mmm...I love my Audi more than life itself. Im 17 and own a 96 Audi A4. 185K miles....which because it's an Audi, shouldn't be a bad thing. The first 6 months I've owned my car, My Steering Rack has went out, my Air Conditioner, pipe to my heater core cracked, casueing me to buy a new heater core, and other random quick fixes resulting in around 2,500 $ in repairs. Considering I got the car from a family friend for 4,500 $ as a favor, im starting to wonder if this is still a good investment....are any more things going to go wrong? I want to do alot of things to my car, but i dont want to supe it up and then have to buy something new down the road.....advice?

 

with that many miles u can expect alot of parts that are going to need replacing, just wear and tear on the car.

 

Control arms are past due, if they havent been changed.
Make sure the timing belt has been done.

And dont 'supe up' a 12v.

 

Car is 8 years old. If you haven't changed every fluid do it now, including transmission, differential, brake fluid, etc.

On any car this old, and with this many miles, you can expect things like brake calipers, starter, alternator, wheel bearings, control arms to wear out with regularity.

When was timing belt and water pump last done?

 

I have almost 3 times that in my car, and it sucks, but ohwell.

 

The timing belt was recently replaced and the water pump was too. when the heater core was going bad, they suspected it was the pump at first so they changed it out....

 

Loving your Audi more than life huh? Sounds like you need some priority reorganization. Is your A4 a 1.8 or 2.8? If the timing belt was just done, it probably (hopefuly) has been done twice before. Other things to look out for with that mileage are gaskets, especially the manifold. If its a 1.8 and you are on your original turbo, that would be surprising. Give us more details! Radiator might be getting a lil briddle on the inside if it hasnt been replaced. Id suggest learning how to do your own mechanical work, cuz most places other than the dealer dont like to work on these cars, and they are more likely to gouge you with other uneeded parts/labor. Ive never heard of having to take the whole front end of a car off just to change the timing belt, these cars are bitches as far as labor goes.

 

I understand...its a 2.8.... where i live, there's European Automotives...their pretty good but my mechanic is a perfectionist....which is good in someways and bad in others. The rate to work on an Audi where i live is 65$ an hour. I love cars, but i don't know much about mechanical things. I know basic things, but not enough to take off the Bumper. Also, i had to get the thermastat changed out and it took 4 hours to do because of the front bumper....lame...what else you want to know?

 

Technically there should be a set time to do work on your car and if your mechanic can get under that he makes a little more... if he is over, he takes a loss. Audi dealerships work this way so to compete the shops work this way. 185 is impressive. I am at 175. Yeah if you are trying to have a cheap car, you bought the wrong one. Luxury cars are expensive because they have enjoyable qualities (nice steering systems, smooth suspensions, well designed and built engines) but that doesnt mean it won't need to be maintained. I am sorry, it sucks, you remind me of a friend who bought his neighbors porsche. It was not the fast twin turbo model, it was not the tricked out, it was just a comfortable car. That is exactly what you have. BTW he split a heater hose and never replaced his 3 dollar part and sent his porsche to heaven because the mechanic work would have been too much.

You are still young, how hard would it be for you to get into an auto shop class and learn a little on cars. I think everyone (even women) should be mandated to take auto shop to pass high school. Then you could take off your bumper.

As a plus, that 2.8 will last forever if you don't overheat it or run it out of oil

 

thank you...why do you say a 2.8 will last forever? i try to take good care of my car. Everyone tries to get me to race it and such...but i love it too much... and i've been told my car is 4WD and FWD...how can i find out what it really is?