2004 S4 Avant - new owner... Any tips for me?

[Captain Insano]

Guess I should have asked this before the purchase. So anyway, I just picked it up today. It is blue and has 77K miles on the odometer. Looks like it's in good shape besides some minor door dings I plan to have removed with PDR...

Any tips for me as far as mods to do or general maintenance gremlins to look out for?? It doesn't have the 75K maintenance done so I plan to do that first.

[speedydragon]

tip or manual? I'd suggest a tranny flush. Although Audi states that their tranny fluid is lifetime, my ip failed at 102k..2kmiles after it was out of warranty :[

[Captain Insano]

It's a 6-speed manual. Thanks. I just called the local maintenance shop and I'm going to take it there for an inspection as soon as time permits. The tech was pretty nice and said he wouldn't make any recommendations on what should be done until he sees the car. He did mention the same thing - that they use synthetic fluids in the rear diff and trans and you don't have to change them unless you really beat on the car. Since I don't know how the former owner drove it I might consider new fluid for the trans and rear diff.

I'm a bit suprised how low these are geared. The ratios are very similar to the subarus I've owned. I would have thought he gears would be longer on these cars... No matter. Still love it so far.

One other thing - I've told a couple people I just bought an Audi. And they were like, "Oh, watch out man those are unreliable...". But then when I've asked for examples they couldn't really give any. I do wonder about the reliability in general on these cars. The way I look at it, all cars have problems if not properly maintained And there are some brands that have a few more quirks than others. As long as I'm not buying a new engine or transmission I can live with a few minor things here and there. A VW friend said the brakes would need to be replaced before or around 100K, but that's to be expected in my opinion. Anything else I need to look out for guys?? Particularly on the 2004 S4 Avant?

[snopyro]

Hopefully you got a late 2004 model. "2004 with a build date of 10/2003 AND higher are clear of the early production bugs." Congrats on your new avant. Post pics here and in the Avants Only section! (Moro or Nogaro blue?)

[RenoAudiNV]

Only tip: Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats man. Oh, and get coilovers.

[Captain Insano]

Hopefully you got a late 2004 model. "2004 with a build date of 10/2003 AND higher are clear of the early production bugs." Congrats on your new avant. Post pics here and in the Avants Only section! (Moro or Nogaro blue?)

It's Nogaro blue.

I need to detail it and then I'll get some pics. It already has the RS4 wheels. I love the way they look. Plan to get some more wheels for the opposite season (can't decide if I want to use the RS4 wheels for winter or summer). Plan to get some coilovers as suggested. And maybe some bushing type stuff (snub mount, etc...). I love the idea of full exhaust and chip, just doesn't seem worth it that much from the research I've done on this forum.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Keep em comin!!

EDIT: BTW, just checked and mine was manufactured in 4/2004... Sweet.

[SoCalS4Avant]

Welcome - Avants FTW. You'll love it, for sure - and it will definitely stand out with that Nogaro!

You didn't mention anything about maintenance records. Anything come with the car? While I hope you don't need it, find yourself a good, reliable mechanic - even if it's at the dealer. Parts and labor aren't cheap, and good work never is. It'll be worth it, though, to have someone you trust working on your car if you get in a bind.

[Captain Insano]

Welcome - Avants FTW. You'll love it, for sure - and it will definitely stand out with that Nogaro!

You didn't mention anything about maintenance records. Anything come with the car? While I hope you don't need it, find yourself a good, reliable mechanic - even if it's at the dealer. Parts and labor aren't cheap, and good work never is. It'll be worth it, though, to have someone you trust working on your car if you get in a bind.

Thanks for the welcome.

The seller actually has all the maintenance records he is going to give me so that's cool. This car actually does have a big item of maintenance in teh past. Approximately 12K miles ago the clutch and entire transmission were replaced. The 2nd gear synchro went out. I called the local Audi tech and I told him how it was all replaced and I thought that was pretty odd. He said they don't sell just gears of synchros by themselves (that's odd too imho) and hence when the former owner's 2nd gear synchro went out he would have had to replace the entire trans... He threw in a clutch too as I guess his rationale for the 2nd gear synchro failing was the clutch was going out and he continued to drive it. I think it more likely he either beat on it, didn't know how to drive/shift, or maybe both.

