I have a A4 1.8T 2001. I moved up from the A3 and couldn't believe the power diffrence.
although i've had a few probs with it, having said that i did buy it from crappy carcraft[:@]
DONT GO THERE. But yes the A4 is a good choice...
But what do i know[&:]

 

you can get 206hp and 245lb of torque out of the 1.8t simply by chipping it.

 

99.5 Lower Mileage A4. Facelifted AEB engine w/ loads of potential.

What else can you ask for?

 

If I were you i would get a low milage 2000 a4......... cause thats what i got LOL

 

99.5....none of that elctronic throttle cable ****. 1.8t, 2.8, auto, or manual all depends on what your looking to get out of the car, and there are plenty of threads to serch for that.

 

Thanks for all the added input, guys. All of it is very much appreciated.

I noticed an A4 for sale that had the water pump and timing belt replaced at 70k. Is this normal? Or just bad luck?

 

normal, I had my t belt, water pump, drive belt, cam and crank seals as well as thermostat at like 66k.

 

Damn! My S10 never had the water pump or seals replaced. Although, maybe I never realized the seals were bad or I just got lucky.

Any estimate on the cost to replace the t-belt, water pump, and seals?

 

I got it all done for 1k, well it was included in the purchase agreement. When I bought the car it was due and they did the maintenance before I bought the car and no price jump. But the place said around $1k for all of it. The water pump needs to be upgraded as well as when you do the timing bet you might as well do the rest as its all in the same location and hard to reach by themselves.

Be prepared to pay around $1500-$2000 at a dealer though.

 

The only part that fails is really the tensioner which if fails you could end up with a lot of bent valves and possibly more. Most people will do the thermostat & water pump & all the other stuff that is accesable as preventative maintnance.

You can buy a kit that has everything for like $300 at ECS.