Most recent consumer reviews
You probably shouldn't buy this car
If you're reading this, you've probably already seen all the good things about this car - power, handling, fun to drive, etc. - so I'm going to tell you about the bad and the ugly. First of all, you will love driving this car, but you need to prepare to maintain the car too. Either you need a lot of money, or a lot of time and know-how. As with any sporty car, assume the guy before you abused it and didn't maintain it well. Be ready to catch up on all the maintenance they neglected, plus some. Now, into the nitty-gritty: The most notorious issue for this car and others with the 4.2 is with the plastic timing chain guides. Audi did a lot of things right, but this is something they cheaped out on and it's a huge PITA for pretty much every owner of a high-mileage (70k+) S4. These guides, like lots of plastic things on this car, don't hold up very well over the years and fall apart. Most of the time it's not a spectacular failure and the car runs well enough despite chunks of plastic rattling around in the motor. Sometimes the timing system falls apart and the motor becomes a paperweight. Of course, to fix these guides (which are inconveniently located at the back of the engine) you need to take the whole engine out of the car. Luckily, there are kits for this job (which run about $1k at ECS), and a few tutorials on YouTube for anyone brave enough to do the work themselves. Semi-related, these engines have poorly designed oil check valves designed to keep oil pressure in the chain tensioners while the car isn't running. When these wear out, you get an ugly rumbling noise on cold startups. AFAIK, this doesn't cause that much extra wear or anything, but it's a little embarrassing. Sellers like to get the car warmed up before you arrive so you don't hear it. Luckily the fix for this is pretty easy and can be done with the motor in the car. You just need to get to the valley pan under the intake manifold. Another issue I've run into is wiring. On some wires, the apparently biodegradable insulation falls apart if you even look at it too hard. So far, I've found this stuff in the headlights and in the wiring to the secondary air pump from the ECU. You pretty much need to replace the wiring when you stumble across it. Smaller issues include: Vacuum lines are fragile at this age and crumble in your hands. Lots of hose clamps are one-time use and will need to be replaced if you take them off. Changing the serpentine belt requires pulling the whole front of the car forward to get access. Headlight bulbs require taking off the bumper cover (not really hard, just annoying). Also, one of the bolts is terrible to get to. As with most aging vehicles, anything rubber or plastic that you touch on your way to something else will probably need to be replaced. The parking brake hits the center console. One of the positives about this car that you may not have seen is that they actually are very easy to work on. A task like taking the engine out can be done by anyone with a hoist (or more advisable, a lift table) and a shop that can evacuate the A/C system. Mind the torque specs when you put things back together.
- Comfort 4.0
- Interior 3.0
- Performance 5.0
- Value 5.0
- Exterior 4.0
- Reliability 2.0
- Purchased a Used car
- Used for Commuting
- Does recommend this car
I bought it
Loved it. Very clean car personable salesman. My son and I picked the car apart and everything we pointed out the dealer repaired or replaced and the negotiated price was reasonable and fair. Good value
- Comfort 5.0
- Interior 4.0
- Performance 5.0
- Value 5.0
- Exterior 5.0
- Reliability —
- Purchased a Used car
- Used for Commuting
- Does recommend this car
Great car
Everything is good some issue with the light of front I try to contact the company that I purchase from but they didn’t help but everything is fine.
- Comfort 5.0
- Interior 5.0
- Performance 5.0
- Value 5.0
- Exterior 4.0
- Reliability 5.0
- Purchased a Used car
- Used for Commuting
- Does recommend this car