Im looking at purchasing an 05 Audi S4 with roughly 86k miles and an 07 Audi A4 with roughly 50k miles. Both have manual transmissions. My issue is reliability, i greatly prefer the S4, but with 86k miles im somewhat skeptical about the issues i may be facing in the near future with repairs. I know the S4 cost's much more to get parts and to fix. Any suggestions? i know it all depends how the previous owner/owners treated them and if all the scheduled maintenances were done, but would like to get more info from you guys before i make a choice. Thanks

 

I don't know if 86k miles is considered "high" anymore. In my experience high mileage cars have more rock chips, curb rash, worn carpets, and certainly wear and tear on the drivers seat, but most of the mechanical stuff is fine if it's taken care of.

I just bought an 01' S4 avant, it's got 121,000 which was about average, many I looked at had upwards of 140 or 150k.

Many people steered me away from the S4, stating they are "maintenance nightmares" But I'm not sure exactly what that refers to.

I had to bring the car up to my standards, I adjusted the drivers door hinges, I cleaned the contacts in the sunroof switch, adjusted the tail gate latch to keep it from "bouncing back" if slammed, replaced the tail gate latch switch that operated the rear dome light, had the cluster rebuilt for the LCD screen, cleaned the connectors on the front brake pads to clear the "brake" warning from the cluster, fixed the retractable cub holder..... so a lot of little piddly stuff, but not too bad, and more age related than make or model or mileage.

 

2004's tend to have scored cylinder walls and could run you the price of a new motor to replace.... with 2005+ you have to be careful of the timing chain system. Enthusiasts that are worried are changing these out around 100,000 miles and it runs near $4,000..... That said, I sold my b7 a4 2.0t to get into my 2005 S4..... S4 is a superior car, however I have noticed my maintnence bills have almost doubled with routine maintnence

 

I was in your same boat....
Search A4 vs S4 and it will come up...

I went with a 2006 audi A4, 33K miles!!! Vs a 05 s4 with 75 k miles for the same price....

The B6 body is soooo old looking...and boxy, The B7 looks great...Also after owning it for over 10k miles it is rock solid. My buddy has a 05 B7 A4 with 110k miles and is rock solid....very reliable...gas mileage is amazing...

I wanted it to be faster...full exhaust, ecu tune = +65 hp making the car 0 to 60 in the 5 second range. I put some OZ wheels on it and it looks great!

I HIGHLY recommend a B7 A4!

 

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...ml#post3044701

Found it!

 

thanks for the advice... im going to go test drive both and see how i like them, and then do some negotiating with the owners and see how the price plays into the factor. If i can get the s4 for an amazing price, ill probably go with it. After i do all that ill be sure to update this with my choice, and some pictures of course.

 

86k isn't high miles. especially when mi last one had 189k when I sold it.

 

You'll be fine with the S4. Mines got 125k

 

Thanks for the info. Pretty reassuring that you guys are saying 80k isnt really high mileage, with some vehicles 80k is getting towards high mileage. But im checking out a couple S4's, B7 A4's, and a Lexus IS350 this weekend, might even throw a Volvo S60 in the mix also. Any advice on the lexus or Volvo that might steer me away from those two? Obviously the S4 has the power i want, but the others have the newer look i was looking for. As always, thanks for the great advice.

 

alright been a while since i posted in here, been enjoying the s4 decision i made .. as soon as i test drove it, i was sold. now time for a few upgrades! - also i uploaded a pic of what some vinyl would look like on the front bumper, opinions on that?

 

S4 > A4..... Nothing beats low end torque, Recaro seats and a V8 growl....

good choice on the pick up

 

thanks! yeah the biggest difference for me over the other vehicles i drove was the power and the overall feel of the car (very "gokart" like, and who doesnt like driving a really fast gokart?)

now for some jhm goodies in the near future and ill be even more happy!

 

yes you will be. I am running a Dual catless 2.5" exhaust with an X pipe and JHM tune... I can spin my wheels shifting into 2nd gear in my quattro

 

did u send in to get your tune and what was the turn around time? i like driving my car, and would rather not have a huge turn around time. and yeah ive been reading up on the best exhaust combo, but dont want anything overly loud. just ordered a snub mount and some lightweight rotors, and some s4 rotor clips for that extra +5 hp in appearance

 

Styling is subjective. I actually prefer the look of the B6 to the B7 unless we're talking about a B7 RS4 (which has no B6 counterpart anyhow).