Audi RS4 B5

jpsh120 · 31 Mar 2019

Morning all,

Following a recent promotion (well done me) I am now contemplating another toy.

I've always fancied a B5 RS4 and think now might be be the time to get one with values on the climb.

Anyone on here got any experience with one of these, tales to tell?

A good friend of mine has owned a couple and speaks very highly, but a second opinion is always good.

The return of Marty Wild · 31 Mar 2019

Great cars, a mate has had two. He's currently doing a resto on his second. He's had a bit of trouble sourcing some of the parts, so that might be worth bearing in mind.

He's even machined a few of his own bits.

Do they suffer from the coking like the B7? If you get one, get the car to Doug at MRC and let him do a healthcheck, he knows his onions.

Gottans · 31 Mar 2019

The most notable issue they had was soft wheels that buckled easily, big fuss and Audi eventually stepped in with harder wheels, turbos can be expensive as they are a matched pair. Lastly, not a lot of leg room for rear seat passengers.

Worth heading over to rs246.com as a useful source of info.

MRC or Unit20 are very knowledgeable on these cars.

Robertb · 31 Mar 2019

A friends is for sale at Nick Johnson nr Abingdon.

I know he spent a fair amount on it inc Turbos. A very smart black car.

There is a good buyers guide in Autocar which I imagine you've found.

coullstar · 31 Mar 2019

I had one of these until very recently. I owned it for 7 years, the best car Ive owned by a country mile for road presence and all round ability.

Audisrs is a good forum for them, RS246 more focuses on newer stuff. The B5 has a loyal band of fans, they get under your skin.

On the whole mine was very reliable, they are built to handle high power which you will do. As standard they are a okay but a little tweek of suspension, brakes and a little more power is a must IMO. It makes them amazing.
Main things to watch for are cam wear, its doesn't seem to happen for any main reason but it rare. Very expensive if they need done. Turbos on the whole are fine even when tuned as long as you change oil regularly, if they do need done its engine out job but again that's not that bad in reality.
Other than that main issues now are getting bits, a lot of parts are going NLA which is one of the main reasons I let mine go. There is one main guy who breaks these and knows them very well plus the community is small so often bits are available if you can wait for them to come up.

Good documented history is needed. I did about 35k miles in mine most of that was at just under 500bhp and it took it easily. That was on stock turbos's, clutch and drivetrain. They sound awesome, pull so hard when turbos come in and are actually quite practical.

Go for a run in a couple. Prices are going up yes, I got more for mine than I paid for it but I do believe some people are asking a bit too much for some on sale. The good ones do seem to sell quickly mind you. Id try and buy from someone on Audisrs rather than a dealer. Any car for sale on there are known and and issues will have been discussed.

I miss mine, hardest car Ive sold by a long way and do still kind of regret it but I had my fun and just fell time to move on. Anything else fire me a PM.

jpsh120 · 31 Mar 2019

Cheers, I'll check out audisrs forum. Agree that it's good to buy a car from an experienced owner wherever possible.

I've seen the black one for sale, but the brief advert and limited pictures don't do it any favours.

The return of Marty Wild · 1 Apr 2019

My mate uorated the the brakes to that of the floating discs from the Lambos of the day. Uprated the ARBs and whacked it on coil overs. As stated, what they can do really is amazing.

It's only once you get them on track that you're reminded it's a heavy estate car.

coullstar · 1 Apr 2019

So in my eyes the essential things to look for are:

Recent Cam wear check.
Cam belt change - 4 years or 40k by the book, I did mine after 5 years.
Front brake upgrade - B7 Rs4 8 pots are most common.
Suspension upgrade - coils or uprated dampers. Any original stuff will be well worn by now.
Rear ARB - again makes a big difference.
Exhaust - Milltek seems to be most popular but I used Jetex. Needs to sing. If you want flames then it needs a decat.

Other than that just usual older car stuff. They dont really rust, best check subframes etc though.

AmirRS · 1 Apr 2019

Hi Jpsh,

What is your budget for a B5 RS4? I am contemplating selling my very high spec MTM late spring (more recently mrc modified). It has a great modified spec but would be priced towards the higher end of the market given recent maintenance and recent expenditure.

If you'd like to know more or just want to know more about the car or ownership in general feel free to send me a message. But as a whole I agree with what has been said above.

Its a car that gets under your skin, will hold its own against almost everything else (both looks and performance).

KR
Amir

jpsh120 · 1 Apr 2019

AmirRS said:
Hi Jpsh,

What is your budget for a B5 RS4? I am contemplating selling my very high spec MTM late spring (more recently mrc modified). It has a great modified spec but would be priced towards the higher end of the market given recent maintenance and recent expenditure.

If you'd like to know more or just want to know more about the car or ownership in general feel free to send me a message. But as a whole I agree with what has been said above.

Its a car that gets under your skin, will hold its own against almost everything else (both looks and performance).

KR
Amir

Hi Amir,

In reality, probably around the £20k mark and I think I will be going for something closer to stock. This is all pending a house sale which is proving slow at the moment.

GLWS and if I decide to go for something a little more "tweaked" I'll let you know!

The return of Marty Wild · 1 Apr 2019

I went with my mate to see his first one, I s h I t you not, previous owner was doing an indicated 160leptons 2 minutes into the test drive.

He almost hit a tractor moving slowly in Lane 1 of the dual carriageway, first and last time I've seen 160 in a test drive.

Utter div, alas, my mate still bought it despite the lack of mechanical sympathy and skills behind the wheel!

jpsh120 · 1 Apr 2019

The return of Marty Wild said:
I went with my mate to see his first one, I s h I t you not, previous owner was doing an indicated 160leptons 2 minutes into the test drive.

He almost hit a tractor moving slowly in Lane 1 if the dual carriageway, first and last time I've seen 160 in a test drive.

Utter div, alas, my mate still bought it despite the lack of mechanical sympathy and skills behind the wheel!

They go well then!

Albachap · 1 Apr 2019

I've had b5, b7 and a b8

I think the b7 is a much nicer drive and poss one to find a good one and it will appreciate

But the b5 is really something esp for it's time. I've just sold my b8 last week for 1k less than I paid for it 2 years ago and 6000 miles. It's had 3 solid attempted thefts and I'm fed up having to keep it on Fort Knox. My neighbours rs3 got taken in Feb and used in a ram raid. I'd still go for a b7 - manual box, properly good drive and if you decoke it they fly.

The return of Marty Wild · 1 Apr 2019

They certainly do shift!

Said mate, had a B7 between the B5s. Said the B7 is the all things considered best car he's ever owned. He's had some lovely Pork and still owns a guards red 996.2 GT3.

Audi RS4 B5

jpsh120

Sao Paulo

The return of Marty Wild

Paul Ricard

Gottans

Spa-Francorchamps

Robertb

Yas Marina

coullstar

Singapore

jpsh120

Sao Paulo

The return of Marty Wild

Paul Ricard

coullstar

Singapore

AmirRS

Trainee

jpsh120

Sao Paulo

The return of Marty Wild

Paul Ricard

jpsh120

Sao Paulo

Albachap

New member

The return of Marty Wild

Paul Ricard

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