Either way, it has a fairly new clutch and trans so hopefully I won't have to worry about that anytime soon.

[NYCS4Avant]

Congrats on a great car!

Where are all these Nogaro Avants coming from? There's member picked one up in jersey just the other day and now this pops up. It took me almost 2 months to find the color combo and 6mt.

Post pictures when you get a chance and have fun

[Captain Insano]

Thank you sir.

I'm the third owner of this vehicle. The first owner was from jersey I think. I bought it from my neighbor (2nd owner). My neighbor only owned it for about 9 months and 7000 miles...

[Captain Insano]

Got some pics...

[SoCalS4Avant]

Wow, that's just great looking Captain!

[Captain Insano]

Thanks man.

LOL... I just noticed you can see my son's leg/foot in the third pic.

[DubSport]

Wow this was the car I was SO CLOSE to buying about 2 weeks ago, then a B7 Nogaro S4 Avant 6MT popped up in Seattle which is much closer to me so I bought that one. Good choice man! I noticed that the original seller had a roof rack - did you get the cross bars with the sale too? Roof racks look great on these cars IMO.

[Captain Insano]

Congrats on your purchase!!

The roof rack looks OK (I agree with you - better on these cars than most others), I would prefer not to have it - just personal preference. Is there a way to get it removed without having to do tons of fill and paint work??? I didn't get the cross bar with it.

I'm thinking about getting H&R Coilovers and OZ Ultragerra wheels (black). How do you think that would look?

[c4racer]

Congrats on your purchase!!

The roof rack looks OK (I agree with you - better on these cars than most others), I would prefer not to have it - just personal preference. Is there a way to get it removed without having to do tons of fill and paint work??? I didn't get the cross bar with it.

I'm thinking about getting H&R Coilovers and OZ Ultragerra wheels (black). How do you think that would look?

I wouldn't want to NOT have the roof rack. Need a place to mount bike racks, ski racks, cargo carrier.

[Captain Insano]

I wouldn't want to NOT have the roof rack. Need a place to mount bike racks, ski racks, cargo carrier.

Yeah, that is true. I'm not into biking or skiiing so that's not a problem for me right now. I might need it for cargo at some point, but I doubt it. It doesn't matter that much. I do still think the car looks badass with the rack so not something I intend to figure out anytime soon. Just wondering if anybody on here had removed it.

[ososlow]

nice to see another avant! and 6 speed! and nogaro! that's rare.

[Captain Insano]

Thanks.

Seller told me these are quite rare. He said they only make about 1000 Audi S4 Avant 6-speed/manuals per year. And I'm sure the Nogaro blue makes it even more rare. I haven't done research to figure out how rare, but that's kinda neat to own a somewhat rare car if those are indeed accurate facts....

[c4racer]

Thanks.

Seller told me these are quite rare. He said they only make about 1000 Audi S4 Avant 6-speed/manuals per year. And I'm sure the Nogaro blue makes it even more rare. I haven't done research to figure out how rare, but that's kinda neat to own a somewhat rare car if those are indeed accurate facts....

That sounds about right. when I was looking I found 3-4 Tips for every MT, and the Avants were maybe 1:8 vs. sedans in the first place. And that was in CA - searched all of CA, which has to be one of the biggest markets for them.

[GotRS?]

Fantastic! Good story on the car, especially the newish clutch and gearbox. I so miss my 01 S4 Avant.

I think it will "reliably" satisfy.

[AudiOso]

Very nice car bud... I love Avants.

[FastB7S4]

Congrats! sweet car...leave the rack alone! oh and remove the front plate mount.

[Monizzle]

dude sick! roof racks are awesome btw on these cars (looksand function)!

