Alright, i know how car forums work so im assuming u guys have ALL heard this question countless times on this forums but i did a lot of research and want to hear some real imput from people who own these cars.

Ill make it sweet and to the point:
I own a e46 m3 atm with 93k miles and am a 19 year old college student soon to live in the SF. My car cost far to much to maintain especially with my lack of income. I can sell the car for around 16.5k (ik this because i have already gotten offers). I want a 4 door 4wd car and the subaru wrx isnt cutting it for me plus i like german cars, so the S4 seems like a perfect option for me.

I have 2 options:

1. 2000 B5 S4 with 70k miles, for only 10k (which would give me a lot of money to spend on either mods or plan for future maintenance)

2. 2004 b6 S4 with 79k miles, for 15.9k

I do love the sound of a FI and i love the ability to modify it to become near or even surpass the performance of my current M3 i also like the looks of the B5 better but I cant deny that brutal B6 V8 though, as well as the better reviews and more reliability of a NA engine ... but then again the gas mileage of a 340 hp V8 could be a deal breaker ... im very torn!

Thank you guys in advance

 

b6. If you think the maintenance on a e46 m3 is costly, wait till you get the b5 s4. even w/out mods you'll be in over your head.

 

Even with it being almost 6 grand cheaper, you still think i should go for the B6? I have read alot of forum topics on the horrible reliability on the B5 but with the extra cash i would have to put in the car i would think it would be the better decision.

Basically is the B5 SOOOOOO bad that im going to be spending over 6 grand just in maintenance? ... from what i have read B5's are hit and miss

 

they are kinda hit and miss. is a 10+ year old car. all the factory parts break and modding it is expensive. i have several friends with stock to heavily modded e46 m3's and my bills are much higher than any of theres. if you buy a b5 already modded and maintained then you might have a chance, but then youre buying someone else's project as opposed to your own.

do you do your own wrenching?

 

That's the key - doing your own wrenching. If you're paying to have a B5 S4 maintained and repaired, you're dead. Fix one thing and it clears the way for the next to break. Someone once said if you're not ready to spend a grand at the drop of a hat, anytime/anywhere, stay away.

Still, research the issues on the B6 S4 as well. You may find that a 1.8T with an elim or stage 3 setup is the way to go. You can make plenty of power and have fewer parts to fail...

 

I do all my own wrenching so i mean in that aspect were golden. I work at a car dealership too, my problem has always been the price of parts on my M ... even replacing with aftermarket it is pretty bad ...

I have been looking for a clean Stage 2 or 3 s4 for a while now (but there hard to find) and i mean it still like you said is buying someone elses project ... which can be a VERY bad idea considering how most likely they did all their own work

About the 1.8t tho, I dont know im kinda torn, the numbers its putting out are pretty good!! like REALLY good! ... i guess when it comes down to it for me atleast now the choice is either stg 3 A4 or stg 3 S4 (which may be out of my price range of 16k) ... the problem too is finding one O.o

 

One question ... Is the A4 like ALOT better when it comes to reliability ... like if im looking for a performance car is it worth taking an A4 and adding a stage 3 rather than just buying a S4? ... still both 10 year old cars

 

my 2¢.. V8 grunt has nothing on a stage 3... but fonzo is dead on it. 6k in maintenance on these beasts dont go far.

but i like to go really fast. B5 all the way bro..

and i did have a buddy with a B6 S4 have his cylinder walls get scored for no reason. audi had to get parts from germany for it.. took forever.. so.. idk.. probably not as failure prone as the B5, but i know the 2.7s are rock solid..