Ok well i checked out a 1998 Audi A4 2.8 quattro black on black w/ sport package and winter package. 5 speed of course.

Orignal owners
no accidents.... Clean title/carfax
170k commuter immaculately cared for miles
serviced as audi dealer
paint and interior is great
Cooling system, brakes, fluids good. No leaks, good compression

The car drove great, gets good mpg, nice braking, good speed/handling properties



Ok so now the things that scare me about the car.

Me and my friend noticed that the drivers side headlight/ turn signal houseing was replaced as well as a bulb for some reason. The lady said the headlight went out but its seems kinda fishy. You can see this in 1 of the pictures.
The drivers side tire had alot of wear on it on the outside and good tred on the inside, the passenger side tire was worn on inside and good on the outside. both back tires were great, tires are a year old. Also fishy, bad suspension somewhere?

Looked under the car and found some oil deposits it seems on some of the lower parts of the suspension like they had been hit with oil(looks really like oil all over the parts, have seen this on other cars as well)

The engine made a slight ticking noise, not sure what it was, mabey its not a big deal.

The car is gunna need a new clutch very soon.

They are asking 5300 but i think i can get it for 5k. Is this car worth getting? I have been looking everywhere and thought this was the one. What do u guys think? It has everything i want but im just alittle sketched out by the little problems.

the lady also said that it was checked out by a mechanic and said there was nothing wrong with the car besides the clutch needed a repair soon. 6 months to a year they said.


ANY suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks alot

Noah

 

i personally think that's too much for that car. as for the tire, it could be bad suspension or just needs an alignment. clutch is a little expensive cuz u'll probably need the whole kit with the flywheel. try for 4k. even thought these engines are strong, 170k is starting to get to the point where it's getting a little tired. i actually wouldn't even buy that car. but that's just my opinion

 

no way, you are asking for trouble...... 5,000 for the car is way too much...... maybe 2-3k dollars tops..........

 

why do u guys all say this when the kbb for fair condition if like 6500. And is up to 7500 for good condition?

The car DID run great when i drove it.

 

because we all have or currently own an audi and we kno the alot symptoms and things that could go wrong at that highg of mileage. see if u can find another audi with lower mileage, these are good cars but almost any car with that many miles on it for that price is looking for trouble. haha look at kbb numbers and then take off like 2-3k and u'll find ur real numbers. i've been through it b4

 

the 2.8 is definitely the more reliable of the a4 engines but 170k is alot. you could probly find one with slightly less miles, say 120-140k for around the same price. just know that you can't really mod this car (performance wise)

what picture?

maybe alignment is bad, or maybe the guy just took a lot of right turns lol

was it oil or just road tar? since the car has 170k miles that is understandable

could be a couple things. hydraulic lifters would be the easiest fix. the other cause, which you really dont want, could be a dead timing belt tensioner. but the ticking should be pretty loud and go away after like 4k rpm. the car is at 170k so if they haven't changed the timing belt TWICE then your looking at around a grand for parts and labor (probly 2 g's at the dealership). and you will want to get this fixed or your engine is as good as scrap metal. so ask them about the timing belt!!

expensive job
every car is gona have its little problems but this one has an expensive one and another possible expensive one. i would pass on this one if i were you. theres plenty of better ones around the same price.

 

kbb is full of ****. their numbers are never accurate.

 

SEARCH SEARCH SEARCH for your car dont just buy the first one look around theres always a better deal.

 

Most people here are going to tell you it's too much, and that's because they or someone they know got a really good deal once. What they fail to realize is that an A4 in really good condition is worth the money and those really good deals don't always come around when you need them to. But to be fair you should really ask a bank loan officer (even if you don't plan to finance). They will give you a more accurate value of the car from a standpoint of numbers.

As for my evaluation, old cars will leak oil. It's what happens when gaskest don't get changed for a decade- but you should try to be sure of where the oil is comming from before you purchase. Find a mechanic that would be willing to put it up on a lift for you to get a better look at things. Try to identify what kind of oil it is, motor, gear, power steering and go from there. The fact that the tires are worn on only the edges I'd bet it's an alignment problem- but that could be due to worn suspension parts too. Again, get a mechanic to look at it, it's worth $50 to get an honest professional opinion before you drop $5K.

And as a final bit of advice, expect to put a $1000 bucks into it within the first year- and I'm not talking proformance mods. You'll probably spend that on maintainence items like brakes, spark plugs, fluid changes (cause it best to know how old your fluids are), battery, light bulbs, exhaust, etc.... and remember that parts for these cars are more expensive then they need to be and so is labor if you're not doing any work yourself.

And people usually sell a car because they don't want to fix it, which seem about right in this case since it needs a clutch. I'd say offer $4200 and that would be as long as you know what you are getting yourself into. Hope you've got money to spare and like to work on your own car.

 

old rule i use when buying really used, ala this. expect to put 25% of buying price into repairs in first 6 months. that puts this car @ $6300. do you want to spend that much on a car w/that mileage, regardless of what it is? down here, you can get a lexus ls w/less miles for less $. i love my audi, but to get a luxury flagship for the same $, i'm going flagship. consumer shop.