Hi, I am buying a 1998 A4. The gear linkage seems sloppy, ie, there is a lot of play at the gearstick. Does this seem normal? Mate has an A4 and the linkage feels a lot stiffer. Joe

 

Probably the bushings on the shift lever (down below the boot) are worn. Should not be a difficult DIY fix. I've done this on other cars, and it's not tough - you just want to be careful not to drop anything down through the hole once you have the shift boot taken off.

 

Thanks Jeremy. I just test drove antoher A4, same feeling. I will ask the dealer to inspect it before I buy.

 

No problem - BTW, shift bushings tend to be quite inexpensive (I've gotten them from the dealership for other cars for around $8 each) so it's not going to be an expensive repair. If that's what it turns out to be, and you want the car, see if you can make that repair part of the deal ("Tell you what - replace the shift bushings and it's a deal, I'll buy the car"). A mechanic can have it done quickly (likely less than an hour) and in order to guarantee selling the car, I can see them doing that. When I bought my 300Z, they agreed to replace a bad wheel bearing in order to seal the deal. By comparison, shifter bushings are a no-brainer.

 

Thanks, will do, I'll let you know. Joe