I need buying advice!

[devinfro13]

I have found a b5 s4 with about 130k miles on it 6 speed and it had a few problems what has been done is valve cover gasket tbelt newer clutch. It's leaking oil out from under the front area of the car couldn't get under it. May need a new starter soon & turbos sound a little noise. Has catless down pipes as well. Also has a short shifter & I don't have to press down to go into reverse is that normal? I can get it for around 2k. I want an s4 should I buy this one and fix it up or start with something in a little better condition. I'm torn all of my friends say no but I feel like it has potential. Any opinions?

[LINDW4LL]

Those are small issues. Most want to upgrade the turbos anyway. I'd focus on the general overall condition, and things you can't easily fix, like the paint and interior. If paint + interior are good, and the rest of the car seems solid, you can't really go wrong with getting into an S4 at that price.

[christianb5s4]

As long as you are willing and able to work on the car yourself, hardware can be replaced although I'd budget at least a grand or more right off the bat to replace things that will need replacing along with maintenance. Never trust a seller that they did any of the work they said, always double check everything.

[Bordom]

^Word.

If you don't know what you're doing, then stay away. I owned a B5 A4 beforehand and then bought my S4. It was in much worse condition than my A4, but I decided to restore it. Big mistake lol. Should have parted it out when I had the chance.

If it's worse than mine when I first bought it, or on par, stay very far away lol

Link: http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=667328

Everything graciously mispelled by Android

[Jism]

You need to know something about the S4 B5 in general:



If you can cope with that, go for it. If not, please look for a different car, lol.