I do not own a 1.8t a4, I own a a4 2.8 and have not had any problems, I am looking to buy a 1.8t but many of them that i look at, the engine has been rebuilt. Does the engine go bad quickly? I know failure to maintain them is probably the cause of this, but still at least 3/5 of the ones im looking at have been rebuilt..

 

No..... they are not commonly rebuilt.

If they have had sludge issues either a non critical repair is done or the engine was replaced entirely.

1.8t's are pretty problematic by design / age / mileage of them now.

I would buy another 2.8 to be honest

 

My 1.8t's have been one of the best engines I've had in a car to be honest. Regular maintenance and care goes along way with these engines. The only reason you're probably seeing/thinking that is because most of the time people are to lazy or don't have the funds to change the timing belts, water pumps, etc thus leading to bent valves. Also the sludge issue was a large problem if not taken care of properly.

 

I like the 2.8 and all, but I want something I can work easily, and the 2.8 is anything but that. So would it be a bad idea to buy a rebuilt engine? The 1.8?