Hi everyone - this is my first post here on Audi forums (I've been lurking for a few weeks now). I'm going to be buying a new car over the summer, and the B5 A4 seems to be perfect for me, but when I read a review of it on CarTalk's website, they said it's an amazing car but you can forget about working on it yourself. So for all the B5 owners, how easy is it to work on your car? Can you do basic maintenance on it yourself (water pump, timing belt), or are you pretty much limited to things like changing the oil?

 

Things I've done to it, oil change , wheel berring, rear abs sensor. Things I took it to a professional for, TIP TRANNY REBUILD! Buy the 5-speed manual. The only reason why I don't trade mine in is because I want it to be a bad cruise that ANYONE can drive if I go somewhere. I'm in the process of putting a1971 Datsun240z with a 2jz (Gen IV Supra twin turbo engine) and a 5-speed together. I'm hoping to be in the 12's with the stock engine , anyways, get the car, work on it yourself, buy the 1.8t so you can mod the **** out of it, buy the 5-speed so you don't complain like every other tip guy out there.

 

Thanks! I've been searching for a local B5 1.8TQM for a little bit now, and I might have found a couple that are worth looking at. Let me know how that 2JZ + 240Z project goes; sounds like it'll be a sick car!

 

Things I've done myself
#1 - TB change - saved myself $600-$700
#2 - Sway bar links front and rear's
#3 - Did my TRE(tie rod ends) this weekend - saved myself $150+(would have been more but I had to go and buy a couple new wrenches)

B5's are easy to work on if you get a bentley manual - that thing is my Bible. Also check out sites like ECStuning.com and Purems.com and see how many parts are available for the DIY guy's.

Also take a look at Audidiy.com very nice list of DIY's

 

Agreed, if your a little handy with a wrench, they are not bad to work on at all.

In my experience, its not any harder to work on an A4 than any other car.My 300zx is wayharder to work on than the audi because the engine bay is so cramped on that car.

 

it’s not the easiest car to work on but its defiantly do able. if you enjoy working on cars and have some basic wrench turning skill and patience you will do just fine

 

Thanks for all the responses everyone
Hopefully I'll take the plunge in the next few weeks. I've got my eye on a black '99 1.8TQM with 79k miles. Hopefully I'll be able to talk the dealer down from the $9k they want.

 

Find out if the timing belt & water pump have been changed before you buy it. If it hasn't, get them to do it. That will save you some $.

As for ease of working on, they're like most cars nowadays. Some thing are easy to get to, and some things aren't. Plan on getting some metric sockets, allen bits and torx bits. As far as engine maintenance goes, the 1.8T is easier to do than the 2.8/3.0. Things are less cramped under the hood, and the spark plugs are a piece of cake to get to. Oil changes are easy too, since you can get to the filter from above after moving the coolant reservoir out of the way. The drawback of the 1.8T? More vacuum hoses and intake hoses that can crack or spring leaks.

 

the a4 is user friendly for the most part. there are a few things that will need more than one person, but other than that its FUN.

 

Its not much more of a PITA than any other car. If you were scared to get your hands dirty, you wouldn't have even asked this question, so you will be fine. Just invest in some metric stuff. There are a bunch of DIY writups for common projects. The only thing you have to look out for is special tools. Audi likes to use weird fasteners in places you wouldn't expect. You will need some torx (stupid fuel filter!) and maybe triple squares (stupid tranny case!).