My First Audi - A4 1.8T Quattro
Thread Starter
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1st Gear
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 14
From:
My First Audi - A4 1.8T Quattro
Greetings all. I am from the UK, but now reside in sunny Atlanta. I had been without a car for 2 years, until now! My last car was in the UK, a Peugeot 306 XSI. This past weekend I was out looking for cars, originally planning on a Mazda 6 or something similar. But, I always felt cars like that lacked character. For some reason, I never considered Audi, thinking they were too expensive. While at Carmax I noticed a nice 2005 Audi A4 1.8T. It was priced low, probably due to 55k miles on it. Other than the turbo, the features were low (cloth interior, no cd changer, small wheels etc), but I was very tempted. However, the car felt dirty and abused. That explained why it was $18k and most good used A4's were $23k+. I got the impression that Audi interiors did not age well unless well looked after.
Well, I searched and searched all day long, finally stopping at an Audi dealer on the way home. I considered leasing a new A4, but my mileage ruled this out. Then I browsed the pre-owned section. The last car I saw caught my eye; a 2002 B6 silver, black leather, 1.8T Quattro, climate control, 6 cd changer, 55k miles etc. I thought I must drive this car, and was very impressed. I did prefer the 1.8T 6 speed without quattro for the little extra performance, and actually wanted a 2004 on, but my compromise came when I saw the price, $16991. The car was not only better than every 04 and 05 I had seen all day, it was also cheaper. The car was immaculate; the previous owner had always serviced it at that dealer and this showed. It had an Audi CPO program, and is now covered all the way to 100k.
I would have taken it for that price, but still managed to beat them down another $1.5k. I ended up under budget, and with more car than I ever imagined. Since taking it home I have not stopped smiling. The car hugs the road; the quattro is superb and the tires at 245/45 17/95W give that extra smooth ride and road holding. I only just turned 24, and feel privilaged to be driving such a well engineered machine. It feels like every detail on the car, be it how the window goes down, the trip computer, or simply how the door closes was given utmost attention in design. On the interstate at 80mph it is smooth as silk; effortless driving and comfort.
I'm new to these forums and no doubt hope to learn a lot off fellow members. I've always taken a lot of pride in previous cars I have owned, and this one will be no different. I have tried to upload some pictures; hope they work.
My next task will be figuring out what octane to run the car on (93or 89), purchasing the rear lip spoiler and possibly adding a few extra HP!
http://img481.imageshack.us/img481/2201/dsc01022tl2.jpg
http://img481.imageshack.us/img481/4300/dsc01025gk5.jpg
http://img481.imageshack.us/img481/57/dsc01026dc6.jpg
http://img481.imageshack.us/img481/4161/dsc01029wi0.jpg
[IMG]local://upfiles/34777/74B1CD03E15849EEA44BFA658C4144C2.jpg[/IMG]
Edit: Had trouble uploading / showing pictures, so could only link to host site and upload one.
Well, I searched and searched all day long, finally stopping at an Audi dealer on the way home. I considered leasing a new A4, but my mileage ruled this out. Then I browsed the pre-owned section. The last car I saw caught my eye; a 2002 B6 silver, black leather, 1.8T Quattro, climate control, 6 cd changer, 55k miles etc. I thought I must drive this car, and was very impressed. I did prefer the 1.8T 6 speed without quattro for the little extra performance, and actually wanted a 2004 on, but my compromise came when I saw the price, $16991. The car was not only better than every 04 and 05 I had seen all day, it was also cheaper. The car was immaculate; the previous owner had always serviced it at that dealer and this showed. It had an Audi CPO program, and is now covered all the way to 100k.
I would have taken it for that price, but still managed to beat them down another $1.5k. I ended up under budget, and with more car than I ever imagined. Since taking it home I have not stopped smiling. The car hugs the road; the quattro is superb and the tires at 245/45 17/95W give that extra smooth ride and road holding. I only just turned 24, and feel privilaged to be driving such a well engineered machine. It feels like every detail on the car, be it how the window goes down, the trip computer, or simply how the door closes was given utmost attention in design. On the interstate at 80mph it is smooth as silk; effortless driving and comfort.
I'm new to these forums and no doubt hope to learn a lot off fellow members. I've always taken a lot of pride in previous cars I have owned, and this one will be no different. I have tried to upload some pictures; hope they work.
My next task will be figuring out what octane to run the car on (93or 89), purchasing the rear lip spoiler and possibly adding a few extra HP!
http://img481.imageshack.us/img481/2201/dsc01022tl2.jpg
http://img481.imageshack.us/img481/4300/dsc01025gk5.jpg
http://img481.imageshack.us/img481/57/dsc01026dc6.jpg
http://img481.imageshack.us/img481/4161/dsc01029wi0.jpg
[IMG]local://upfiles/34777/74B1CD03E15849EEA44BFA658C4144C2.jpg[/IMG]
Edit: Had trouble uploading / showing pictures, so could only link to host site and upload one.
