Link to car ad.

It's a $4,900 Audi A4 1.8t, standard transmission. I am unsure of how long I will remain in the US (might be going to Scotland), but I have always love Audi and this is in the price range I am looking.

I am a pretty competent mechanic.. however, I would like the car to be somewhat reliable.

So, the big question is:

Would you buy it?

Secondly, what maintence will I have to do post-purchase?

 

Nice price, little high on miles though. You would have to drive it to see, but if it feels really solid and doesn't seem like it needs much then I would say pick it up.

Audis are maintenance hogs from when they are new so a higher mileage one would scare me a little bit. If you are willing to do the maintenance though, as long as its in good condition you should be ok. If you weren't going to go out to the garage and do it, then you may want to reconsider. Even a car that feels tight on the test drive is going to need a few things when you get her home.

I am not going to write everything you should look for. Its been covered so many times and even I have written it out a bunch of times in other posts. So search it out for the full details of what to look for. Quick list:

Timing belt (not bad if you do it, but crazy expensive to have someone else do it)
TRE
Control Arms
Oil sludge (should run full synthetic oils)

 

I would guess by the mileage it would need control arms, valve cover gasket, cam chain tensioner gasket and possiblya rear main. Without looking at it this would be impossible to be sure about but unless they have already been replaced I would bet they would be bad. When doing the valve cover you could check for sludge obviously or look for blue smoke when running (usually a good indication) and I would replace the timing belt for piece of mind, it has already been changed or it wouldn't have made it to 138,000 but it would be good to do. I would definately inspect the car good and listen for knocks when test driving it before buying it but if your willing to spend some time and money doing some maintinence go for it.

 

Thanks mates, I'm going to see the car tomorrow. I'll make a check list and if it'll need some work, I'll haggle the hell out of the dealer.

I really don't mind the work, unless I have to pull the engine, then it'll be a problem.

Suspension bits will be replaced anyways, I read there were some NICE aluminum control arms somewhere, along with all those pesky bushings. The motor will stay stock (except for a chip).

This car will be a DD..... So I will baby her

 

looks like a pretty good deal man

 

Well, I printed out Top Gear's pearls of advice regarding buying used. I'll make little notes about stuff I pick up on this site (it's been a while since I've been here)

If the car is marked at $4,900 what is a fair asking price to start negotiations at?

 

The car books for $8,000 in excelent condition. It probably has been in an accident or two. Find out what needs replaced and start deducting your cost from their price and double the estimate for your cost. Thats what I did and the dealership came down $2,500 for the timing belt (I couldn't seem to find anything wrong with it).

 

Well, I figure, I'll offer $4000 if none of the documentation is present (I will go as high as $4350) before I walk.

The next bracket for A4s in the area is the $6-8k range..

So, I'm just really hoping this isn't a lemon.

 

Update:

I'm looking at an '02 A4 Avant (with a slushbox)... it's 12k.. how can I get this under 10?

 

Looks very clean and taken care of. If I ever went with a car with high mileage i'd be sure it looks like that one! I say definitly look at it and consider it, if all seems well then buy it! Awsome price