I am looking at a 02 and an 04 S4. I am looking for any input on the better buy. The 04 is about 10k more so no money for any extras. Any pros and cons between the two reliability wise?

 

As far as reliability goes, turbos on the B5 usually last until 100k miles, but it really boils down to this-
if you want a tuner car that you can get a crazy amount of horsepower out of, go for the B5.
If you want to buy a car and have a good amount of power out of the box, go with the B6.
I had two B5s and one B6, and my own personal preference is the B6.
Answer the above questions, check out the FAQ board, then finally test drive both.
Then you'll know for sure!

 

^^^ exactly right..i was in the same scenario... I obviously went with the tuning option and am ever so glad i did..i love my car... But the b6's are very nice as well.... the interior is much nicer than the b5 and personally one of the nicest interiors ive been in. And decent power.... the b5 will prob be more maintenance being a turbo car, and theyre known for quirks and being older.

 

I was in the same situation and chose the B6 simply because the car out of the box is ignorantly fast already and I really like the styling and interior design of the B6 cars. On the other hand, if all you want is power and more of it then the B5 is definitely the way to go. You can build them to insane levels.