I'm inches away from buying a 2001 S4 (built 12-00) with 54k miles for about $21k, but it has no warranty left (ran out at 50k miles) so I'm a bit apprehensive. BUT, my other option is a 2000 S4 with 44k miles with transferable CPO warranty til Feb. 06. Both are from private sellers, same options, same price. I've heard a lot of horror stories about S4 maintainance, so I'm kind of crapping my pants at the thought of having no warranty. I need some serious advice. Thanks.

 

9 months pass in a flly. Still the 2000 still has less miles. If you are going to sleep better at night i would go for the 2000, because of the 9 month warranty.

 

I would go with the 2001, 9 months will definitely fly by and the mileage is negligible. According to that build date it should be a 2001.5. Which means they made a few very helpful upgrades if your worried about reliability.
http://s4biturbo.com/faqsdowns.php

 

Depending on how much more you can afford to add on top of the $21k, you may consider adding a third-party extended warranty. If you're interested, I can send you the information from the warranty I got with my 2001.

Mine has pretty high miles, so the first thing I asked was if I could add a warranty. Ended up getting a 2 yr/24k miles warranty that covers everything under the hood (including turbos), suspension, all wheel drive drivetrain, electrical system, etc. Because of miles when purchased (80k) and amount of coverage I selected, I paid $2500, but the car you mention only has 54k miles in it so it may be much cheaper.

I highly recommend an extended warranty because I purchased my '92 Subaru SVX back in March of '03 with the same coverages (paid $1800 though because the car had 51k miles at the time...very low miles for the year). When I only had 500 miles left on the 24k miles, I took it in and Subaru did $4400 worth of work, including front axle replacement, transmission rebuild, and numerous interior items replaced. That was more than twice what I paid for the warranty and all I paid was a $50 deductible and $85 for the initial diagnostic.

The warranty I have with the S4 is $100 deductible, but I still think it's worth it. I will make sure my turbos die before the next 2 years are up. :-)

Oh yea, and in my opinion you should go with the 2001 because you get Electronic Stability Program. I personally enjoy ripping through corners when it's wet, with a respectful amount of confidence that my S4 will be more forgiving than if it didn't have ESP.

 

go for the 2000, less miles, warranty....thats my thought on the matter

--E

 

thats really helpful...can you send me info on your third party warranty? would it be transferable if I were to sell the car in a few years? how about if I wait until I'm having problems with the car, can I just buy a warranty then? also, if anyone else has advice about a third party warranty, please share.

 

The 2000 doesn't have ESP (stability program) the 2001 does and I can tell you that the ESP becomes very helpful in the winter as the S4 has a tendency to oversteer on snow.

 

Keith, I will scan the brochure tonight when I get home and then post it on here. Honestly, I didn't verify if it is transferrable, but I'll check.

As far as waiting until you have a problem, that is a big no no for warranties. They do not (and clearly state they don't) cover pre-existing problems, or issues caused by another problem that was pre-existing. This is a bit of a gray area when the vehicle is being sold by a dealer, who in turn acts as the reseller for the extended warranty. But when you purchase the vehicle from a private party, things change a bit. Your best bet is to call them and ask what the procedure would be. They may require the vehicle to be inspected by an authorized dealer so they can get a statement of current issues, etc. If that is the case, I highly recommend that you ask the person selling it if they'd be willing to go with you to the dealer prior to the sale finalizing. You'll have the eat the cost for the diagnostic, but you'll kill 2 birds with 1 stone... You'll know if there's anything wrong with the car, and you'll know if you qualify for the warranty.

As for the comment by pumaro, which is pretty much what I stated in my previous reply, ESP makes the 2001 worth it. Trust me, it's not just your typical stability control of the likes of American or Japanese cars... I'm talking an extremely complex and fast acting system that will, in most cases, keep you alive while you toss your S4 around like it was stolen... Specially in wet conditions.

I'll try and have the brochure scan ready between tonight and tomorrow morning... At the least I'll post their phone number tonight. (You should also search online, there might be better choices out there)

 

I feel like an idiot... The warranty company has a website: http://www.heritagewarranty.com

They have a brochure online (under Products) in PDF format. Its layout and info is a bit different than the one I got, but mine might just be older.

And to answer your question, yes, it is transferrable. They even have info on how to transfer on their website.

They allow for unlimited claims during the warranty period, and for up to the value of your vehicle. They also don't care who works on your car as long as they're a licensed mechanic and contact them first for authorization prior to any repairs or teardown.

Hope that info helps!