What to look for when buying a s4 with 120K

[s4quattro187]

So ive been on the hunt for about a month now trying to find a 6spd s4 for around $13,000. After realizing most of the s4's around WA, for that price are tip's I settled on this 2001 nogaro 6spd with 120k settle on 11,500 with the 18" OZ superlaggeras witch i dont like. Brand new bridgestone 050A tires and a set new stock wheels in the boxes and roof rack bars. My question is I prolly shouldnt but it without having the turbos inspected or atleaset have a professional check for any oil in the intercoolers. Hes had all repairs and such done at the audi dealer, along with new pre cats and o2 sensors. I just know these turbos are ticking time bombs and 120k on orginal ones are gonna leave me without any sleep at night knowing they could blow the next time I drive it. Guy has had the car since 60K and is a older guy also. Says the only major thing he had to do is have the trans rebuilt recently because it started grinding 2nd, also replaced the clutch. He's pretty reasonable guy so maybe i could get him to sign a contract saying if they blow within certain amount of time he'll help me out. Not that he has to but I dont want to pay almost 12 grand for a car thats gonna cost me another 4-5 grand to fix within a couple months.

[Jsmooth65]

Is it chipped? If not, your turbos should be fine. You aren't really going to find a lower price.

[s4quattro187]

Not chipped ever. All stock besides the wheels. My thing is if i chipped it im sure they would blow.

[mholme]

If you are that worried about the turbos, maybe look for one with lower mileage. But that still doesn't guarantee much. Mine had the enging pulled at around 22k miles for turbos...

[OldYella]

The timing belt is about due again, keep that in mind also. I also think 12 or 13k for a 120mi car is high. 10.5 to 11k seems about right.

You also said you settled on this car. Dont settle for a car, keep looking for what you want. And keep in mind these things are only getting cheaper.

[rcjustin]

hell no. you can do much better than this. I paid 9000 cash for mine with 123000 miles, apr chip, h&r coilovers, light tints, 710n's etc. Had it for 10000 more miles turbos were still perfect and i just decided i wanted stage 3. You can definetally do better on the price.

[MiniRS4]

So ive been on the hunt for about a month now trying to find a 6spd s4 for around $13,000. After realizing most of the s4's around WA, for that price are tip's I settled on this 2001 nogaro 6spd with 120k settle on 11,500 with the 18" OZ superlaggeras witch i dont like. Brand new bridgestone 050A tires and a set new stock wheels in the boxes and roof rack bars. My question is I prolly shouldnt but it without having the turbos inspected or atleaset have a professional check for any oil in the intercoolers. Hes had all repairs and such done at the audi dealer, along with new pre cats and o2 sensors. I just know these turbos are ticking time bombs and 120k on orginal ones are gonna leave me without any sleep at night knowing they could blow the next time I drive it. Guy has had the car since 60K and is a older guy also. Says the only major thing he had to do is have the trans rebuilt recently because it started grinding 2nd, also replaced the clutch. He's pretty reasonable guy so maybe i could get him to sign a contract saying if they blow within certain amount of time he'll help me out. Not that he has to but I dont want to pay almost 12 grand for a car thats gonna cost me another 4-5 grand to fix within a couple months.

if that's the case, then dont! =) bc that is the risk you take. try n pay a lil less though.

[MiniRS4]

hell no. you can do much better than this. I paid 9000 cash for mine with 123000 miles, apr chip, h&r coilovers, light tints, 710n's etc. Had it for 10000 more miles turbos were still perfect and i just decided i wanted stage 3. You can definetally do better on the price.

your wasnt noggy, and often times mods decrease the overall value. it's definitely a high price, but understandably so- rare/higher demand/color. ya know? that is all.

[audinoobs4]

The timing belt is about due again, keep that in mind also. I also think 12 or 13k for a 120mi car is high. 10.5 to 11k seems about right.

You also said you settled on this car. Dont settle for a car, keep looking for what you want. And keep in mind these things are only getting cheaper.

true that i was patient for like 2 months and then i found one with 64k miles for 15 grand but i had to drive 400 miles to get it. i still ended up over the past 4 months putting over 3 grand in maintenance/repairs. Just expect to replace shit no matter what the mileage is

[mholme]

hell no. you can do much better than this. I paid 9000 cash for mine with 123000 miles, apr chip, h&r coilovers, light tints, 710n's etc. Had it for 10000 more miles turbos were still perfect and i just decided i wanted stage 3. You can definetally do better on the price.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=173181

[Jsmooth65]

hell no. you can do much better than this. I paid 9000 cash for mine with 123000 miles, apr chip, h&r coilovers, light tints, 710n's etc. Had it for 10000 more miles turbos were still perfect and i just decided i wanted stage 3. You can definetally do better on the price.

