Hello, I am new to the Audi Forums. I went to look at a 1997 1.8t audi a4 last night. here is the run down on the car. it has 71k mi the car is in great shape it runs and drives fine however, after the test drive i checked the oil and it was black and down about a quart. the owner said he just had it changed a week ago and that it should be perfect. i then removed the intake line from the intercooler to the throttle body and found a decent amount of oil in the hose and on the throttle body. my main question is, would it be worth buying the car and replacing the turbo or should i just walk away from the deal and find another car? also how difficult are the turbos to replace on this car? Also, which boost guage, air filter, and turbo timer set-up would be recommended for this car? all answers are very much appriciated, thank you, Charlie Zigmund

 

well it depends. alot of people take the k03 turbo out of these cars anyways for one that can make more power such as the k04...

since your saying your getting turbo timer/intake im sure your looking for more power allready, and the turbo and/or a chip would be a good start...

 

A typical turbo replacement is around $1500-1700. Now, if you know how to do it yourself you could half that price.

 

wouldnt a turbo 'replacement' be considered a bolt on if it were the k04?

id think if i had the new turbo, the only thing slowing me down from installing it myself would be the space restrictions...

 

Welcome to the forum haggler761!

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As far as whether you should walk away would be dependent on the asking price - which you didn't include in your post. Personally, when I find turbo issues with a car, I am skeptical about the rest of the car. I wonder if the problems are specific to the turbo system or whether the car was abused.

 

Just to give you a round about figure...I just bought my 98' Audi A4 1.8T Quattro for $8750. It had 88k on it and it came with every option sans leather. I also got a 6k warrenty(not much but good for a car with 88k on it). If your turbo is shot, you could probably get the car for an absolute steel! Then again...I agree with ImolaS4 on the questionable previous treatment of the vehicle. Bottom line, check the vehicle history and IF that's good AND the price is right, bag that sucker! The A4 is the slickest thing I've ever put myself behind the wheel of(period).