I want an A4
Thread Starter
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1st Gear
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 8
I want an A4
I'm not just saying this because I want you to applaud me or becasue I want a trophy, but more because I want your advice and input. I currently have a 1990 325i with a few "breathing" mods and pretty hefty suspension work done. It's a quick car, handles AMAZINGLY and is (ugly) enough that no one would ever steal it. Perfect car right? Wrong. It's RWD and 2 inches off the ground.....I live in Buffalo, NY. Need I say more?
My real questions are these:
1. How would a mid-late 90's 5spd A4 fare in the snow? I'd assume that by the grace of AWD they're amazing, but I've never driven one at all let alone in the snow.
2. Is the stock suspension satisfactory on, say, a 1997-98 A4 if it's in decent shape? How do they handle on dry pavement.
3. How's your gas milage..realistically.
4. Will a 97-98 A4 rust up like hell if driven through the winters all the time?
5. Last one, I promise. How's the reliability on these things? Will I be replacing control arms, ***** joints, hoses, pumps, belts, and such all the time? I can deal with regular maintainance like oils, coolant, fluids, plugs, etc. But if this is a car known for crapping out on a regular basis, I'd liek to know about it. What should I look out for?
Thanks, and sorry about the long, dense thread.
My real questions are these:
1. How would a mid-late 90's 5spd A4 fare in the snow? I'd assume that by the grace of AWD they're amazing, but I've never driven one at all let alone in the snow.
2. Is the stock suspension satisfactory on, say, a 1997-98 A4 if it's in decent shape? How do they handle on dry pavement.
3. How's your gas milage..realistically.
4. Will a 97-98 A4 rust up like hell if driven through the winters all the time?
5. Last one, I promise. How's the reliability on these things? Will I be replacing control arms, ***** joints, hoses, pumps, belts, and such all the time? I can deal with regular maintainance like oils, coolant, fluids, plugs, etc. But if this is a car known for crapping out on a regular basis, I'd liek to know about it. What should I look out for?
Thanks, and sorry about the long, dense thread.
6th Gear
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 10,684
From: Columbs, Ohio
RE: I want an A4
A few things...
a4's with quattro handle great in the snow. The suspension on a 97 or 98 will proabably be due for some maintenance, unless it has been taken care of already (control arms namely). If you have a choice, try to get the sport suspension. Gas mileage depends on the engine type. In those two years there were 3 engines. 2.8 12v, 2.8 30v, 1.8. My 12v gets about 24 miles to the gallon. The turbo engine is prone to more problems, but there are a lOT more engine mods available to it. The 12V engine is kind of underpowered, but it is the most reliable of all the engines. Whether or not you'll be doing all that maintenance you listed depends on the past owner though. Take the car you like to a trusted mechanic and have him once over it before you buy.
a4's with quattro handle great in the snow. The suspension on a 97 or 98 will proabably be due for some maintenance, unless it has been taken care of already (control arms namely). If you have a choice, try to get the sport suspension. Gas mileage depends on the engine type. In those two years there were 3 engines. 2.8 12v, 2.8 30v, 1.8. My 12v gets about 24 miles to the gallon. The turbo engine is prone to more problems, but there are a lOT more engine mods available to it. The 12V engine is kind of underpowered, but it is the most reliable of all the engines. Whether or not you'll be doing all that maintenance you listed depends on the past owner though. Take the car you like to a trusted mechanic and have him once over it before you buy.
1st Gear
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 461
From: England
RE: I want an A4
ORIGINAL: clutterbucker
I'm not just saying this because I want you to applaud me or becasue I want a trophy, but more because I want your advice and input. I currently have a 1990 325i with a few "breathing" mods and pretty hefty suspension work done. It's a quick car, handles AMAZINGLY and is (ugly) enough that no one would ever steal it. Perfect car right? Wrong. It's RWD and 2 inches off the ground.....I live in Buffalo, NY. Need I say more?
My real questions are these:
1. How would a mid-late 90's 5spd A4 fare in the snow? I'd assume that by the grace of AWD they're amazing, but I've never driven one at all let alone in the snow.
