I'm going to a dealership tomorrow to check out an S4. It has 112k miles, and I'd like to know what to look for. I know to check for timing belt and control arm replacement, but what are some common issues that might be overlooked? As far as I know it is not modified. I'm planning on test driving it to make sure turbos spool properly, etc. Is there any way to tell if a turbo is slightly off, obviously its easy if it doesn't spool correctly, so when should I expect full boost to kick in? I drive a V6 passat so I don't have a turbo, but have driven turbocharged cars before and know how it should feel. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Kevin

 

tie rod ends, oil in the lower intercooler hoses..tho they may not let you start takin apart the car lol. the turbos are normally super quiet stock so if they're makin any loud noise when boosted they're no good. also make damn sure the car is bone cold when you start it..if they drove it before you got in to let it warm up they could be hiding something...my car used to make a lot of turbo noise till they warmed up then sounded fine...$4500 dollars and 2 new turbos later the noise went away.that was at 111K just to for warn you. the 2001.5 is when they got better cooling upgrades for the turbos and a better throttle body boot that wont rip and cause boost likes..i would suggest finding a newer one with maybe less miles. check the S4 website and on here on the sticky for the "before you purchase" link

 

thank you, I'm just checking it out, not buying right away, but the price is damn good, so I got curious.

 

if it sounds good and checks out okay then maybe its a good buy..id get an extended powertrain warrenty tho just incase those turbos go..good luck

 

dude.. i got mine at 130k and after 10k my turbos are still pulling hard and with no fuss.. and im running an apr tune.. these turbos have to be abused before they go, i cant believe mine are still strong after what ive put them through... so yeah.. check tbb and auxilary water pump.. maybe some engine mounts and such..oh and the trannys tend to grind in 1st and 2nd...

 

thanks, I'm on my way now, I'll take pictures and everything and then come back with my findings. Hopefully it's all good.

 

154,xxx miles on my stockers and still no problems! KOW. Its all a gamble, some people get lucky and some people don't.

 

make sure the 80k timing service was done.

 

i know.. i heard about so many k03 failures, now that im upgrading im gonna be kinda sad to let them go.. ... eh.. okay. maybe not that sad but they have done unbelievably well for what ive put them through.. the only reason im glad to be going stage 3 and getting rid of them is because of my plan to fabricate a one of them on the back of my volvo 960.. its gonna be near the muffler.. lol.. tons of piping and such but imagine that sleeper... a 96 volvo running 7 psi of boost and pull up next to me and listen to this exhaust tone with the turbo spool..lol...

 

All was well, in the process of making her mine currently. Will keep you all posted, thanks for the help!