B5 S4 Reliable or fail?

[xxForgedxx]

I'm desperately in love with the look of this car, so simple, so great. The Twin Turbo 2.7L 6 is great, nothing sounds better and the power you can make is a wow, did I forget the AWD? Or how nice german cars feel? F ALL THAT! I need a NO BS assessment on how reliable these things are. I have heard nothing but DOG S*** horror stories about these and I know plenty of Dub/Audi guys that LOVE VW/AUDI so much that they do not care about all the trouble they go through and all the money but unfortunately I do...

Please help break down the abuse these things can handle, what breaks, why and how much to repair/replace parts and labor ish, what typically goes for what reasons and should I even bother with this car expecting anything trouble free about it besides the integrity of the METAL?

[G Men 08]

need $$

[SLC_S4]

I'm gonna say this isn't the car for you....I'm too lazy right now to go into detail, as everything you're asking has already been covered multiple times. Search the forum and you'll find detailed info on what breaks and how much it costs to fix on average.

[OldYella]

Take care of it and it will break slower.

[kwn23]

You will need time and money. To make a long story short- ball joints/suspension, turbos, timing belt, clutch, pixel issues(instrument cluster wears out) etc... There are tons of people on this forum that can go on and on beyond my knowledge with this stuff but you will have a fair share of up-keep with the B5's. They are great cars and can take abuse to an extent but if you want to drive it and treat it like a fast, fun sports car then you'll need the bank account to support it. Don't get me wrong, my 2000 s4 is nothing but amazing, it's got perks and downfalls just like every car though.

[Nogaro_PhiDelt]

smoking a two-door sports car with 4-doors beats sex.

[torment]

Take care of it and it will break slower.

[gointoscott]

Take care of it and it will break slower.

[JDM EJ1 95]

if you plan on buying one.

have a credit card with no balance on it.. but with a 5k limit on the side just for repairs.


that should hold you over when shit breaks.


< my car was very well maintained before i bought it.. meticulously.. but i just spent like 4k in the past year on it..


they're money pits

[Blue_S4]

i take good care of mine, don't neglect anything. i have put less than 1500 into maintenance and repairs, including replacing my damaged exhaust and one bent rim, in the 30k miles i have put on her. its really not that bad.

[sCeRaXn]

Ive had my car for almost 5 months now. Out of those 5 months it was on jackstands for 2 and 1/2 and ive spent damn near $3k on it just on repairs. It has an insanely meticulous service record from the previous owner, but it still breaks alot. When it comes down to it, theres really nothing reliable or cheap about this car. If you cant afford to drop atleast $2k on it at any given time then this car isnt for you.

[Steve.T]

Two EGT sensors - $600. No CEL - priceless! :)

[RAyala2.7T]

If you got the money and are willing to spend it, I say go for it. If not, then pass.

A $5-7K budget would be good for maintenance issues that may arrise.

[xxForgedxx]

Great for you guys maybe, but far away for me. Thanks though

[Reich]

If you don't do mecanics by your self or don't have a good wallet than pass. those high tech cars ares expensive to repair. Just an example. You have 4 ball joints per front wheels. No other brand has this. Nore joints = more potent to break. It's great car tho.

[MacDaddy]

its more reliable than a lexus RX300.


...if you get a neglected S4 and you don't know how to turn a wrench its going to need alot of money and work, but thats the same story with any car. if your not mechanically inclined, get one that had a previous owner who was anal about maintenance to ensure smooth sailing.

[xxForgedxx]

its more reliable than a lexus RX300.


...if you get a neglected S4 and you don't know how to turn a wrench its going to need alot of money and work, but thats the same story with any car. if your not mechanically inclined, get one that had a previous owner who was anal about maintenance to ensure smooth sailing.

Yet above a few guys who bought from an anal previous owner still have problems.

[///M3 TO S4]

Take care of it and it will break slower.

lmao.....

[MacDaddy]

Yet above a few guys who bought from an anal previous owner still have problems.

thats what the guy selling it says so he gets the price hes asking, i don't know how many "well maintained" cars i've seen with a endless number of "just $5" parts broken and a ton of sludge on the oil cap.

