I have searched the threads and haven't seen anything about this. I am looking at a 99 a4 1.8t with an auto trans. It has 128,000 miles on it. I would say the car has not been beaten was taken ok care of. Should I worry about the transmission. How long does these last before they crap out?

 

It is a quattro. I don't know if this makes a difference or not

 

They definitely arent as bulletproof as the 5-speeds, that being said some autos can get way up there in mileage.. If the fluid hasnt been flushed then I would be a little more worried, and you would absolutely want to get that done.

 

If you can drive a 5 speed i would get that instead. Autos have been known to crap out especially the magnet that controls the TIP shifting will dislodge and it will get stuck in one gear till you take it apart and fix it. Less parts is usually more reliable. 5 speed>auto

 

You'll have more fun with a 5 speed and the 1.8T engine.

I'd venture to say that the 5 speed is 50% of the fun of having this car, perhaps even more. Rowing through the gears and listening to the engine is really enjoyable.

I don't see how you'd get that with an automatic.

 

I definitely agree with all of you about the 5spd. I just can't find one in my price range and I have about a week to find a car. This automatic has 128k and is $2500 and is a 99.5.Cousins friend needs money for college. i think i will pass on it and thanks for all the input!!

 

**** for that price buy it as long as the tires turn!

 

so I went and drove the car. 2 of the doors were pretty dented and the bumper was half spray painted. Not to big of a deal but the car was extremely slow. Are the automatics really really slow. Should my 97 Honda Civic dx be faster than this? I thought the civic was extremely slow until this.

 

its a 1.8L engine, with the turbo the size of a walnut, bone stock its pretty sluggish, you said its a 99.5 same as my car, whats good about that is the engine code is AEB which means you have forged internals and bigger intake ports than the 00 and 01. stock the car is 150hp. chip it and you will notice a huge and i mean huge difference. i beat the **** out of my auto every day, and its lasted way longer than i expected. im doing a 5speed conversion soon so i dont care about my trans any more, but seriously, with the abuse its been getting, i think its worth it.

 

Yeah... Heavy awd car + auto and 150hp = slow. A chip would up the boost from 8psi to 15-20psi and add 40-50hp. The trans should hold up for a long time. Turbo upgrades would not really be a wise idea unless you had the trans built for it. You can hold gears and choose shift points with tiptronic, which helps. A manual trans is way more fun and engaging for most people.