Well theres this Silver S4 at our shop right now that is just teasing me and making me want one really bad. So I looked into it a little and being that I am also a dealer it looks like I could probably get an 00 S4 with under 100k miles for about 8500 on average. Right now the auctions are very poor so I could possibly do better then that but next week I should be getting close to $1400 and if I could manage 5900 from my 99.5 A4 then that would mean I would have a total of $7300 not too far off from that 8500 I think. My A4 has 132000 miles its a 2.8 quattro manual with good tires, new brakes, tie rods replaced, right rear wheel bearing replaced, timing belt just done, water pump, drive belts, valve cover gaskets, all tensioner pulleys, all flushes, new plugs and wires, and I'm about to do the clutch. The bad is that the rear door on the drivers side has a large rust spot on it from a poor parking lot dent repair. I got another door that was supposedly Volcano Black but it doesn't match but I would obviously sell it with the car as its rust free. Also the transmission makes a noise in first gear and only first gear. Doesn't make it on decel in first not in neutral not any other gear and it shifts like any other car. I think with all that maintenance work done the car is worth at least close to the $5900 knowing that it has had a lot of the major problems already taken care of within a 5000 mile time frame. Also no lights on the stereo works great and the interior is excellent just the drivers seat is getting worn. So I don't know. Should I list it for sale and see what happens? I have plenty of cars to drive while I look for the right S4 at an auction. Just found an 01 for 5k with 160k miles but that seems too high. Any and all opinions are welcome tell me I'm dreamin lol.

Here's pictures of the S4 with 160k.






It also has a clean carfax its just that the cars all the way in New Jersey.

 

you forget that if you pay the guy 8500 for the car, figure on another 500 for taxes and registration. thats 9000. at 160k miles the turbos on that S4 are very possibly on the way out, among other things that go. im not an S4 guy so il let someone else chime in on what exactly goes on them. but if you dont have an extra 2000 in the bank above and beyond the sticker price, i wouldnt dump a reliable car for a money pit. what i would do is sell your 2.8 and buy a 1.8t, it would be almost an even swap money wise. and the 1.8t is alot cheaper and easier to work on and mod.

if all you want is a nice car to drive, and the S4 you pick is mechanicly sound, then go for it. if your looking for a car to tinker with and make faster, get a 1.8t. you can have an S4 killer for A4 price.

 

Like said, you need to also consider maintenances, increased on your insurance premiums, and also gas mileage.

Whichever way you decide on going, I wish you best of luck though.

Keep us updated.

 

Well I havn't actually registered my car even and I drive on a dealer plate. So I dont have to pay insurance or tax lol. Honestly I was using the 160k miles one as an example I would prefer to find one with like 65k miles. Right now the dealer auctions are being hit hard by people not wanting to buy cars so many dealers are letting cars go for way below the average. The hard part would be selling the A4 but with winter approaching and with all the maintenance I did that might be easier.

 

Also factor in that if dealers aren't buying cars from auctions b/c the used car market is difficult, you'll need to really see if you can sell your own car first or not. From the sounds of it, $5900 may be a stretch but with winter approaching, you may be able to get it.

 

Ya I see selling my car being the make or break it factor. On a plus side I realized the S4 pictured is a buy it now of 5k and minimum bid of 3k so since its been up a while I can probably get it for 3k lol. Sell mine for we will say 5500 buy that for 3-3500. I would assume the turbo's are probably just about shot and may have other issues like clutch but I would have almost 3k with my saved money (still pushing it if I want perfection) to put into it at that point and I work on it myself which helps a lot. I still don't think I want a 160k one but the price of that one shows that it may not be hard to find one close to the price range I want. As an example last week I bought a 2001 Cadillac De Ville w/ 90k miles for 4200 at the auction and the week before a 2003 Maxima w/ 64k miles for 8600 both are mint condition. We are seeing that with the current market buying cars for customers is the only way to sell a car and commission on the sales is making the S4 look more like a reality even if I pay 8-9k for the right one. The drawback in my mind is that this is going to be my 3rd car this year.... LOL. Started out the year with a 1994 Jeep Cherokee that I was just driving while I worked on my project car. Got the RX-7 project on the road drove it 2 months sold it at a profit (profit on a project car?) and bought the A4 for 4600 did all that maintenance. I would be losing on the A4 at that price if I do the clutch otherwise a lot of stuff like brakes were done right before I got it so I would be at a profit but barely. Im going to post in the S4 section to see what I am possibly getting myself into.

 

to put your selling amount into persprctive, heres a 2001 a4 2.8 with no problems with half as many miles as yours (65k miles) and he wants 5900 obo for that... idk just thought id throw that out there

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/cto/874759415.html

 

Ya its gonna be hard to sell but it would be sold through the dealer and marked at retail price although I wont expect retail price. I am just hoping that all the maintenance helps which honestly it should thats a lot of work done. The car wont have a problem for a while unless the mass air flow sensor breaks or something. I even did a fuel induction service to the car which cleans out all the carbon deposits. Similarly to sea foaming it but better as its a 3 step process. Really what I am more worried about is the problems I would be buying into. Will it need a clutch? New turbo's? That kind of stuff gets expensive when you add it all up. I know im being defensive here lol but I still want to hear what you guys think lol.

 

you do NOT want a high mileage b5 s4. maintenance will kick your *** and you will be forced to sell it and then not have an audi at all. not to mention insurance and gas will be much higher as well. if you don't have at least 15k, you can't afford an s4

 

I can purchase one with 74k miles for under 9000 easy.... 15k is a bit on the high side imo. Maintenance will kick me in the *** insurance will not I drive on a dealer plate that covers any car it is on and the sales portion of the business pays the insurance. The average for an 02 S4 is 9400 at 72000 miles. This is based off of sales at the auctions up to October 8th and goes back about 12 months I think. 01 is 8300 at 76000 miles and 00 is 8300 at 99000 miles (that one doesn't make sense). Like I have stated though prices are DOWN right now I could probably pick up a mint one with 60k miles for 7500-8000.