No steering on an 2008 Audi S4

[Donzi26zx]

Here is a car that I was looking at and the guy claims that the car has no steering. He said that an authorized Audi dealership replaced the steering rack and power steering pump a year ago. Here are the questions I asked him and his responses:

Question: Were you driving the car when the steering went out, was fluid leaking out? Did a mechanic look at the car and give you an estimate to repair? I am trying to get an idea of the issue.

Response: It was parked and when we went to drive it no longer had steering. No leaking fluid. Had it towed to dealer which was a mistake and they have not told me anything useful only that they don't know what's wrong but it doesn't sound good - what ever that means. Dealer offered me 9k on trade in. I am very frustrated with them but unless someone offers me 10k or more I have little choice. If you can do the work yourself it's probably a good deal if not you should avoid the unknown costs.

I am thinking this might be an easy fix but the puzzling thing is that he had it towed to the dealership and they didn't tell him anything but it doesn't sound good and then they are going to give him $9,000??? Am I crazy or what? I want a winter beater and thought this might be a good buy. Any thoughts??? See the Ebay listing below.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/122034736337...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[bluefox280]

You need to ask more specific questions regarding the issue.
* when the car is running, can the steering wheel be turned (yes / no)?
* if yes, do the front wheels pivot (yes / no)?
* if no, what resistance if any, is in the steering wheel - jerky? lack or rotation?
* when the car is running, is the power steering pump making noise (grinding / whine / other)? Ask for video via phone / ask local AudiZine member to visit it.

If the rack / pump are good, depending on the responses from the seller, it could be the steering column that's failed or something else has significantly seized.
Having a "overnight" failure is quite suspicious, especially if the dealer was unable to provide details.

There's SEVERAL red-flags on this - tread lightly, and with caution.

Bring in a local trusted AudiZine member to have he / she look at the vehicle and give you their feedback / opinion / details.

- Erik

[gautam]

Sounds extremely fishy man, I'd stay away from it. I bought my 04 S4 with a bad power steering pump and while I love my car and have no regrets buying it, I do regret the way I went about it. Without PS I wasn't able to do a proper test drive so I wasn't aware of other issues with the car (bad control arms and warped front brake discs) but I got it at a decent price and split the cost of the fixing her up with the previous owner (the PS pump + all pipes and a bad AC compressor). There is no way in HELL anyone offered $9000 unless it has low miles, the ebay ad went down, do you know how many miles are on it? Manual or automatic? If you're trying to use an S4 as a winter beater, your other car better be a Ferrari haha.

[Donzi26zx]

Thanks for the replies. I spoke to the Audi dealership a few minutes ago and he said the motor has a loud wrapping noise in the back and thinks that the timing chain stretched out. I asked him all the steering questions and he did say that the steering turns but is super hard to turn and nothing makes noise except the most important item....the motor! I am done with this one, just shocked that the dealer is going to give him 9K, I might be in for 5K but that would be max. Thanks again!

[gautam]

Thanks for the replies. I spoke to the Audi dealership a few minutes ago and he said the motor has a loud wrapping noise in the back and thinks that the timing chain stretched out. I asked him all the steering questions and he did say that the steering turns but super had and nothing makes noise except the most important item....the motor! I am done with with one, just shocked that the dealer is going to give him 9K, I might be in for 5K but that would be max. Thanks again!

Good call, you don't want to mess with timing chain issues unless you have a good 5k to spend fixing it. If you're looking for a winter beater that is still fun, look at a B7 A4 with the 6 cyl engine and quattro, they're a little cheaper to maintain than an S4. Better yet try to find an avant!