[Captain Insano]

Thanks for the compliments all.

I just discovered an AC problem before we left town yesterday (runs but doesn't blow cold air). So I called local service dept and they gave me an estimate of $175 if I need the AC recharged. I plan to get it all taken care of this week while doing the 75K service.

We'll see here in the next coupla days. Hope it's nothing more than that for the AC issue.

[mitchholmstrom]

Thanks for the compliments all.

I just discovered an AC problem before we left town yesterday (runs but doesn't blow cold air). So I called local service dept and they gave me an estimate of $175 if I need the AC recharged. I plan to get it all taken care of this week while doing the 75K service.

We'll see here in the next coupla days. Hope it's nothing more than that for the AC issue.

I sometimes have this same issue with my car, its some times fixes itself.

Make sure always before you park and turn off your car, you make sure your AC is turned off before hand.

I started doing this and never had an issue with it again.

[Captain Insano]

I actually have used it twice without issue since the problem and it has worked totally normal. So my plan right now is to just monitor it and see if any more problems occur.

[MaRsTaInAgE]

Nice car Methias! I'm sure you've talked to Mike at Sud's, he's pretty good to deal with. And always talk to Jason who is the service writer. You get that A/C problem fixed?

[PburghNogaro]

congrats on the car. Nogaro FTW.

[Captain Insano]

Nice car Methias! I'm sure you've talked to Mike at Sud's, he's pretty good to deal with. And always talk to Jason who is the service writer. You get that A/C problem fixed?

YO... Haha. What's up man?

Luke just emailed me yesterday and told me he has a 2001.5 S4 now. I didn't even know he sold his Evo to Brad!! LOL, I'm so busy with the kids I haven't had time to keep up with everybody switching cars.

I see you still have your A4 (according to your signature). Sweet dood.

I'm getting ready to drop the car for maintenance so I plan to talk to him today. Mike was real cool when I called and told him I was about to buy it. Lots of answers for my questions. Regarding the AC, it has worked a couple times now after I thought it was having problems so it might just have been a fluke or the fact I had it on Economy. I'm gonna monitor it, but I'm thinking it was just my complete newbie factor with the Audi climate controls (I'm used to Subaru simplicity). When it happened I was driving with the wife and kids and I just told the wife to debug the situation. She pushed every button on the climate control panel (no owner's manual on hand) and I'm guessing it was just on economy.

You wanna detail it for me? If so let me know.

I'm lovin this beast so far. Thing really moves bone stock. And room for the kids plus luxury. Great ride.

[channad]

awesome!

[SOUREN S4]

sweet car

[Captain Insano]

Thanks again everybody for the comments. I've been thinking... Here is the list and order of mods I plan to do...

1) 15% window tint all rear windows (including back seats)
2) new/light summer wheels and ultra high performance summer tires
3) snub mount
4) apikol rear diff mount
5) short shifter and bushings

I plan to do the above items and then judge how the car feels. From there I don't know what I'll do, but I'd imagine the next step would be complete exhaust and chip (I should be bored with the power right about then...). BTW, does anybody sell headers for this engine??

[Captain Insano]

Took the car for my first extended drive today. I had the 75K maintenance done, plus some other odds and ends (new plugs, air filter, wipers, all fluids checked/topped). After picking it up from maintenance I drove 75 miles to Tanner's Orchard for some fun with the wife and kids.

Wow. This car is GREAT. It just pulls on the highway no matter what speed. I'm used to Subaru cars (which I still love) and they have the noisy interior and performance oriented noises. This car is so different in a good way. It is so luxury in comparison. And the NA power, man I am lovin it after owning three straight turbo cars. Plus we had the extra large Jeep stroller in the back and it fit so easy. picked up a box of food, plus the diaper bag, all that stuff fit in the back with lots of room to spare. This might be the most perfect family sports car ever made. I'm serious.

After one trip of a drive of approximately 1 hour each way I know I made the right decision to buy this thing and sell my WRX.