What to look for when buying a 2.8??
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1st Gear
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 3
What to look for when buying a 2.8??
Im looking for a new daily driver. Ive been looking at A4's for sometime now, and just came across a 96 2.8 they are asking $4700. It has 130k miles which makes me kind of nervous, but i could use it as leverage to lower the price. Should I be worried about this mileage? Im going to test drive it this weekend is there anything I should be looking for? Also anything else i can use/say to the salesguy to help lower the price? Thanks for the space, great forum by the way!
1st Gear
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 486
From:
RE: What to look for when buying a 2.8??
Make sure they have done the timing belt and have proof of that. if they have service records thats great if not be carful. Other normal upkeeps making sure sensers work and doenst have problems shifting. check for sludge.
3rd Gear
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,764
From: Ames, IA
RE: What to look for when buying a 2.8??
Timing belt is a must. Service records are also good. If they "don't know" or "think so" that the timing belt is done, if its not documented, don't believe them. That price is WAY high too.
5th Gear
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,355
From: Orlando, FL
RE: What to look for when buying a 2.8??
wut they said...the 2.8 doesn't have sludge problems, its the 1.8T, but still worth checkin. the 2.8 is pretty reliable and those miles are nothing. you'll get a lot more out of that car.
ORIGINAL: https://www.audiforums.com/m_393146/tm.htm
How reliable are Audi’s?
Audi’s, contrary to popular belief, are reliable cars. They just need a little more attention than other cars do. A car is only going to be as reliable as you are. If you change the oil every 5k miles with synthetic oil, put in 91 or higher octane gas, and do all the other required maintenance at its recommended intervals than the car will be very reliable. The engine’s are a marvel of German technology and are capable of exceeding 200k+ miles on them no problem. The 2.8 tends to be more reliable than the 1.8T because its not forced induction. Depending on which generation A4 (B5, B6, B7, etc.) they each have their own notorious flaws just like a lot of other cars. Do keep in mind though, as far as reliabilty, Audi just can't compete with a Honda or Toyota. The style and uniqueness of Audi is legendary, and makes ownership and the satisfaction of driving in general top notch compared to any other car maker. This tends to make up for any of Audis shortcomings as far as less than top notch reliability goes.
Should I get an Audi?
It depends on your financial situation. If you are a poor teenager, then this most likely isn’t the car for you. You should have at least an extra grand after purchasing the car for repairs/maintenance. Audi’s are not cheap cars to own and maintain. The parts for the car really aren’t that expensive, although there are some exceptions. The real killer is the labor. The car cannot be serviced/repaired everywhere and the places that can do it charge you up the wazoo for labor. Working on an Audi really isn’t that much different from working on other cars though. So if you are mechanically inclined and can DIY for most things, then that will cut down on the cost of owning one significantly.
Which A4 should I get?
Depending on what year/generation you are interested in, there are several differences to take into consideration when it comes to performance, reliability and availability for future modifications. Quattro is a what Audi is most well known for when it comes to "options," and is most desireable over FWD . Try driving a FWD compared to a Quattro and you will know what I mean. They are completely different cars. It doesn’t matter if you live in a place where it doesn’t snow or other stuff like that. Quattro in my mind is a must when getting an Audi. Now which engine should you get? It depends on if you’re looking to mod the car, or if you want more reliability. The 1.8T has loads of mods and the more fun to drive in my opinion. The 2.8 is more reliable than the 1.8T but has practically no mods. It starts with 40 more hp than the 1.8T in stock form, but is also slightly heavier. The only way to get serious power out of the 2.8 is with a supercharger. But they cost 4-5 grand for a complete setup. Lots of info can be found out about supercharging the 2.8 at www.scaudi.com Also more info can be found about this subject here: https://www.audiforums.com/m_355352/tm.htm
There is also a supercharger kit available for the 3.0 B6 model.
The newer generation A4's come with a 2.0T base engine and an optional 3.2 V6- both with optional multitronic, tiptronic, and 6 speed manual transmissions.
Auto vs. Manual
In a race a manual will beat an auto any day of the week. It can launch properly and shift faster (most of the time). The manual transmission will be able to handle any amount of power you’re going to be putting into the car. The tiptronic tranny will not be able to support anything above about 300 ft. lbs of torque. If your dead set on more power and have an auto tranny, then you can get a level 10 upgrade. http://www.levelten.com/ is where you can find info about that. You can cut down on the shift time of the tiptronic with a tip chip. GIAC is the only choice for this. Also the automatic tranny will lose some power through the torque converter. An auto tranny can however shift a lot better than a human can in most cases, especially when you add a tip chip.
(credit TheJazz7)
The A4 2.8/3.0
So you got an A4 without doing much research first and picked a 2.8/3.0 without knowing it had practically no mods for it, or maybe you just wanted the extra reliability but still want to mod it. So what parts are there for it? As for exhaust, there is Neuspeed, Decorsa, Thermal, Milltek, and Supersprint. For the 2.8 only Milltek offers a full cat-back exhaust. The rest of those are for the 3.0. For chips, there is Neuspeed, GIAC, and Wetterauer. For intake there is Stratmosphere. For under drive pulley you have Unorthodox Racing. The last mod you can do to it is a supercharger. Pretty much the only major power mod for the 2.8. It’ll cost you around 4-5 grand, and you will be getting around 300 hp. www.scaudi.com has lots of info on superchargers and has group buys so you can get one for cheaper. No company makes a turbocharger for the 2.8 but some guys have made one-off setups so it’s possible. Exhaust, intake, and a chip will get you about 12-18 hp. For a lot more detailed info on the 2.8 check out this link: https://www.audiforums.com/m_177186/tm.htm
(credit Grouse)
How reliable are Audi’s?
