Good morning, I am contemplating purchasing a1999 b5 a4 manual 2.8 with 208,000 miles. The seller is the original owner with all service records. The vehicle is cosmetically 9/10 with the only apparently issue a defective o2 sensor behind the catalytic converter causing a check engine light. Car shifts smoothly with the engine pulling strongly. Owner is asking $2500. What would statistically go wrong first on a car of this age? Thanks!

 

I purchased a 2000 b5 a4 for $2500. 110k on the engine, PERFECT condition.

208,000 miles? That's a lot of miles man.. I'm sure there's something better closer by.
Where do you live? I can help you search

 

Thanks for the reply! I live in central nj. So I'm assuming you would pass on this.

 

If the engine was taken care of really well then 208k isn't that big of a deal. I still would pay more than $2000 for it though, or buy a 1.8t and have loads more fun!!

 

well, I have one that I'm about to roll 300k on...and I couldn't get what I thought it was worth....I still slam on the accelerator and race people on my 2.8....

If all the service records are there, $2k would be an okay price....but it IS used...one owner is a plus, service records are a BIG BIG BIG plus....you could buy one with 100k, no service records etc..and it could fail on the way home....that's the nature of USED cars in general....

 

FWD or quattro? It's under book if it is the awd, a little high if fwd... Mileage is a bit of a concern, but as it's been said original owner + service records are a BIG plus. Almost worth the $500 in just peace of mind IMO if you were on the fence at $2k.

As with any car this old, the rubber will start to be wearing out. Vacuum lines on the secondary air pump may not be working (will throw a CEL in accessory/not while running), expect random issues with electrics, although no more than any other car it age.

As far as maintenance goes, make sure you keep up with oil changes. 5w-40 *full SAE recommended, Mobil 1 is what I use. At that mileage the car should be on its second timing belt + tensioner and water pump. To be honest, with cars this old it's not uncommon for really any combination of parts to need replacement, but these are the really big ones that I can think of ATM.

This is a VERY helpful thread to start with:
https://www.audiforums.com/forum/aud...ion-2-a-80968/

Best of luck!! If you do get the car, you *will* have fun in it, even if it is a 2.8 and fwd (although not as much as the quattro )

 

what's your budget? This will be fun!

 

Was the car owner-serviced or shop-serviced? If owned by competent Audi enthusiast, it was probably well taken care of, and there are no hidden gremlins. But be careful when people explain-away a check engine light- the "defective O2 sensor" might be a defective cat instead, and much more costly to fix. Then if one cat is bad, maybe the other is soon to be. For sure get the codes scanned, preferably with VAG-COM/VCDS which will reveal any fault codes from the multiple modules, that a generic scan tool can't do.

The 2.8 engine is big enough to have an easy life moving an A4, and 208K miles should be no concern if reasonably maintained. My own 2.8 has well over 240,000 miles, and is absolutely reliable, cruising nicely at 80 every day. I would still have someone familiar with Audis or VW Passats check it over first.