Hi All!
I'm new here and I'm a little excited that I'll be looking at a 1998 A4 Avant, Quattro, 2.8 30 valve V6, 5 speed manual tomorrow or monday.
I've spent some time reading over a lot of similar posts, but I'd like to make sure that I'm looking at the right stuff and that I don't miss something.

- Timing belt - the owner says that it was replaced last summer. How do I check it? I've seen how to access the timing belt on a 1.8t, is it similar on the 2.8?

- In second gear there is a vibration in the rear end. Is this a symptom of the center support bearing or u-joint? I'll be crawling underneath it to have a look - will it be apparent which it is?

- They backed up into a yellow parking pole or something and left a lot of yellow paint on the right-rear bumper where it wraps around the quarter panel. Is it easy to look behind the bumper facia to see if there is any bumper and/or structurla damage? Anything else I should look for?

- Some paint is fading. Has anyone used Dupli-Color or anything like that to have the fading retouched? (I was also thinking of spraying the bumper if it was't too bad.) Any other reccomendations?

- Valve cover gasket is leaking. I plan on wiping the oil away before I drive the car to make sure its really leaking from the valve cover. Any other ideas of where to look or what to look for?

- When I'm driving it I'll be listening for any front end clunks or anything like that. Is there anything else to do to try to determine the overall condition of the front suspension? I'd really rather not have to replace it in a couple of months...

Any other reccomendations on what to look for with the Avants? I'm not looking to mod it out, just a nice daily driver. (My other vehicle is a lifted Jeep for here in Colorado...)

Thanks in Advance!!!

 

Good luck with your purchase and check out the Newbie Guide at the top of the page. It should tell you everything model specific you need to know when buying your first A4.

 

Welcome to the forum!
Post up pix if you end up buying the car!
If you dont buy the car after your test drive let us know how it went and maybe you can get some feedback.