2nd Gear
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 531
From: Denver, Colorado
RE: My First Audi - A4 1.8T Quattro
congrats on the purchase! I (and everyone else one here) can probably relate to your exact situation/feeling of how you feel about your car. Actually I was just thinking about the first night I got my car after leaving the dealership.... ahhhhh 
)You'll find TONS of good info on here and I'm sure if you have a question someone will be able to answer it.
)You'll find TONS of good info on here and I'm sure if you have a question someone will be able to answer it.
3rd Gear
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 2,333
From:
RE: My First Audi - A4 1.8T Quattro
sweet ride man... good thing you came across an audi, they dominate a mazda 6 in every aspect (speed as well after chipped)
first thing you should do is paint the lowers, it costs twenty bucks and changes the appearance drastically, also de badge the back. those two things and it will look like a completely different car. the first performance mod you will wanna do is a chip, i guess for a b6 the apr 93 chip is supposed to be dam good. and you want to use 93 octane, its much much much needed in the turbo model.
good luck with the ride, hope to see you around quite a bit, when i got my first audi i knew i would never go anyway else... im on my second one so far and dont plan to change anytime soon
first thing you should do is paint the lowers, it costs twenty bucks and changes the appearance drastically, also de badge the back. those two things and it will look like a completely different car. the first performance mod you will wanna do is a chip, i guess for a b6 the apr 93 chip is supposed to be dam good. and you want to use 93 octane, its much much much needed in the turbo model.
good luck with the ride, hope to see you around quite a bit, when i got my first audi i knew i would never go anyway else... im on my second one so far and dont plan to change anytime soon
Thread Starter
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1st Gear
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 14
From:
RE: My First Audi - A4 1.8T Quattro
Thanks for the feedback. I'll look into painting the lowers, but only if I can find a great match on the paint. I imagine thats something I could do quite easily. Mask off the original body and other low parts, the spray away. I just hope to get a good finish, replicating the actual body work.
The chips are more intriguing to me. If I can squeeze another 30bhp out of the car that will be great.
The chips are more intriguing to me. If I can squeeze another 30bhp out of the car that will be great.
1st Gear
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 218
From: cinci, oh
RE: My First Audi - A4 1.8T Quattro
great ride! looks like it's in awesome condition, good buy*..glad you didnt go with a mazda lol
oh and Akoby,, i love how your car looks with blacked out rings...kinda debatin on whether or not to black just the out line or the outline and the rings.
oh and Akoby,, i love how your car looks with blacked out rings...kinda debatin on whether or not to black just the out line or the outline and the rings.
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 179
From: Los Angeles, CA
RE: My First Audi - A4 1.8T Quattro
Congrats, man! Just got mine last October.
When I started my car up today, the warning alarm sounded, as it does when you are low on fuel, and my right rear brake light had burnt out. Off to the dealership....with CPO, bulb replacements are free, and they do them in less than 15 minutes while you grab an esresso at the quattroBar. My kind of maintenance program!
One thing that has caught me off guard lately--tire pressure. I used to check my tire pressure every 4-8 weeks, until a neighbor pointed out that my pressure was too low, and he didn't want to see my Continentals get ruined. They really did not look low at all. They were. Ouch! Now I check the pressures weekly. I am so jealous of a co-worker who has a 2007 A4 with tire-pressure sensors. Plus, she just bought a new 335i, (also with the tire-pressure sensors, tied into On-Star). Can you say, "Spoiled wife???" Actually, she's great. I'm just a lil' jealous; however, I LOVE my car.
Can you say, "Ramble on???"
Safe motoring.
When I started my car up today, the warning alarm sounded, as it does when you are low on fuel, and my right rear brake light had burnt out. Off to the dealership....with CPO, bulb replacements are free, and they do them in less than 15 minutes while you grab an esresso at the quattroBar. My kind of maintenance program!
One thing that has caught me off guard lately--tire pressure. I used to check my tire pressure every 4-8 weeks, until a neighbor pointed out that my pressure was too low, and he didn't want to see my Continentals get ruined. They really did not look low at all. They were. Ouch! Now I check the pressures weekly. I am so jealous of a co-worker who has a 2007 A4 with tire-pressure sensors. Plus, she just bought a new 335i, (also with the tire-pressure sensors, tied into On-Star). Can you say, "Spoiled wife???" Actually, she's great. I'm just a lil' jealous; however, I LOVE my car.
Can you say, "Ramble on???"
Safe motoring.
Senior Member
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 607
From: Townsend, MA
RE: My First Audi - A4 1.8T Quattro
Congrats and welcome to the forums! For gas, you should use at least 91 octane. I personally use 93 because 91 is not available in my area. This allows a certain level of performance from your engine while preventing any predetonation.