2. Is the stock suspension satisfactory on, say, a 1997-98 A4 if it's in decent shape? How do they handle on dry pavement.
3. How's your gas milage..realistically.
4. Will a 97-98 A4 rust up like hell if driven through the winters all the time?
5. Last one, I promise. How's the reliability on these things? Will I be replacing control arms, ***** joints, hoses, pumps, belts, and such all the time? I can deal with regular maintainance like oils, coolant, fluids, plugs, etc. But if this is a car known for crapping out on a regular basis, I'd liek to know about it. What should I look out for?
Thanks, and sorry about the long, dense thread.
I'm not just saying this because I want you to applaud me or becasue I want a trophy, but more because I want your advice and input. I currently have a 1990 325i with a few "breathing" mods and pretty hefty suspension work done. It's a quick car, handles AMAZINGLY and is (ugly) enough that no one would ever steal it. Perfect car right? Wrong. It's RWD and 2 inches off the ground.....I live in Buffalo, NY. Need I say more?
My real questions are these:
1. How would a mid-late 90's 5spd A4 fare in the snow? I'd assume that by the grace of AWD they're amazing, but I've never driven one at all let alone in the snow.
2. Is the stock suspension satisfactory on, say, a 1997-98 A4 if it's in decent shape? How do they handle on dry pavement.
3. How's your gas milage..realistically.
4. Will a 97-98 A4 rust up like hell if driven through the winters all the time?
5. Last one, I promise. How's the reliability on these things? Will I be replacing control arms, ***** joints, hoses, pumps, belts, and such all the time? I can deal with regular maintainance like oils, coolant, fluids, plugs, etc. But if this is a car known for crapping out on a regular basis, I'd liek to know about it. What should I look out for?
Thanks, and sorry about the long, dense thread.
You don't need a quattro for it to be better than a BMW in the snow, being FWD they are far better with the weight over the front wheels.
If you want one that handles well get something like a 'sport' model, not sure what they're called in the US though. All the quattros will handle very well, and the sport FWD's handle well to IMO.
My 1.8t is miles better than my 325i, i'd say it uses about 2/3 the fuel the BMW did even if you drive it hard.
No they won't rust as they are zinc coated shells.
Front ball joints wear but Audi know about this. I serviced mine myself and once you get to know it they are a very simple car to work on.
1st Gear
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 133
From:
RE: I want an A4
I'm from Montreal, snow capital of the world and can tell you that even with standard all-season (winter tires are better) I never get stuck. This was true of my 1986 4000S Quattro and even more so for the A4. If it don't rust here, it won't and it hasn't.
4th Gear
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 3,558
From: Mass
RE: I want an A4
i got a 99 a4 ive had it for 4 months and it handles like a wet dream. good on gas 19 mile per gallon city only problem is premuim feul, well i put that in u dont have to and gas up here is like 2.39 a gallon (**** gas!!!!!!!) But i heard in the snow/rain the a4 handles just as good. Very dependable, i highly recommend this car to u. i hgihly dout itll rust up on u, just make sure it was well maintained and well taken care of and u should be fine. biut insurance will be up the *** im paying $4500 a year on mine (step 18) hope i helped u.
Thread Starter
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1st Gear
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 8
RE: I want an A4
Well, my BMW I assume will be far better in just about every department as teh A4 I plan to buy...aside from winter driving and gas milage. I'd kinda like to get a car that I can do most of the work on myself again. Old BMW's are easy, and very simple. I assume the simplest of the motors to mess around with would be the 12v 2.8 (I have a 12v 2.5 right now). What kind of gas mileage to you get with that in the city? 19mpg is by no means "good" in my eyes. That's what i get now and I think its terrible.
I guess what I really want you guys to say is "get the 1.8t, it's the best". I can't get over turbochargers! What gets the best mileage? How high is the final drive and 5th gear on the 1.8t in the late 90's? At 80mph will I be revving around 3.8k....because that bugs the hell out of me.
i have so many questions about these cars....but I'll only ask one more.....
