Buying 1st S4...Have some questions Please help

[slideitsidewayz]

Alright, Hey everyone. Well 1st off id like to say that im new to audi's. ive been researching them for months now and have read all the FAQ on many sites but still have some answers that i would like to be answered.

Well ill tell you a little about the car im about to buy. I am about to purchase a 2000 S4 6 speed. its black with black leather and sliver trim with gray suede interior. the car has never been driven in snow so its never seen salt. the car has 123,xxx miles on it. i am buying it from the 2nd owner who bought it with 84,000miles on it. the car has been very well maintained. the timing belt was changed just by the 1st owner idk when but obvisouly before 84,000miles. car has new tires with less than 1000 miles on them. has a k&n air filter with abd intake system (only mod...so far ) The 2nd owner replaced all the front control arms and ball joints along with the Struts, upgraded the sway bars, Cross drilled front brake rotor's, Stainless steel braided brake lines,and a new bipipe and bypass valves.

The car was in a small accident when the 2nd owner 1st bought the car. It was mainly Front end damage (bumper, one light, hood, and airbags) since then he said he has had no problems with the car.

Ive seen the Car and it is gorgeous!

Ok! now for my noobish questions. Please dont tell me to read FAQ forums or anything. im asking these stupid questions because i would like them answered directly...and im new so dont hate me

1. Should i worry about changing the timing belt anytime soon, or do i not have to change it again or atleast not for a while?

2. Should i be worrying about anything when i get the car? im gonna have my machanic check it out but id like to know what to expect that the 2nd owner hasnt touched upon that goes along with the car having 123,xxx miles.

3. Im getting the car for $8,500...ive been looking around alot and i think this is a great deal...is it?

4. I plan to put a giac chip in it. id like to buy one used. i see alot of giac's have boxes such as "a box" "m box" "h box" and so on. im a little confused with the giac chips if anyone can straighten this out for me that would be great. (once again sorry for being a noob )

5. Are the any major problems i should expect in the future, besides regular maintance? The 2nd owner has recently had the car checked out and his machanic said the engine and turbos are in great condition. is there anything to worry about in the next 40k miles?

Well i guess thats about it guys. Thanks for the help. Just dont tell me to good look these questions up please, just give me a straight answer. Thanks so much guys!

[RolledMySTi]

I would double check the accident damage. A "small accident" shouldn't set off the airbags. Airbags only go off in accidents over 25mph, which can cause some serious damage. I would make sure the frame and front suspension are 100%.

1. Maybe. It depends on how long ago the timing belt was done. If it was done around 60k I would look into getting that done again soon.

2. Make sure the tbb, f hose and dv's are good. Look for any leaks. The valve cover gaskets might be suspect with that many miles.

3. Seems like a good price to me.

4. I have no idea.

5. The two biggest things to worry about are the turbos and the clutch. Neither is easy or cheap to replace.

As I learned with mine it is always a gamble with these cars. I bought mine of a AW moderator with the full maintenance history and I still ended up sinking a bunch of cash into it. Just make sure you have the money for any repairs that may come up.

[2ndEngineS4]

5. The three biggest things to worry about are the turbos and the clutch and the 1-2 gears in the tranny. None of the three is easy or cheap to replace.

Fixed.

[andru1313]

Guessing it has stock turbos. If so that would be my first concernt. The clutch would be my 2nd. and the trans would be my third.

[ewuzh]

1. Should i worry about changing the timing belt anytime soon, or do i not have to change it again or atleast not for a while?

2. Should i be worrying about anything when i get the car? im gonna have my machanic check it out but id like to know what to expect that the 2nd owner hasnt touched upon that goes along with the car having 123,xxx miles.

3. Im getting the car for $8,500...ive been looking around alot and i think this is a great deal...is it?

4. I plan to put a giac chip in it. id like to buy one used. i see alot of giac's have boxes such as "a box" "m box" "h box" and so on. im a little confused with the giac chips if anyone can straighten this out for me that would be great. (once again sorry for being a noob )

5. Are the any major problems i should expect in the future, besides regular maintance? The 2nd owner has recently had the car checked out and his machanic said the engine and turbos are in great condition. is there anything to worry about in the next 40k miles?

Timing belt is usually done every 60-75K, so I would plan on doing it within the next 15K miles.

Pretty good price, even for the slightly less desirable 2000 model. I would be concerned about the accident especially since the airbags were deployed.

A-box is for 2000 S4, H-box 2001 and M-box 2001.5. I think the H and M boxes are interchangeable if you re-code the instrument cluster using the VAG-COM. The A-box can only be used on the 2000 model.

If the clutch has not been replaced, chances are it is going to die on you. For me it wasn't the clutch disc, but rather a finger on the pressure plate broke off. It's a $2000 job. Same with turbos (+$2000 job), especially if you plan on chipping it and putting extra stress on them.

Mine had full dealer service records and appeared to be in great condition, but I still had to sink about 3 grand into it right after I bought it. So bottom line, if you can't afford to maintain it you really can't afford the car, regardless of how cheap it was. Not saying it's all going to happen right away, but definitely have some funds readily available in case things do. It's definitely not as carefree and cheap-to-fix like my previous cars were (Nissan/Honda/Subaru).

[RolledMySTi]

If the clutch has not been replaced, chances are it is going to die on you. For me it wasn't the clutch disc, but rather a finger on the pressure plate broke off. It's a $2000 job. Same with turbos (+$2000 job), especially if you plan on chipping it and putting extra stress on them.

Mine had full dealer service records and appeared to be in great condition, but I still had to sink about 3 grand into it right after I bought it. So bottom line, if you can't afford to maintain it you really can't afford the car, regardless of how cheap it was. Not saying it's all going to happen right away, but definitely have some funds readily available in case things do. It's definitely not as carefree and cheap-to-fix like my previous cars were (Nissan/Honda/Subaru).

I had the same thing happen to me with the clutch and it's definitely not as cheap as a Subaru to fix.

[slideitsidewayz]

Mine had full dealer service records and appeared to be in great condition, but I still had to sink about 3 grand into it right after I bought it. So bottom line, if you can't afford to maintain it you really can't afford the car, regardless of how cheap it was. Not saying it's all going to happen right away, but definitely have some funds readily available in case things do. It's definitely not as carefree and cheap-to-fix like my previous cars were (Nissan/Honda/Subaru).

I Bought a 1991 Nissan 300zx when i was 16. it was/is my 1st car. i dumped about 8g's into customizing it and getting it looking sweet. i did a full elk leather interior trim, with new carpets, seats, and a $3000 stereo. i just finished a custom paint jog on the car totalling around $5000 bucks. Im 19 now and almost 3 months ago i was coming back from prom weekend on the garden state parkway with my girlfriend and my engine blew! i got the car with 104k miles and it blew at 106k miles. i just bought a rebuild engine for $600 with around 30k miles. i just got my engine swapped and cost me a total of around $2,800. and just had to buy another $200 part to complete the swap! for a 19 year old kid...this is a butt load of money!

Now im getting my car ready to sell it. its gorgeous! but even tho i love nissan's with all my heart. i was truely hurt with this car and was very disappointed. But its going up for sell so if anyone is interested PM me

So now im switching from japanese engineering to german...i hope the s4 just doesnt disappoint me like the 300zx did.

The point of saying all this is that i am perpared for the worst guys. Thanks for all your help everyone!

[Jung]

well 2800 should cover k04s and inlet pipes and an hour or two of labor

[slideitsidewayz]

yeah, if i didnt blow my engine then i could have had an extra $3,000 for the s4