I went and looked at a B6 S4 for sale near me.

[treysgreen]

Firstly, it has a rebuilt title. The guy selling it owns a small lot and says he drove it around the block a few times when he got it but it didnt have any power. It was probably in limp mode. Anyway, he had am ignorant mechanic look at the car and had the throttle body and some coil packs replaced. Since then, the car has sat and now it only cranks and runs for half a second and then dies. The cluster reads SAFE and the immo light flashes so I'm pretty sure its the immobilizer that is the problem. I'm going back tomorrow to check the codes via vag com and potentially make him an offer on the car. I mentioned parting out the car and that I'd be interested in a few things if he wanted to go that route. He said he was open to it if he could make his money back, which he claimed was $2700.

The bad, the front bumper had a crack in one of the top corners and the shave job done on the washer covers was busting through the paint. The passenger recaro seat had a hard spot on the outside bolster, the glovebox was broken and the headliner was sagging. The painted valve covers were peeling pretty badly. There was a dent on the passenger door near the top corner and on the window frame.

The good. Door blades were perfect, trunk with spoiler was mint, door panels and wood trim were near mint. The engine covers were all there. Brakes and rotors looked brand new. The wheels had minimal scratches and the tires were in good shape. All of the interior pillars, carpet, center console, radio, climate controls were perfect and the cupholder is in tact. Nearly everything not listed in the bad section above was near mint. It also had a complete magnaflow catback exhaust.

If I was to purchase this car and it was just the immobilizer keeping it from running what price would make it worth it? Alternatively, if I was to part it out, what do you think I could make considering what I've mentioned above? I'm going back tomorrow to scan it and probably try and make him an offer but I would like to know what ballpark I should be in and what route you all think I should take. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Trey G

[JDillon15]

Not sure what these cars are worth, but based on his comment about "getting rid of it if he could make his money back", I wouldn't offer him more than the $2700. I'm sure you are one of the few people interested and it saves him the hassle of having to pull the parts himself. He'll of course counter and try to get you higher.

I would also consider the value of the parts you listed. What's the engine worth in current condition? Coils are new? Trim will probably fetch $150, seats are recardos? those can be pretty valuable. Headliner is worth 3-400 depending on shape (which you said it was sagging so many less.) Is the trans good? That's a few hundred.Are the mirror caps real aluminum or plastic? Those are 150-300$.

Just do the math on all of the potential parts to sell and what profit you hope to get. Know your top dollar, and dont move above that.

Best of luck,
Jonathan

[moyenecorniche]

Best case scenario concerning a part out is if you can move all of the parts, how much time will it cost you to remove and pack / ship parts or wait for a potential buyer to appear and negotiate... That is the key word, anyone who knows these cars will not pay you top dollar for used parts.... And thy will want the parts removed, cleaned up and in good to excellent condition... Figure out first if a part out is feasible.

That said, you need to figure out wether the current problem is a lock out mode or if there are timing components issues.. If it was just a matter of an incompetent mechanic then it could be simple or quite involved...

The mirrors on the B6 are all polished aluminum. The car sound sin good shape so if the motor gets a clearance then putting the car on the road may be the better option. Reinstalling the headliner is a pain but it can be done and there are threads on this here . Its the clips that either break off because someone doesn't know how to work on these cars or there are leaks from the gutters and the outlets are plugged...

Looking at the engine bay.... 1st get rid of that ridiculous CAI or I should say Hot air intake. Our S4 engine bays are unbelievably hot and the best is still the OEM set up with a high quality filter.

Ask about all the engine bay covers that are missing. the one that runs across the bottom of the windshield and covers battery, ecu and all. Plus the other covers that are missing. Google S4 engine bay images to see what is or should be there...

Look under the car at the front and rear subframes, they are notorious for corrosion, also check for the underpin covers, belly pans that run from the bottom of the front bumper to past the motor.

All the things missing are part of negotiating downward....

[treysgreen]

Best case scenario concerning a part out is if you can move all of the parts, how much time will it cost you to remove and pack / ship parts or wait for a potential buyer to appear and negotiate... That is the key word, anyone who knows these cars will not pay you top dollar for used parts.... And thy will want the parts removed, cleaned up and in good to excellent condition... Figure out first if a part out is feasible.

That said, you need to figure out wether the current problem is a lock out mode or if there are timing components issues.. If it was just a matter of an incompetent mechanic then it could be simple or quite involved...

The mirrors on the B6 are all polished aluminum. The car sound sin good shape so if the motor gets a clearance then putting the car on the road may be the better option. Reinstalling the headliner is a pain but it can be done and there are threads on this here . Its the clips that either break off because someone doesn't know how to work on these cars or there are leaks from the gutters and the outlets are plugged...

Looking at the engine bay.... 1st get rid of that ridiculous CAI or I should say Hot air intake. Our S4 engine bays are unbelievably hot and the best is still the OEM set up with a high quality filter.

