Hey all, I totalled my 01 Camaro SS a month back and I've been looking for a replacement. I live in MN and have figured that RWD doesn't work too well, even though I have a beater car, just looking for something else. I found a local 2001 S4 with 101,000 miles. I really don't know a lot about these cars so I wanted to check out these forums for more info. Anything I should be aware of for this particular miles on a 2001? It's a manual and I'll be checking it out shortly, if he doesn't sell it soon. How long will these cars usually last and do they need a lot of maintenance? How about performance mods? I've heard about a performance chip from ARP. My camaro was modded to 390rwhp, so I know I'll be craving more power than stock, eventually.

 

Once you go all wheel drive up north here you will never go back to anything else. The s4 will last another 100k if properly maintained. They are expensive to work on and they have there fair share of problems. Like everyone else says, you have to be able to drop a grand at anytime cause you never know if something might fail. They are fun cars and you should definately drive one to make sure it is what you are looking for.

 

Read the FAQ as it will answer nearly all of your questions

 

The S4 best bang for the buck is a computer chip/flash upgrade. Easy 60-70 hp alone due to increasing the boost and adjusting the timing and fuel. After that stuff gets really pricey. A chipped car w/ downpipes and turbo back exhaust is a fast 4 door. The audi style I love. I am an LS1 fan too, but the Audi is 10x the car an F-body is.

 

I currently own a 2001 SS and recently bought the wife an 01.5 S4 6 speed. Totally different cars, S4 german engineering much smoother performance. But w/ only $1000 worth of bolt-ons my SS runs 12.5's at 113, driven hard and has never thrown a code. Wife loves the S4, she won't let me mod it yet, her daily driver, and with 79,000 miles paid only 10g's for it. If your looking for 390awhp in the S4 plan on spending some big $$$.

 

All very good to know. Thank you. I am not really looking to make that much power in the S4, I would basically just chip it and hope to see some nice gains. Cant the stock clutch and everything else hold up to the extra power that the performance chip adds? Does anyone know how much power these cars generally make from the stage 1 chip? Just been thinking an AWD car would be nice and fun to launch from time to time. I like the Evo's but are pretty spendy, atleast you can find an s4 for a decent price...

The guy who has the car I am looking at said he had the timing belt replaced a couple months ago, how long do they usually last?

 

Timing belt anywhere from 60k to 90k.

 

Ok, so hopefully the timing belt was replaced correctly and I wouldnt have to worry about that for awhile...any other major issues these cars have? I'll check in to the FAQs a bit more.

 

Some owners have turbo failure(s) around 100k. I'm hoping that I don't. I don't abuse my car though, and I change the oil every 5k w/ mobil 1 synthetic. I also let the car cool down if I have been driving it fast shortly before I park (same thing a turbo timer does, to cycle cooler oil through the turbos instead of just shutting off the car with extremely hot oil in the turbos to harden/clog them up).

Mine, being a 2002, got the better oil lines to the turbos. I don't really see a lot of 2002 owners having turbo failure unless the car is chipped for high boost.

 

i bought my car with 150k on it it needed all new front control arms due to bushings being worn broken and cracked i would definatley check them out