Buying my first Audi I have some questions on which one to get

I had a BMW 325I that I sold to buy and Audi A4 Quattro, I have serveral choices that are in my price range but I am not sure which car to pick so, I am hoping I can get some assistance from forum members to help me make the best choice.  Right now I am down to three cars, I have talked to the owners and I will give you each the run down.  All three have around 140k and are all around 4 grand all are A4 quattro V6
 
1) 1996 110,000 miles 5 Speed, headlight switch doesn't work was re wired for a seperate switch.  Rear wheel bearing is going out.  After market black rims owned by a highschool kid, so not sure how much it was messed with
 
2) 1996 137,000 miles 5 speed, New Eibach springs. All new front control arms/ball joints. New battery New break pads + rotors in front. New pads in back. 2 new front CV shafts, New rear wheel bearings, Recent clutch.  Drivers heated seat doesn't work, sunroof doesn't work and abs/break light is on
 
3) 1997 144,000 Auto  DVD,HID, have to look into a bit more not sure what it needs
 
Basically # 2 seems the best to me, I don't know how long Audi transmissions usually last for, and I know a lot of the stuff done already to #2 is what I will have to do to 1 and 3.  All have leather and moon roof basically all three are the same car but for the features listed and millage.  I like a 5 speed but I don't mind a auto.  I am not a stranger to doing my own work on cars, however, How much would it cost to fix the abs and sunroof issue for #2 are they common problems?  Thanks for your help guys I am looking forward to getting my new Audi tomorrow.  Nate

On number two, a new sunroof motor is $486 from ECS Tuning, and I would want to know if the suspension upgrade was just the springs or if shocks were replaced as well. If it's just lowering springs on stock shocks, that could be a problem. Aftermarket springs on stock shocks is pretty hit-or-miss; they'll either last and work indefinitely, or the shocks will blow within a few months. If this is the case, you should probably consider purchasing aftermarket shocks to go with the Eibach springs, or if they springs have quite a lot of miles already on them, maybe look into a new set of shocks/springs or full aftermarket coilovers. Also, I would take the car to your local Audi dealership and get the codes read from the ABS/Brake light before purchasing the car.
 
Number one definitely sounds like you should avoid it like the plague, so unless number three is in sterling condition apart from the higher mileage, looks like number two is your best bet. Keep in mind also, these are all the 12v SOHC 2.8L V6, which is known to last for the better part of 250,000 miles with regular maintenance.
 
As for the engine, I'm assuming that either A.) You are constrained by budget to only cars in the $4,000 price range or B.) Are not planning to modify the engine for performance.
 
A couple tips on those points, if you are on a budget, then it's a very good thing that you can work on the car yourself; but keep in mind that parts are going to be just as expensive as they were for your 325. Also, the 12v 2.8 is absolutely, POSITIVELY not moddable. You can't even chip this engine - the Hitachi ECU is not reprogrammable AT ALL. There are no bolt-on performance upgrades of any kind except an intake, but since the stock intake is already very efficient, there really are no gains to be had from an aftermarket setup. You can do a custom exhaust, but that won't do much besides change the sound. If you want to modify the engine AT ALL, you should look into the 1.8T rather than the 2.8.
 
Anyway, good luck and welcome to AudiForums!

When I was looking to by my car i had a lot of questions as well. I opted for the 1.8T though as it is far more moddable. This was very useful. http://www.audiforums.com/m_700266/tm.htm
hope it helps. Good luck!

Cool, thanks for the responses guys, I checked out #3 and the exterior was beat! the paint was cracked in many places and it had scrapes and chips and some rust spots, not impressed with it.  The interior was also beat the seats looked deflated and way used although the heated seats did work and so did the sun roof.  The rear bearings needed replacing but he said that he had already purchaced the part and would put it on for me after the purchace.  All in all I think I am going to pass on 1 and 3 and go with 2.  There is a very good parts yard near me I am hoping has this year audi's they had a bunch of Bimmers that I could get parts very cheap from.  I am very hand with a wrench but it sounds like 2 has had most of what I would do done already.  Not looking to mod the car, I did all the mods I could do with the 325 being an automatic, and the audi 5 speed is faster and lighter even with the mods given the engine size and stock HP.  Yes I am on a budget, I got my bimmer for 2k and put a bunch of performance stuff in it and sold it for 4k now I am trying to move up car class to a nicer car worth 4k and Audi tops my list. 

Id go with 2, that flashing brake abs light combo is either a blown fuse, but its often a failed abs control module that needs to be rebuilt (i think thats like 250 or so) or replaced (800 or so)... a lone abs light comes up when there are sensor faults and such.