Did you buy it in Jersey? Aren't there like 100000000000 s4's there?

He's in Seattle.

[s4quattro187]

The color was the only thing, I want nogaro black or casa. Silver red yellow and dark blue are out of the question. I have a 01 casa tip, I found a bunch of silver s4's with lower mileage but they are all at dealers and have no records of whats been service or done to the car previous. This guy has had it since 2003 and bought it from the original owner. My 2001 has 71k and the drivers side intercooler already fills up with oil. The guy had the timing belt done last year for the 2nd time. He has proof of all other work done at the dealer. He just had new pre-cats/down pipes and o2 sensors put in at the dealer also last week. I guess maybe tonight ill drive 200+ miles to oregon to look at this other nogaro with lower mileage, witch is the only other nogaro within 500 miles that isnt a tip or have more mileage.

[mholme]

hmm, he's put a good deal of work/money into it and has records backing it up, so I don't know how flexible he would be with the price. I guess it depends on how bad he wants to sell..Have you actually driven the car? Sorry if you mentioned it in a previous post.

[s4quattro187]

He was asking 12,000. I drove the car and it had No issues at all. Boosted fine drove smooth. Only issue I had was the mileage and the CEL. But like I said he got the CEL off with the new precats and o2 sensors. Im just worried if the precats might have been killing the life on the turbos. Only thing I can think of is to have the car inspected because you cant really check for shaft play on these cars without taking the engine out. The reasons that im interested in buying the car is because the service records rebuild trans and new clutch. And all the services are already done according to mileage. ONLY thing im second guessing is the mileage. But I think ill go look at this other nogaro with 85k for 14,799 from a private seller and 2nd owner. He also says he has all service records since it was new from the 1st owner. I guess whats keeping me back is the extra $3,000 plus the interest on $14,799 is gonna be more then $11,500. And again 85k dosnt mean the turbos are gonna last tell 120k+ like this other car, stuck in a catch 22...

[mholme]

For my money, I'd buy the one with the better/ most recent service records, regardless of miles(I think 100-120k is still reasonable considering it's a 7 year old car) all other things being equal. I passed up two lower mileage cars because of unknown history.

[BastardS4]

What to look for?


Your ankles.

[JayyyyyC]

I wouldn't trust any car from New Jersey. No offense to any residents of that horrid wretched place.

Anyway, is the Nogaro S4 you're looking at have the sports package too?

-edit-

Wait just saw the pictures. Sports package? Get it.

[s4quattro187]

For my money, I'd buy the one with the better/ most recent service records, regardless of miles(I think 100-120k is still reasonable considering it's a 7 year old car) all other things being equal. I passed up two lower mileage cars because of unknown history.

Exactly the only reason I considered this car. 2nd owner all history on it. #1 reason I wont buy from a dealership even tho It may have lower mileage but I dont feel conforitble driving around not knowing if the timing belt has been done or anything else. Atleast I know the car was never chipped the guy is older so Im pretty sure he didnt beat on it at all. I guess I cant really expect much better of a car for the price im willing to spend. Turbos are the only reason I even started this post but from what ive been reading theres no real way to tell with the k03's they're either blown or ready to blow whenever. Just seems like aslong as I give it time to warm up and cool down and change the oil with synthetic like this guy has been since he got it. I think my real answer is if I want it to keep lasting I need to do these things and not chip it.
If I dont mind spending the extra cash I can drive it hard chip it ect...

[BurnAll4S4]

I wouldn't trust any car from New Jersey. No offense to any residents of that horrid wretched place.

Anyway, is the Nogaro S4 you're looking at have the sports package too?

-edit-

Wait just saw the pictures. Sports package? Get it.

LOL VA

[JayyyyyC]

LOL VA

Northern VA.

Hey all I know is that we're not MAINLY known for stolen cars and car parts, as well as the infamous label of being the "pass through state to NY" And I don't think we have a county that can top Jersey's crime rate. =D

[FrimmelNoJerz]

you should look for about 10k in the glovebox.

[Tifosi]

I am sorry to say this but I really doubt that he would agree to a contract to help you replace the turbos should they blow. I don't think anyone here would, would you ? Think of it like this, the seller will have no way of knowing how the new buyer will treat the car once he/she is in possession of the car. A contract like this can also act as an incentive for the new owner to blow the K03s on purpose, so the new owner can have his/her Stage 3 convertion paid for by the previous owner.

If you are not comfortable with the car, walk away. 120K miles on any car is a lot regardless how the previous owners treated it, some parts are simply not going to last that many miles. TB, WP and seals for example.

[tike0rz]

I bought mine for $10k last August, with 127k miles. I have not had any maintenance problems whatsoever! The car was from Maryland. It now has 142,000 miles! It was stock besides Samco TBB and 710n diverter valves. Knock on woodgrain, sometimes you just get lucky. If the previous owner was an older guy, plus the sport package, GET IT!

