Thoughts on the Audi S4 B5 (1998-2001)

[sprinterVR6 0]

looking at replacing the VR with a more family man type ride.

 

Other options include a 1.8T A4/A6 Avant 2002, but after having the 'raddo,

I can't bear not having something 'a bit special' sat on my driveway.

 

Anyone here had any experiance of these cars, good or bad??

 

Thanks

[coullstar 0]

Do a search as I think I asked a similar question. Ive had a 1.8T enginied Passat and it was quite dull TBH even with a remap and fuel economy was the best so I agree its worth looking at something with a bit more poke. The S4's are quite nice but the only thing I was really told was the manifolds can crack and the turbo's are prone for going. Not the best when there is two of them. Saying that they do like a remap.

[KADVR6 0]

apart from what graeme just said they are just horrendous on fuel, around town expect about 18/20mpg and on the motorway even cruising you will not see over 28mpg, and thats without it being re-mapped, i did look into getting one.

[mikkijayne 0]

The turbos cause problems, probably due to being stuffed in such a small space. You have to remove the engine and gearbox to change them, so a lot of the US guys upgrade them to K04s while they are out. Not a cheap job, but gives a nice power boost with a remap. The bottom end on the 2.7T is built like a battleship so it pretty indestructable. Just a shame its so damn heavy!

 

Other than that its pretty much just an A4, so it will eat tyres and control arms, especially if you lower it.

 

Have you looked on Fourtitude? (VWVortex's Audi site) They have a subforum for the B5 S4 & RS4 which should give you a good idea of common issues with them :)

Fourtitude B5 S4 & RS4 Forum

[sprinterVR6 0]

thanks for the feedback guys. Does'nt sound too good does it?!!! Fuel wise is not a big issue, don't do huge miles. One or two cross country trips a month maybe and would factor in the expense. Really just looking for a quality german family yoke with same/better performance then VR and with the magical X-Factor! I refuse to settle for a bland family car.

Without clambering up onto a soapbox and preaching (to the converted I reckon!) about how I don't smoke/drink, go out much + work hard during the week, all to walk over and put the keys into a grey 1.9TDi. God, I'd rather get run over by a jimmy jeep!

[Jim 2]

At the end of the day it's an Audi.. it can't be that unreliable. Can it? I always lusted after one of these as well though was put off any of the S cars after hearing about "the S tax" which Audi stick on any of their S badged cars.. the prices for some of the parts for these cars is simply staggering.

[mikkijayne 0]

You can get a decent amount of power from the 1.9TDI ;) 180hp / 250tq is pretty simple and that makes quite a quick car. Find a sport quattro with decent spec and you can have fast and frugal :)

 

Or, find an S4 with dead turbos, throw the V6 away and stick a 4.2 V8 in there instead :D It fits perfectly and looks almost factory, and you can pick up everything to convert it for less than the price of a pair of K04s...

 

---------- Post added at 02:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:16 PM ----------

 

At the end of the day it's an Audi.. it can't be that unreliable. Can it?

 

Same as a Corrado - its reliable if you keep up with the maintenance and are aware of the design flaws ;)

[coullstar 0]

I love my S4 but its the B6 V8 version, whats your price range? Its a heavy old beast and eats fuel but its a great drive and handles suprisingly well. It does have that "special" feel about it as well, parts arent uber expensive TBH. I just bought full new set of discs with rear pads for about £200, thats for 345mm and 300mm discs.

As for the fuel economy the way I looked at it was a I was running a Mk5 Gti that was averaging 29mpg. The Audi is doing 23mpg so not a huge amount less for 140bhp more and double the amount of cylinders. Best bet would be to try and get a B5 thats had the turbo's done if you cant get a B6.

[sprinterVR6 0]

thanks coullstar - it's looking like budget is max £4,500, so B6's are out unfortunatly. Good point about the mpg. It is all relevent as you say. It's not I'm going from a Micra to an S4!! I'm well used to the fuel issue.

 

sorry mikkij about the 1.9 TDi referance!! bit cheeky in fairness, didn't mean to come across like a twat!

