I'm looking for a daily driver so I can bring a car to school. (don't want to keep the FD at the college) The car would be driven most likely on the weekdays to get to/from work and be parked on the streets at night at my college. Would also be driven anytime the FD is down which hopefully isn't going to be any time soon.

At this time I work for a company where I teach 3-12 year olds soccer. We work through cities parks and recs so I am sent to parks all over the area and I need to carry soccer *****, cone bag, and some other things, so equipment/luggage space is going to be an issue, but just recently, I was contacted by a pretty big company (Network Appliances was just named #6 best company to work for by Fortune Magazine) and if they hire me there, I don't know if it'd really matter if I showed up in a "high class" car or what.

I do not want to bring my FD to my dorms (live on campus) and leave it over night here every day as I know as time goes on it will get it's dents/dings/vandalism.

P.S. Other DD's I was looking at was possibly a 5th gen Prelude, Civic, Transam, and something like a Chevy Xtreme truck or blazer. Price is around 6500-10k for financing. Out of my list, I like the exterior of the Chevy Xtremes, Transam, and Preludes (modified) the best. 98+ transam is going to be hard to find for around 8500 and below. I will do some things to the car being springs/shocks, system, and possible engine work if I decide I want to put money into the car. Possibly making this one a show car if I really like the car. This daily driver will be used while my 7 is either not running or when I want to do engine work on it (either single turbo or ls1/ls2 swap don't know yet)

I was suggested into looking at Audi A4's which stated this

"you can get a NICE audi A4 2.8/1.8T quattro 97+ for 8500. They def. have some zip, are a lot of fun to drive if lowered a little bit. If you're gonna mod cheap the 1.8T is great for a little pickup with intake/exh/chip but get into more money down the road....if you're gonna mod big, the 2.7TT turbo setup that comes in the S4 will bolt right up to the A4 2.8----and thats a lot of fun. That way you have a AWD/FWD car that is fun to drive, has class and luxury and looks sexy.
You can get parts cheap for Audi's if you can do your own wrenching."

For your viewing pleasure to see how well I maintain my cars.

 

Damn that car is sick...I think a 1.8T Avant would suit you well.

 

Looks like an RX-7... SHARP car man. If you need something from point A to B try to find a 96. The engine won't give you a lot of crap and I have fun with mine every now and then. I got a helluva deal on my 96 because I bought it from a buddy of mine, but you can find a nice one for about 4k. Assuming that the timing belt has been changed you'll see over 200k with the 12v engine.

Everyone will tell you to get a 1.8t. Sure, they're fun and all, but the 12v is an OK engine with reliability that you sometimes can't have with the 1.8. Either way, maintenance records are a KEY in deciding your purchase. If they are all there I wouldn't have a problem buying ANY audi.

 

now why would you want to tarnish a gorgeous rx7 like that with a big, heavy, lazy GM V8?

I agree, the A4 avant sounds well suited to your needs. go with the 2.8 if you just want to do suspension/system/appearance mods, but if you're at all inclined to want to mod the engine in the future, go with the 1.8 turbo.

 

From your post, it sounds like you needa reliable car.... i would reccomend a 99.5+ 2.8 they are more reliable than the 1.8T, and B5 A4's are a dime a dozen. im sure you could find a nice B5 for a cheap price......... good luck

 

The A4 would be a good car for you. Like the others have said (and I agree from my 2 months' ownership) it's a comfortable, competent, fun car that is reliable, surprisingly good on gas (my 30V 2.8 is touching 30mpg hwy and about 25mpg daily), and loaded with niceties. The Avant (wagon) version is one of the few wagons out there that I would not be embarrassed to drive, but even the sedan has a surprisingly big trunk. If you do get an A4, regardless of the model/body style, get a Quattro. The AWD really gives a rock-solid feel to the car's handling.

Like you, I have immigrated from RWD Japanese sports cars (Z32 generation 300ZXTT in my case), and I'm quickly becoming a believer in AWD - as much as I like RWD in a "toy", the AWD gives so much more stability. I used to worry about driving in the rain on the highway in the Z (285-section rear PZero Rossas are NOT good rain tires), and the car would skitter and step out some even under steady 55-60mph cruising in the wet. The A4 doesn't even notice water on the road - for all the stability you have, you might as well be driving on a dry road. It's a nice change.

Get the A4 and enjoy it. And honestly, get the 2.8 model - for what you need the car for, you'll probably be happier with it. You already have a ballistic missile in the garage (VERY nice FD, by the way - I've long been a fan of them), so get a daily driver that won't give you as many issues and doesn't require you to rev the **** off it to get going, not to mention it's the version that won't tempt you to start the modding fever all over again, necessitating a search for ANOTHER daily driver.

Get the A4, and we'll see you around. Nice that you are keeping the FD by the way, and still looking into the A4. I sold my Z and replaced it with the A4 (two car seats won't fit in the Z).

 

The quote I had in my original post is actually from the guys over at 300zxclub.com I was looking at getting a 300ZXTT but after thinking, I need something like the A4 for a DD.

What are the performance differenced between the 1.8T and the 2.8. I know the 1.8T has a turbo, 2.8 an extra L but shouldn't the turbo cancel that extra liter out?

I might lean towards the turbo more because I'm going to want some good zip in the car. Would the 1.8T be best for me? Also, bringing these cars up to Tahoe (snow) would be okay? If I got the quattro.

 

Well, I'd be one of the last ones totell you not to get a Z because they are amazing cars, but definitely not going to do what you need your next car to do for you. They are terrible in bad weather and you'd be hurting for cargo-carrying as well.

As for the 1.8 vs 2.8, stock for stock, the general concensus is that the 2.8 will walk the 1.8, but chip the 1.8 and it's a different story. Still, the 2.8 isn't a slouch, and steps off actually quicker than I was expecting it to, given that it's only 190ish hp, AWD, and not a flyweight, but it is geared well and won't embarrass itself when you lay into it. Seriously though, these guys aren't kidding - with the 2.8, do the regular maintenance (oil changes and such) and you can pretty much just drive it without a second thought. The 1.8 is gonna require more work, and with a busy schedule like it sounds as if you have, plus the fact that you already have a money pit (I mean that in a good way) in the garage, get the 2.8 and don't sweat it. You really should drive each of them to be sure, but when you're in school and working as well, you don't always have the time to deal with a car that can get temperamental. Get the 2.8, finish school, then sell it off for an S4 as a reward to yourself

We've hada very rainy winter so far here, with a total of about 1/2" of snow, so I can't personally attest to Quattro's abilities (other than an ***-clenching encounter with black ice on a bridge that was handled almost completely by the car itself), but everyone here really swears by it. Obviously it's not gonna turn you into Colin McRae on your local back roads, but if you have decent tires and don't drive like a fool, everyone seems to agree that it's an extremely capable car that you'd almost have to try to get stuck or out of sorts on the road.

 

Thanks a lot for the posts. Both the 1.8T/2.8 have the quattro awd correct? I have seen some pretty good A4 Quattros around here for pretty cheap (<$6k) but with high miles. Should I be worried with cars around 140-150k on the odo? Again, I would check out all their mechanical work to make sure they get their services and it tells a lot that the car was taken care of.

 

as long as the car was taken care of it will be fine..... then if you treat it well which by the looks of your other car you would, it should lsat you a long time, I have an 84 with over 300k on her and a 90 with 225k