I am looking at buying a used 2000-2003 Audi S4 2.7L Bi-Turbo in a 6 speed manual then doing the typical performance upgrades. That also implies that I might sell my MCS...so

Anyone on here own a 2.7L Bi-Turbo S4 and want to give me any words of wisdom? How much of a money pit will this venture be?

Thanks.

 

Went through the same thing last year. I wanted an S4 for more speed and those four doors.

I can tell from your sig that you dropped a lot of money into the Mini you have, and it's gorgeous. Forget about getting ANY of that back unless you part the entire thing out.

I will tell you that getting an S4 was the best decision I never made. One of my good friends has an S4. Sure, it was fun a lot of the time when he first got it. Then, probably 6k miles later, one of the Turbos blew. He wasn't even driving hard, my friend was in the car and they were going 50mph in 6th gear. No biggie, goes in the shop, he pays about 1800$ I think, gets the car back. Two weeks later, next turbo blows. Back in the shop, out another $1800. Then, the coolant started leaking, as did the transmission fluid. Back in the shop, more money spent. A month later, something goes wrong with the ECU. This was in late November, car is STILL not out of the shop. Because, once the mechanics got in there, they realized they basically had to replace the entire engine, which they are working on right now. (Older engine parts couldn't take the effects of the new turbos, combined with a bad ECU). The turbos I know for a fact, the other stuff here was what I was told by a friend of his.

He now has a picture of his car on myspace with the caption: "When will I ever see you again my love?" Sure, the car is sweet. And you'll enjoy driving it if it's not in the shop.

I love Audi's, I think they make a really great product. But the reliability on those S4's still worries me, no matter how much I like em. I'd say you're better off looking for a used STi/Evo/ E36 M3 than buying an Audi. Although, careful on the BMWs too. My friend has a 99 and there have been a couple things that have gone wrong with it recently. Nothing major, but still, on a high mileage car like that you can't help but think about what's coming up after the minor issues.

Just my .02

 

Do your research on the Audi boards too but remember - like here - people who are fans of a particular car will occasionally tend to downplay its shortcomings a bit. You'll hear about them, sure, but it'll be followed by "Oh, it's SO worth it."

 

If you are looking for a fast, capable sedan to modify with some luxury features, you should look at a Subaru Legacy GT. AWD, turbo and easily outperforms even a modded S4, but with reliability. Plus, it's easy to work on vs. an Audi, so perfect for a DIY'er or lower install bills at your local shop.

On the LGT owner's forums, it's apparent that there are quite a few former A4/S4/allroad owners who were tired of the repair bills. I can point you to a few to discuss the shortcomings of the 2.7TT cars (one's even a member here - 03Indigo).

 

I had 2000 S4. I liked a lot about it, but it was quite a heavy car matched with 250hp. I actually sold it for my first mini, an 02S. It was amazing how much of a difference (stock to stock) there was in handling, the mini was so crisp and roll-free compared to the s4.

IMO, I would go for a Subaru STI (again, just sold my 05 for my present mini) before an early V6 S4. Now, the v8 S4, now we're talkin'.

Oh, and also, all my misc. nits were fixed under warranty, but believe you me, I was pretty scared of out-of-pocket costs on this car once the 48K factory waranty was gone.

 

My brother in law has a 2000 s4 and he loves it. He's had it from new (1999) and has taken excellent care of it, it looks like it is only two years old right now. His only mods are an AWE Catback and GIAC and the car flies. He could buy any car he wanted to but he says there is nothing out there right now reasonably priced that he would consider.

The posts here sound familiar, during the past year he's had to shell out some cash and he's been telling me for the past couple of months that its only a matter of time (shortly) that he expects both turbos to be done and siginificant suspension work to be necessary.

I also have a friend that has both a 2000 s4 (also from new) and an MC40 edition stock MCS(2004). His s4 is the daily driver and the MCS is the weekend and rare track day car. He says he uses the Audi as the daily driver only due to the comparatively softer ride (he has two girls). His s4 has not given him too much trouble and he drives it pretty hard. He could also buy any car he wanted to and he hasn't considered it.

So, going in it is a good probabilty that you will have to spend some cash on the car and it will also be at the shop every so often. Is it worth the risk? It's really your call.

Good luck!

 

two of my friends have had them both have had two each, and one now has a newer 4.2 v8 and the poor reliability and costs of turbos are gone..

i have been told by both of them to steer clear of that -2.7 turbo- engine, also most people have driven the used market ones HARD. That said or rather written, having been a passenger in the fore mentioned friends cars....wow it is impressive!

 

The 2000 2.7 bi-turbo is a great engine. I had it in the A-6. So much the better in the lighter and tighter S-4.

Best news for you if you do it - I still have the ABT Sportsline Euro spec performance ECU from Stratsmosphere that I had in the A-6. Plug in 60 extra horses and eliminate rev and speed limiters. I never got around to putting it on ebay when I traded in the car at lease end (when I put the stock unit back in). List $1300; yours for $500 including shipping.

 

As with any of these performance vehicles or higher-end vehicles, especially with turbos, the consensus among service managers and afficionados seems to be that you should be anticipate some real costs if purchasing one with high miles (100,000+). Most of the S4 owners are car nuts who take care of their vehicles, even if some occasionally get them onto a track, so I would be more comforted than scared by a general owner profile. Obviously, you should learn about prior owners and the car's history.

This car has much more subjective appeal than the Subaru. The STi may go like stink, but it has a cheesy boy-racer appearance IMHO.

Good luck with your decision process. Buy something that is right for you, whatever that may be.

Since my MINI burned up, I am looking at the RS-4.

 

So the B5 S4 is pretty much out of the question now. This past weekend I went to one of the best performance shops dealing with Audi's in this area. They pretty much laid down the total cost of building a solid S4 with the K04 turbos to be 20k plus the cost of the car .

So now I am thinking about buying the owner's recently re-built A4 with a 2.0T swap, GT28RS, strong clutch, built suspension, StopTech BBK, etc. It had 380 awhp on 93 octane ...He claims to have spent 45k on the setup and he's asking half that because he needs money for finish his new 600 awhp S4.

 

B5 S4 is a great car to mod. I have a B6 S4, so don't know much about B5.

Join us here...http://forums.audiworld.com/s4/

 

i have a 4.2 s4 avant with a 6 speed forsale if anyone is interested 26k takes it (thats about 3 grand less than wholesale)

 

i actually heard that the original S4, or the "urS4" which was based on the older A4/100, are very solid cars, built like tanks, and are known to last forever. dunno if you like cars that old, but those might be fun. the impression i got of the old twin turbo S4 was that it was a very fast car but unemotional and not very *fun* to drive. 20k rebuild is pretty ridiculous

 

I want a B7 S4

 

I've heard through the grapevine that the older S4's had tranny issues. Is this true or were they just blowing smoke?

 

they have alot more than tranny issues... suspension bushings, clutches, and turbos go... and when the turbos go it is an engine out procedure.