It was actually the exact opposite for me. The Audi parts seem to be a lot more expensive, and there seems to be far fewer "boxed mods" available for the Audis, especially if it's anything other than the 1.8ts...



But yeah, to follow up, I ended up checking out that 12v and realized that I just didn't have the time to attempt to find anything cleaner. I'm currently waiting for a report from a private shop that's checking the car out for me before I buy it, but the guy selling it pretty much babied it (I told him that I had been considering repainting it as I'm not crazy about red cars, and he looked absolutely devastated) so I'm fairly certain it'll come through clean as a '96 can...

But yeah, my current plan is to just accept that this car isn't going to be a beast of any sort (not that I was really looking to get anything with more than 220hp or so anyways) and stick with suspension, weight reduction and aesthetic mods until I find an e30 325ix worth purchasing in the area (I've been looking off and on for a year now, and still no luck) or a later model A4 once I can earn some more cash.


Thanks for all the help, though. Obviously you did enough collective convincing to push me over the edge.

 

I just bought a 96 a4 quattro, and I love it. Its not the quickest car I've ever driven, but its not slow either. It moves enough for me. I wasn't looking for the fastest car, I just wanted something that was dependable enough in the snow to take me snowboarding, and I'm fairly sure that this car can do that.

 

Right then, got word back from the shop and there was quite an extensive list of problems...

Some critical, some not so critical (They were, dare I say, too thorough? They even went so far as to check how smoothly the glove compartment opens...) but it looks like if I bought the car I'd be paying about $2600 on top of the purchase price of the vehicle over the next year, the majority of that right off the bat.

The owner of the shop is mailing me the final report of everything wrong with the car, and while I realize that most of the problems are just because of the age of the car and the mileage, I'm still mildly disappointed... Front axle (torn CV boot, but it's cheaper apparently to replace the whole axle), front control arms (technically bushings, but same as the axle, it's cheaper to just replace the whole thing), power steering hoses, wheel bearings, wheel hubs (depending on how tough the bearings are to remove). The car drove fine, never would've known had I not paid $100 or whatever to take it to a shop (a $100 well spent, in my humble opinion).

Anyways, looks like I'm back in the market, but this time I'm only going to look for a 98 or later like most of you suggested in the first place. I'd rather spend $2600 more on the car in the first place to get something that won't be in the shop for a couple grand worth of repairs as soon as I get it.

So yeah, anybody know of any decent cars for sale in Eastern PA or Central NJ?

 

You just missed out I sold my car today it would have been perfect for you..

LOL! I love it when the timing of life is just a little off. Kinda makes me giggle.

 

Well its good that you had the car thoroughly checked out before making your final decision. You can find some sweet deals on here...

http://newyork.craigslist.org/

 

Keep at it man, you'll find the right one. 1.8T's Quattros are very common, unless you really want the 6 cylinder