Ask about all the engine bay covers that are missing. the one that runs across the bottom of the windshield and covers battery, ecu and all. Plus the other covers that are missing. Google S4 engine bay images to see what is or should be there...

Look under the car at the front and rear subframes, they are notorious for corrosion, also check for the underpin covers, belly pans that run from the bottom of the front bumper to past the motor.

All the things missing are part of negotiating downward....

All of the engine covers including the cover that goes on the drivers side over the PS Pump are there. Including, battery cover, etc. I'm thinking the max I want to pay for the car is $1500. If I can get it for that I will. If not, I will probably help the guy part it out himself and just take what I need. That way its out of my hands ultimately but I can be sort of a liaison between him and the s4 community.

[moyenecorniche]

Then the question is how familiar are you with working on the B6 S4, or dismantling it ? It is nothing like working on an A4. space is so limited that you need special tools to get at bolts and nuts and everything is or seems to require to remove one component just to reach another components bolts. Its a real test of patience..

However I would not prefer an A4 over an S4...

[bmwpower603]

Firstly, it has a rebuilt title. The guy selling it owns a small lot and says he drove it around the block a few times when he got it but it didnt have any power. It was probably in limp mode. Anyway, he had am ignorant mechanic look at the car and had the throttle body and some coil packs replaced. Since then, the car has sat and now it only cranks and runs for half a second and then dies. The cluster reads SAFE and the immo light flashes so I'm pretty sure its the immobilizer that is the problem. I'm going back tomorrow to check the codes via vag com and potentially make him an offer on the car. I mentioned parting out the car and that I'd be interested in a few things if he wanted to go that route. He said he was open to it if he could make his money back, which he claimed was $2700.

The bad, the front bumper had a crack in one of the top corners and the shave job done on the washer covers was busting through the paint. The passenger recaro seat had a hard spot on the outside bolster, the glovebox was broken and the headliner was sagging. The painted valve covers were peeling pretty badly. There was a dent on the passenger door near the top corner and on the window frame.

The good. Door blades were perfect, trunk with spoiler was mint, door panels and wood trim were near mint. The engine covers were all there. Brakes and rotors looked brand new. The wheels had minimal scratches and the tires were in good shape. All of the interior pillars, carpet, center console, radio, climate controls were perfect and the cupholder is in tact. Nearly everything not listed in the bad section above was near mint. It also had a complete magnaflow catback exhaust.

If I was to purchase this car and it was just the immobilizer keeping it from running what price would make it worth it? Alternatively, if I was to part it out, what do you think I could make considering what I've mentioned above? I'm going back tomorrow to scan it and probably try and make him an offer but I would like to know what ballpark I should be in and what route you all think I should take. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Trey G

I'd pay that if it was a 6 speed. It's going to be hard to sell one with a rebuilt title. So with that being said. The resale value is less.

They go for around 4-5k at the dealer auctions. 6 speed manual, over 100k usually.

Looking at the color of the coolant. You can tell that hasn't been done in a while. Or it has the wrong coolant in it.

I would also run a carfax.

[treysgreen]

Then the question is how familiar are you with working on the B6 S4, or dismantling it ? It is nothing like working on an A4. space is so limited that you need special tools to get at bolts and nuts and everything is or seems to require to remove one component just to reach another components bolts. Its a real test of patience..

However I would not prefer an A4 over an S4...

I havent done anything on the B6 S4 but I have on my B6 A4. Anything too extensive, motorwise, I wouldnt be removing for him. Trim, interior stuff, fenders, bumpers, exhaust, I could handle most all of that. He would be responsible for the shipping, payments, etc. I do currently have two B5 S4s undergoing some extensive work that I am doing myself. I'm pretty familiar with pain in the ass Audi work. I have a storage unit full of tools and car parts to prove it.

[Junaid]

There is no coolant and it's not even the correct bottle lol. I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole personally.

[FulhamFTW]

Wtf is going on with that air filter?

[Mr. Corey]

Loving that air filter mod!!!! If you decide to buy and part you wont have any trouble selling that

[treysgreen]

lol, from the shitty mechanic installing a new tbody, he didnt reconnect anything to it.

[quattroism25]

I wouldnt pay more that $1500 for that thing. If its a simple immobilzer job then its a great deal. the cosmetic stuff you won't be too bad to fix. But god knows what else is going on with that thing. $1500 either way, you can part it out and make some money back.

[924Carrera]

The mirrors on the B6 are all polished aluminum.

Early ones were, but later ones (all 05's at least) are plastic with a brushed aluminum finish.

[pwest15]

I havent done anything on the B6 S4 but I have on my B6 A4. Anything too extensive, motorwise, I wouldnt be removing for him. Trim, interior stuff, fenders, bumpers, exhaust, I could handle most all of that. He would be responsible for the shipping, payments, etc. I do currently have two B5 S4s undergoing some extensive work that I am doing myself. I'm pretty familiar with pain in the ass Audi work. I have a storage unit full of tools and car parts to prove it.

If you do decide to undertake a part out, I'd be happy to drive down and help you with an engine pull or assist you in any other way