I have a 2000 A4 1.8T Avant. I was looking for S4 Avants but when I was looking back in 04, they were still getting real good money for used S4’s. Dumb luck was how I found my A4 locally, and I could not be happier with the car. I bought it with 52K miles through Autohaus back on Valentines Day 05 and currently it has 102K miles on it, and it was basically parked all last summer as it needed to have the control arms done and I did not have the time to do them. To date I have done timing belt and all the related goodies, water pump, tensior, etc etc, rear pads and rotors, front pads and rotors, complete control arm kit, Bilstein struts, H+R Springs, and 4 wheel bearings. The wheel bearings were more of a preventative item in the rear, figured what the hell, get to use my press, why not. I forgot, I also did the DP also. While the list may seem long to some, it really is not that much considering how well the car gets it done year round and how nice it is “overall.” I find it the perfect blend of comfort and utility. Not as luxo as a Caddy, and not as big as a SUV. The 1.8T engine, not my first choice, I wanted the 2.8V6 with a 5spd in the wagon but when i was looking for one, the only 2.8’s were autos. About a week after I bought mine, about 5 popped up just how I wanted them:mad: I decided to go with the A4 over the S4 as the A4 was alot cheaper to insure, better on gas, and less up keep then the S4. The 1.8T engine also has it’s own set of issues, sludge problem, coil packs, etc etc. But, I have been looking into grabbing a B5 S4 as they are now in the teens for a nice example. I will close this by saying that 95% of people who say an S4 is a nightmare have no idea/experience in dealing with them first hand. If you can find one under 60k with a nice service history for a good price, grab it. No better year round car for WNY then a B5 S4.