New to forums. I'm about to make an offer on a '97 A4 2.8 Quattro, 43K miles. Will be my daily driver, will probably not modify it much except for some trim and accessories. My first Audi, coming from a long line of Hondas. Usually drive my cars for 200K+ miles. What is likely to go wrong with this and when? Any quirks particular to Audis? I've heard electronics can cause headaches, and I am told the speedometer was replaced [>:]

As an aside, I was also looking at 3 Series BMW's, but being a skier in the Northeast, I can't justify it unless I want a winter beater car.
Thanks!

 

Im a hardcore eastcoast skier myself, where are you located? To anwser your question the 2.8 is better then the 1.8 for reliabilty if your not going to do much modding. The awd will be great in the winter time.

 

Wont be as reliable as a Honda, but will be a lot more fun.

The usual things are the front control arms and timing belt tensioner. Front oil seals.

 

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Thanks a lot for the posts - they were very helpful! I bought the car today. Given your advice I was able to fing out they replaced four control arms, CV joints, and brakes and rotors all around, prior to putting the car up for resale. I also got a big discount on replacing the timing belt, etc. I decided to drive the car for several months before I do so, so I can find out if anything is a problem while under their warranty. Will hopefully be picking up the car before the weekend.

Do these cars really have that many control arms?

Don't think I'll mod much, but - how much h.p. do you get from a cold air intake?

As for skiing, I'm south of Rochester, NY. Live within 30-45 minutes of two "mountains" Bristol and Swain, and one private club. About 1-1/2 hours from Holiday Valley and Holimont. Have skied Whiteface and Killington, but was too poor in college to do much else. I've got both my boys skiing now, and wife wants to get back into it, so the family vacations out West are (hopefully) not too far off. My 9 year old has me skiing terrain parks, and I haven't had this much fun since I was 15. We're going to take beginner snowboarding lessons together this year; but I suspect he'll stick to the skis to avoid frustration. He can handle any black diamond we've come across - I only wish I was that good that young.

 

Cold intake generally don't give much on a N/A car but I custom fitted this BMA induction kit with great results but please note my car is Supercharged.



I read a mod car report on this mod and they got 10hp from it alone on a N/A engine.

 

Nice, yeah i go holiday alot and as for killington, its ok but im thinking other mountains like stowe and what not this year.

 

Stowe RIPS!.....and if you can get there before the notch closes, definately take your audi through there...but it's tight...a couple of single lane hairpins with no view on the other side, but i think one of the best drives at least in the northeast, mabee in the east coast.

Congrats on your purchase....see you on the slopes!

 

docurly - thanks for the pics of the cold air intake. I'm going to drive the car for a while and do some research before I do any mods, but I apprecaite the advice. I've heard cold air intake or chipping vy for the most cost effective first modification (biggest bang for the buck). I'm not a mechanic; but I've been called a graphic learner - if I see it and can visualize it, I've got it.

gman- you gave me a great idea for a post. I'll put it up on the NE REgion forum. What are the best (define "best") driving roads in New England/Northeast. Myfirst car out of college was a CRX si and I put 1,000 miles on it the first weekend I had it - Rochester, Poughkeepsie, Connecticut, Boston.

 

Mark, I hate to burst your bubble but there is no chip for this engine. As far as performance mods, that is slim also. You might want to check out the 12V forum at audiworld.com.