I'm sure you guys get entirely too many of these posts but I have searched for quite a bit and am having problems finding the answers I need.

I am currently looking at an 01 Audi A4 1.8t quattro. My family has had both the passat with the 1.8t and the 99.5 a4 1.8t(right when they changed body styles). I have owned honda, mazda, and saab in the past but not German. I consider myself pretty mechanically inclined but am quite clueless to the world of Audi (at least at this point). Right now the seller is asking 9500 (with 80k mile service done). All maintenance records are available and the car looks flawless. Carfax is clean and no signs of damage. I will be getting it checked out by an independent mechanic as I admittedly do not know enough about these cars. The seller was very upfront and said their mechanic told them in march that the rear differential seal was leaking, the output shaft leaked, and the suction valve needed replaced.

So my questions:
From what I have read the rear diff leak is very common and costs about 300 or so to be replaced by an independent foreign shop. Is that correct?

I have been able to find very little info on the output shaft leak. Can someone shed some light on that please?

Is the suction valve the same as the suction pump? If so, it looks pretty cheap and easy to replace?

I'd like to be able to make a well educated offer to the seller. So, I would love it if someone could give me ideas on how much to expect to pay for these repairs and also how much the 80000 maintenance should cost.

Thanks for bearing with my lack of knowledge.

That sounds about right for the rear diff leak; it's about a 2.5hr job to replace a $5 part. [:@]I'm not sure about the output shaft or the suction pump, though.

If I'm reading your post correctly, he's already done the 80k service. Since that is required scheduled maintenace, I don't think that should affect theasking pricein any way at all. If he hasn't had it done yet, then insist that he takes care of it before selling the car, or get a quote for it and subtract that amount from your offer.

Good luck!

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1997 Audi A4 2.8qm | Brilliant Black 12v FTMFW!

Thanks for the response. A mechanic who specializes in German vehicles will be taking a look over it tomorrow. If all goes well, I will be joining all of you a4 owners