Recently I was looking to buy a new car, and I found an incredible deal on an 1996 Audi A4. I went to go take a look at it because I thought there had to be something wrong with it, but it was in mint condition. No dings or dents, clean title, everything checked out and it ran incredibly smoothly. The only problem was, it has 230k miles. Is that too much, am I ridiculous for even considering this? Or can this car last for a while longer? Please help!

 

Honestly, Audis last a long time as long as you keep the proper maintenance especially the 12V.

Although with that high of a mileage, things tend to break down and need to be replaced. As long as you're willing to spend money on some stuff that break, I say go for it.

 

I agree with kriptonik. The 12v engine is known to go over 300k miles. A couple things - first, how much are they asking? Second, what are your intentions for the car? If just to have a nice daily driver, then that's great. If you want to mod the car for performance, know that there is zero support from the power tuners for that car. You can mod for style and handling but the power it has is realistically all it'll ever have. Third, if you aren't comfortable working on cars, get that way. You'll be butchered by shops if you pay to have it worked on. Get some basic metric tools, torx bits, and Allen bits, and with the help we can give you here, you can handle the vast majority of work that you'll need to do. Finally, go into your User Control Panel and add your location. That way when issues arise, you may find that someone is local and willing to help out for beer and pizza.

Good luck, welcome to AF, and enjoy the car - you'll see there's a reason we all love them

 

Thanks for the input guys.
Anyone else?

ImTheDevil, they are asking 2600 for it, and I just need it to commute to and from school. Im not looking to mod it, but I'm also not looking for it to die out on me anytime soon.

 

If you are mechanically inclined and have tools, id buy it...understand stuff is going to need serviced occasionally and preventative maintenance is always beneficial. if youa re ok with getting your hands dirty once in a while, then i'd go for it!

 

Always try to talk um down too lol

 

Agreed with the above, and use that fact (230k miles and upcoming service needs, including a timing service around 240k) as a means to bring him down. $2400 isn't bad, but $2000 even would be great.

 

Was there only one drivetrain option for '96? I didn't see the OP mention anything about the car other than that it is a '96 A4 with 230K miles on it. How can anyone judge value without knowing what options it may have?

I will tell you, I have 240K on my '99 but it didn't get there without some work. Do the sellers have any reciepts for work done to the car in the past? You'll need to be comfortable working on the car because it will get overly expensive to pay someone to fix things. Make sure you have a back up car (friend or relative that can drive you around) for when the car needs some repair. Lastly, if you can take it to a mechanic to have them look it over. I'd say $2500 is a fair price, but mostly because I'd like to get about a thousand more for my '99.
Good luck.

 

Yes, stateside, only 2.8 12v sedans were available in '96

 

Quattro and fwd were both available in 96 but honestly I think that at 14 model years old and 230k miles, trying to fine-tune a price based on options may be splitting hairs. At that age and mileage it's either a solid car or it isn't.