So I purchaced #2 and I couldn't be happier, what a great car.  The interior is beautful, very well taken care of, the body needs a wax bad but with the lowering ebach kit it looks sweet.  I want to put 17's or 18's on it and keep the stock 16's for winter.  The moonroof doesn't work I turn the switch and I can hear it click but the roof doesn't open I think the motor is blown?  The drivers seat front to back option doesn't work maybe a switch.  The yellow ABS break light is on, the guy said if you put the fuse in it goes off but the breaks pulsate so it sounds like its going out.  The red break light next to the Yellow ABS light is on also, he said it was one of the break sensors does that sound right?  Other than that I need to take it to a dealership to get an A/C recharge because of no low service port, but it runs and drives wayyyyyyy better than my BMW did and I couldn't be happier about the audi.  Great car. 

Congrats on the upgrade and welcome to the VAG family!  Glad to hear you like your new (to you) Audi

Yeah what he said about the ABS light makes since, it does that if you pull the fuse the brake light flashes and does what he said if a sesor is bad with the fuse in and the abs light only.  Theres a speed sensor somewhere thats either dirty or shot but youll need VAG to find out which one (VAGCOM would be a good investment for other things like check engine etc, windows down with remote) if you dont have access to VAG you could try and clean each sensor if you wanted but that would be a waste of time especially if one is just shot.

Theres plenty of places that should be able to do your AC although it only has a high pres. id try and keep it away from audi there gonna screw you most likely.

I put in my two missing fuses and both my ABS and my Break lights went out.  But as I slow down from 2nd or 1st the breaks pulsate and don't quite stop right, so I pulled them back out.  This is a bad or dirty sensor?  Also I was told by my parts store today that there is a low pressure port on the ac compressor itself, can anyone confirm or deny this rumor?  Thanks

Yep when it pulsates when it shouldnt (and that light should eventually come back on, it takes it a while to realize something isnt right) thats for sure a dirty or worn sensor.  Ive also heard that there is a low pres. there but im not to sure u should take a look.

Oh yea! Welcome to the club, Call me when you want to upgrade your stereo. 941-923-4003 in Fl but if somewhere else, go to Tweeter and I'll get you the Audi Forums discount....LOL

On the sensors, you can unplug them and use electrical contact cleaner on the terminals and see if that helps.  For the rear speed sensors, the plugs are under the rear seat cushions (the wires then run out through a grommeted hole and down to the rear wheel wells).  For the front speed sensors, I imagine the plugs are under the car, although I haven't gone looking for them before.  If it turns out that the problem is a rear speed sensor, make sure your wheel bearings are OK - when they start to fail (and they're known to fail on the A4), they heat the hub and ruin the speed sensors after awhile.

For VagCom, you can buy the interface cable on eBay for less than $20, and you can download the software free of charge from www.ross-tech.com - it's not the full-blown VagCom, but it's very useful all the same.  For the real-deal Vag, you have to pay quite a bit, but it's comprehensive and can scan/reset virtually anything electronic in the car.  For most of us, the shareware version is fine - the paid one is great, but you can probably get away without it unless you own a shop or buy a real turd of a car (which it sounds like you didn't do).

Congrats on the purchase, and welcome to AF - make sure to get some pics up of your ride, and make a signature for your posts (go to your profile page and create it there - include year, model, drivetrain, transmission, and engine (like "96 A4 2.8qm 12v", where "qm" means "quattro manual") - it'll make it a lot easier for us to answer tech questions later on, without having to continually ask what car you have).

PICTURES!

I'll have to do a rain check on pictures since its raining in New England today and it seems all week.  I pulled both my rear speed sensors the drivers side looked fine I cleaned it with some electronics cleaner, but the passenger side broke on the way out.  I tried hopping the two by connecting the broken one to the good one but that didn't work very well, worth a shot.  I found four A4's at my local cheap parts yard, so I am going to try to snag a bunch of sensors and replace the rear ones until the ABS works again.  The guy I purchaced it from did all four wheel bearings axels shocks struts springs rotors and breaks.  I got a A/C recharge on Friday and the guy at the shop said the car is in awesome condition.  Now I just need to fix the drivers seat so it goes front to back, The moonroof motor, it clicks but doesn't turn the motor to open the roof.  And get the rear speed sensors working again.  The guy who I got it from had a code reader and said the third sensor or passenger side rear was going out and should be replaced.  Still love the car.  The bonus is getting clear corners and euro tails, and picking up some 17 or 18's and making the car sick looking.   The dark green looks great and the tinted windows are awesome.  Love Audi!