Buying a used car is always something of a gamble. After all, so much of its story is opaque; even if you’re lucky enough to have maintenance records or a complete CarFax, every vehicle undergoes its own trials and tribulations throughout its life — many of which won’t be on a report. Sites like Bring a Trailer take a good deal of the stress off by specializing in the sorts of vehicles that have been well cared-for and providing a knowledge base of smart, interested people to poke questions at. But say you’ve learned all you need to know and winnowed it down to a specific make and model. Another dilemma arises: are you better off spending more now on a car with fewer miles, or spending less for a high-mileage ride that might need more repairs sooner?
We ask, because such a dilemma has presented itself to us on Bring a Trailer right now. The online auto auction house is currently offering two different-but-very-similar B6-generation Audi S4s — one with a lot of miles on the clock, and another with almost none.
First, let’s get what they have in common. Both S6s here come packing a 4.2-liter V8 making 340 horsepower, connected to all four wheels (of course) via a Torsen differential and a six-speed manual gearbox. Both wear elegant Bauhaus-inspired styling reminiscent of the Audi A6 that debuted in 1997, and both come with clean titles, service records and CarFax reports.
Now, for the match-up itself. In the Nogaro Blue trunks, we have a 2005 Audi S4 Avant — reportedly, one of just six in this color combo with a stick ever sold in the U.S.
The odometer shows 159,000 miles, but not all of that has been done by this engine; the 4.2-liter V8 was swapped out by a dealership 11 years ago when the car was at 41,500 miles. A 2014 incident (not, mind you, an accident) resulted in damage to the front, rear, roof and passenger side of this Audi, but it’s since been repaired.
