Looking to buy a B5 S4 and there are two I am interested in but I am not sure which one is a better deal. They are both manual (a must) but they differ a lot from there.

One is a 2001 with 78k miles, clean carfax, one owner that traded it in to a dealer. There are no mods and the dealer replaced the CV boots but doesn't know if the timing belt has been done yet (does this sound suspicious?). Asking price $10,900.

The other is a 2000 with 97k miles, clean carfax, for sale by owner but not the original owner. It has a Neuspeed 9 pound titanium exhaust, APR chip, RS4 intercoolers, 2Bennett coilovers and all tuned by 2Bennett in Davis, CA plus BBS wheels and custom stereo. The timing belt has been taken care of and the maintenance records look good. Asking price went from $13,900 to $11,900.

What appears to be a better deal on the surface? Which car is more likely to give fewer headaches? I need a daily driver and I want it to be fun

This will be my first S4 and to be honest I am worried about getting a car that is in the shop often enough to anger my other half.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give.

 

youll love the stage 2 but youre gonna wanna go stage 3 here soon.. i give ya 6 months....

 

the second one sounds better, mainly cuz its already been upgraded and the timing belt is known done, reguardless of which model you choose you'll need to replace the turbos eventually but since the second one has upgraded intercoolers it would save you a little bit more if you were to go stage 3 when you get new turbos

 

The dealer "not knowing if the timing belt has been done" is as good as the timing belt not being done. Make them do it or throw a few dollars your way for the job.

 

Ok, lets say the 2001 with lower mileage gets the timing belt changed, does that make it the safer choice from the stand point of reliability? I am worried the higher mileage car with mods has been driven harder and therefore would be a bigger gamble, or is it impossible to tell and the mileage difference isn't great enough to worry about?

Thanks again

 

the lower milage could be the better buy if the timing belt has been changed but the higher milage one could have more of the maintenance already done so its a real gamble unless you know the owner selling it because you can get a vibe how they are. the lower milage one could have been drivin hard its entire life and the higher milage one could have been babied yet tastefully modded

 

An update to my dilemma. The dealer who is selling the 2001 agreed to take it to an Audi specialist of my choice to do an inspection. They found a minor amount of rust under the car, a leaky valve cover gasket, a fault with headlight leveler sensor, and a fault with the engine coolant temperature sensor, plus it needs a new timing belt. The car is clean in appearance and has no rattles so I offered them $7,800. Their answer was "no way." I am reluctant to buy for much more if all those repairs could be anywhere from $2000-$3000.

Was my offer that ridiculous?

Suddenly the stage 2 with higher mileage is looking better only I am not a huge fan of silver (no offense to all the owners of silver cars because all S4's are beautiful).

 

i would offer them 10,000 to 10,500 and make them get the repairs done b4 you buy it.... the valve cover, coolant temp sensor, and the timing belt. the headlight thing isnt a big deal but the timing belt and stuff are(make sure if you do you buy the extended warranty they offer its way better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it). but if you offer that guy 11,000 and he takes it you might be better off that way.

 

i hate my silver, it always looks clean but finding wheels that look good is tough and its not as flashy as i like it to be. but if super sleeper is your feel then go for it.

 

i think that silver would look good with a deep dish colored wheel with a polished lip and a pinstripe that matches the wheels.