After four consecutive days of intense sunshire here in So Calif, my daughter has come to the conclusion that she MUST own a convertible. She likes the A4 and has located a candidate. This black/black car is a 2003 Cabriolet FWD with the 3.0L engine. It appears to have all the options except Nav. She has a Garmin NUVI that she loves. So, no loss there. The car has 58k on it and the price is $21000. In general, I'm pretty car savvy, but not so for Audis. So, here are some questions for those of you experienced with these cars::

1) Is this a fair price?
2) Was this a good year/engine combo?
3) With 58k on the clock, I assume the 60k service hasn't been done. Roughly, how much would a dealer charge to do this? How about a reputable independent?
4) All cars have their Achilles' heels. What is it (or are they) for this car?
5) She drives to clients in her work (accounting). So, reliability is of the essence. Is this car a good choice?

Any other suggestions or observations would be appreciated.

 

I have an 03' A4 3.0AWD Sedan that I love. The car has been trouble-free except for a fault that I experienced today on which I have posted here. I love the handling, the power and the overall feel of the car. I drive 125 miles a day for work and this is my commuter car. I plan on driving this until it hits about 150k and then replacing it with another A4 that is newer.

 

1 sounds fair for a cab
2 it is in its 2nd year for that body style and engine. the 3.0 is a very reliable engine.
3 im sure whatever the 60k service is, you could do in your driveway... it shouldnt be too involved. dealer would rip you off in any situation. avoid the dealer at ALL costs. there should be a reputable independant Audi/VW mechanic in any area.
4 I think there is a fuel pump recall for 03's. check that out. Other than that, not much to worry about compared to any other car.
5 its a good choice, chicks look hot in cabrio's, so it shouldnt make her lose any friends/clients.
Only negative thing is that its not a quattro.
You should buy her the 3.0 supercharger since your such a "spendy" Dad. Or are you just THAT nice to check it out for her and not foot the bill?

By the way, I dont have quattro, andsomehow I survive without it. A lot of people with act like you shouldnt evenown an Audiunless its Quattro..

 

you will hear alot of people telling you to get a quattro and i would agree a quattro in a Audi is better then a FWD but either way its a nice car. Make sure that they have done regular oil changes with Full Sythetic so the engine will last. the downfall for audis is that if it isnt under warrenty and there is a problem it will be $$$. I have a 01 A4 and love it and havent any problems with it.

 

Thanks for the quick feedback, everyone.

Not quite. I gave her the car she's trading. That and a little due-diligence are the extent of my contributions. Nice try, though . . . Sounds like something she'd say.

Huh? I don't know how much she'd benefit from Quattro. We get no snow and very little rain. FWD should work just fine. Her current car is FWD.

Did they come from the factory with synthetic and is synthetic recommended/required by Audi?

Along those lines, is there a decent extended warranty that she could purchase with this many miles already on the car? I know most warranties can only be extended during the initial factory warranty period.

Thanks again for all the positive responses.

 

Pics of the daughter?




j/k

 

full synthetic oil is recommened by audi and if they have gotten the oil changes at the dealership then they should have it in it or even if the person cared about the car it should have it. and for the quattro it helps in the rain but in So. Cali i guess you shuold be fine with out it.