B6 S4 advice/opinions please

[Broonie]

Hi all, I am hoping someone could shed some light on an issue for me

I went and had a look at 03 S4 today with intention of buying, the garage owner is on holiday this week so I couldn't test drive it due to something to do with the trade plates, it's currently out of tax

Anyway I was all keen for it after a good look around it but when I started it up there was a faint kind of whining noise that got louder as the revs went up, it sounded like it was coming from the gearbox/rear of engine area, could it be clutch or flywheel related or is there something else that is prone to going that could make the noise?

Any by help and advice is appreciated on this one as it's already at a great price and if I know what this whining noise is I can use it to bargain with as long as it's not too expensive to sort out

thanks

Alan

 

[dualmono21]

s4,s have a secondary air intake and which is in use on startup
this is so the cats and precats dont are running rich on start up
after a few minutes this should go

of more concern is what the engine sounds like when its first started , this is of paramount importance when buying an s4

 

[Broonie]

Ah that makes sense, I was told before looking at it that they can be quite tappy on start up, this one was very quiet with no sign of tapping or knocking, I am test driving it on Monday evening when the owner gets back, as long as it drives ok I will be taking it,

I'm still trying to work out why it's as cheap as it is, it's on 96k miles with full history etc but does have quite a few light scratches but my detailed reckons he can take the majority of them out with a good detailing session

Fingers crossed it drives and stops well and I will be joining the V8 S4 club

 

[dualmono21]

what you need to make sure of is how long it takes for the oil pressure to build up and stop the tensioners from rattling
if the tensioners rattle for anything longer than a second ....walk away and find another car

make sure the car is clock cold before test driving it and get someone to start it for you whilst listening under the hood

 

[Martyn_V6]

Hi all, I am hoping someone could shed some light on an issue for me

I went and had a look at 03 S4 today with intention of buying, the garage owner is on holiday this week so I couldn't test drive it due to something to do with the trade plates, it's currently out of tax

Anyway I was all keen for it after a good look around it but when I started it up there was a faint kind of whining noise that got louder as the revs went up, it sounded like it was coming from the gearbox/rear of engine area, could it be clutch or flywheel related or is there something else that is prone to going that could make the noise?

Any by help and advice is appreciated on this one as it's already at a great price and if I know what this whining noise is I can use it to bargain with as long as it's not too expensive to sort out

thanks

Alan

It wasn't a grey one at Ron Mackie cars was it?

I was thinking on looking at it at the weekend

 

[Broonie]

That's the one mate, I went back and had a good look at it in the dry and decided against it, the paintwork is a bit of a mess, the bootlid, bonnet and drivers door are full of scratches, there is a rust patch on the rear passenger side door, all door handles are scabby and there's quite a few scratches/chips all over it, a lot of the scratches would come out with a good machine polish but there would still be quite a few left which would really annoy me, I'd have to put another £1k into it in a body shop to get it looking good,

dont get me wrong, it's a really nice car but it's not my first colour choice and I don't want to have to put more cash into it to get it where is want it when I could just wait for another car the right colour and better bodywork

If your nearby then go have a look at it and see what you think, you could probably get something off it to put towards the paintwork, the interior was in great condition but no sat nav or heated seats and it's on 96k instead of the 90k as advertised, I seen it has been re advertised due to a time waster too so he might give you a good deal on it, I didn't speak to Ron as he was on holiday when I looked at it but the woman in the office said it was in "mint condition" when I phoned before I went over and I think that made it worse for me as it clearly isn't in "mint" condition

 

[Broonie]

I meant to ad, that whining noise did go away after a couple minutes and was nice and quiet when I went back to look at it,

Its not a bad car by any means, I'm just being picky and it's definitely worth a look at the price it's at

 

[Martyn_V6]

Thought it was maybe the same one. You just saved me a 60 mile round trip :icon_thumright:

I asked if there was any rust and the guy said no the front wings have just been done and so has the rear. Nothing wrong with being fussy, she just got a brand new focus st and i managed to find stuff wrong with it .

It would all just bug me as well even though it would only be for running to work in and chucking the dog in. Cheers for the heads up

 

[Broonie]

Rear arches definitely haven't been done, there is a scuff on the passenger side rear arch just above bumper

would be a great runaround or winter hack but I'm after a very tidy example