Hey whats goin on, heres my situation...I currently own an ls1 formula, runs high 11s, is amazingly fun. But im in the market to sell it and move on with something new. Been considering an S4 mainly due to the fact that its pretty quick, has a 6 speed and I think its just a gorgous looking car. Plus its not a cop magnet..which my formula on the other hand is...lol

Im looking to spend around 17-20K max but im an s4 newbie so my knowledge of them is kinda weak. Anything I should look for in particular?! I know the turbos tend to go bad around 70k or so ive been told. Is it risky buying a higher mileage s4? I dont plan to do any real engine work, maybe an exhaust, tint and rims thats all. Just looking for something nice I can enjoy driving and not worry about breaking like my formula.

Thanks!

o yea..and if anyone would be intersted in a modded LS1 and wants to trade an s4...let me know

 

2001.5's and 2002s had a few changes that helped reliability. some people have many miles on stock turbos and no issues, others have had them blow pretty early. My suggestion would be to drive it and see how it feels. But going from an 11 second car to a mid/high 13 second car is a big change, and you can always upgrade the turbos.

 

im not buying this car for speed, if that were the case id just keep the formula. Im looking for something more reliable I can drive in any weather and still have fun with....that wont attract cops either lol

what do you mean by 2001.5??? the .5 is whats gettin me...lol

and do you honestly think ill be able to find one for 15-20k? or am I just wasting my time?

 

2001.5 are the ones made in late 2001. You could find them in that price range but they will probably have to be from a private seller. check this out Thats a search on autotrader for any S4's with less than 75k miles, 6 spd, and less than $20k. I did the search from NC. As you can see you would probably have to be willing to drive or fly to pick it up. You could always ship it but thats crazy expensive. You can find one for that price but dont be in a hurry.

 

traveling is no problem for me at all. Im from jersey and actually purchased my first Firebird from a dealer in Florida. How can you tell the differance from the 01 models?! from the early and late year ones? and what are the differances between them

 

also notice most of the ones in my price range are 2000's...differance from 00 to the 01-02?

thanks alot too, I appreciate all ur help

 

u can tell from the badgin 01.5 and up have he red stripe and S-4 overlapping it. the 2000 have that squarish badge. the difference, the 01.5+ have lot of stuff revised, like oil and coolent lines, and i believe they went with a different type of k03, one that was less prone to blowing. lots of issues with the 2000 as far as i researched, but again if ur planning on modding, u could prolly scope a cheaper 2000 and just replace watever fails with aftermarket/preformance parts. i personally wouldnt mess with the 2000s tho