 

Going back to reliability etc, having now had 2 VR6's, one good, one bad. Do you reckon shopping in the 3-5k bracket for an S4 is asking for trouble? Just how bad are these cars in comparision to a vr6 with regard to things going wrong etc?

 

any pics of your avant coullstar?!

[mikkijayne 0]

sorry mikkij about the 1.9 TDi referance!! bit cheeky in fairness, didn't mean to come across like a twat!

 

I didn't read it like that at all so don't worry about it :D Stock diesels can be very dull indeed, but modified ones can be a lot more fun than people think. Just thought I'd throw it in for consideration ;)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

looking at replacing the VR with a more family man type ride.

 

Other options include a 1.8T A4/A6 Avant 2002, but after having the 'raddo,

I can't bear not having something 'a bit special' sat on my driveway.

 

Anyone here had any experiance of these cars, good or bad??

 

Thanks

 

I'm in the same boat. I used my Bro's Pug 406 Estate to dump some garden rubbish recently now I just have to have an Estate in my life (as well as the Corrado).

 

I had a shortlist of punchy estates pencilled in for test drives :-

 

Volvo 850 R / V70 R

Audi S2 Avant

Mercedes C43 AMG Estate

BMW E46 330i Touring

 

I say had a shortlist, cause now it's pretty much just the BMW as my only choice. My preferred choice was the V70 R Manual as it's 4WD, 280ish horse standard and has a mahoooosive load area. Plus having touring car credentials and highly tunable tank of a 5 pot engine, and if you can find one, are

 

Audi S2 avant is out. The few that I saw for sale seemed to be owned by people who think it's the RS2 Avant and over priced them accordingly. Tiny little boot too.

 

C43 Mercedes. Tiny load area again (compared to the volvo) and you think VW and Audi parts are expensive! And the Manual version is rarer than a rare steak that's basically been taken out of the wrapper and slapped onto the plate. I've driven the Auto and that 300hp V8 feels more like 200hp. Shame really, given the noise it makes. They do handle really well though (for a merc) and have that sense of occasion Graeme mentioned.

 

Another option if I up the budget is the E55 estate. 5 litre supercharged, fast as hell and ~ £6K. Ugly though.

 

And so the BMW. Plenty about, sub £3K, good engine and decent load area.

 

I want the Volvo though. And I want it now!!

 

---------- Post added at 04:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:25 PM ----------

 

Feck....I've just realised what I said. I want a Volvo. Hmmm, I'm 38, not 58.

[mikkijayne 0]

Feck....I've just realised what I said. I want a Volvo. Hmmm, I'm 38, not 58.

 

I drove an 850R once. I'm sure the interior design alone sucked a good 5-10 years out of me Quilted alcantara! Srsly!

[coullstar 0]

thanks coullstar - it's looking like budget is max £4,500, so B6's are out unfortunatly. Good point about the mpg. It is all relevent as you say. It's not I'm going from a Micra to an S4!! I'm well used to the fuel issue.

 

sorry mikkij about the 1.9 TDi referance!! bit cheeky in fairness, didn't mean to come across like a twat!

 

Going back to reliability etc, having now had 2 VR6's, one good, one bad. Do you reckon shopping in the 3-5k bracket for an S4 is asking for trouble? Just how bad are these cars in comparision to a vr6 with regard to things going wrong etc?

 

any pics of your avant coullstar?!

 

Here you go.

[KADVR6 0]

kev if your lookig for a 330 estate seriously look at the later 2002 onward 330d, get one of those re-mapped and they will breeze past a 330i and still bet very good mpg plus easier to sell when you get bored after about a month (did i just say get bored of a car lol)

[Jim 2]

I love estate cars.. I miss my old Merc dearly! So handy being able to open the boot and chuck just about anything in there.. so practical. And with some of the great performance estates these days, they can look and go just as well as the saloons too :)

[Walesy 0]

T4's are the best all rounders for family life IMO, I had mine sold within 2 days of advertising it recently, took a deposit and went and test drove a few estates that I'd fancied (including the B5 S4), none of them came close to my tuned 2.5tdi T4, the possibilities are endless with them and when I actually thought about all the different uses it has from daytrips to tip runs to carrying kayaks/bikes etc etc I realised i'd regret selling it so I returned the deposit and i'm keeping it! definitely worth considering for a family wagon :)

 

Couple of pics to tempt you :)

 

Edited May 5, 2011 by Walesy

[Danny B 0]

I have been yerning after a S4 B6 Avant for the past six months or so - just like yours coullstar........but I cant really keep the rado as I have no where to keep her and I keep thinking to myself that I will get bored with the S4 quite soon and then regret selling.

