Audi S4 User Manual
The Audi S4 Biturbo
A buyers guide
By Nilesh Ramrattan
1. Homework
2. Model Specifics
3. Choosing a Vehicle
4. Options
5. Finding an S4
6. The phone call
7. Modifications
8. Bodywork
9. Servicing
10. Recalls
11. Test Drive
12. Transmission
13. Brakes
14. Electrical
15. Engine
16. Interior
17. Screening
18. A time to buy…
19. Buyers Checklist
20. Checklist
OK – So now you’ve done your homework – you’ve
decided that you want a fast yet understated saloon or
estate car (sedan or station wagon).
You’ll want a car that will last, a car that is
safe, sure footed, and to a certain degree a
car that you can “grow” with.
You want a six-speed manual or tiptronic transmission,
permanent four-wheel drive, and a six cylinder turbocharged engine with the very latest five-valve per
cylinder technology, superb build quality, and lots of
“go”.
You’ve convinced your better half and your bank
manager, you’ve checked with the insurance company
that you can be covered and you’ve satisfied your
conscience that you’ve made the “right” choice.
You’ve made the decision to buy an Audi S4. Here’s
how to make the vision into reality...
Model Specifics
Where do you go from here? Well, firstly you might
want to appreciate that the Audi S4 biturbo was first
released in Europe in 1998, with North America and
Canada being introduced to the model in 2000, so there
are actually two different models available in Europe.
The external differences can be seen quite quickly, with
early vehicles featuring square side-repeaters, thin
body-mouldings, flush
The Audi S4 Biturbo
mounted door handles, and
Xenon headlamps with separate indicators. It takes
quite an eye to see, but you may also note that the doormirrors on earlier cars are not quite as “angular” as
those of its successor.
You’ll also need to know when browsing through local
classifieds and dealer pages that an S4 listed as circa
1994 is not a misprint, and while it is a fabulous car,
you do not want to waste valuable time looking at it!
The early S4’s (or urS4’s as they are sometimes
referred to) are based on the last model Audi 100 cars,
and feature a 20-valve 5-cylinder turbocharged engine
as found in the Audi S2.
Audi S4’s V6 Biturbo Power Plant
Choosing a vehicle
By choosing an Audi S4 biturbo, you’ve actually cut
out some major hassles usually associated with car
buying right from the start.
At the time of writing, the oldest Audi S4 biturbos have
only been in circulation for under 3-years. This means
that in most cases, you can rely on them having
relatively low mileages, having been well looked after,
sporting service history from the main dealer, and still
benefiting from the manufacturers warranty.
Problems such as rust, mechanical wear, and other such
issues do not really come into the equation when
buying an S4, especially since the car is fully
galvanised and because it is exceptionally robust. But,
as with all cars (and there is a but), there are some
issues you do need to be made aware of – most of
which stem from cars that have been modified, cars that
have been poorly repaired after accidents and cars that
have been repaired after vandalism.
Be aware that although the Audi S4 biturbo is limited to
a low annual production figure, there is a good quantity
available on the market to choose from, so if at first you
don’t find quite what you’re looking for, try the next
one!
For worry free motoring it is recommended that you
choose an example with low to average mileage, a
guide figure being 12,000 miles annually, no
modifications, and full details depicting the car’s
history in terms of servicing, manufacturer recalls and
warranty.
This is only a guideline, but as with many things, there
are exceptions to the rule.
It’s usually cars that have not been modified which are
the most desirable and sought after.
The downside of being a desirable vehicle is that the S4
is also prone to “ringing” – that is a vehicle which has
had its identity changed after being stolen or repaired
following serious accident damage – we’ll go into how
to safeguard yourself as much as possible from this later
when we discuss “screening”.
Options
The Audi S4 can be specified with a myriad of options,
almost equating to a third of the cost of the basic car.
This provides for the original purchaser to tailor a car
that is very unique indeed.
It’s also one of the reasons that one S4 can
be difficult to price in comparison with
another.
Our advice is firstly to define your choices in terms of
basics such as Colour, Interior, and then “niceties”, such
as sunroof, CD player, Satellite navigation and the like.
Available S4 Colours
The car is available in nine colours, Laser red, Black,
Cactus green, Hibiscus red, Imola yellow, Santorin
blue, Nogaro blue, Pearl white and Silver. The most
expensive paint finishes are Pearl white, Nogaro blue
and Imola yellow, all of which are available by special
order.
The interior is available in a selection of three material
combinations - Jacquard satin cloth, leather, or a
combination of leather and Alcantara – a man made
suede-like material available in a vivid blue or
platinum.
