I'm a newbie, I don't have an audi yet, so I figured I would see what you guys think of this one I'm looking at.

I found a 1999 Audi A4, black, 5 spd, 1.8T quatro, 57K miles, for $9500. Paint is in great shape, no dents, test drove it, it felt great. Only problem was that the drivers side lock would only lock when I put the key in.

I would be buying this car for a DD, and I was wondering if you guys think that is a great idea or not.

Reliabilty....how is with this car. Parts? I can do all (most) of the work myself.

I really like the car because I live in the frozen tundra, and AWD is really nice in the winter.

Opinions?

Also, what is insurence like on thses cars?

 

I just bought a 98.5 with 80k 30V V6, every option for $6600. It had some dents and needed a few things, but I think I got a pretty good deal on it. Your car is probably worth around $10,200. The price isn't bad although you may be able to find a little better deal than that.

Reliability is decent, but probably not as good as if you bought a Honda. Parts are expensive, but you will save a lot of money if you are willing to buy the parts and install them yourself. Be aware that your car will be due for a new timing belt very soon. Recommended replacement interval is around 65k miles (manufacturer says you can go longer, but there are a lot of complaints about belts that went well before the manufacturer specified interval). The car has an interference engine, so if the timing belt goes, you will have replace the valves etc (very expensive repair at the shop, approx $1500?). The timing belt is an expensive job, but again you will save a lot if you want to do it yourself. Maybe you can get a little off of the price by telling the guy how it needs a timing belt and that it is a $600 plus job at the mechanic.

The 1.8T is nice because you have a lot more modding options compared to the V6 if you are interested in modding at all.

If you have a lot of snow/ice, you will love the quattro. It sounds like a good car from the limited info. I would say buy it just because of the quattro and your weather. It isn't as cheap to own as a Honda, but you will make out much better in the slippery stuff and be glad you bought a car with AWD.

My insurance wasn't too bad. It was only a little more expensive than my old 92 Accord for the same policy. The big increase in payment was due to going from liability up to a collision policy for the Audi.

Hope that helps.

 

So, it probably isn't the best idea for a daily driver?

 

Well that all depends on what your looking for and your budget. Its not the "best" but its certainly capable of being a reliable daily driver. All TDRILL is saying is you should be aware that parts are more expensive than say a honda. Its not one of those drive it and forget it cars, regular maintenance is a must. If you make the decision to get an Audi you definitely won't be disappointed, trust me.