Hi, I'm looking to buy a decent used car on the cheap (say, less than 7k), and came across what I am told is a 1999.5 Audi A4 Quattro. It's the 1.8T, 5 speed manual, with 109k miles. Looks pretty nice and clean, but I have only seen pics so far. The seller tells me the following work has been done to the car since he bought it in 2002: front ball joints replaced (top ones twice), all wheel bearings replaced (right side ones replaced twice), timing belt and water pump at 85k miles, all the ignition coils and the ignition module last year and recently had the ABS computer rebuilt. He's done the brakes a few times and replaced the front muffler (btw, what the hell is a front muffler?) and all the gaskets on the cat and the turbo. His asking price on the car is $6250. I don't intend to pay that much, but I don't imagine I can get him to go much lower - maybe $5500?. Oh and it also comes with 2 full sets of wheels/tires - one for summer, one for winter.

What do you guys think, good deal or no? It sounds like he has kept up with any needed maintance, and I hear that the engines in these cars last pretty long, so im not too worried about the milage. I'm new to the Audi world but am fairly knowledgable about cars and car repair so any info you might be able to provide to me would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance!!

Zach

 

a 2002 for under $6g is a hell of a deal although it looks like there is more then the average maintanence done to this car. you might want to check for a salvage title because that is a steal for a B6 (2002-2005.5).

 

sorry for the confusion, its a B5 (1999.5). what i meant was the current owner has owned it since 2002

 

Sweet deal if the maintenance is what he says (obviously ask for records espescially for the tb). Sounds like a great deal, I would go for it, wish I couldve found it!

 

^ of course i will ask to see. in browsing this site a little bit, it seems that the timing belt is a major issue for these cars. i wouldnt know - every car i've ever owned has had a timing chain instead (all nissans)

but thanks! anyone else? agree/disagree with cbg?

 

that sounds like a pretty awesome deal! hop on it! what color?

 

woot! its silver. not my favorite color, but it is really clean. it really needs some tint though... im not one to usually tint cars but this one is just calling for it

im going to test drive it this afternoon, so i'll get some pics and post them along with my thoughts/impressions

 

well, this sucks. so i went to see the car and took it for a drive and let me tell you i freaking loved it. simply amazing.

so we start talking numbers and some other dude shows up and starts bidding against me! wtf?? i was so pissed... i didnt drive an hour to play ebay, so i just left.

with that said, i know what car im in the market for.

quick question - i use MSN autos to get a lot of information. for 1999 it shows 1.8T and 1.8T quattro, but for 2000 and 2001 it only lists 1.8T. whats up with that? was quattro not available in those years? or was it standard on all models? thanks guys. i'll let you know when i buy one because i definitely am!

 

Well, I found another one. This one is a 2001 A4, also 1.8T Quattro. I've read that the 2001 has an extra 20hp stock over the other B5's, so thats pretty cool.

Only thing is this one is abit more than the last. I can't get him to go below $9500. It has 80k miles and has already had the timing belt/waterpump replaced as well. It is black and looks VERY clean - probably much better condition than the last one.

What do you guys think? Is that too much money? Thanks again.

 

come on guys, its not like i'm asking a hard question... just for an opinion.

and im not asking "which model is better" like so many threads here already discuss.

i know it comes down to what the car is worth to me, and you guys cant decide for me, but all i want to know is if you think its a decent deal? i would really love one of these cars, and i want one thats in great shape inside and out. i just dont want to pay more than i need to thats all..

thanks