looking to buy a B5 S4 and I'm wondering when the turbos are gonna give out approximatley, cause I'ma be broke after the purhasing the car...any additional info would be appreciated. Thanks a ton

 

Don't buy the car broke. Even if the turbos don't go, there are a plethora of other items that may crop up. For instance, does this car you have have its timing belt done? There are plenty of other maintenance items that could go (wheel bearings, CV, etc.). This is NOT a car to own without cash in hand.

 

Oh yea, and in reply to your question of when turbos go---anytime. There is no set formula, or even approximation. It depends on so many factors that you can't really guess, or even approximate.

 

Wat u are after as u said would be ideal, a car with under 45K, but u will wait and wait and eventually one will turn up but it wont be the color u wont?

As FourDs said no set formula for turbos, but alot of guys get 75 to 100k out of them b4 they blow if they are looked after

And def have a couple of K (min) put aside for repairs, coz i assure u that no matter how good it looks there will always be some thing wrong with it - it just depends if u wont to get it fixed and running properly or live with it as is?

When i bought my S4 earlier this year i sourced a very low mile ones (26K) and i still had to spend bout 5K to get it running properly, so the moral of this story is that even if u get a low miles S4 u will still need to spend a 'bit' of $$$

 

I know where you're coming from DEKMax, I was going to have a hard time floating repairs too, I ended up buying one for less money so i could afford repairs when they came up. My turbos just let go last week, the car has 90k on it.

If your good with your hands, it is a very rewarding car, if you don't like to wrench you need to have cash in hand at all times in order to enjoy the car, otherwise you will always be nervous that something will break.

 

good heavens Ive seen twice that mileage on a well looked after engine the turbo like any part wares but not at 90k that's a new car

 

Why does every one get caught up with the turbo's failing? It's not the big things that kill you, it's all the dam little $100-200 parts that kill you!
They go out when they feel like it! 500mi-150,000mi, it really depends on how it's driven, how it's taken care of, how long it's driven with a torn TBB, etc....
The only way to really see what shape the turbos are in is to drop the DP and check the wheels.

Since I got my car almost 4mo ago, it has taken over $2000 in parts.
Brakes were shot, shocks were shot, front suspension arms were on their way out, Bi-pipe, DV's, N75, valve cover gaskets, O2's,d general maintaince.....

In reality I have put over $10k in to my car, but most of it was FUN parts, and when a part is replaced I tend to upgrade it if I can.

 

exactly mate like how often do you change the timing belt answer is if you hammer it then x2 to the book ish

 

I've heard stories of turbos going with less than 8k on them and others lasting over 120k. There is no real pattern except it is going to cost when they do.

Let eveyone else this is not a car to buy broke. They are high maintance and expensive to repair.

 

With a turbo timer, diverters, throttle body boot, and bi pipe I think I am safe (for now at least).

Treat the car like an *******, it'll treat you like one right back. I've owned 3 supras, an sti, an evo..with every car, after driving it the slightest bit hard, if I didn't have a turbo timer, I would let it run for a minute or 2 just so the turbos cool down properly. All kinds of care can be taken on a daily basis to ensure your turbos last as long as possible.