Is this a car that I will be satisfied with leaving it stock? (that's really what I'm getting at here).
I guess what I really want you guys to say is "get the 1.8t, it's the best". I can't get over turbochargers! What gets the best mileage? How high is the final drive and 5th gear on the 1.8t in the late 90's? At 80mph will I be revving around 3.8k....because that bugs the hell out of me.
i have so many questions about these cars....but I'll only ask one more.....
Is this a car that I will be satisfied with leaving it stock? (that's really what I'm getting at here).
2nd Gear
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 788
From:
RE: I want an A4
Well I can speak for the 1.8T but not the 2.8L models...
Nope, the 1.8T is like a HUGE pot of potential begging you to take your spoon and dig in! By getting a simple chip upgrade you can add roughly 50hp and around 80-90torq. These cars come from the factory extremely mellowed. If you do get a 1.8T which gets better gas mileage than the V6 (I can get about 500 miles of highway driving in on one tank before the warning light comes on) then $400-500 for a GIAC or APR chip will make you happy enough not to want too much more (or it could put you in a mod crazy frenzy).
The top gear seems nice enough..I haven't noticed a high rev sound when I'm on the highway if that's your concern. Sport suspension handles like a dream!
If you've got questions...ask away! We luv us some answers and we all might learn something new!
-T
Nope, the 1.8T is like a HUGE pot of potential begging you to take your spoon and dig in! By getting a simple chip upgrade you can add roughly 50hp and around 80-90torq. These cars come from the factory extremely mellowed. If you do get a 1.8T which gets better gas mileage than the V6 (I can get about 500 miles of highway driving in on one tank before the warning light comes on) then $400-500 for a GIAC or APR chip will make you happy enough not to want too much more (or it could put you in a mod crazy frenzy).
The top gear seems nice enough..I haven't noticed a high rev sound when I'm on the highway if that's your concern. Sport suspension handles like a dream!
If you've got questions...ask away! We luv us some answers and we all might learn something new!
-T
Thread Starter
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1st Gear
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 8
RE: I want an A4
about the 1.8t thing, thats what i wanted to hear. my friend has a B5.5 passat and threw that 450 chip in....put him around 210hp....a nice upgrade I'll say.
about the BMW being better than Audi bit....I think I was unclear. The only reason I say that my current car would outperform the A4 I plan on buying is that it would be faster and handle better (all on dry pavement). Driveline loss is only (hah, only) 18% stock on my car....with quattro I'd assume it's around 30%. I have the Bilstein/H&R/Suspension Tech shocks/springs/sways combo, a bunch of brand new stock components, and like I said...a whole bunch of breathing mods. By no means did I mean that BMW's are somehow superior to Audi's....I think quite the opposite, they seem to be on a pretty level playing field when stock and of similar years.
Anyway, I think I've made the decision on buying something in the pre-170hp 1.8t years. Something with 150 stock...around 96-98. What can I expect to pay for something in good enough condition that I won't need to repair anything? 7k? I'm talking from a private seller....not a stealer.
EDIT I just looked at my post, and that price is ridiculous. Lets say I only have about 6k to spend...what can I expect to find?
about the BMW being better than Audi bit....I think I was unclear. The only reason I say that my current car would outperform the A4 I plan on buying is that it would be faster and handle better (all on dry pavement). Driveline loss is only (hah, only) 18% stock on my car....with quattro I'd assume it's around 30%. I have the Bilstein/H&R/Suspension Tech shocks/springs/sways combo, a bunch of brand new stock components, and like I said...a whole bunch of breathing mods. By no means did I mean that BMW's are somehow superior to Audi's....I think quite the opposite, they seem to be on a pretty level playing field when stock and of similar years.
Anyway, I think I've made the decision on buying something in the pre-170hp 1.8t years. Something with 150 stock...around 96-98. What can I expect to pay for something in good enough condition that I won't need to repair anything? 7k? I'm talking from a private seller....not a stealer.
EDIT I just looked at my post, and that price is ridiculous. Lets say I only have about 6k to spend...what can I expect to find?
