This a good deal?

[audi772]

Hey guys, new to the forum. I have owned two Audi's before but they were just 2.8 V6's. Ran across a 2004 Audi S4 last night. Wants 4000 for it. 156000 miles, 4.2 V8. Has RS4 rims, loaded, interior and exterior are mint, and has a exhaust system put on already. But it has the misfire code being thrown. He says that it only shows cylinder one misfire. I am somewhat mechanically inclined but my dad is very good with cars. He used to be a mechanic at Ford for years and since leaving he has kept up on all his training so he is big help to me. Do you think it'd be worth a shot with this car? I don't mind having to work on it. Color is silver exterior, black interior with Recaro seats. Any advice would be great. And if this is in the wrong place, mods feel free to move it.


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[audi772]

Oo and also. I asked him if it had any timing chain rattle and he says it does when it first starts but he also said that they all do and it isn't a problem. Is that true?


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[skhan91]

with cold start there should be a bit of a rattle on these but if its every single time regardless of temps i would probably assume the Chain guides are gone.

I think you pretty much have to assume you will have to pull the engine out and do the timing chain which should run you about $5000ish at a shop (less if you and your dad do it guess, but its a huge job).

I would be careful. doing the timing chain is a given but the cylinder misfire could lead to some big big things on this car.

if you buy it, assume the worst case scenario and budget for a new motor.

[audi772]

Thanks for the response. Is there any other questions I should ask him to get more info for you guys or is that about all you and I would need to make a decision?


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[VinnysS4]

ask if you can take it for a PPI. have a leakdown test done and scope the cylinders and see if there is any scoring. other than that, i would ask typical questions like :does it burn oil, repair /maintenance receipts etc. If you can do a VCDS scan yourself, do a complete scan and see what all codes have been present for a while. That should give you a better understanding of the car and its history *(unless the codes have been reset recently)

[audi772]

That's the crappy part. I'd be making a 3 hour road trip back to get the car. So there wouldn't be much of an opportunity to get it checked. I know that if I don't get it, it'll be something easy, but if I do it won't be easy. That's my luck


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[audi772]

Alright got a little more info. I asked him if the chain rattle is every start. He said no, only cold starts. Once it's warm it won't do it. I would make sure of that myself as well. He also said that there is a tsb for the ecm that was never done. Could that flash help the car or is it not helpful for what the car has wrong with it? Thanks for all the help guys


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[VinnysS4]

3 hour road trip after buying a car is risky. I bought mine an hour from home and it dumped a quart of oil on the way home. Best of luck to ya. Lol ..it may very well be a solid car. Probably will be. I just have to look at it first before I can commit to buying. And as stated above. .misfiring on one cylinder could be just a bad plug, or it could be a can of worms you might not want to open unless you have deep pockets. And if you can't wrench on it yourself. ...make them pockets extra deep. Because if it needs an engine, a used engine could lead down the same path you are on right now, and a new engine is like 10 grand. Not trying to discourage you, I love my s4, but I am every bit aware as to how much money it could end up costing me. 4 grand is cheap tho. You could drive it for 10 years and not put a dime into it, who knows

[audi772]

I know it isn't ideal to drive them when they have the misfire code. What do you think my chances are of it making that far? Does something bad happen fairly quickly or will it usually make it a while?


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[FastEddie]

I wouldnt touch it but then again i wouldnt touch ANY B6 or B7 used with over 100k miles. If you do plan on getting it, ask the seller to pull the coil from cylinder one and swap it with another cylinder. If the code changes to the new cylinder its a simple coil pack issue.

But as others have said pay for a PPI and leak down test.