B7 S4 buying help!

[Jimmyshaw]

Hi,

I'm looking to venture into the world of Audi ownership and went to look at an S4 avant this morning. It's relatively high mileage but I won't be doing many so that doesn't worry me too much and the car has 4 long life service stamps from main dealers. 

My concern is the valves rattle a bit when I started up and continued to. I've read that this can be cured with an oil change but I'm concerned about the timing belt. Would this be changed in a long life service? As it's due another, how much should I expect to fork out? (It's an independent who a) won't service it and b) I don't especially want to). 

Anything else I should be wary of? Except for the broken glove box that is! And yes it is broken. 

Your wisdom would be much appreciated!

thanks, James (the new guy)

[Magnet]

Hello James,

I'm not sure how much of this is going to help, but what I have found with advice about buying cars is generally the buyer serously wants the person they are seeking advice from to say it is a fantastic buy, and anything short of that can disappoint. You see, it's all about the potential buyer falling in love with the car they want to buy and the specs can get a bit rose tinted. I think you are going the right thing in passing it out for advice and I hope others will help you with things meaningful.

Longlife services:- I have a relatively high mileage A3 which has generally had main dealer longlife services in our daughter's ownership, but personally, I prefer at least a basic oil and filter change once a year. c20K miles between oil changes is just too long in my book, but... 

Cambelt assembly changes? These are carried out at a mileage and time interval and may or may not coincide with a time for a service schedule. Ours has been changed on a 70K or 5 year interval but yours may be different. Costs? If you don't want to use an independent then best advice is to check with a main dealer (they sometimes have offers on these). They will advise on intervals and costs. If it were mine, I would certainly not treat this critical job as a best cost job. Always use genuine VAG parts only.

Tapping on start up? Probably hydraulic tappets. If the seller is claiming this will be sorted by a simple oil change then why haven't they just changed the oil and cured it? Surely, if it has been serviced as required then the oil would not need changing simply to correct this fault. Beware, if the seller does change it before sale, he may just add an additive to minimise the effects of the wear.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Gareth.

[Trevor]

Hi James

I agree entirely with Gareths' comments and would also add that it's definitely worth spending the money on the car when you get it to put right any potential faults (e.g. cambelt) and at least you know they are done properly and something less to worry about.

As already mentioned, the rattle could be as simple as an engine flush and oil change but refilling with Audi recommended oils and the best quality you can get for your budget.

Keep us updated on your progress with acquiring an Audi.

Cheers  Trevor

[Rich]

Hi James,

Theres's a lot on the net about these cars so make sure you do some digging. I got my S4 Avant earlier this year and spent a fair bit of time on research.

Valves that continue to rattle doesn't sound good so I'd be vary wary. They can (and do) suffer from timing chain (it's a chain on these, assuming it's a B6/B7, not a belt) rattle on startup (read all the horror stories about eating timing chain tensioners and decide whether to believe them or not). In a lot of cases this can be cured with an oil change, but I suspect that's merely masking things. I do understand that Audi say the S4 can rattle a bit on startup from cold but goes within a maximum of a couple of seconds, mine (at 95000 miles now) 'touch wood' doesn't rattle. BUT it's recommended by many that you don't stick to the long life service regime, if you do then at least change the oil and filter between services, and use as good an oil as you can (I like quite a few use Fuchs Titan Race Pro S from Opie Oils).

Make sure it's got a complete service history, walk away if only part history, and after that all the usual rules about a second hand cars apply. If it looks good and you go ahead and purchase then for peace of mind do an oil change as soon as you get it, then enjoy. Fortunately mine had Audi service history from new and had not been tampered with, but I did an oil change anyway.

I'm sure fuel economy isn't an issue if you're considering a 4.2 V8 but autos are slightly better due to their gearing (mine's an auto and I'm averaging 24mpg with a real mix of driving).

Broken glove box, no problems - get a 'repair kit' which is a couple of bent brackets from eBay and the problem is sorted. I got mine from a guy in Cyprus of all places (IIRC) and it cost a couple of quid. If it's got sat nav then latest discs can be had off eBay if you're in the right place at the right time, avoid the ones offering 7 digit postcode search as they don't work, in my experience anyway, just go OEM.

This is my first post too! Hope the search goes well, you won't be disappointed if you find a good one.

Cheers,

Rich