I'm looking to get a used 98' or 99' A4 but am concerned. I need it to last me till about 4 years from now (2010)....can someone please tell me if a 98 or 99 will last till then without major problems? I don't know much about the reliablity of Audi's. Please help me.....

 

Audi's break alot. Im not going to sugarcoat it you will have problems with it within the 4 years you will have it. Depending on the maintence and how you treat the car. Audi's are great and fun but they like to break.

 

It is hard to find any car that will last 11 years without any major problems.

Best bet is to buy a Hyundi with a 10 year 100K bumper to bumper warranty.

 

Original coilpacks are a culprit on the 99's...

An Audi is not a gas'n'go car. You need to be diligent with maintenance and take care of it. I had a 98.5 and it never gave me many problems. However the ones I did have were major annoyances. Had 2 control arms replaced. I lost the turbo at 85K miles (this was probabaly attributed to bad maintenance scheduling by the previous owner up to the 50K miles when I bought it). Had a rear crank seal replaced, and the timing belt tensioner (old non-updated tensioner) snapped on me (luckily the belt styed on).

Small problems included a couple vacuum lines dry rotted and needed to be replaced. No biggie. A crack in the driver's side bolster of the seat. This was a common problem with the 1.8t's that had the premium vinyl.

I had the car til 120K miles when it was totalled by an idiot in a utility truck.

 

Agreed with what was said. Some basic car knowledge will help you be able to maintain these cars. But ICM's go out, Oil pumps, sludge problems, upper and lower control arms. Expensive parts and the basic garage not knowing how to handle audi's make them unique in ownership.

 

Id have to agree with everyone here but the fact is if you do take good care of it, its going to reward you very nicly, they are very nice cars, just a bit picky as far as mantinence goes...