Hello. I am new here so please bear with me as I begin this adventure. Right now I need some opinions...I am looking at buying a 1999 A4 Quattro 1.8T. It is fairly loaded with all power options and "leather" intreior. It also has 16" wheels with fair tread (Z-rated, plus an extra set of snow tires), body looks good, interior looks good, only has cassette (no CD), 5-speed, and here is the biggie (I think)... it's got 155K miles on it. I have not driven it yet so I am unaware of any driveability issues but the owner has admitted the rear tires are slightly cupped and are a little noisy. Could be an excuse to hide some other problem. First I would ask what should I be looking at as far as problem areas? Should the milage concern me? How is the quattro drivetrain with handeling this kind of milage? And as far as the turbo, again after this many miles, will it need replaced or rebuilt soon? I know that some of those questions may be hard to answer, but I am calling on the expert advice and experence as I don't have any with this make of car. Lastly, KBB for PPV of this car is $7680. What should I be expection to pay for this?
TIA

Tim

 

5000 is all you should pay for it... those miles are extremely high.. and you dont know how it was maintained.. ask him for the service records.. make sure they are in order.. if there not make a low ball offer and if he refuses.. walk away.. that is one abused puppy if you ask me

 

Only thing I think I could add that might be considered when evaluating this vehicle is that he purchased it off a lease in 2001. That means he's owned it for the past 4 years and he claims to have service records to prove its maitanence hisory. I have not run a carfax report (is there anybody here willing to do that for me?). He also told me the high milage is because he makes frequent trips for work across state (probably 400-500 mile round trips once a week). Reason for selling is because he is supposably looking to buy a brand new A4 or A6.

Since posting this I have begun going down the line reading every thread looking for the true problem areas, timming blet is an obvious thing. Please keep the advice comming, it is much appreciated.

Thanks for the quick reply.

Tim

 

PM me for a check-up on your vehicle.

 

are you looking for an A4 to mod.. or to be your daily driver that will be reliable?

 

$7680 is way too expensive for a car with 155,000 miles

 

I will try to help clarify my situation so that you guys might be able to inform me better knowing my background and such. I am not rich, I value every dollar I make and need to spend it as wisely as I can.

I currently don't own an Audi or have I ever. I have owned several VWs' and found them to be very reliable even with more than 200K miles on them. Right now I own a Jeep Cherokee with 3.5" of lift and 32" tires. I also, ashamed to say, own a Honda Accord. Both of these vehicles have over 188K miles on them. Jeep is getting ready for a motor swap this fall and the Honda takes the role as my DD. As with many Hondas it had plenty of rust in it when it was given to me (thats right, the guy who owned it before me somehow blew a spark plug out and becasue it was so rusty he didn't feel like fixing it so he let me have it for free). I have been known to turn a wrench or two and it was not a problem for me to fix this car up and make it driveable again. I think I might me able to get $700 to $800 out of it right now as a lot of people are looking for cheap beater cars to save them in gas milage. I can get between 27 to 32 MPG in this 18 year old car and I was hopeing for near the same from the Audi.

My current job puts me in a company vehicle most of the time so recently I probably put maybe 400 miles a month total on both of my cars. I have hardly felt the gas crunch, but I know that all good things must come to an end too. So the root of my desire to buy this Audi... comes from wanting something nice for a change. Women don't want to be picked up for a date in a ugly smelly Honda or a Jeep with mud dripping off it. The Audi is an image kind of car. My fear, as with any used car purchased these days, is that it will start nickle and dimeing me into debt. The owner is not asking KBB for the car either but is asking more than 5K. I have not driven the car yet so I am not making any assumptions of its history or current condition other than what I can see. It does look really well kept. The seller seems to be an Audi buff so I may be inclined to think he took care of it all those miles. Maintanence things I expect....like maybe struts, ball joints, clutch, TRE, fluids, and stuff like that I can handle. Its things like turbos (which I've never owned but I understand the principals about how it woks) and All Wheel Drive components have me a bit worried, especially with so many miles on the car. As I mentioned, I am not afraid to wrench on my own car. I installed the lift on my Jeep myself, I have rebuilt a transmission for one of my past Hondas, I have disasembled the head off my VW and reinstalled it in a weekend, I took the motor out of my Nissan 3 times in one night (in my younger days I forgot to put parts back where they came from...long story).

So the A4 may play the duty of DD. I am not going to race it. I may enjoy modding it from time to time as funds allow, but it will be years before I think about dropping in a bigger turbo, cat backs, lowering it, or changing wheel/tire size. Ultimatly I am looking for a good looking car that will be reliable (maybe somewhat fast) and not look out of place at the next family reunion..lol.

I have never been in the position to buy a new car but if I were right now a new A4 would be near the top of the list. I have admired them for many years. So is this the car for me? Sorry for the incredibly long post. I have way too much free time on my hands...

 

I've heard and had past knowledge that german cars, if kept up, will last a long time. A lot of it comes down to comfort. I mean, you obviously know what high mileage vehicles result in. They do require work to keep up and running, and Audi's, if taken to the dealership, will charge you more to work on them. IT sounds however, that you have enough working knowledge of the mechanics of vehicles that you would easily be able to get on the audi and fix the minor things.

I for one won't tell you how much you should spend, I think that's something that you should decide. However, have seen 99's go for around $6-$7 with only 100k miles. That magical 100k mark is where people start to get a little jumpy. I know that you should certainly get a Carfax. PM me.

If you trust the guy and you think it's been well maintained, then I say spend what you feel is comfortable. I would much rather have a car with 150k that I KNOW was maintained meticulously than have a car with 80k that was abused. Personal Opinion. If he was the original owner, is he an older gentleman, did you get a good feeling that he did take care of it or was he blowing smoke over you?

 

afruss... PM'd ya. Thanks!

Also, some more info recieved... top end of motor was done in April, this included the timming belt. Still says he has all receipts for all work ever done since he owned it... (oil changes and such). Hopefully I am getting a carfax report soon and we will disscus what we find there. Bank is obviously giving resistance to loaning very much money towards the purchase. NADA average trade in value is about $6600, and I haven't haggled with him yet as I will not be able to test drive the car until later this week. Stay tuned for more to come in this adventure.

Thanks to those that have replied!

Tim

 

So this is where I stand so far....
Russ has supplied me with the CarFax report and if I am reading this right (Russ, chime in if I'm wrong) the car has had no major problems reported. Things that do stand out, may be nothing really, are the fact that regular reporting of sevice ended with the first owner (its only had two). I know that there is not a local Audi dealer/service center near where the present owner lives so I suspect that he didn't take it to an Audi dealer to have the service work done and that is why there was no futer reports. Would this be a safe assumption? If he has had the claimed head work done, should I be worried that it was not done by an Audi certified mechanic? Is it possible that the work was done by Audi but just not reported?

Second thing I noticed concerns the milage. First owner purchased it new in New York and drove it from early '99 to March of 2002. New owner purchased the car with 35,247 miles on it. This means that in the next 41 months the car was driven for an average of 2900 miles a month. Thats 120,000 miles in about 3.5 years. Ouch.

Bank is still considering and insurance hasn't got me a quote yet.... I will test drive the car this weekend and will continue to post in this thread until I buy it (sounds like I've already made the decision, doesn't it?).

What should I be looking for when I take this out on the road? Any characteristics of the turbo I should listen or feel for? ( I have never owned a turbo car). I'm wondering what common problems I should expect to find. And lastly whats a "snub" mount? Just kidding, I searched and figured it out...lol

Thanks Russ!!

Tim