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S4 96-01 model any good?


reserves
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I'm trying to decide between a Golf 4Motion, S3 or an older S4 (96-01).

I can't find too much info on the web or here about the older models.

Are they very dated, they are now 2 models old? I've never driven one myself.

Also were they face lifted at any point? My budget is 10k. I think the S3 will be too cramped for my needs.

R

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Careful about the mileage and turbos. I've heard some horror stories of used B5 S4's costing a mint to repair!

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Not much help to Reserves but that was what ultimately put me off buying a B5 S4 a couple of years ago. Even then it was hard to find a nice spec' with less than 50k on the clock.

Still a great 'Q' car though 169144-ok.gif

BUB

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What's B5 mean?

I've heard that the turbo's can be very very espensive to repair, puts me off some.

It's alot of car for 10k though and if I found one with 70,000 miles it would be interesting?

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B5 A4 = '94-01

B6 A4 = '01-05

B7 A4 = '05 on

I agree it's a lot of car for the money 169144-ok.gif

BUB

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the facelift was a few minor tweaks to the interior to bring it up to date. I had a facelift A4 and iirc the differences were mainly around the centre console area. Nothing major to note really - especially on the S4. I think the A4 models benefited more from the facelift than the S4.

Personally i'd go for the S3 - they're so versatile and wallet-friendly. But if space is an issue then obviously it's a no-no. that said, the A4 isn't 'that' great for interior space either.

I looked into the S4 when considering our new baby-chariot but my conclusion was that they appear to be expensive to run and maintain. they're quite thirsty (remember the S3 is very economical for a hot hatch 169144-ok.gif ) and servicing can be expensive.

They're a great looking car though - saw a really nice noggy blue one driving across london bridge this morning and it looked fantastic.

But out of your options, i'd have to go for the S3. No contest imo.

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What does it mean when cars are advertised with 'carbon inserts'?

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These denote the trim strips that run along the top of the doors and horizontally over the dash. They look the daddy on the S2, and work wonderfully on the B5.

This comparison nicely shows the carbon trim over pre and post-facelift dashboards but with contrasting leather:

793813-AudiS4B5InteriorPrefaceliftSilverLeather%26CarbonTSNCrop.jpg

793818-AudiS4B5InteriorFaceliftBlackLeather%26Carbon.jpg

<font color="#666666">PS. They changed the front bumper.....?? *runs off to check the archives.</font>

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