I had my mind set on a used Nissan Maxima or Honda Accord, but ran across a beautiful 1997 A4 2.8 today. It's got 130,000 miles but would never guess it by how well it was taken care of.
Should I get it??? I'm worried by a lot of the bad things I hear about their reliability; but I was totally blown away on how well it drove.

If I have a mechanic look it over first, are there any specific things I should have him inspect the closest???

thanks.

Ken

 

It really depends on your money situation. The A4 is a sweet car, but you are going to spend more on repairs than you would with the Honda. Its a lot nicer car than a Honda, but be prepared to do a little more work to it.

Personally, if you are looking in the 97 A4 price range, I say get the Honda. It will probably be more reliable for you. If you get an Audi, really try to get one 99 and above. Only get the Audi if you do most of your car repairs yourself. DIY Audi repairs ~= paying for shop repairs on a Honda.

Do a search and you will find tons of posts about what to look for on a car around your year. Big things on a 97 would be timing belt change, use of synthetic oil, tie rod ends, control arms.

 

I do most of my maintenance myself; I'm an ex-aircraft mechanic, so I don't like other people doing things for me unless it's way out of my league.

The guy who has this car runs a small detailing and auto sales business, and only gets cars from auction/other dealers that are really well taken care of. (Looks wise, since you just never know about the other stuff!!) He just got the car yesterday, and is offering it to me for $3000 under book. (He sells all his stuff cheaper, for quicker turn-around. not much lot space)

My closest Audi Dealer is like 40 miles away, so that kinda stinks.

 

Keep Audi dealers as far away from you as possible, unless you like being raped. 40 miles is a good distance, don't go closer. You can get most parts for repair on the net.

Be aware that the 2.8 is a nice cruiser, but not a speed demon. If you are looking for something to modify, then go for the 1.8T engine.

 

No, not looking for something to modify. Just a nice 4 Dr. Sedan that's fun to drive.

Where are the best places on the net to get parts from?

 

https://www.audiforums.com/m_55694/tm.htm