Here's the deal. I currently own a 2005 infiniti g35 coupe. I love the car, but i'm ready for something different.

I am currently looking at 2 Audi s4's and they're both 2005's. I fell in love with them as soon as i test drove them . However, my concern is that one has 49,000 miles and the other has around 57,000 miles. Both of them are automatic also.

So my concern is the maintenance. What kind of pitfalls can i expect from an Audi s4 with 50-some-thousand miles on it? When i take it to a mechanic what things should i specify i want looked at? I'm pretty average with my knowledge about cars, maybe above average, but any information would help. Because i love these cars and cannot wait to own one.

So if possible, please help me by giving advice, opinions, or suggestions of what type of things i should immediately have inspected or look for while driving it to make sure the car is in excellent condition. Maintenance related, mechanical things, interior, exterior. Major Future Maintenance costs??

Thank you in advance, i appreciate it. Hopefully i'll be a regular here soon

 

is this a DD? or just a weekend toy? hands down, the most fun you can have is in a heavily modded B5 S4. 460 whp is no joke. but the maintenance is laborious and time consuming, although it is worth it IMO. i do not know much about the B6. i had a friend who had an engine blow up, cost him 11k and they had to ship it from germany. i do not know why the engine gave. could have been his fault, im not sure.. just FYI

 

When I worked at my local dealership, the 4.2L engines rarely had problems. I watched the 4.2 engine from it's beginnings and I am really impressed with the performance and reliability.

The 2.7T Audi's always had issue after issue after issue. Yeah a new 4.2 engine is expensive, but so is the car. A 2.7T is expensive also. Not just the engine ... there are two turbos to deal with. Oil leaks, locked up turbos, boost issues, check engine lights ... lots of customers were and quite often.

As far as engines detonating? I've seen tons more 2.7T motors explode than any other in the Audi line-up. That's why Audi chose to switch to the 4.2 V8 as their primary performance power plant - reliability, no turbo issues or lag, fewer engine repair visits. Another thing to consider is why didn't Audi put two turbos on the new 3.0T S4 and 3.0T A6? Same reason. Reliability. That's why Audi uses a roots style supercharger now.

I bought a 2006 S4 4.2 tiptronic (automatic) with 30k and not one complaint at over 40k. If you were looking at a 6 speed you are usually looking at replacing a clutch. I've seen the 4.2's do over 150k miles and still run strong. That owner (with the 150k) said the only issue he had seen with it was some oil leaks but that was it.

 

Things to look for:
-valve cover gaskets leaking
-take off the front bumper to periodically check the 3, thats right 3 radiators, 2 small and one main, to see if they leak, as when they do they drop onto a plate and blow back and you will never see a puddle
-get you a boroscope and check your tensioner and idler bearings, in front along with the serpentine belt
-pay the 400 bucks for front rotors and pads all around, get a shop to do it, there is a video on youtube that shows you how to do it, and the rear piston in the caliper, you have to rotate to compress it
-center support bearing, you will have intermitent vibration in othe clutch pedal and stick when it starts to go bad, talk to OS34 engineering for this
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