Not me, my brother is.

Here's the deal, my brother is in the Navy, and after his girlfriend wrecked his subaru he needs a new car. He doesn't have a ton of time on his hands, and he asked me if I would be able to head down for a test drive and make an informed decision as to whether to buy this 2003 3.0 A4 for him. He has owned an audi before, so he knows he will like it as long as he gets a good deal.

http://hplolz.files.wordpress.com/20...ilyprophet.jpg

I am a jeep/subaru guy, so I really know nothing about Audi's except that I've helped my friend with some minor work with his in the past.

Tell me what you think of it: price, common problems to look for, etc. etc.

Any input is welcome, thanks.


Oh and aftermarket performance won't be high on his list i'm assuming, it will be more of a daily driver than a toy.

 

LOL That's exactly what I did man! I'm in the Army and bought the car without even driving it, I made the deal over e-mail/long distance phone calls and got the car for a decent price (14K including tax and reg) When I finally came to the states a month after buying it I found that the timing belt needed to be done ( a good chunk of change ) and the minor hiccups of maintenance for these type of cars. From what I've read on the Forum make sure that if the car has over 75K miles the timing belt has been done or you'll be looking at arount 1700 bucks to do it, then you get the ones with the faulty temperature sensor (black top) and the funny fuel pump that was replaced on recall, a short visit to the dealer with the VIN number will tell you if there were any recalls on the car. From what I spoke to most of the mechanics that work on these cars they like the 3.0 because it is more reliable than the 1.8T, nothing against the turbo but it does require a lot more attention. The 3.0 has some minor problems with the coil packs but that's an easy fix, a little pricey but easy. If you're buying automatic prepared to have problems with it, stickshift most likely clutch failure at around 120 K. Shoot me an e-mail if you want danielbarbaperez@hotmail.com

 

Is the car quattro or manual or both?? I would not buy the car if it is auto and fwd.

 

It's a 6spd quattro.


Wen't and test drove it today, very impressed with it. SPOTLESS on the exterior and interior, and ran/shifted very well. The only gripe I had was the brakes were a little soft, but the mechanic mentioned before hand that he still had the usual maintenance to perform on it including brake pads so that shouldn't be a problem.

I did a little searching around and from what I have heard the timing belt is one main thing to be worried about like Dan said above. I will make sure I mention that to my brother before he buys it (which it looks like he will be doing).

 

What's the mileage on the car? Sounds good, and maybe it's not at timing belt range yet.

 

Also if wherever he's buying the car from make sure they resurface the rotors when they do the brakes, Or they'll squeak and rattle on the back if they don't put the compound for the calipers... Exactly what happened to me. Like Shane says, if the car is not within TB range then there's no worry. The dealer recommended 75000 miles to do the belt and water pump rollers and all that stuff. As long as the car is below that then he won't need it right away but he'll eventually need it.

 

Actually, audi says you cant turn our rotors. According to them, they must be replaced when the pads are.

 

OHhhh!!! Then the previous owner of my car is a dumbass... The car has new pads but the rotors are worn out now causing it to squeak... I'm still gonna try to resurface them see what happens, maybe I'll end up spending a few hundred bucks to do all four rotors with brake pads... don't know it'll be sometime next year though, car going in storage.