I need some help from A4 Audio owners.

I am in the market to buy an A4 Audi between 1998-2000. First off, when I checked msn.com, under the auto option for Audis, there were a lot of bad reviews, saying that the A4 Audis are great, but are very unreliable. That they break down, and that maintenance will cost somewhere between $1500 a year (at least).

The car I was looking into buying right now is a: 1998 A4 Audi with only 52,xxx miles on it andhasa 2.8 engine.

Would this Audi with these specifications be a reliable Audi to buy? I am hoping that I will not have to spend 1000s on repairs every year. What are your opinions?

P.S. I do know that the 1.8 is better for moding, but I am just looking for something that is fun to drive and reliable.

Thank you for your help !!

 

well every car is reliable if you take care of it. if the car was beat on for its whole life it will brake down sooner or later. every car will need repairs and yes audis are more pricy but its worth it. the 2.8 is the more reliable engine in your case. i drive a 1.8TQ 01 and havent had a problem with it. just make sure everything has been done. oil changes with full synthetic oil only. did the person that has it never drive ciz its almost a 10 year old car with only 52xxx. have a mehanic that knows audis check it out for you.

 

First off a car is only as reliable as the owner is. take care of the car and do all the scheduled maintenance and theres no reason you wont see over 200k with few problems. as far as engines go, the 2.8 is definitely the more reliable one. very few options and little gains as far as mods go, but thats its only downside.

and the bad reviews on msn. who are more likely to write feedback. pissed off people who got lemons or didn't take care of their car properly, or people who rarely have problems? most of the time its the pissed off people, so reviews arerarelyan accurate representation

about that audi your looking at. wuts the price he's asking? it should be a really reliable car for you. you should ask the guy if he's had the timing belt done. im bettin since its only at 52 that it hasn't, but timing belt should be changed every 70k or so (give or take 10k depending on how precautionary you are). its like $700-$1000 to change the timing belt so if he hasn't had it done yet, you can use that as leverage to lower the price

 

As far as maintenance goes they are more expensive because they're german....everything german will cost more. As far as the quality of the car goes, you're getting a german car...the A4 is top notch. get a 1.8T if you want to mod it (the engine) and get a 2.8 V6 if you dont want to ever touch the engine. You can mod the bodies on both. Other than a japanese car, I don't know many other cars around the year you're looking at that don't require quite a bit of maintenance each year.

Before you buy decide to get an Audi, have a travelling mechanic or travelling diagnostic company come and give you an analysis on the car you're looking to take home. Probably the best $130 I've ever spent! If it's a good company they'll give you a very large checklist of everything on the car...body, brakes, engine, suspension, tranny, etc...

BTW the V6 stock is a bit faster than the 1.8T, but if you chip the 1.8T for about $600 it'll be faster.

LampyB.


ps. At about 75k you're going to need to do a timing belt job on any car, and that's going to be around $1000 if you take it in.

 

Thank you for all the advice : )!

The guy is asking $9,900 for the car. Do you think I can lower his price by leveraging the fact the timing belt has not been changed? Also, what else might I need to change on that car by say 80k?

What should I pay attention to when I am buying the car (such as mechanics, etc)?

Does anyone know a good place in Chicago to have an Audi inspected??

Thank you again for all the support

 

no.

 

ya tell him about the timing belt and what it costs and he should drop the price a few hundred. the price isn't bad, i bought my 98.5 A4 1.8TQM for $8k but it had 92,xxx miles on it. if i were you i would push for $9k, so lowball your first offer and work your way up to $9k.

i would take it to a mechanic and have them inspect it if the guy is willing to let you do that. as for shops around chicago i have no clue but theres a couple regular guys on here around that area so they could probably help you with that one.

 

WOW $9900 for a 98 - I guess it might be worth that since it has such low miles - i picked up my 98.5 1.8t 1/06 for $5300 but it had 130k on it. +1 on getting the price down - check around, might be able to sacrifice a few thousand miles for a couple thousand in your pocket.

 

I got a 98 2.8 but it has 88,000 miles. I got it for $8500 and its in excellent condition. Since ive had it, ive had no major problems with it at all. Only things ive had to do were change a headlight and windshield wiper blades haha. Besides that i absolutely love the car and couldnt be happier. Id defiently suggest buying it if you can lower the price a little bit. I personally love having a v6 over a 4 cylinder any day, but that is just my personal preference. Good luck and if you do get it...enjoy!

 

I paid $11,780 for my 99, but it only had 45k miles on it and it could have easily passed as a brand-new car. Not a scratch, chip, or scuff anywhere. There isn't even hazing on the lenses or any imperfections in the glass. The only thing that shows any wear is the drivers side floor mat, and its a little worn where the heal of the right foot rested on the gas pedal.