for four years, and can honestly say they are great cars but not without their problems. Some parts, e.g. discs aren't cheap.

The main ones to look out for are cam wear, corroded oil lines, and turbos - so far I have had to sort out the first two recently. The turbos have been known to last for over 160k miles on these though, and it is a strong engine. Other than that, just stay on top of maintenance and use a specialist rather than a dealer, e.g. MRC Tuning or Unit 20 - I have mine healthchecked annually with the service.

It is a damn siight more practical, and comfortable than a 3dr A3, although rear leg room is not the greatest for passengers - I'm 6'3 and theres only a couple of inches of leg room behind my seat.

Don't be too afraid of a modified car if its been looked after by a specialist. A lot of cars will have been remapped, had uprated brakes fitted, possibly ARB's or shortshift.

There was a special on the RS4 in Audi Driver mag in February that you should be able to get hold of as a back issue which has a lot of good info but also a couple of not so good bits as well. Other useful sources of information would be AudiSRS.com, and maybe RS246.com although the forum for this model is less active these days