I am about to purchase a 1999.5 A4 1.8t Quattro 5spd. I am a little worried about the cost of maintenance and repair. Are these cars a pain in the *** to work on and are they fairly reliable? I currently drive a 1992 Sentra SE-R w/ a sr20det (did all the work and maintenance myself) so I am not afraid to get my hands dirty, but I am not too familiar w/ the 1.8t motor. Any and all feed back will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Also, is $13500 for the car w/ 52K miles on it a good deal? It is silver w/ black leather interior, sport package, and neuspeed chip.

Jason

 

Thats not a terrible price at all. As far as the maintenance goes, it depends on how it was treated in its past life. Audi's need to be babied, and they don't take kindly to bad maintenance habits. I would take the car to a mechanic to have inspected (timing belt, control arms). Almost all of the common problems have been covered on Audiworld.com and tutorials have been written. Audi's are not terrible car's to work on, and it's very rewarding.

 

The 1.8t is a tough little engine. But it needs to be babied like Jestnomen says. Be proactive about maintenance and the car will reward you with great performance. Doesn't take long to get around in the 1.8 engine.

btw - that car has vinyl seats, not leather, as do all 1.8t's before 2004.

 

Welcome to the forum A4Quattro1.8t!

This is a great site. We keep the dialogue friendly and the attitude positive. The info is well received by all and we are here to help anyone with the need. I hope you find it to your liking as well.

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this ngine is not like a '70s mucle car big block, it is very cramped and some areas are hard to work on, where some area require the engine to be lifted off its mounts to work on.

 

Some Audi 1.8t's prior to 2004 have a partial leather interior. The middle, seat cushions and backs, are vinyl, but the surrounding sides are leather.

 

I agree about how the condition of the engine depending on previous owners maintenence habits. They can have oil sludge problems requiring a sump screen replacement and usually a new oil pump. Audi recently sent out notices about covering repairs for this.

 

So the most important things to watch out for are replacing the timing belt and oil sludge problem. Is there anything else in particular I need to worry about?

 

yes those are good things to watch for. I would also take it into a mechanic and have them look at the suspension. The control arms are notorious problems. If you hear any squeeking make sure they fix it before you buy. Its not a cheap repair, and its not a matter of if, it's when.

 

How can I tell whether or not the car has an oil sludge problem? When I test drove the car I didnt hear any squeaking, around what mileage does this problem (control arms) usually start to occur? BTW, I appreciate all the help. I was kind of nervous about buying an Audi, but with this forum I feel more confident. Thanks.

Jason