[s-cars] What to look for in a used B5 S4

[Theodore Chen]

i've got a B5 S4 avant with tip.

>Torque 
converters 
are 
crap 
in 
the 
automatics

i've heard this, but i wonder how much of this has to do with the typical driver of an S4.  what about the allroad and A6 2.7T with tiptronic?  do they have reliability issues?

>turbos 
fail 
and 
are 
expensive 
to 
have 
replaced 
(labor 
intensive)

been there, done that (under warranty).  my car sports K04s now.  :)

>upper 
and 
lower 
control 
arms 
need 
to 
be 
replaced 
if 
there 
are 
a 
few miles 
on 
the 
car

mine are OK at 55k miles, but the tie rod ends had to be replaced.

>stock 
turbo 
BPV's 
are 
crap

mine seem to be OK, but i should replace them.  i don't want a bad BPV to kill my K04s.  i hear the BPV used on the 225hp TT is the way to go.

>dash 
computer 
displays 
are 
always 
dead 
by 
this 
age

works OK on mine, but occasionally there's a random line not working.  i suspect corrosion in the connector.  i haven't gotten around to looking for it.

>ashtray 
does 
not 
open 
on 
any 
of 
the 
cars 
I 
looked 
at

works fine on mine.

>timing 
belt 
changes 
are 
expensive 
(must 
remove 
front 
of 
car) 
- 
you 
know the 
rule, 
no 
records 
= 
needs 
new 
tb

it's no different than any other car with a timing belt.  and i view the removal of the front of the car to be a feature, not a bug.  it is much easier to do the timing belt and water pump with the front opened up.  you can stand right next to the engine instead of having to lean over to jam your hands into a cramped space with poor visibility.  opening up the front of the car doesn't take very long, and is well worth the time in the aggravation it saves.

>'01.5's 
and 
'02's 
are 
supposed 
to 
have 
some 
improvements 
in 
turbo lubrication 
or 
cooling 
(?)

lubrication.  oil feed lines are supposed to be better.  all B5 S4 avants have this improvement.  my turbos died anyway.