Hey guys I am thinking of becoming an owner of the A4. I like the fact that I can have a 4 door car with all wheel drive and have fun car to drive. All at the same time while having kids.

I have some questions about shopping for an A4.

How reliable are they and at what point should i be worried about miles? I have found them anywhere from 98k to 140k miles in my price range.

What are repairs that usually have to be made and are they expensive to maintain?

Do they require premium fuel and synthetic oil?

Should I be looking at the 1.8T of 2.8? What is the benefit and downside to one or the other.

 

https://www.audiforums.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=109385

 

First off, welcome to AudiForums...

The link above contains a lot of great info, but I'll try to shrink it down a bit to make it easy.

Your Audi will be as reliable as the maintenance performed. With that being said, make sure the Timing Belt was done on whichever A4 you decide on. If it hasn't been done recently, move on to another, or make sure it gets done before you buy it.

Most common maintenance is the timing belt (about 300 bucks for a kit, to do it yourself, 800-1000 to have a mechanic do it) which needs to be done about every 60K miles to be safe. Doing your own maintenace will save you a boat load of cash in the long run, but overall, they are a little more expensive to maintain than a Honda.

Premium fuel? Not required but HIGHLY recommended. Synthetic oil? A MUST! Non-negotiable!

1.8T or 2.8? Depends on what your plans are. If you want to just relax and enjoy the ride, get a 2.8 (make sure its the 30V, not the 12V) with an automatic. If you want a bit of a more aggressive ride, get the 1.8T with a manual trans.

 

I wouldn't risk putting anything lower than 91 in it. Thats what is recommended by the factory and the risk of detonation isn't worth the couple dollars saved at the pump.

 

On the 1.8T you absolutely should run premium. You can run lower on a V6 but the cost difference isn't worth it. Just run premium. For oil, synthetic in the 1.8T for sure. In my 30v, I run conventional oil with no problems.

 

I run conventional in my 12v no problem too, thought about switching but I have no good reason too... If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

As someone else said, 2.8 for a car to just drive, or 1.8t if you want to mod it plus have some giddy up.

Replacing timing belts are for pansies, 170,4xx miles on the original belt

 

omg nick hahah you still got the original? thats crazy, your basically asking for a disaster to happen

 

I know. I need to replace it. I've been putting it off because I don't want to pay a shop to do it, but doing it myself sounds scurry.

 

it sounds scary but if your organized it's easy. i have done my first timing belt job in my life on my audi with some help from my dad, it was his first one on an audi too

 

Gonna do my first in a couple months when I get back... Yep, I'm nervous... But, I'll have my newly turned teenage son help, since it will be his car in a couple years!