You have $10k and want an awd wagon with a manual transmission

Baja xt manual trans aka unicorn =]
I've driven one. I've always liked those things lol

I just want to state that I hate this thread and I am now working out how to get my wife on board with a BMW touring wagon I found. It has a hidden secret

Oh, I know, I know!!!!!!!

docwyte wrote: You can get an Allroad in a 6 speed manual, but they're rare, hard to find. All roads are also one of the most complicated cars in the Audi line. I like the additional space, but not the mechanical problems they have. bravenrace, thanks for the offer, but I need something that will go up a mtn pass without me having to get out and push it.

I saw one at the cincinnati airport when I worked for a valet service, an allroad with the manual, thought it was the coolest car, still do...

docwyte wrote: I had a B6 S4 avant just like the above car. The issue with them is the timing chain. It needs to be replaced around 120k miles or so and just the parts cost $4500! Then if you haven't done the clutch yet, you might as well, that's another $1500 in parts. So $6000 in parts and $2000 in labor later, you have the car back together.

Enh, my understanding is that it's a small number of cars that actually have the failure, even at 120K miles. Spending $8K to prevent a 1% chance of a $20K motor failure doesn't make any sense.

They fail enough that several people on the forums had it happen to them. They are a maintenance item that needs to get done at 120-140k miles. You can run them past that and throw the dice, but it's ugly when they fail.

I wasn't happy with rolling the dice or spending $8000 in maintenance on a car worth $16000, so I sold it.

codrus wrote:

docwyte wrote: I had a B6 S4 avant just like the above car. The issue with them is the timing chain. It needs to be replaced around 120k miles or so and just the parts cost $4500! Then if you haven't done the clutch yet, you might as well, that's another $1500 in parts. So $6000 in parts and $2000 in labor later, you have the car back together.

Enh, my understanding is that it's a small number of cars that actually have the failure, even at 120K miles. Spending $8K to prevent a 1% chance of a $20K motor failure doesn't make any sense.

It's my understanding that the failure happens in as little as 60k, and that it's mainly due to NOT DOING OIL CHANGES OFTEN ENOUGH.

Yeah, this is a peeve of mine.

mmosbey wrote:

disgusting

Not really. The chain guides are plastic and they can wear, crack, etc. Several of the failures lately have been because of the guides, not because an oil fed tensioner failed...

In reply to plance1:

?

mmosbey wrote: In reply to plance1: ?

Or, to put it another way:

less disgusting

Ian F wrote: In reply to docwyte: Holy eFF. http://www.euroaddiction.net/forum/b6-b7-platform/5527-b6-b7-s4-timing-chain-faq-information-discussion-thread.html Not quite as bad as your $$$$, but still painful. Gimme a timing belt and a standard service interval any day. A V70R sounds nice too... but I'm still in wait and see mode with regard to newer Volvos. Ask me again sometime in the Fall after I replace the timing belt in the g/f's '96 850.

Wow!! I always thought I wanted one of those maybe. Not any more. Compared to that nightmare, the timing belt on the Volvo 5 banger is like changing a wagon wheel. The 2003-2006 v70R is 100% Swedish design with the tractor origins well apparent (easy to fix- rides like a cart). Besides, Ford was a good owner, and Volvo is now heavily funded.

How about this one:

http://asheville.craigslist.org/ctd/3129063724.html