Hey guys I'm new to this forum and I had a question. I was curious as to how reliable a 2001 s4 would be. I found one with 72,000 miles on it all stock and was rarely beaten on (or so I am told). I drove it and it seemed to be in good shape but I don't want to buy it if I'm going to have to do some big fixes in the near future. Should I worry about this or is the car a well held together car? Thank you

 

I've never owned a B5 S4 (but I'm very familiar with the B5), but based on anything I've ever read and anything I've ever heard from B5 S4 owners, you can do better in terms of style and reliability in any of several ways. Do not buy a B5 S4 unless you are A) very capable under the hood of a car or B) have lots of money. What I've never understood is why one wouldn't choose otherwise if they meet either of the above conditions.

I went to an all Audi meet right after I bought my B6 and there were 4-5 B5 S4s that were all stage 3+. Only one of them was in good enough shape to give me a ride and it was still misfiring under boost. It was an amazing ride, for sure, but come on....NONE of them runs right???

My B6 doesn't have a SINGLE problem and one member of the local Euro club is trying to sell his 2001 for more than I paid for my 2005. Food for thought.

In short, the B5 S4 can be an awesome car, but if reliability is important to you, look elsewhere.

 

Take it this way, i sold my B5 S4 because i didn't like fixing it all the time and it was costing me a small fortune, and i did all the repairs myself! At 70k, you are going to need at least $4,000 worth of work to restore it to its previous state of "normal"
Timing belt, water pump, thermostat, upper control arms, cv boots, tie rod ends, oil leaks, oil leaks, oil leaks, cluster pixels fading, random electrical problems, window regulators break about this time etc. I can go on and on, the bottom line is you have to love working on your own car or its going to be a nightmare from hell..

 

^^Said the most knowledgeable person on the forum.

 

thanks a lot for the help guys yea im definately reconsidering after these comments

 

very reliable as long as you got extra cash to dump into it at anytime!

not cheap to maintan

 

extremely reliable, if maintained it will never leave you on the side of the road and will start first time every time.

Its like a stripper, you have to keep throwing money at it for it to work

 

Mine works great. no CEL. I had one issue with Exhaust gas temp sensors 1 and 2. and two 02 sensors. other then that I have done Pads and oilchanges. Nothing else in my 3 years of ownership. And I did the Waterpump and Timing belt for 1500 because I was lazy...That included cam seals, all filters, and a brake job.

 

lol hahahhaaa

 

Maybe I'm one of the few blessed B5 owners. I bought my 02 with 36,XXX miles on it. It's got 52,XXX miles on it now and I've never had a problem with it. I've upgraded the DVs, installed new cruise control stalk, put an APR chip, a boost gauge, and new spark plugs.

I've not had a single problem with my car at all. She starts every time and I'm confident that I could drive it anywhere I wanted to go. Granted, all the things I've done to it have totaled somewhere in the $1300 region, but it was all, what I consider "preventative maintenance". So, definitely worth it.

When I go stage 3, she'll be really healthy. Its at Stage 2 as it sits (I'd estimate 330bhp/~390tq), I'm REALLY happy with the car.

I guess this is a rare occasion, but I say if you really want it (Like I did), then nothing should stop you. Except, well, if you're going to be broke as a result. :P