i saw an 01 audi a4 1.8 for sale for 19 grand canadian and it really got my attention. it has alot of cosmetic work ( body kit, lowered and 19" wheels) and the engine is stock. so i go on the internet to c reviews on the car and some pple say it has lots of electrical, ac, reliability problems while others say the car is fun to drive good quality and no problems to date. this is gettin really confusing so i want to hear wut u guys have to say about reliablility and if this car gave u lots of problems and hedaches. i love this car and was about to buy it before i saw all this stuff online.

 

As much as I enjoy the Audi, i have replaced a lot of parts, if you are looking for a reliable car that just requires gas, oil, brakes, and tires, buy a Honda.

 

With a used audi, it really comes down to how well it was taken care of. For the 1.8t you need to worry about oil change history.. Sludge issues.. Another thing with the 1.8t is knowing if it has the update timing belt tensioner, and when it was done. You will hear a lot of bad bitter stories, mainly becuase of bad dealer experiences. Many times the dealer will do work that isnt necessarily needed, and they charge $90+ per hour in labor. So if you are not mechanicaly inclined, it will be costly to maintain. If you do work yourself, it is worthwhile to own an audi in my oppinion. Like right now im about to do my rear rotors and pads.. For $107. Where at the dealer it would cost probably close to $400. As for taking it to a non european shop/audi dealer, i dont trust them. The truth is they arent as reliable as a honda or toyota, but look and drive 10 times better. I like to work on cars so it all works out for me.

 

^^ I don't think anyone could've possibly said that better.

 

here here.......but yea dude, audi's are a fu<king blast to drive/modify.....but like any decent car, you have to pay to play.


not too much tho. GO for it.

 

if you enjoy tinkering ,, then get one. I have to change something at least once a month, but I'm BT, so that does make a bit of a difference

 

Excuse my ignorance, but what's a BT?

 

With a used audi, it really comes down to how well it was taken care of. For the 1.8t you need to worry about oil change history.. Sludge issues.. Another thing with the 1.8t is knowing if it has the update timing belt tensioner, and when it was done.

why was this a defect and was recalled by audi. and it is not a hard thing to figure out that parts for a german car are gonna be more expencive like brake pads and anyother thing that wears out. buy the way this car is an automatic with the tiptronic so i hear it is too slow compared to the manual is that true. and is the insurance on this car expencive. because here in bc canada cars like civics "tuner cars" have high insurance rates.

 

snowman, audis have lower insurance rates because they're safer cars and they're sedans. and yes, the tips are slower than the manuals, but not by much.

drkenan, a BT is a big turbo

 

It was a defect because some peoples timing belts were failing around 60-70k miles and they ended up finding out that it was the tensioner that fails, so they updated it to a better tensioner. The tiptronic/auto tranny is a slow but smooth shifting tranny. THey make a chip for it which makes it shift faster. I have no complaints with tiptronic, but a 5sp is always more fun. Insurance depends mainly on your driving record, otherwise it is not bad. The parts arent really that expensive, its the labor costs that kill you because these cars arent like working on a Ford Tempo. The maintnance can be time consuming and again, at $90+ per hour in labor, WOW.... Just to give you another example, I did my timing belt myslef/water pump, thermostat, belts for about $350 where the dealer would have probably charged close to $1300. Civics have high insurance rates because they are like the #2 most stollen car like the integra.