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Audi S4 Should i Buy

Hawkeye

Monkey
Jan 8, 2002
623
0
Naperville, IL
manhattanprjkt83 said:
Alright, i just got back from the dealer...First off i wanna say i f'ing love the car, it motors...

Here is the skinny...The car just had the timing belts redone, and a complete engine maintenence (i have proof of this) about 1500 worth of work.

Brand New Tires
Aftermarket exhaust (forget the name)
rs-4 front bumper
2" drop

toshi, my insurance payments are under what you said, i only pay for 9 months...so should i get an sti instead?

And probably a reflash or something. This car sounds like it has had a hard life.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,029
7,549
Hawkeye said:
And probably a reflash or something. This car sounds like it has had a hard life.
:stupid:

fwiw, i bought a "pre-modded" car. however, i bought it _after_ the turbo, transmission, center diff had all been broken and then replaced. and it was 600 under private party blue book.
 

Hawkeye

Monkey
Jan 8, 2002
623
0
Naperville, IL
Toshi said:
:stupid:

fwiw, i bought a "pre-modded" car. however, i bought it _after_ the turbo, transmission, center diff had all been broken and then replaced. and it was 600 under private party blue book.

It's just a warning sign.
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,644
1,214
Nilbog
toshi how is that wrx working out, esp being pre modded and all...an sti was on my plate for a while, but i just love the styling of the s4...im a german nut.
 

Hawkeye

Monkey
Jan 8, 2002
623
0
Naperville, IL
Toshi said:
:stupid:

fwiw, i bought a "pre-modded" car. however, i bought it _after_ the turbo, transmission, center diff had all been broken and then replaced. and it was 600 under private party blue book.

A WRX is about half the price to fix as a S4. Huge difference.
 

blue

boob hater
Jan 24, 2004
10,160
2
california
I'm buying a Jetta GLX VR6 this week...ins on my own policy would be 355$ a month...good thing I have mommy and daddy's policy to mooch off of for the wee price of $200 a month. :dead:
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,225
20,003
Sleazattle
I used to be really into cars. Now I realise that I'm stuck in traffic 99.9% of the time and it wouldn't matter if I had a lawnmower engine under the hood. The nicer your car is the more it hurts everytime it gets dinged and dented, which is inevitable.
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,644
1,214
Nilbog
narlus said:
must be the influence of yr beemer-driving pa.
ya prob, i was brought up as a euro lover:sneaky: , i just love the clean sleek styling of the s4, my dad keeps telling me to get an older m3 but everyone i frickin see has a beemer...

and yes jetta insurance is $$$ i have no idea why?!?!?!?
 

blue

boob hater
Jan 24, 2004
10,160
2
california
Westy said:
I used to be really into cars. Now I realise that I'm stuck in traffic 99.9% of the time and it wouldn't matter if I had a lawnmower engine under the hood. The nicer your car is the more it hurts everytime it gets dinged and dented, which is inevitable.
I kick dents into my current car when I'm pissed. It's like my "angry pillow".
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,644
1,214
Nilbog
Westy said:
I used to be really into cars. Now I realise that I'm stuck in traffic 99.9% of the time and it wouldn't matter if I had a lawnmower engine under the hood. The nicer your car is the more it hurts everytime it gets dinged and dented, which is inevitable.
understand where you are coming from with this, but not really how i think...;)
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,644
1,214
Nilbog
blue said:
I kick dents into my current car when I'm pissed. It's like my "angry pillow".
I hope you werent the idiot we ran into in the parking lot of snowshoe who was drunk and trying to impress everyone by dropping elbows on his trunk and roof. :nope:
 

blue

boob hater
Jan 24, 2004
10,160
2
california
manhattanprjkt83 said:
and yes jetta insurance is $$$ i have no idea why?!?!?!?
When I was looking up insurance quotes on new cars it wasn't much more than a Toyota Corolla for me. When I looked up a Nissan Pathfinder, it jumped about 120$. Then again, I did run up a $40k bill for my insurance company almost 2 years ago. :cool:
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,225
20,003
Sleazattle
blue said:
I kick dents into my current car when I'm pissed. It's like my "angry pillow".
The most fun I've had in a car is when I drove junkers and didn't care about them. I have a lot of fun in rental cars too.
 

blue

boob hater
Jan 24, 2004
10,160
2
california
Westy said:
The most fun I've had in a car is when I drove junkers and didn't care about them. I have a lot of fun in rental cars too.
Exactly. My current (Rusty 88 Honda Accord) is fun to beat the hell out of, because honestly, I don't care. Has no resale value, no value period, and can run with no oil. I wish it were a stick...then I'd rally it.

This also makes me concerned in getting this new (to me) car...I can't play with it anymore :(
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,225
20,003
Sleazattle
narlus said:
just remember that when you are trying to scrape together $$$ for a house or condo.

When my brother bought his S4 i got my Subaru. I looked at it like this. If invested the price difference would mean I get to retire a year earlier than if I got an S4.
 

