So, i'm going off to Michigan Tech this fall and looking for a new car that is reliable. I have to drive 512 miles to school one way. I have been having a very difficult time finding a vehicle that fits my needs/wants. I hate FWD cars so I don't want one of those, and it has to be a sedan for both room and insurance reasons. Plus I really enjoy driving a manual. So, there are very few vehicles that fall into my range of what I want/need. Oh, and the car will be sitting for semi long periods of time so a Subaru is out. Is it unreasonable to look for a 2002 A4 for somewhere in the ballpark of $3000-4500? I have found a few, but I am not really sure if that is because they will be problem riddled or what? I can do most any and all maintenance on my own as i have been working on cars from the day I was born haha. Anyways, If anyone else has a better suggestion it would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

Get a more reliable car than an Audi. Seriously, get a Camry or similar. You don't want to deal with the repair costs/issues for a 10 year old Audi with miles on it.

At that price range, get what you need, not what you want.

 

you could find a b5 (96-01) for that price, i doubt a good b6 (02-06?) could be had for that price.

If you could find one with low milage and a recent timing belt replacement I'd say go for it.. if you really want to deal with audi's!

 

Why do so many people act like and Audi is a nightmare to own?

 

Just a guess, but you've never owned one, have you?

The brotherhood of the B5 is a wonderful thing. I have a love/ hate relationship with my car. The problem is, the "youngest" B5 you can find is now 11 years old ('01, not counting the '02 S4s, which are about twice as expensive and out of your price range). I don't care what kind of maintenance history the car has, 11-15 year old cars are going to break. There will always be something. You have to be ready to drop a thousand bucks at any given time for repairs, and that's assuming you have tools and work space to do your own work. You said you can wrench, but can you wrench 512 miles away?

Honestly, in your price range, a Toyota, Nissan, or Honda would be your most "responsible" choice. Either way, whatever you decide, good luck in school!

P.S. Hope you don't mind, but I had to add this to my signature!

 

First of all thanks for the GL and response. No, I have never owned an Audi, but they seem like if you take car of them they will run for quite a long time. Yes, I should be able to wrench 512 miles away. They have an off-road club that has a garage with a lift in it. I'm sure they'd be just fine with me using it for the car. Plus I carry a pretty decent set of tools with me at all times. Its one of the biggest portable craftsman kits you can buy plus I have a ton of other stuff thrown in the top of the box. The problem with a "Toyota, Nissan, or Honda" is that they are all going to be FWD. They avg over 200" of snow a year at Tech. I really like the idea of an AWD car. Now, I was told by a dealership that Subarus don't like to sit for long periods of time because the oil eats away at the gaskets. BTW part of the reason that my price range is a little lower is so that I do have a cushion of money if something does break.

 

If it's got over 75,000 get proof that the timing belt was changed.

 

Will do. Are there any special tools needed to change it? I know that the entire nose assembly has to come off. The job looks like it's probably pretty easy, just time consuming. Do Audis run 134a refrigerant? Is that safe to release into the atmosphere? If not, can you drive it without any refrigerant in the system?

Thanks