actually, my first encounter of the B5 chassis was a Passat. The girl i was dating back in high school had one and and I remember how nicely everything was done. The weight of each button, the sound the door makes when you open/close, chassis rigidity, etc. Won't say it's the best sedan ever made (I think the MB W124 holds that spot ), but damn close I think.

I found locally at a dealership with a 12/12 warranty...tempted to just buy it and drive it for a year and sell it. I test drove one yesterday actually and it is slower than my GS4 in the straightline. BUT, one turn and it makes it all worthwhile. I drove a Neiman Marcus Edition IS-F not too long ago but something about the B5 S4 has a soft spot for me.

 

I really like the B5 S4 want to own one but cant find a nice low mileage example with what i want. Good luck cant wait to see pics of your new ride.

 

we had the cleanest stock b5 i have ever seen in my life come in on trade, 50 k on the clock, it was an 01 the interior is perfect i was so close to trading my a6 in on it but i don't think i can part ways with it, 2.7t 6mt blk on blk

 

Is the motor an interference type like many German designs? If so, I would look into changing the timing belt. IIRC there was a class auction lawsuit against Audi.

 

it's interference

 

Hondas use interference engines?? The timing belts had rated lives of 105K, vw/audi lowered it to 75K after a rash of problems with the tensioner and idle rollers. Some people still don't listen and insist on trying out the 105K limit. Say hello to bent valves and a new head.

 

2 new heads an the V6's..... and they're not cheap to rebuilt and r&R either.

 

The timing belt went on my Mom's 1998 Audi A6, the repairs cost more then the car is worth and we sold it for $800. Going back to the S4, I was so tempted to get one, before I bought my IS300, but stock turbo replacement of $4,000 scared me away, but if you have the funds to get the K04 turbos( used in the euro only RS4), the B5 S4 can be a very fast car.

 

I really liked this car too and researched is years ago. Seems people on the audi boards often talked about issues with the turbos going bad and heat soak came up a lot too IIRC. I really like that body style but in the end the difficulty of working on it and amount of problems seemed to out weigh its pros. However, my dad's friend has a modded one and he says the car is more or less very solid and gives him very few problems; to be fair though, he is the original owner and the car is meticulously well cared for.

You think 300hp would be enough for you right now, but I always hear how addicting boost is so I am sure you'd reconsider that sentiment if you had one... haha

 

timing belt wasnt replaced at 80k thats why it broke

 

I seriously love this car. Sorry I am no help here, just wanted to say its on top of the list of my favorite sedans.

 

my best friend in school had one. It was fun to drive, but he dumped it because of reliability issues. It was off warranty and got a little intense to keep fixing

 

hey i tried to send you a pm back about your questions but your box is full!
so here's the pm reply:
sure....
check the front suspension. those control arm bushings go out frequently and are a pain to change. also the front upper ball joints.

look at the rear diff for leaks also, i don't know if i mentioned that in the thread.

look at the back of the heads for oil leakage, between the valve covers and head gasket. feel around, you won't be able to see it.
window regulators go out also, run them all up and down and listen for cracks and pops.
check the climate control buttons, typically the cupholder drips coke/coffee right down onto the buttons and makes them stick which is pretty much impossible to "unstick".

that's about it really. good luck!

 

hey thanks for the bump and advice!

I'll definitely look into those points.