Hello all.

I need some advice from some of you a4 owners. I am looking at a 1997 a4 quattro.
This would be my first audi.

I test drove the car today, 129,000 miles. It was a solid car, handled well, seemed tight, drove nicely.

I have a few concerns/questions, since this is the first time I have driven one.

The tranny (auto) seemed on the noisy side, like when slowing down with foot off the gas. Is this fairly normal since it is AWD? It shifted fine and drove fine, just seemed noisier than I am used to. of course i had the radio off and all so I could listen to any sounds the car might make.

Are these weak in low end torque? It is the 1.8T engine. It idled very smooth, ran great at higher rpm, but from a dead stop seemed to lag a bit when accelerating. I did not floor it, maybe that is why, but it just seemed to not have a lot of power under average acceleration. I am guessing this is normal, since the turbo maybe didnt kick in yet, or maybe it needs some work. I just am looking for confirmation that this is the case. It just is not what I am used to driving. If this is the case, would mods like a better air filter kit give it a little more kick on the low end?

Anyway, thanks for your time reading my post and questions. I really like the audis, and hope to be an owner soon and part of the forum.

Any other things you can tell me about as far as what to look for on these would be greatly appreciated.

Also, what is the schedule for major service such as timing belt? every 60k or 50K? How are these on overall maintenance? Are they pretty reliable? I do most work myself, short of major engine or tranny work. I am pretty mechanically inclined. I have a nissan 300zx which I love to work on and drive, but need something like this for a daily driver/winter vehicle.

Thanks in advance for your expertise, input, and time!

 

If you have any doubts about the tranny i wouldnt buy it. The awd tranny isnt that noisy. No more so than a regular tranny. The auto is also a bad match for the 1.8t as you noticed. Its a dog off the line whether you floor it or not. The maintaince is more intensive than most normal cars but not too bad. I would recomend a timing belt every 60k no matter what audi says. Would also recomend oil changes at 3k instead of 5k for the 1.8t in the a4.

 

Just to clarify,

First I was listening closely. No radio on, windows up.

Noise I am reffering to is such as this: Driving down road, take foot off gas, car is engine braking, slowing down, can hear transmission winding down. Is this normal, or is tranny usually vey quiet?

It wasn't real loud, just seemed louder than other cars.

What do you think?

Thanks!

 

You may want to take it to a shop and see what they have to say about it. They may also be able to spot something that you missed. I dont recall any noise beign normal during decell.