[belinko]

If the the car is on its 2nd clutch and had the tranny rebuilt, then I guarantee you the cars been driven "enthusiastically", whatever that means. The turbos are going to go no matter what, the main question is do you have the mula to maintain/swap turbos and all of the ancillary hardware necessary to properly maintain this high performance luxury vehicle?
As you can imagine swapping turbos ain't cheap. Also, as mentioned above the Timing Belt (TB) is going to be due shortly. Don't expect a $50K car that has 120K miles on it to go for another 100K without some serious maintenance.$.02

[mholme]

Exactly the only reason I considered this car. 2nd owner all history on it. #1 reason I wont buy from a dealership even tho It may have lower mileage but I dont feel conforitble driving around not knowing if the timing belt has been done or anything else. Atleast I know the car was never chipped the guy is older so Im pretty sure he didnt beat on it at all. I guess I cant really expect much better of a car for the price im willing to spend. Turbos are the only reason I even started this post but from what ive been reading theres no real way to tell with the k03's they're either blown or ready to blow whenever. Just seems like aslong as I give it time to warm up and cool down and change the oil with synthetic like this guy has been since he got it. I think my real answer is if I want it to keep lasting I need to do these things and not chip it.
If I dont mind spending the extra cash I can drive it hard chip it ect...

Well, define "older".. I don't think age has that much to do with it...There's an 80 something year old guy that up until last year was blazing his stage 3 Avant at VIR regularly.

If you do go with the lower mileage one, there's a better chance at getting an aftermarket warranty I'd think, but these cars now a days are usually picked up on the cheap by people that arent affraid to turn a wrench and take care of issues that do come up. That's the only reason I picked up mine a few years ago, higher mileage, new turbos and all records. I swore I was gonna keep it stock but it's been "mildly" modifed, stage 2+. And when the turbos do blow, I'll go stage 3.

Buy it, drive it, modify it, ENJOY IT

[s4quattro187]

If the the car is on its 2nd clutch and had the tranny rebuilt, then I guarantee you the cars been driven "enthusiastically", whatever that means. The turbos are going to go no matter what, the main question is do you have the mula to maintain/swap turbos and all of the ancillary hardware necessary to properly maintain this high performance luxury vehicle?
As you can imagine swapping turbos ain't cheap. Also, as mentioned above the Timing Belt (TB) is going to be due shortly. Don't expect a $50K car that has 120K miles on it to go for another 100K without some serious maintenance.$.02

seems like you didnt read all the post. The timing belt was done last fall. What serious maintenance would need to be done if hes already been doing everything? And what dose the tranny being rebuilt have to do with the way the car has been drivin. I could buy a car new and drive the shit out of it and have it blow up within 100k thats why they have warranties. Also if you read the post you would have seen I already have a 2001 s4 witch was an a4 that I converted. And the motor and trans had 71 k and the drivers turbo was bad when I got it.

you should look for about 10k in the glovebox.

actully in my silver s4 I found a $100 gift card to best buy, bunch of new movies and some gucci sun glasses

[Tifosi]

The timing belt was done last fall. What serious maintenance would need to be done if hes already been doing everything?

Luck plays a part in any car purchase, more so with used cars than new cars.

If you really like the car, have a proper PPI done on the car and go from there. This way you will know almost exactly what to expect and also may be used as a bargining chip to bring the price down a little more.

Just so you know, there are plenty of things that may need to either be repaired or replaced at 120K. The suspension and its related links (especially since the car is from the NE), brakes, wheel bearings, CV boots, cam seals, heater core, fan control unit, engine mounts, transmission mounts and many other engine related things that ranges from fueling, ignition to cooling. Keep in mind that these are just normal wear and tear stuff, nothing special but can be expensive to repair or replace.

[Fresh.S4]

this goes in hand with my thread http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=204924
and so i think it would be safe to say if your gonna spend 13-16k on a used s4 might as well try and pick one up for under 10k and spend what ever u could after and just replace everything that way u know its all fresh?

[audinoobs4]

this goes in hand with my thread http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=204924
and so i think it would be safe to say if your gonna spend 13-16k on a used s4 might as well try and pick one up for under 10k and spend what ever u could after and just replace everything that way u know its all fresh?

Thats not a bad idea. I thought about that when i was looking for mine but luckily i found one with an awesome service record and low mileage.

[mholme]

I wouldn't trust any car from New Jersey. No offense to any residents of that horrid wretched place.

That's pretty funny. If you ever look at ebay auctions from jersey..salvage do to theft but they say "the car is perfect aside from a punched door lock, deployed airbags...EZ fix.." Also parts.."never got to install parts before the car was stolen"