hey my name is kyle.
im in line to purchase a 2001 audi s4
my parents think its a stupid move soo im trying to find every reason why to get one

what are common things that would go wrong.

i allready know about the timing and water pump.
and im tryign to find one that has had a both replaced

what else should i look out for?

bear with me im new

 

Welcome!

Ideally look for a 2001.5 or 2002, if you dont know what that is read the stickies and search. You might wanna do that anyway seeing as this has been covered about 100,000 times, theres alot of good advice and info out there! Maintenance is not cheap, so be ready to empty that bank account and beg the parents for repair money at any second. Having said that its a very rewarding car that is a joy to own as long as you fix problems in a timely manner and treat it well. Also this dosnt mean you WILL have problems, its just better to be prepared. Iv had mine at stage 2 for 2 years and the only problem i had was TRE's. Best and most reliable car i have ever owned on any road in any weather.


THings to look for:
T-belt and associated is nice to have out of the way.
Lower the miles the better
If you buy the cheapest one you find it will probably be a piece of ****
Turbos are notorious for blowing especially on chipped and upgraded cars so watch out!
On manual transmission cars shift collars and syncros can get messed up leading to some costly transmission work. You would notice it when test driving.
CHECK THE CARFAX!


Other than that some good selling points for the parents are the outstanding AWD system, 4 doors and lots of trunk space, and safety. Theres an S4 buyers guide pdf floating around too, its linked to in most FAQ's.

 

also not to mention the amazingly beautiful look and power of the car, pretty decent gas mileage, luxury interior, handles excellently, rides smooth and quite down the highway, and like HP said its got good safety ratings and enough airbags to rise it from the bottem of a lake. and most of the repair work is relatively easy if you know a thing or two about wrenches and get around the tiny engine bay.

 

How old are you bro? Are your parents willing to shell out the money to fix this car? These are wonderful cars but they are high maintenance. It's a lot of car for a younger driver. Even stock they are fast and can get you into a lot of trouble. If you have a problem with the timing belt, turbos, torque converter (if you get a tip), or a few other things you can be looking at a $3000 repair bill. Try throwing $3000 a year into repairs and it's easy to go broke.

Maybe look into a 2.8L A4, they are more reliable than the S4 and 1.8T cars.

If you get an S4, respect it, don't beat the **** out of it, and hopefully it was maintained well by the previous owner(s). Even the best kept cars can face problems too.

Control arms
wheel bearings
turbos
clutch
torque converter
timing belt
water pump
cam seals
2nd water pump
coolant temp sensor
02 sensor
coil packs

Those are just a few problems these cars seem to have frequently. I love my S4 and have wanted one since I was 19 and I finally got one when I was 24. The reason I assume you're younger is you are saying your parents are involved in this decision.

I had to laugh at the pretty decent gas mileage comment. Mine has 67k miles, brand new torque converter, and its stock. I get 22 mpg on the highway and like 19 in the city. With premium gas that's almost $4.00 a gallon. My wifes car has a 4-cyl and gets 30 mpg (best we did was 34 mpg all highway) and it runs on regular. So the S4 is a premium gas drinking gas hog.

 

Haha i love it when you put your foot the floor and see the fuel economy instantly drop from 20 mpg to 8mpg and then just " - - - "

 

well for me 19 mpg city is amazing coming from my lifted wrangler which got......12! haha