Hello All..

New here and to Audis. Actually on the fence about a great deal I can get on an A4. Its a 2002 with 73,000 miles on it, 1.8T Quattro 5 speed, loaded. Even 4 years old with that many miles, its not cheap, and I don't want to be taking a big loan out if I will need $4k in the next 30K miles for some "big pieces"

I have owned VWs and Saabs, my recent car, a 1996 Saab 900SE finally breathed its last at 170,000 miles. My questions are to the longevity of the some of the Audi parts: Turbos, Trannies, etc. I've heard the stories of 300K mile A4s, and realize most of you are fanboys, but let me know when your turbo kicked, when your ball joints needed replacement, etc. I would appreciate it.

Thank you all, and I may be joining your ranks in the next couple of days

 

Make sure the timing belt has been changed... or you're already looking down the barrel of at least one expensive bill. Other than that, they are really great cars... b6's especially. 2002's are known to eat light bulbs though
Certainly nothing that's going to cost you 4K, though... but make sure that it's had the oil changed every 5K with synthetic, and like I said, the timing belt is crutial... if it breaks, you WILL get that 4K bill you feared.

 

That's exactly what I needed to know. This is an import shop who deals with these cars alot.. He said he would do "whatever it took" to put me in the car.. Will see if that includes a new timing belt .

I have also rumors about water pumps.. Really isn't a way to check that.. Is 70K about the time for a new water pump? That should be a minor expense.

 

The occasional water pump problem isn't a common thing with audis, but they're usually replaced along with the timing belt since its easily accessible at that time. Apart from the almost mandatory scheduled timing belt change only the suspension is a common fault. After 100k, sometimes alot sooner, the control arms will begin to show signs of excessive wear and will have to be replaced. Other than that the drivetrain is rock solid.

 

yo man, i'm in the same boat. i'm really lookin into audis but I know two people that have had one, right...

one had a 96 and the engine died on her with like 116,000 miles.

the other one a 2001 and the engine died on it too


maybe i'm spoiled cuz my first car was a 92 accord and it got tottalled by some bitch about 3 weeks ago that ran into my drivers side. that car had 238,000 miles and it still ran like it did when i got it 3 years ago with 140,000 miles on it.

how much does it cost to havethe control arms replaced? and how much for the timing belt?

 

An engine never just dies, there has to be something at fault, and with Audis this usually happens because of lack of maintenance. Audis are great cars and can go over 200k, you just gotta know how to take care of them.
Go to ecstuning.com for prices. Timing belts are major deal. At the stealership they'll charge up to $1600, an independent shop might charge around $650. If your doing it yourself it'll cost around $200+ for the kit. Same thing for the control arms, usually if one begins to squeek then sooner or later the others will too, so I'd recommend changing the entire set. This is expensive though, I good set will cost you around $500-$600. Yea audi parts are on the expensive side, and getting them at the dealership should be a last resort because they overcharge.

 

mechanics work on the car not the name

 

Whatever you do, have it checked by an independent Audi/VW mechanic. He'll run a vag and check it out. No sense buying someone else's problems.