Owning an E39 M5 and a Stage 3 B5 S4, that's the ONLY thing that keeps Audi drivers enthusiastic about their cars: it just doesn't matter. My stock M5 is so much more fun than my S4 and I don't care that I drove 20 mph back home in a snow storm because of it. The other days are far better.
Makes me wonder why I was wasting my time with Audi's....
My girlfriend complains as to why I got new fairings for my bike and made it look 'ugly' at the sacrifice of a rear seat, too. But she doesn't understand how much more fun THIS is to do without a passenger...
Haha, this is not going to make me feel good but: 167,000 miles on the body and the engine was built separately for the Stage 3 setup, stock internals and about 110,000 miles. Runs beautifully even after all the abuse it has taken from me, many WOT mountain runs and every on ramp is taken full advantage of and it still runs great. However, the repairs are not so much fun; in the past two years I've spent about $2000 on repairs, all of the work I do myself which saves some money. I need to currently replace my clutch master cylinder, power steering pump, and my CV joints are on there way out which will be probably close to $700 once all is said and done :( Oddly enough though, it has never left me stranded on the side of the road and have even done 1000 mile trips with no issues.
But the sound and power is just intoxicating when she's running tip-top. And with a solid suspension setup the car will just destroy corners. My brother rightfully dubbed the Stage 3 B5 S4 as "the poor mans supercar" which suits it perfectly; maintenance is a b!tch but the rewards are worth every penny IMO.