I'm 16 and looking to get my first car. I'm looking at an 02' A4 with 90K miles. Got a new transmission yesterday. I'm wondering if they are a good first car and if this would be worth it. The guy is asking $9400 and I'm going to offer around $8700. Is it going to be expensive to fix? Or should I go look for a different car that is more reliable?

Here is the link to the car on autotrader.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

I love mine, but every time anything on it breaks, it costs me a significant amount of money. I think the cheapest think I've had to do to it that wasn't a simple vacuum hose break was replacing the rear brakes (discs and pads), which ran over $300 including the labor. The timing belt cost $1000, new tires were $600, the week before that, the 80K mile service was almost $500, and this winter, a coolant leak cost me $600 due to it being in an inconvenient place in the engine bay (parts were only $150 of that total). Unless you are much more wealthy than I ever was at 16, it's not going to be a good choice, as both the repairs and the scheduled maintenance are expensive.

I wouldn't so much call it unreliable as annoying, though. Nothing that has broken has ever caused me to be stranded; it's all just been costly.

Even if what I've said hasn't dissuaded you from buying an A4, do not buy the car you linked to. It's FWD and an automatic trans, which makes it CVT. The Audi CVT is known to fail very expensively - read the sticky at the top of the forum for details. Also, the 1.8T is generally a better idea than the 3.0, as it's cheaper to maintain (you do NOT want to pay for a T-belt job on a 3.0 V6), gets better fuel economy, and actually has an upgrade path if you want more power out of it later.

The car in that ad looks good with its upgraded suspension, wheels, and tires, and it looks pretty clean, but given the engine and the trans, I'd say it's a miserable experience waiting to happen. If you must have an A4, you're likely better off with a 1.8T that is Quattro and/or a manual transmission, as that keeps you away from CVT.

I hope this helped, and didn't scare you too much. I was just a bit surprised at how much it has cost me to maintain mine over the time I've had it, and therefore felt that it was my duty to make sure you were informed. Whatever car you end up deciding on, make sure it has a clean CarFax and get it inspected to avoid any unpleasant surprises. Good luck finding your first car!

if your a diy person most of that stuff can be done on your own.

Well, some of us don't have the requisite space and tools. As much as I'd love to do the work myself, it's really not an option for me at this point because even if I bought the tools, I still wouldn't have a good space to work on it. I'm hoping to change that, but unless you've got the tools, the ability, and the space, it's expensive. (Even then, the parts aren't exactly bargain priced.) I'm just trying to make sure the 16 year old who asked the question knows what the costs can be, as it's easy to underestimate, especially when you're enthusiastically shopping.