Hi all - new member here.

Looking to purchase an Audi A4 for use as a spare car to take the load off of ours others and for use for a nanny to drive our kids to school. Came across a 2004 A4, 1.8 T quattro. It's an automatic with 94,000 miles. Guy is asking $4300.

What should I look for when I go and look at it in a couple of days? Service records? Timing belt? Anything else weird that an audi of this year with this amount of miles?

I'm coming from a lot of Jeeps and have learned a lot inside and out by going on their specific forums, so hoping the same here.

Thanks.
Cheers.

 

duplicate post - can mods please delete one?

 

I would start by reading back 5-10 pages of posts looking for issues with the 2002-2005 1.8T. If someone had a problem, make sure your prospective "new" car does not. At 94k it is certainly due for a TB. Obtain service records if possible. Test every feature and function both mechanical and electrical. Drive it for at least 100 miles and check for MIL codes.

 

Drove it but didn't get a chance to drive it 100 miles. Did a good mix of back roads and highway. No weird noises or vibrations. Guy was going to get his service records together but he doesn't recall specifically a timing belt being done but he said he just did whatever the maintenance schedule called for. He remembered something rather large a few years back, so hopefully has the documentation for it being done.

Any engine issues with this model year I should be looking at?

 

I have to pass on the 1.8T engine, but there are lots of forum members with them. The TB work should have been done anywhere from 70-90k miles and would have cost $800-1200 depending on who did the work. But a big ticket charge could be lots of things when talking Audi. Unless he can produce paperwork, you might have to assume it was NOT done since there is no easy way to determine if it was done. (I might be high on my estimate, but I have only done TBs on the 2.7T and 3.0 engines and they are more expensive.)

 

Thank you for your thoughts. He has a ton of disorganized paperwork, but nothing showing the TB and water pump was done. The closest largest service was at 65k for an ECT sensor, Breather assembly, and valve assembly. If he did that I find it hard to believe that 10,000 miles later he didn't do the timing belt, but without paperwork, it didn't happen.

This vehicle is just going to be a spare car for a nanny to drive our kids back and forth to school and play events, so I'm not really looking at a long term ownership (maybe). Just something reliable and safe enough for a few thousand miles a year. It is at a trusted mechanic today to get checked out. I'll get a price on the TB and see if he's willing to move on his sale price. (Really, the guy just bought a tesla p85d, don't think he's hurting too much...).

 

Drove it but didn't get a chance to drive it 100 miles. Did a good mix of back roads and highway. No weird noises or vibrations.