 

They seem to go for about the 10k mark with 'reasonable' miles on them, do you mind me asking Coullstar for more info on yours ? price/miles/year/manuel/auto - spec/any problems so far......no worries if you dont want to post on how much you paid.

[coullstar 0]

Your about right with the price although I did make a cheeky offer so didnt pay near that for mine. Mine has the full black leather Recaros buts for extra's thats about it, it had to be Nogaro Blue. TBH I dont really think it needs anything more, other things would just be gimmics. Dont go for the half leather half alcantara seats as there not supposed to wear that well. Only other things to watch are auxillary rads. They use a bit if oil as well and its about 8-9litres for an oil change.

 

Apart from that its brilliant. It just wafts along, its a different kind of speed to the Corrado.

This vid shows there no slouch and are ok at handling.

[Danny B 0]

Yeah agreed on the nagaro blue, it just has to be.......dead right about the Alcantara - my old man has a A4 he bought brand new three years ago and within a year the Alcantara steering wheel and gear knob was slippery, so I would imagine half seats would have really poor wear rates. To be honest its driving his around that has given me the itch even though his is 'only' the 170bhp TD.

 

Good video - fond memories of a time when Top Gear actually reviewed cars.

 

EDIT - sorry sprinter for hijack

[sprinterVR6 0]

no worries danny! loving the estate banter. Makes me feel better about the coupe to estate changeover. Good to see their's positive vibes out there.

 

Walesy, loving the T-4. My brother would chew your arms and legs off for it. He's a surfer and being looking for something just like yours. He's gonna love those pics!!

 

Coullstar - your avant - the first words out've my mouth on seeing pic were 'holy sh!t'.

That's a seriously cool mode of transport. Regarding the nagaro - same here, it'll have to be that colour. Failing that the only other option is Silver. My reasoning being that only in those two colours can you see the splendor of the front bumper/intake area on the B5 S4. Just my opinion, but on the darker colours, ming blue, black etc, those features are lost and to the untrained eye the car can appear to be an A4. Something I've always wanted to have about my cars is a sort've 'blimey, wat the f#cks that' reaction. And both the front of the VR6 and, in my mind, any of the 'S' range audi have it. A sort've restrained menace about them if you will!!

[Walesy 0]

If he's after one tell him to get in quick, the goodun's are going up in value rapidly! Mines worth £2.5k more than I paid for it 3 years and 40k miles ago! seriously cant recommend them enough.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I drove an 850R once. I'm sure the interior design alone sucked a good 5-10 years out of me Quilted alcantara! Srsly!

 

Yeah Volvo interiors are a bit special aren't they! :lol:

 

kev if your lookig for a 330 estate seriously look at the later 2002 onward 330d, get one of those re-mapped and they will breeze past a 330i and still bet very good mpg plus easier to sell when you get bored after about a month (did i just say get bored of a car lol)

 

Good call Karl, I forgot about the 330d. That is one thing I noticed with the 406 HDi actually, the fuel needle just never seemed to move, no matter what kind of lunatic throttle openings I gave it, so diesel is defo on the cards!

[KADVR6 0]

oh kev also dont forget the audi allroad 2.5tdi, my bro has one and its a great car

[Danny B 0]

Coullstar ......where did you look when buying yours ?

 

The search has gone up a notch but struggling a little.

 

Is yours an auto as well by the way ?

[coullstar 0]

Everywhere. Pistonheads, ebay etc etc. I saw the owner post about possibly selling his on a local forum and just emailed him to get some info. Manual for me, I hate auto's.