I'm new to this site and never owned and Audi (excitedly waiting to join the ranks). Anyway I'm thinking of purchasing a 96' a4 2.8 w/ 166,000 miles for approx $3500. The owner tells me the rack and pinion(sp?) needs replacing (currently negot for him to do it w/o jacking price) First I would like to know is this a resonable price for the southeastern part of country and I'm a little worried about the high mileage..can the car be trusted not to fail me for a good 2 years before the engine needs some major maintenance (p.s. I don't know the regular maintenance history as of yet, but VIN# checks out fine). Thanks for any advice

 

Hey welcome to the forums. Make sure the timing belt and water pump have been changed. They should be changed every 70k miles or so. That means it is probably due. It's an expensive process. Expect 1000 bucks from a dealer or 400-600 from a private mechanic.

 

It's worth it. Bring it to the west coast or canada and you could make a killing reselling it.

My 96 is gonna turn 170k this week, runs excellent still. 170k miles put some wear and tear on the paint though, and I need to replace a bushing.

 

got my 96 1.8 se uk spec for £3000.had 78000mls full audi service history all work done by audi.even got private plate a4 ***.i would check all the suspension is up to it as i found one went then not long after had to replace the other side.and for gods sake check the abs if you have to replace any you will sh*t yerself at the cost.hope this helps