i've been looking at a4's for a while now and finally have decided to dig deeper and buy one. first though i wanted to ask if anyone knew of any hereditary flaws w/ the 2.8. the one i'm looking at is a 98 around 110,000 miles. Is there anything i should look for in particular which would be a red flag saying DONT BUY IT? cosmetically it looks fine, i should look up a carfax though, but im more concerned with the mechanical aspects of it. i've also heard something about the front ends having to be replaced at a certain time which can cost thousands. is this true? any input on this car would be great. thanks

 

Make sure the timing belt was done at least once with that milage if not do it as soon as you get it,if it breaks youl have to take out a loan,I have the 2.8 in my A4 and it runs awesome I have 150000 on mine

 

Are you sure you'd prefer the 2.8 over the 1.8T? The 2.8 is a very reliable car but if your into performance modding then you're out of luck with the 2.8, the aftermarket scene is very limited. But if your just looking for a reliable daily driver then the 2.8 will fit you fine. Biggest issue is the timing belt, they should be changed every 60-70k or say bye bye to your motor. $1600 at the stealership but an indie mechanic can do it for much less. After 100k the control arms tend to wear excessively and you MIGHT get that clunk or squeak sound, its usually $500-$1000 to get them all replaced. Next theres the ABS module, $1500+ at the stealership but it can be rebuilt for under $300. Umm...apart from those there are no major issues with the A4, the drivetrain is solid and if proper maintenance is followed you usually won't have any major problems. Just know that parts can get expensive for these cars. It all depends on how well the previous owner took care of it. Hope I didn't discourage you, they are truly great cars.

 

im on my second 2.8 and they are sweet cars to drive daily. not the fastest thing in the world, but a low 15 sec car can definately get in and out of traffic with ease, especially with our low end torque.

it handles amazing and its truly a pleasure to drive every day, get that bad boy just get the timing belt done

 

My 12v isn't very fast, but it's been good ot me thus far. Make sure that timing belt has been done!

 

Just make sure you dont pay too much, and that the t-belt has been done.

What are they asking for this 98 with 110000? The v6 is reliable.

 

I just recently bought a 1998 audi a4 2.8 5spd quattro with a 150 k and it was taken care of real good. And it runs awsome i think its a decently quick car for a 2.8L. I personally really like it but im still selling it for a 1999 a4 1.8quattro mainly because i wanna get the ko4 kit and chip it. You can always buy the supercharger kit for it if u are into that kinda stuff but i would def say for a good reliable car go with the 2.8L. If u want too modd go with the 1.8L although u will prolly b working on the 1.8L alot more then you would b the 2.8L from what i hear.

 

thanks a lot for the feedback. i'm looking more for the reliability than the option for mod's. it was on ebay and got taken off, maybe a local sale, but i probably could have gotten it for around 4500. i'm going to keep looking though, hopefully i'll get lucky.

 

There were problems with 98 ball joints (TREs and control arms). It was on all 98 and earlier models both 2.8 and 1.8T. They tend to start going bad around 80k to 100k.

I replaced all of my control arms and TREs after I bought my car because they started going bad. DIY is about $550 for all of the parts if you have all the tools you need. Getting it all replaced at a shop would be thousands of dollars.

See what their documentation for repairs looks like.