Verge of 2005 B6 S4 purchase, Help plz.

[Rustyweb7]

Hello all, new member here.

So, for some time now I have been on the hunt for B6/B7 S4 with 6MT. I finally found a 2005 B6 six speed MT within reasonable proximity of my residence so I went to have a look and test drive.

Mileage - 82,000 mi

Cosmetically - Very good condition (per my standards)

Mechanically - Upon startup, had the notorious second of chain rattle. After that the motor seemed to idle fine. Motor was cold before start-up (ambient temperature was in the 50's). Took it for about a 30 minute test drive and all seemed well with regards to driveability (no weird engine sounds, no shaking with hwy speeds of 80 mph reached, brakes did not pulse). Coming back from the test drive the CEL did come on, the dealer connected the OBD scan tool right in front of me which read P2181 (Cooling System Performance). The dealer said that he would get this fixed which he said turned out to be some faulty hose. Not exactly sure about that...

Carfax (history) - Car has 4 previous owners, all maintenance stuff was done as scheduled until about 70,000 mi. The very last service record (engine checked) was performed at 77,579 mi on 01/14/2015 just over a year ago. So just for piece of mind, I decided to call the dealership that performed this "check engine" service to get some more details on what was actually done. Turns out the car was towed into the shop, because it didn't run at the time, due to jumped timing. The service mechanic at the dealerships said that the full timing service was recommended to the current owner. Well, apparently the car left that very dealership that day, via tow-truck, and that's the end of the service records!

So I am caught in this dilemma, the car now runs and pretty good for the most part, I just can't fathom pulling the trigger on this purchase now knowing the timing jump problem occurred.

Since the car is now in what appears to be good running condition, does that mean the timing stuff was fixed? The place that I am purchasing it from has no information on the history except for the Carfax.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[b6onboost]

You can't assume that since the car left the dealer on a tow truck, and now drives fine, that the timing service was performed. Whatever put the car down then may not have required a full timing service to fix, or may have been misdiagnosed by the dealer. If there is still chain rattle present, there is little chance it was performed within the past year. It's probably why the car was sold. The current place likely got it as a trade or bought it off auction. Unless the seller has proof that the full timing chain service was performed, you have to assume it wasn't. If you choose to proceed, you should factor that into the offer, and use the info you have to negotiate.

In general, anyone planning to buy a V8 S4 should plan to do the timing service unless there is documented proof it's already been done.

[Rustyweb7]

Thanks for the feedback b6onboost. Now I do recall the dealer saying it was purchased from auction.

[emilio]

eeek, some red flags here. i would only stick around if it was a good deal including the $5,000-7,000 for a timing tensioner service and miscellaneous maintenance. maybe the mechanics will pull the engine and say "hey, the service was done!" and button it up for labor only - but that's doubtful.

- emilio

[Rustyweb7]

And the story goes on.... So I decided to dig a bit deeper and reach out to a few of the Euro shops in the local area were the car is for sale. Come to find out, the car did make it's way to one of these other shops after receiving the initial assessment. The car arrived with a blown engine, an entire piston was missing in cylinder 2 apparently. Anyway, the car sat for 3 months before any work was done, eventually had a salvage engine with (undocumented 130,000 mi) installed. The electronics to the variable cams were just cut at the salvage yard on the replacement engine so the shop was instructed by the current owner to use the components off the blown engine to complete.

So the search continues.....

[nogaroblu]

sounds like a hell of a mess, unless your driving away paying 3k, walk away
keep looking, youre better off paying a little more and not buying a mystery

[Rustyweb7]

Yeah, the sales person at the dealership didn't even try to get my business after I told him this information. Hopefully they relay sad issues to the next potential buyer at a much lower price tag that what they wanted from me.