Hi, I am an ex-maxima owner, 1997 maxima to be exact. I'm looking to pick up a 2002 audi a4, or a 2001 and under if it will cost too much. I was wondering, are these cars expensive to maintain? The whole "timing belt needs to be replaced" thing is really scaring me off, but the quattro system and all those luxurious options keep bringing me back, so can someone please tell me some words of wisdom. Also, lets say 1 year down the road after I do buy one, if I get an upgraded turbo, fuel managment turbo about gt28 and about 12 psi of pressure, are these engines going to blow? And in general, how strong are these engines and transmissions? With my driving style, 4 months owning a perfectly fine maxima, I got engine knock. How expensive is it going to be? I'm not a fan of spending a lot fo money just to get the car running right, and I'm looking for a 1.8t, thanks a lot guys!

 

Well, it's gonna be a lot more cash to maintain. If you're really worried about throwing out cash, then I don't think an Audi is for you.

I switched from my Civic and yeah... It's a bit scary sometimes to think about how much I'm going to be throwing out, but I'm really happy and surprised with the car and it's performance and how much it saves gas compared to my civic. (Yes it saves more gas than my civic)

 

No, I'm not scared at all to throw money at one, its just that It will take me a while to pay it off, and If i have to throw 1000 bux a month at it just to have it running, then it will be a problem. I was just wondering how reliable are they? Are the engines similar to 2jz, hard to compare, but I mean do the engines and transmissions in these cars bulletproof? I don't want to run into an engine or transmission problem, any fixes exceeding 1500 dollars is going to leave me dry. After I change the timing belt, what needs to be done usually? What usually breaks in these cars? Thanks a lot again guys!

 

here maybe this might help...

https://www.audiforums.com/m_364734/.../tm.htm#364780

 

there are a million topics on this forum that talk about this. use the search feature if u wana research it a little.

the car is more expensive to maintain than a maxima but its not too horibly bad. in regards to the timing belt, $700 every 80,000 miles isnt that bad. these engines are amazingly built well. the block can sustain almost any setup you are gona want to run on a 4 cyl. engine. the gt28 setup is no problem. someone on the forum, i think jeff maybe, ran his setup at 40lbs of boost. thats a little extreme and i believe he brought in down to high 20's low 30's after a week but ya you wont have to worry bout destroying the engine. when lookin for the audi just make sure you get one that has been well maintained and you shouldn't have too many problems. dont be afraid of going a little more high mileage in these cars, they can go 200k and beyond when properly maintained. transmission is great as well, get a manual and u'll never have to worry bout it. CV joints and control arms are the usual problems. also when u do the timing belt you should also do the water pump and thermostat. thats bout all i can think of at the moment hope it helps

 

Doesn't look like it will be as much as I thought to maintain, but has anyone ever had to replace their engine, or transmission? I'm a maxima guy, with a lot of friends with 240s, who blow their engines and transmissions all the time. Also, how much boost is safe for the engine? I don't think I want to drive FWD cars anymore, I'm really starting to get into audis, sure I can have the timing belt changed if its going to cost 800 bux, but I just hope the car doesn't suck 500 bux at random times.
edit: I will have to get auto, this way I can get my mom to help me pay for the car, she takes the train to work and only needs to car saturday and sunday mornings, its a good trade off in my opinion, we are splitting 50/50. But anyways are autos strong? Seems like the a4 has one hell of an engine.

 

i doubt you will ever blow the engine or transmission in the car. if you do, u might as well get a new audi. absolutely get a quattro. just drive one and u'll understand why. the auto transmission is strong but i dont think it can withstand heavy mods. the engine itself has forged internals so it can withstand around 30 lbs of boost with no prob

 

All in all, if I do mods like a chip, maybe exhaust, and beat on the car a lot, lets say the car will see 6k rpms about 40 times a day, is this abuse for the car? These were the conditions for my poor maxima, until it had engine knock, I kept going crazy with it, and flooring it every single block sometimes. I'm scared of getting an auto now, but there is no way my mom can learn how to drive a 5 speed, has anyone here convinced their moms to drive 5 spd? I really appreciate for all the info you guys are providing me.

 

I have a tip for 160K miles, chipped for the last 80K and no major problems. The K04 and K04 programming will easily be handled by the car. 6000 rpm 40 times a day suggests that you don't know how to RESPOSIBLY drive a car and you may want to consider learning to take care of your cars.

 

amen. no matter how good a engine is built, if you abuse it like that it will get fecked up. and if u drive an audi like that you might as well just give your money away.


the auto trans will hold up fine with those mods, so no worries there. but i would suggest getting your mom to learn how to drive stick just because its so much funner driving stick, i cant stand auto trans.