DRB

unemployed bum
Oct 24, 2002
15,242
0
Watchin' you. Writing it all down.
manhattanprjkt83 said:
ya prob, i was brought up as a euro lover:sneaky: , i just love the clean sleek styling of the s4, my dad keeps telling me to get an older m3 but everyone i frickin see has a beemer...

and yes jetta insurance is $$$ i have no idea why?!?!?!?
With the timing belt work (plus all the things they are sure to have changed at the sametime, water pump, serpentine belts, pulleys, etc) you have covered the most likely source of issues with that car at that age. That is the next big thing for my wife's and she actually has budgeted for it to be done early next year. Never had any issues with the turbos, transmission or transaxle. The one thing that the Audi service guy as always warned us is to check the oil periodically and get it changed on time. Apparently, he calls most of the S4 owners in the area personally when it is about time for an oil change.

Like was mentioned, just let it warm up for a minute before you go tearing off and let it cool down for a minute before you shut if off.
 

Palilla

Monkey
Jul 20, 2004
102
0
Post here: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zeroforum?id=550


Plus everything you want to know about the s4: http://homepage.mac.com/edyjun1/S4/index.htm

The Audi guys are usually pretty cool, and will give you a ton of good feeback on maintance issues.

With the work record of what has already been you should have to worry about any major problems for quite a while. Everycar has issues; don't not get a car because your worried about what 'might' happen to it. And if you are worried about it, just factor a few extra $$ in your monthly payments to set aside for repair costs if something would happen. Pittsburgh has a lot of good euro guys in the area too.
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,644
1,214
Nilbog
DRB said:
With the timing belt work (plus all the things they are sure to have changed at the sametime, water pump, serpentine belts, pulleys, etc) you have covered the most likely source of issues with that car at that age. That is the next big thing for my wife's and she actually has budgeted for it to be done early next year. Never had any issues with the turbos, transmission or transaxle. The one thing that the Audi service guy as always warned us is to check the oil periodically and get it changed on time. Apparently, he calls most of the S4 owners in the area personally when it is about time for an oil change.

Like was mentioned, just let it warm up for a minute before you go tearing off and let it cool down for a minute before you shut if off.

Ok that said, the car has a good amount of life left in it...But i just wonder if it is worth it to increase my payments for an older car with more miles, i guess that is what i am having the most struggle with now...:think:
 

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
65,375
12,529
In a van.... down by the river
manhattanprjkt83 said:
Ok that said, the car has a good amount of life left in it...But i just wonder if it is worth it to increase my payments for an older car with more miles, i guess that is what i am having the most struggle with now...:think:
Call your insurance company right now and let us know how much less the S4 will cost to insure than the Jetta. :p
 

DRB

unemployed bum
Oct 24, 2002
15,242
0
Watchin' you. Writing it all down.
manhattanprjkt83 said:
Ok that said, the car has a good amount of life left in it...But i just wonder if it is worth it to increase my payments for an older car with more miles, i guess that is what i am having the most struggle with now...:think:
You started by saying it was a dream car.... dream cars are rarely practical or worthwhile by traditional definition.
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,644
1,214
Nilbog
SkaredShtles said:
Sounds like a good plan! Hopefully they have internet access in prison so you can continue to provide us the humor we've come to expect. :thumb:
ill run a t3 webcam into my cell and have a live feed on the monkey...

Can you see it now in the menu bar right next to Forums ... "manhattans daily soap drop session"
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,030
5,918
borcester rhymes
To answer your first question, no.

If you're having this many doubts, say no. I do this all the time, should i buy this truck, wah wah wah, etc. Just step back, let is slide, and hope that a better opportunity comes along later. If it does, great, if not, boo hoo. You have a good car with a lot of life left, and you know its history. You're going to give that up for a car with a questionable background and more miles? Walk away dude. Buy yourself a nice bottle of booze with the money you're going to save, kick back, pine a little, and then let it go.

How old are you, anyways?
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,030
5,918
borcester rhymes
K, you're the same age I am...you have a lot of time to worry about pimping cars. If you're driving a new jetta, you're already a few levels up from my 1987 conquest. I still say let this one slide, for now.
 

ALEXIS_DH

Tirelessly Awesome
Jan 30, 2003
6,147
796
Lima, Peru, Peru
manhattanprjkt83 said:
dont do it.

am 22 too.
i had a "dream car" when i was 18 that i used only 3 months a year... but that thing got me so broke, i missed a lot of things because that car was a money pit. think of all the things you could do with the money instead, like travelling or going out to neat places every weekend for a year or so....

now i got a 69 camaro with a big block (halfway done) an evo 6, and a toyota echo (hooray for 35mpg with gas being 5+ bucks a gal), and am looking to trade my evo (another money pit) for a daily driver like a volvo 850T5....
 

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
65,375
12,529
In a van.... down by the river
narlus said:
"american teens are spoiled bums" - jad fair

my first car was a rusty '86 ford escort, 3 years after i graduated from college.
I graduated college in '93 and my first car out was an '85 Audi 4KSQ. Next car I bought ('99) was a '95 Subaru Legacy with 126K miles. I'm now sporting my wife's handmedown '97 Outback with 119K.

Someday I'd like to have a Porsche 911.

I now realize why it's dudes in their 50's who are driving 911s. :dancing:
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,644
1,214
Nilbog
narlus said:
"american teens are spoiled bums" - jad fair

my first car was a rusty '86 ford escort, 3 years after i graduated from college.

hahha im not a teen. And i worked for my cars...paying every penny.

its that bike habbit that is killing me, anyone wanna buy a pair of mavic crossmax's, fox vanilla fork, or mono minis to help me raise moneay?:)