Hey guys,

You probably get these posts a lot here, but I'm a former BMW owner, looking to acquire a '02 to '04 Avant. They look like great cars, and I just wanted to sort of get a feel of what to expect. Whatmodel yeardid they start with the 6 speed manuals on the 1.8T? Aside from age and mileage, what sort of advantages/disadvantages would there be in getting an '02 vs. an '04. Any major issues to be aware of other than the timing belt replacement around 75K? What about engine reliability... 1.8T vs. 3.0?

Thanks in advance for the response, and sorry for the newb questions.

 

If i'm not mistaken they began putting 6 speed gearbox in 04 in 1.8T, and i think always in 3.0 since 02.
02 is when b6 model came out here in USA, so they Might ( a small %) have more problems then the later years. 02's sport suspension is very low which looks nice ))
Since 04, you can see USP (Ultra Sport Package) a4's.
I dont think there any difference between 02 and 04. If they were maintained well, cars should be in a really good condition.
If you begin to mod, you might see some slightly different parts like TIP, but u still can buy either one (they will ask you what year u got).
1.8T is moddable, basic mod is a cheap which adds about 40-50hp and 50-60tq, then bigger turbo, then even bigger ))
3.0 basic bolt-ons... If u got some $$$ you can buy a Supercharger, one guy here got one and he posted some pretty nice dyno results.
Timing Belt should be replaced at about 75k, but you never know, you can go up to 100K+ with no problems. Usually what fails- is a Water Pump. I changed my Timing Belt a couple of days ago with almost 90k miles.
As i have said before, if the car onwer kept the car in a good condition, u shouldnt have a loy of problems.
And yeah, make sure, previous onwer(s) used fully synthetic oil, cause 1.8T might have some oil sludge problems.

 

Cool. Thanx for the heads-up. I doubt I'd do that much modding, but tough to say. Most important to me is reliability. Which engine would you say is better in the long run... the 1.8T or the 3.0?

 

some common problems with B6 that you need to watch out for:


quite some number of 1.8T engines has:
- coil pack problem (year 01 to 03)
- sludge problem
- some turbo overheat causing leakage


for 3.0 engines:
- oil leaks from valve gasket (usually start leaking in 4 to 5 years, this leak will lead to oil leak on spark plugs)
- expensive over $1200 to $2500 cost on timing belt service
- a lot of catalytic converters fail at 100K miles above
- same for oxygen sensor



both cars have common known:
- windows regulars problem



anyone wants to add some more, welcome~~

 

frequent oil changes will make both engines live longer.


from the dealeship's stats, 1.8T engines seem to have little bit more problems than AVK 3.0 engines
just regular oil change and watch for leaks. no need extra attention on Turbo.
in the long-run, I prefer 3.0 engine.