Im very interested in these cars but from what i have heard and read everyone is having problems with them, so are they all bad or am I just hearing from the bad experiences?

 

most people come to the forum to look for answers when they are having a problem. it is easy to conclude that all widgets have problems when everywhere you look someone is asking a question about a widget problem.

the Audi care and maintenance plan can be comparatively pricey especially if you can't or wont DIY. Reliability wise they really aren't that different from any other car. If it is well cared for it will last. If it is abused it wont.

 

so basically your saying if I get an a4 it has a desent change of holding up?

Im actually looking into an 04 with 72,000 miles, We can nearly do all the work on it but i still dont want to pay for the parts, right now i have a subaru and I couldn't kill that thing if i tried. kinda looking for the same thing.

 

What about the motors, do they all have the sludge problem??

 

Generally speaking, sludge is only a problem if the car has had either or both of the following happen:

1. Non-synthetic oil used
2. Oil changed too infrequently

Basically, as long as the owner(s) of the car have given it fresh synthetic every 5K miles or so, it should be fine in terms of sludge.

As far as the reliability thing goes, any car can and will have random stuff break on it from time to time. In the ~30K miles I've owned my '02 A4 1.8T (bought it at 62K, just turned 93K tonight), I've had a couple of random items break and a couple of medium-to-major scheduled maintenance items come up. I had a coolant leak that cost about $600 to fix ($120 in parts, almost $500 in labor due to the location being a pain to get at), and I've just recently had a leak spring up in my windshield washer system. From what I've read, it sounds like the pump cracked, and it'll probably be a couple hundred dollars as well. (Can't do it myself as I don't have the tools or a good location to work on it.)

I won't say that an A4 at 72K miles is a bad buy, per se, but you should be aware that you're coming up on a number of significant maintenance items if the current owner hasn't done them yet and negotiate pricing accordingly (all quoted costs are what I paid including labor):

I had to replace both the rear brakes somewhere around 75K miles ($350) and the fronts this summer at around 90K ($480), did the timing belt at 71K miles ($975, including a 70K service at the same time), the 80K mile service is an expensive one, and around 80K I had to get a set of tires ($600 for the set I chose - some are cheaper, some are more expensive, but I've been happy with them so far - Yokohama Advan S.4 in the appropriate size for the OEM 16" wheels).

 

My wife's 02 1.8t quattro has been a great car for her as she drives about 30,000miles per year. I just did the timing belt and while in there I did new plugs and a serp belt. It has been a reasonably problem free car and I really haven't noticed it to be much more expensive to work on than the pile of Japanese cars I've had.

In fact, in my opinion the engineers at Audi designed this car to be worked on at home and things are set up for the most part in a way that makes sense. At 120k miles now this car is rust free, even on the under carriage, and I have every confidence it will run up to and through 200k. She told me she wants to drive this thing into the ground and I am inclined to let her try.

 

it u change the oil ontime and do ur tbelt and waterpump around 80,000 u should be alright. Small things here and there which normally arent to expensive.

 

I have 152k on mine. As long as you keep up on the maintenance you should be fine.

 

Doing clutch on my 3.0 right now, my valve cover gaskets went bad causing a smal leak which fouled a plug (it sounds like a boxter engine in the mornings), I stripped the oil pan on an oil change, did the timing belt a while back, did the brakes, had a few fender benders, other people's fault, window regulator went out, window switch went bad, replaced the whole front control arms (my choice, one was cracked, had the money for the whole set)..

All in all it goes as follows
Clutch: 1200 bucks
Timing belt: 1200
Brakes: 450
Window regulator with switch and repaired wires: 180
Valve cover gasket: 40
New Spark plugs: 70
oil pan: 80

I've had the car for over two years, and has 110k on it, the engine doesn't show signs of being tired anytime soon, but other wear and tear components do, in my to do list is the shock absorbers and a bearing that's making a humming sound after a fender bender.

 

Any car will last if your proactive.... Take your car into an independent Euro Shop for an oil change. Have them perform an inspection.

You don't have to have them repair the car then and there everytime. But you get yourself a list of stuff needed to be done. You can even do yourself. But you'd be surprised at the stuff you find wrong just because you have access to a lift. If you don't trust that list, ask them to show what they find wrong. Have them show you bad bushings or torn boots.