Hows it goin everyone? First post here. Found lots of info on Audis and they seem pretty easy to maintain. I just checked out a 1999.5 Audi A4 with 65,000 miles on it. Totally immaculate. The guys wants 6900 for it but I'm thinking of asking a little lower. Timing belt and water pump just changed and everything.

Anyways, I was checking out the motor and it made a little valve tapping noise. This common for an A4 with this mileage? The RPM wasnt stayin to steady either going from about 7k to 6k the whole time it was idling. Also, I could see a little coolant leaked on something under the motor (maybe on the tranny to the right under the motor) and the motor smelled like coolant also. Any advice? Thanks guys.

 

oh man... i wouldnt ever buy a car that idles at 6k - 7k... probably not good at all...

now if its 600 - 700 thats a different story... i think i idle at 800 (if i remember right) but thats always changing depending on if i have been driving the car yet that day, and how cold or warm it is outside! (MN ranges from -20 to 90)

that car is 10 years old now... and has 65k on it... so thats very low mileage per year... and its great that he changed the timing belt so early... unless there is another reason he changed it that hes not admitting to? (woudlnt know why but maybe had some troubles or something)

as for the tapping, most cars have little noises that are very hard to diagnose... my advice would be to get a good full synthetic oil (mobil or royal purple) and get a little higher viscosity than usual... (maybe try something like 5w40 or 10w50 even) and see if the tapping or knocking noises get quieter...

as for the coolant that scares me... you should talk to him about that issue yourself see whats up with that... could have a coolant leak or he simply could have just topped off the coolant before you saw the car or something like that who knows...

all in all i would offer 6500 for it, if he turns you down i would probably pay 6900 for a car that already has the tbelt done... (my dads 05 caddy has more miles on it than that and he bought it new...) so thats definitely a plus

oh and welcome to AF !

 

yea sorry I meant 600-700 lol. my fault. coolant scares me too. not sure about it. maybe it just smells from when they changed the water pump a while ago? I dont know. I was thinking about offering him 5k cash. If he took it cool if not then whatever. I really like it though. I never seen an Audi that year in that color. Its like a Dark Grey Mettalic. Anyways I appreciate the input and I will let you guys know how it goes. I look forwarding to getting of these. They look awesome. Thanks a lot for your input. Anymore input is welcome.

 

idle should be around 850 and rock steady, low and bouncy could indicate a leak in the intake system or a vac line, a failing MAF, or some other problem. the timing belt is a $1000 job and there are 99 A4s with slightly higher milage selling for half that price in similar condition. i wouldnt really pay more then 6k cash out the door for that car unless there was something particularly special about it. its a bad economy, the prices have come down substantially since the beginning of the year.

 

I paid 4500 for mine, about 6 months ago, and I've had a few problems that I'm working on. Of course, I bought it with 116K miles, and just turned 128K a couple days ago.

I also have a faint ticking, and my buddy said it sounds like the injectors doing their thing. But, he drives a huge dodge diesel...

 

Coolant scares me, what motor is it, 1.8t or v6? That tapping sound is probably the injectors.

 

Phew, I was hoping I didn't sound like an idiot when I said injectors...

 

if this is a 1.8t- the coolant flange that has the temp sensor in it on the backside of the engine between it and the firewall often leaks. the O ring is small and its a crappy design, i would bet its coming from there. its not very hard to fix.

 

it is the 1.8T yes. Sorry. Im really thinking about getting this. Maybe throwing 5k Cash at him and say give me lol.

 

People love cash. $5k might be a little lowball but the worst he can say is "no" and then you just haggle with him till he says "yes" lol. What transmission? And what color? (everyone knows silver is faster )