Audi’s, contrary to popular belief, are reliable cars. They just need a little more attention than other cars do. A car is only going to be as reliable as you are. If you change the oil every 5k miles with synthetic oil, put in 91 or higher octane gas, and do all the other required maintenance at its recommended intervals than the car will be very reliable. The engine’s are a marvel of German technology and are capable of exceeding 200k+ miles on them no problem. The 2.8 tends to be more reliable than the 1.8T because its not forced induction. Depending on which generation A4 (B5, B6, B7, etc.) they each have their own notorious flaws just like a lot of other cars. Do keep in mind though, as far as reliabilty, Audi just can't compete with a Honda or Toyota. The style and uniqueness of Audi is legendary, and makes ownership and the satisfaction of driving in general top notch compared to any other car maker. This tends to make up for any of Audis shortcomings as far as less than top notch reliability goes.
Should I get an Audi?
It depends on your financial situation. If you are a poor teenager, then this most likely isn’t the car for you. You should have at least an extra grand after purchasing the car for repairs/maintenance. Audi’s are not cheap cars to own and maintain. The parts for the car really aren’t that expensive, although there are some exceptions. The real killer is the labor. The car cannot be serviced/repaired everywhere and the places that can do it charge you up the wazoo for labor. Working on an Audi really isn’t that much different from working on other cars though. So if you are mechanically inclined and can DIY for most things, then that will cut down on the cost of owning one significantly.
Which A4 should I get?
Depending on what year/generation you are interested in, there are several differences to take into consideration when it comes to performance, reliability and availability for future modifications. Quattro is a what Audi is most well known for when it comes to "options," and is most desireable over FWD . Try driving a FWD compared to a Quattro and you will know what I mean. They are completely different cars. It doesn’t matter if you live in a place where it doesn’t snow or other stuff like that. Quattro in my mind is a must when getting an Audi. Now which engine should you get? It depends on if you’re looking to mod the car, or if you want more reliability. The 1.8T has loads of mods and the more fun to drive in my opinion. The 2.8 is more reliable than the 1.8T but has practically no mods. It starts with 40 more hp than the 1.8T in stock form, but is also slightly heavier. The only way to get serious power out of the 2.8 is with a supercharger. But they cost 4-5 grand for a complete setup. Lots of info can be found out about supercharging the 2.8 at www.scaudi.com Also more info can be found about this subject here: https://www.audiforums.com/m_355352/tm.htm
There is also a supercharger kit available for the 3.0 B6 model.
The newer generation A4's come with a 2.0T base engine and an optional 3.2 V6- both with optional multitronic, tiptronic, and 6 speed manual transmissions.
Auto vs. Manual
In a race a manual will beat an auto any day of the week. It can launch properly and shift faster (most of the time). The manual transmission will be able to handle any amount of power you’re going to be putting into the car. The tiptronic tranny will not be able to support anything above about 300 ft. lbs of torque. If your dead set on more power and have an auto tranny, then you can get a level 10 upgrade. http://www.levelten.com/ is where you can find info about that. You can cut down on the shift time of the tiptronic with a tip chip. GIAC is the only choice for this. Also the automatic tranny will lose some power through the torque converter. An auto tranny can however shift a lot better than a human can in most cases, especially when you add a tip chip.
(credit TheJazz7)
The A4 2.8/3.0
So you got an A4 without doing much research first and picked a 2.8/3.0 without knowing it had practically no mods for it, or maybe you just wanted the extra reliability but still want to mod it. So what parts are there for it? As for exhaust, there is Neuspeed, Decorsa, Thermal, Milltek, and Supersprint. For the 2.8 only Milltek offers a full cat-back exhaust. The rest of those are for the 3.0. For chips, there is Neuspeed, GIAC, and Wetterauer. For intake there is Stratmosphere. For under drive pulley you have Unorthodox Racing. The last mod you can do to it is a supercharger. Pretty much the only major power mod for the 2.8. It’ll cost you around 4-5 grand, and you will be getting around 300 hp. www.scaudi.com has lots of info on superchargers and has group buys so you can get one for cheaper. No company makes a turbocharger for the 2.8 but some guys have made one-off setups so it’s possible. Exhaust, intake, and a chip will get you about 12-18 hp. For a lot more detailed info on the 2.8 check out this link: https://www.audiforums.com/m_177186/tm.htm
(credit Grouse)
1st Gear
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 75
RE: What to look for when buying a 2.8??
you should look at valve cover gaskets and oil leaks. If necessary, take off the undercover thing.
Also, drive it and make sure that you dont smell coolant from the radiator, or other smells, like oil.
Also, drive it and make sure that you dont smell coolant from the radiator, or other smells, like oil.
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 162
From:
RE: What to look for when buying a 2.8??
You could wait a month or two and buy mine
103K, new tires on chrome RS4's, water pump, timing chain and tie rods replaced at 85k, 2nd owner, all Audi service except for new alternator put on at around 98k. Sport, cold weather and bose, 5 spd manual, sunroof.
103K, new tires on chrome RS4's, water pump, timing chain and tie rods replaced at 85k, 2nd owner, all Audi service except for new alternator put on at around 98k. Sport, cold weather and bose, 5 spd manual, sunroof.
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