Rebuild wrecked A4? Questions
 

OK, this one looks like a light hit, but I wanted to bug some people with more experience with these cars than me and see if there's any big warning signs, as I don't know the peculiarities of the Audis yet, although I've owned an S4 the last 6 months and LOVE it! :D

1999 A4 1.8T. Hit a guard rail pretty heavily, enough to bend not only the fender but also the front bumper reinforcement bar that goes across the front on the driver's side. Deployed both air bags. Needs front impact bumper, front bumper cover, the piece that goes behind the impact bumper that the headlight clips to, the passenger side front fender, some misc suspension parts (probably broke both upper and lower control arms, wheel is bent in at the top), and work on the sheet metal down the left side of the car and rear fender dent.

According to the seller, the car automatically shut down on impact. Will the '99 A4's do that if it's smacked hard enough to deploy the bags?

2nd, he claims the subsequent journey into the adjacent ditch cracked the oil pan and all the oil ran out (after the engine shut down) and that they COULDN'T start it again. He claims the key will turn all the accessories on, but will not engage the starter. No engine rotation, nothing. Is that also normal if the car has been hit hard?

The frame is straight, and the car has a lot of potential, but I don't want to get into a car with engine damage that's locked up from running without oil (which he may or may not be trying to hide - hard to tell without seeing it in person). The price is right, there was no insurance so it doesn't have a Salvage title, just seeing if his story passes the *cough* bullshit test with some people who know enough about it to tell me.

Incidentally, we don't have an Audi dealership for me to call and find out either.

Thanks for the help and suggestions!

RE: Rebuild wrecked A4? Questions
 

I guess my advice to you is that things like this aren't always what they appear to be- sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. With it not haveing a salvage title I would say it's worth the look if you think you have the mechanical ability to fix it yourself. If you are considering taking it to someone else to repairI would definately say it's not worth the time. It's not uncommon for a car to have a fuel cut-off relay that shuts down the motor in the event of an accident, but as for the starter not engaging that could be something simple like a shorted starter wire or broken connection. You should really turn the car over by hand (wrench) when you go to look at it. The car would have to run for a little while before it siezed up. You didn't mention what kind of money you are talking but I wouldn't go much over $1000. Remember it's an old car and you can't test drive it. You would be buying it as a parts car as far as the seller is concerned. Hope that helps.

RE: Rebuild wrecked A4? Questions
 

I don't do body work. I have a good shop that's cheap that does all of that for me.

The main thing I'm worried about is the engine, and you answered my question. It should turn over, and it's not. I'll tell him to charge the battery and try it again. I'm really concerned that he seized it, but I would guess the fuel cutoff should have shut it off LONG before that? Like I said, I don't know much about the systems of the Audis, I've been working on Mitsus and Chevy/Ford products for a long time.

It's closer to $2,000, but I haven't seen any other good A4's for the $4,500 range which is what I'd have in it IF the engine is OK.

If he can't verify it turns over, I'll probably pass on the whole deal. The cheapest running 1.8T engine I've found is about $1,500, then I'd have to do the timing belt service plus water pump and oil pump just for my own peace of mind which is another $500 in parts (I do engine work myself, so not a problem). That would be $4,000 before I even TOUCHED the damage, then another $2,500 to fix it = MAYBE $6,500.

Not worth my time unless I can get about $2,000 or so of equity in the vehicle when I'm done.

Thanks for answering my question though, the starter cutoff / fuel cutoff thing was my main concern, now I know there's probably engine problems.

RE: Rebuild wrecked A4? Questions
 

i dont believe that audi have a fuel cut out relay... but i could be very wrong! do you know anyone witha vagcom? that would probably tell you for sure.

RE: Rebuild wrecked A4? Questions
 

Just replacing the air bags is expensive.
The cost of airbags will probably be the same as replacing the timing belt.

sounds like a parts car.

RE: Rebuild wrecked A4? Questions
 

Yeah, I'm going to offer him $1,000 bucks for it and see if he takes it, pending making sure the engine rotates freely.

If it does, it'll be worth it to fix. If it doesn't, then he can part it out.

Thanks all for the input.