hey guys, so i am completely new in the audi world, but it seems like y'all know what you are talking about, so i thought i would get your opinion?

I am looking at trading my current car for a 01 Audi a4, awd manual, with the 2.8 V6. Its got 105xxx miles on it.. what are your thoughts?

Im wondering about the engine mostly, because its not the regular 1.8 turbo, is it not as desirable? Also, what about rebuilding/servicing, am I looking at sinking a helluva lot of money into right as I get it?

anything else I should look for as I testdrive it?

thanks so much for the help guys.

oh, here is the craigslist listing

http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/cto/979528765.html

 

well first off 9 grand seems kinda high, are you trading your truck for it?
and are you looking into moding it like performance wise? if so dont get it hold of a bit and look for a 1.8t....you can mod that car but it wont get you much horse power for what youre going to pay for the parts...but if you just want a great looking car that is reliable and a great daily driver then this is the car for you...
ask if the timing belts ben done....that is a biggie in these cars...
as for servisable if you take it to the stealership you will pay up the *** for repairs, unless you have a hook-up somewere...but if you get to know the car and do most of the work yourself then its cake...some parts are a bit expensive but for the most part it shouldnt be to bad...

car looks clean though...good luck

 

I was planning on modding it performancewise yes, but nothing too extreme, cold air intake, exhaust, the usual.. no boost as far as I can see, i want to keep it in the daily driver status. (i read in the newbie guide that 2.8s are more reliable?) I do have a hookup as far as regular labor, the installation of aftermarket parts is free for me, but regular service checks are not.. will i still take it up the *** on those? I know my way around cars for sure, would it be a problem to preform those myself? (I mean stuff more complicated than oil and whatnot)

yes i am trading my truck for it.

 

well ok then yea cool...
as long as you buy the parts online like ecstuning or ebay or something you should be fine....if you take it to a dealership and just tell em fix it then yea you will get raped, first off the price of the parts are gonna be super expensive and the labor is just horrible...try getting a scanner to scan for codes too so when you get any check engine light signals you can find out whats wrong with it instead of paying 100 bucks at the dealership...or you can go to some autozones, some will let you scan your car there for free...
what kind of truck you trading for it?

 

yeah the 2.8 is more reliable, but like you read in the stickies the drawback there is less ability to modify the motor for more power. however, if you want it to just look/sound cool, the 2.8 is a good choice. stock, it has more power than the 1.8, though you can squeeze WAY more out of the 1.8 with the right mods. but for a daily driver, you can have yourself a cool looking car that sounds good and is semi-quick, without many of the problems associated with the turbo (boost/vaccuum leaks and all the extra plumbing, etc.)

for the scanner, i believe you can still download a free copy of vag-com that can be used to scan for codes and such things, very handy little widget if you have a lap top!

like nova said, $9k seems a bit pricey for a '01 with that many miles, see if you can talk him down a bit. and ask for maintenance records! maintaining these cars isn't impossible if you know your way around a wrench, its just intimidating at first.

Good luck!

 

I don't see why these performance places don't make more parts for the 2.8. Great car and great motor!

 

I agree, but if i had to guess I'd say the answer to that is internals. I've read that the 30v will go boom after like 9-10 psi on stock internals. And the 12v, I figure 2 valves per cylinder just isn't enough to make performance mods worth their while. Thats just my speculation though. Hopefully one of the more experienced guys will have a better answer?

 

I would have to say your right and add to it the fact that the engine bay is much tighter on the 2.8 so if you did something like twin turbo's you would have to remove the engine just to do it. But if your someone that really wants to do it the stuff is available you just have to have a good understanding of the engine. I have figured about half of it out but someone like Mike who can name the stroke or bore numbers like off the top of his head is the kind of guy that could pull it off semi painlessly lol. The fact is since the 2.8 is so nearly the same engine as the 2.7t you can do most of the 2.7 mods. There are things you have to watch though as the bore on the 2.7 is smaller then the 2.8 but you can easily source pistons for over bored 2.7's that will fit a 2.8 either stock or slightly bored. I think the main problem is that the info isn't readily available because the parts are. The problems you do run into is that there or no shelf tunes for a modded 2.8 so anything you do will need a custom tune or stand alone which would open it up to more options.

 

I have a 2001 nisaan xterra.. V6 4x4 with 97000 miles on it.. I think you Guys are right, ill just keep the truck and wait for a 1.8t

Thanks so much!