[xxForgedxx]

thats what the guy selling it says so he gets the price hes asking, i don't know how many "well maintained" cars i've seen with a endless number of "just $5" parts broken and a ton of sludge on the oil cap.

If you look above this is what one guy said about the previous owner of his car he bought.

[Jayco88]

for me the pro's outweigh the cons.

[saucys4]

20k miles put on in two years and it has been one of the most reliable cars in my family. If you can do simple wrenching you will save big $$$

[chris23]

My '01 has been extremly reliable. Once you start to mod it is when you will run into issues. Like every piece of machinery, take care of it and it will take care of you...beat the sh@t out of it and it will cost you some $$$$

[MacDaddy]

If you look above this is what one guy said about the previous owner of his car he bought.

well clearly it wasn't meticulously maintained.

[GramCracker]

Take care of it and it will break slower.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[purchasers4]

Everything will break;
The replacement parts will all be expensive; and
It will be unnecessarily difficult to fix.

[haus4]

depends on how you drive, wrenching skills are a must

[S4 in_lowplaces]

I've had my S4 for about 4 years now, Nothing has ever broken on mine. Shit... I havent changed the oil in four years and I'm still runnin strong.

[revhards4]

mine runs great. I just had all control arms replaced and a torn cv boot. Runs fine and all I do is change the oil...(knock on wood) :)

[gointoscott]

I've had my S4 for about 4 years now, Nothing has ever broken on mine. Shit... I havent changed the oil in four years and I'm still runnin strong.

LIAR!!! at least about the part with not changing the oil.

[Cart]

I bought mine at 64,000 miles. I had rear wheel bearing and CV boot replaced. It was good until now at 107,000. I needed new control arms and suspension. Now my clutch just went out. So it kinda just all hit me at once. Also my cam seal is leaking oil but fuck it.
Oh yeah timing belt kit was done at 105,000

[slkdik]

ive had my 01.5 for about 1.5 years. had about 95k KM's on it when got it. now mind you ive only put about 22k KM's on it so far, i only had to replace 1 egt sensor, and my clutch. the clutch i installed myself which saved a lot of $.

now this isnt to say i havent spent a lot of $ yet, as ive got a full vag gt25 kit, jhm shifter/bushing/linkage, 034 motor/tranny/snub mounts, stassis tracksports, vast timing belt kit, and a few other things all sitting in my garage waiting to be installed. hahahaha!! but those were all out of my own choice, well i guess not the timing belt kit as it should be done, but you know what i mean.

point being, havent had much go wrong yet, but did get the mod bug real fast, which cost me a lot of $$$$.

[DzeticVR]

if you keep it stock and take care of it it will be good for quite a while. if you drop it, chip it problems will eventually arrive! I just recently chipped mine and i immediately replaced diverter valves, silicone boost hoses and vacuum lines even tho they were fine just to prevent any problems in the future!
as said before, WRENCHING IS A MUST.. take it to audi dealership and theyll kill you!

[DzeticVR]

I bought mine at 64,000 miles. I had rear wheel bearing and CV boot replaced. It was good until now at 107,000. I needed new control arms and suspension. Now my clutch just went out. So it kinda just all hit me at once. Also my cam seal is leaking oil but fuck it.
Oh yeah timing belt kit was done at 105,000

thats not too bad! youve got fresh memory how to take it apart now you got to do it again! lol

[buttermobile]

you need a trustworthy mechanic...otherwise you're pouring your money into a pit.
if they're not sneak into their house and put a blown turbo next to their pillow.

[NightRoller USP]

B5 s4's are really sweet cars but they definatly have their faults. I know in 2000 and 2001 they had turbo issues (Not sure about 02). I got really close to buying one but its really hard to find one that hasnt been throttled/beat to shit. You have to consider that that is what the car is built to do though.

[BITRBO]

my car was very well maintained before i bought it.. meticulously.. but i just spent like 4k in the past year on it..


they're money pits

Wow. You just summarized last year for me...

I still LOVE the car though.