DangerZone9K

My bro is looking into purchasing a 2001 Audi S4 Automatic w/96k miles on the car. It is white w/white interior. The timing belt and water pump have been replaced. The car is in mint condition. Anything to look out for when test driving the car or in person? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Also, is there any problems with the automatic transmission compared to the manual transmission?



Thanks everyone.

FtW_S2000

Yeah - a car with less miles

derryck

I owned an 01 and 01.5 and when they weren't in the shop they were awesome cars...unfortunately they were in the shop frequently plagued with tbb issues and electrical gremlins...STAY AWAY!

S2KBDub

Although I didn't own an S4, I had a late production date 00 A4 2.8/6-sp which had control arm issues. Other than that, there were no issues with this vehicle in 40K miles. On a prior A4 2.8, the same can be said. The only issue I had with the 97 was a window regulator and burnt out LCD line on the driver info center. I do know the burnt out LCD line on the driver info center and/or radio was a common problem.

DangerZone9K

How many miles did your car have when they start giving off problems?

derryck

Both were purchased new and both had less than 10K miles on them when I got rid of them. Both of them had issues within the first month or two of ownership so I would guess that the issues surfaced with less than 2K miles on the odometer.

Johnny Sack

run away.

KeithM

Turbos have been a known issue as well. In all honesty id say look for something else. That car was awesome when it came with a warranty, but now.......not so much

Kremlin

Almost bought one, got scared away by all the issues with turbos failing, high maintenance costs, etc.

DangerZone9K

i am actually looking into an auto due to famliy reasons and preference.


i saw the car today and test drove it. it drives very nicely and appeared to check out. turbos did not sound funny and transmission shifted smoothly and engine pulled hard. i took it to a local mechanic and had him look over the car and put it on a lift to see if there were any issues. he brought up a few things - first the rear differential was oily; it wasnt dripping but it was oily looking. also when the car was on a lift he noticed that under the engine there was a oily area as well. once again it wasnt dripping but it was oily. he said he looked to be in the area of one of the turbos and that it may possibly just need a gasket. he mentioned the valve cover may be the source too. wut does a leaky valve cover mean? i want to know if these are something that could cause major issues or if others have gone through these with minimal issues. how common are these issues?



i also have noticed the following items and wanted to know how much these could cost or how common they are in s4s. i want to see if these are something that should steer me away from the car or if these are just something that are non issues.



1. it appears that the radio is locked it says "safe" on the LCD display; how hard is it to get a radio code and does this cost money?



2. where is the tool kit i.e. car jack located? in the trunk i removed the plastic panel on the left and didnt see a jack there - is that where it should be? what would this cost?



3. the key/transmitter didnt work. i wasnt able to unlock the doors or open the trunk with it. i had to manually turn the key to open the trunk or open the doors. how common is it for the transmitter to go dead? how hard is it to replace the battery? what would this cost?



4. this car only has 1 key/transmitter - how much would a second key/transmitter cost? im assumin i would have to go to the dealership since it is a laser cut key.



5. when using the power door locks - i noticed that the locks were lagging and delayed. it wasnt a fast motion. is this a common issue. should i be concerned and what woudl this cost? does the door lock regulator or motor go bad on these cars?



thanks for your help. i look forward to your input as im going to be going back to the dealership tomorrow and need this feedback to help make my decision. keep in mind this is a 01 Audi s4 that has a good condition exterior and a good interior with 96k miles for 9500.



thanks!