Well I'm certainly not new to cars or imports, I am new to Audi's. I'm looking at a 99 A4 Tip Auto with about 145,000 miles on it. The trans has been replaced with a unit that has 70,xxx on it, and its had a few minor suspension repairs, along with have the T-belt done less than 30,xxx ago.

What do i need to know about this car? What always goes wrong when? Are the engines, turbo, rear driveline reliable at this point? I know it will depend on the maintainence of the vehichle in question, but i'm just looking for general experiance others have had. He is asking $5200, and the car does need some work as it sits, but nothing too major.

PLEASE, you guys are the experts, let me know what you think

Thanks, any help is greatly appreciated.

Tim

 

Have a German car mechanic check it over. Use problem areas
to negotiate a better deal.

 

Dont buy it...... im sure you could find one with less miles for a better price...... i wouldn't pay more then 3k for the car

 

Sounds like seller is being fairly up front. Timing belt is fine for awhile (one big Audi concern). He told you about the suspension work, which is another known problem. He says it is minor, but don't think that means it is cheap. You can DIY that stuff, it isn't too tough, but if you are going to pay someone to do it, it can be pricey. TREs are generally easy if not siezed. Control Arms are tougher, but again if not seized, a def DIY. You can look up DIYs on here and on AudiWorld.com

That being said, I would prob shy away from this car too just because of the miles. I bought my car a few months ago in similar condition needing suspension work etc. I paid a little bit more than $5200, but my car only had 80k on it. Having had this car for a little while and having the V6 (which is generally more reliable than the 1.8T), I would def stay away from high mile cars. I have had more maintenance to do on this car than any other car I have owned and all of them were much older than this car. Don't want to know how bad it gets at 145k miles.

 

Just over a year ago I was faced with the same trouble... to buy or not to buy. IIRC most people on here said steer clear because of the high mileage the car had (156K, and timing belt was done at 117K). But I bought it anyway and I'm now at 181K miles and the only thing I've put into it are new brakes (and I knew it needed them when I bought it). The car is not perfect but most people who look at it, and even those that have ridden in it, can't believe it's got that many miles on her. This year I will do the timing belt and I may need to do a clutch too....I've got some squeaks in the front right suspension, but these are all things I expected to have to do eventually being that I will probably have to drive this car forever. You can not expect to buy a car with over 100K miles and not have to have anything to fix. I do not regret my purchase (although I may after I start the t-belt and clutch project) and my opinion is to really check the car out well and maybe even have a mechanic look at it too. I have yet to see a low priced (less than 5000)A4 with low miles in great condition- they really don't exist regardless of what people on here tell you. I am sure there is a pink elephant every once and a while, but those low priced excellent condition cars are very few and far between. You have to be at the right place at the right time, and if you need to buy a car you will never be at the right place at the right time. Know what I mean? Good luck, and buy it so I'm not the only one on here with a high milage A4.

 

last june i bought a 98 audi a4 2.8 with 83000 miles for $7200. so far i had to put about $4000 grand into it (tbelt system, oil leaks, engine coolant leaks) Car seemed great when i first bought it. but had nothing but problems. i would stay away from the car because of the miles and you are probably going to get hit soon with stuff you are going to half to replace. I would first have a really good mechanic look at it first (i made that mistake). thats just my input and experience. cant say if you should by it or not.

 

I got mine in Jan of 06 - 98.5 1.8TQA with 132k at the time - I paid $5300 - I love this car - thats all I can say.
Things I've had to do so far
Cruise control - out when I purchased the car - $300 - would have been a lot cheaper if I would have done it myself but I just took it to a shop - hadn't found the forum yet.
Wheel Bearing front right - $230 - purchased the bearing from PureMS had it installed for $195
Brake lines front - $180 - replaced with wheel bearing -
I'm replacing now -
TRE - left $34
Sway bar link - right - front, rear $37 and $34

So over the past year I've spent $68 a month - with my car payment being for 3years at $164 that puts my payment at $202 - Thats still a hell of a lot less than a new car payment.

But, yeah if you have something go wrong its not cheap to have done. We're always here to help diagnose your problem and there are a ton of DIY's available.
Sorry to here about your 2.8, only 83k and all that stuff going wrong, with a v6. ouch - I guess i was more ok with my high milage because they were highway. Sounds like yours might have been beat on before.

 

I'd continue searching, theres gotta be one towards 90k miles.. no?

 

Talk them down, +1 on a german mechanic looking at it!