Hey guys.. Names Joey and I'm 18 years old and off to college and in search of an used Audi A4. I figured I should do some research before scouting out the market so I figured here would be a good place to start.

I have a pretty firm budget of $5000 so I guess the first thing I should ask is:

Is that realistic for finding a quality vehicle, and if so, what model years would I be looking at?

Secondly, as I'm going to college, what are repairs like on an older A4?

Lastly, is there anything I should know about the A4s or know to look for while shopping the used market such as common problems, recalls, parts dieing after so many miles, etc.

Much thanks guys! I really appreciate it!
Joey

 

noobie guide its in the stickies at the top of the b5 forum page.

and search for the thread "things that go wrong with all a4's"

p.s. there not cheap to repair so be ready for it

 

you answered your own questions with the 5 grand budget.. unfortunatly now is not the time to get into audi, unless you happen to fall into a 1200 dollar car that needs very minor repairs......... hate to say it, get a honda and wait till you are out of school

i have over 5 grand in parts and repairs into my car alone........ some i did some i didn't

not counting the cost of the car

 

i agreed wholeheartedly with the above posters! stay away, far far away! if i'd have known what owning this car would really be like, i'd have gotten something else... but now i'm too far invested in the car to sell it.

bottom line is - repairs will put you in the poor house

 

i am not saying to get one, i love mine......

you just sound like you can't afford one........

 

I was in the same exact situation as u about 8 months ago. I figured I could spend about 5k on a car and the audi was very appealing to me. Thankfully I got very lucky and got a 2000 for $4400 with a $4000 loan over 4 years paying about $98 a month. The car did need a new MAF as soon as I got it also just changed a wheel bearing and still need to fix a window regulator going out. Also theres a SAI thats out but thats no biggie, I guess the moral of this is even if the car seems solid about a month after getting it you will find many things that will need to be done to it. Just make sure you can afford it, because even if its something small itll cost you a lot cause its an audi.

 

people who finance a 10 year old car are foolish IMO. there is really no reason to do that. by the end of that loan that car will be 13-ish years old. $98 a month X 48 months is $4700. thats an additional 18% in interest?


if you only have $5k you shouldnt spend more then $3000 of that on an audi. after taxes and basic maintainence and whatnot it will be closer to $4k. and you should keep $1000 on hand for anything unexpected that might come up. and if you are buying a $3000 audi there is most likely going to be problems.

 

yeah pretty much wat every1 else said!!
i bought my car for 7500 and i would say its been really good to me.
i've spent about 1500 in the yr i've had it in maintenance and upgrades, but the fact that i do most of it myselft saves me the most!!

 

ya 5k won't cover it unless you have a steady income. just think of it this way, you need to look at the price and safely double it and that's how much money you should have in hand so you don't have to worry much about having to sell the car when it breaks down on you lol.

 

Unless you have a lot of student loans left over wait a while. To be honest the only way I was able to get mine was with my tax return and bought it straight up and put some to side. I then bought a vag reader and bently to help out my buddy who used to be a mechanic and only charges me $15 an hour to work on it. Every pay check i set aside $100 or more just for my car if I can. You must, must, must have some money aside first and continue to save some out of your check. So really you should have around $1k or more extra when buying and a budget to where your able to strictly set aside cash for your Audi. These cars are old now and getting a loan and trying to pay on that plus repairs will kill you if you can't turn a wrench or have a friend that can. Good luck! .