Blue Alcantara Interior
Door and Dash inserts are available in three variants,
walnut burr, silver aluminium and carbon fibre – note
that not all finishes are available in all markets – for
example, walnut burr is not available in the UK.
So, once you’ve established a basic specification for
your potential used S4, decide on what you would
compromise should push come to shove. You might
belay a sunroof in favour of satellite navigation, or
alcantara for leather – give yourself some flexibility.
Finding an S4
Finding the car you want shouldn’t be too tasking. The
most preferred way to buy a used S4 is to source one
via an Audi main dealer or an approved Audi main
dealer Internet network, but if you want to save money
and are prepared to do some legwork, take a look at the
local classifieds. “Auto Trader”, “Car Finder”,
“Exchange and Mart” are all excellent ways of locating
a car and saving money over dealer prices.
If you have access to the Internet, you may wish to try
using a search engine from the many available, to
locate a suitable vehicle in your vicinity.
Draw up a list of potential vehicles – unless you’re at a
dealership, don’t visit more than four cars in a day.
Exceeding this number usually results in an impulse
buy when you are tired and running out of steam, or
will facilitate you in missing important clues that may
come to haunt you later.
The phone call
Using your list of potential vehicles, give the owner a
call – do speak to the owner. Ask them the type of
questions you feel you need answered.
Arrange where possible to view the car during daylight
hours. In your initial call, you should look to find out
basic information.
Firstly, try to discover why they are selling the car.
Check that their rational is reasonable. Remember, the
car you’ll be looking at will be less than three-years old,
so you need to find out why it’s being sold. Ensure you
are happy with the mileage - ask questions regarding the
condition of bodywork, the wheels and tyres, details of
when the car was last serviced and by whom.
Find out if the car is 6-speed or Tiptronic, what
remaining manufacturers warranty there is, and if the
car has been modified. Check to see if the car has been
garaged when not in use. Ask if the vehicle has been
subject to any accidents or damage of any kind and if
so, enquire who carried out the repairs.
Is the car under a finance agreement? Does the owner
have documentation to substantiate the car is not owned
by someone else?
After ascertaining the address of where the vehicle can
be viewed, ask the owner if this is their home address.
Always be wary of
owners that offer to
meet you at
locations other than
their home. Check
with the owner that
they are happy to
allow you to test
drive the car, and if
they will give their consent to have the car screened by
Carfax or HPi (vehicle verification agencies) before
purchase.
With regards to the test drive, check with the owner that
you will be insured to drive the vehicle – be it under the
owners policy or your own. Never take the risk of
driving without checking this first – the consequences
of this can be dire!
You’ll need to feel comfortable with the responses you
are given. If you are in doubt or your suspicions are
raised, it’s best to make your excuses and phone the
owner of the next car on your list.
At the end of this article is a used car buyer’s checklist
that you should use when you view the vehicle.
Modifications
Now depending on your own personal preferences, you
may wish to purchase an original vehicle or a vehicle
that has been modified.
If you elect to go for the latter, depending on which
country or state you live in, you may be required to pay
additional insurance premiums depending on the
modifications rendered.
These cars usually tend to have issues that the main
dealer may be unable or unwilling to assist you with,
and you’ll want to note that Audi have recently revised
their policies with regard to warrantable work on
modified cars in the USA and the UK with other
countries following suit, meaning that in the event of a
problem, you’ll foot the bill.
The most popular modification to an S4 is
“chip tuning” also known as “chipping” or
“engine remapping”.
Such modifications allow the BHP and torque of the
vehicle to be increased dramatically.
Prolonged use or sustained hard driving of a modified
car can result in expensive component failure. The
most common failures being leaking intercooler pipes
which give way due to the increased pressure carried by
them and failed turbos (usually the oil seals) requiring
the engine to be removed for replacement – a very
costly procedure.
The smooth lines of the S4
Early cars pre “1999.5” as they are called, use an early
version of the K03 turbo charger and were fitted with
less resilient intercooler hoses. Audi did put a recall
out for these vehicles to have the hoses replaced under
warranty, but not all dealerships seem to do this
voluntarily – you will need to ask them to perform the
work if it’s not already been done when you take the
car in for service.
2000 model year cars seem to fare a lot better on the
modification front. The hoses used are stronger and the
K03 turbos are allegedly of a revised design.
Other popular modifications include lowering the rideheight of the car to gain additional stability during
cornering, short shifters, to lessen the throw of the gear
lever and to give a more “solid” feel during changes,
alloy wheel upgrades and various spoiler and grille
options.
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