Hey guys!
My car was totaled a couple weeks ago so I've been looking at local listings for another one.
When I came across a 2002 A4 (1.8 Turbo), I fell in love with it instantly.
Since then I've been asking advice about it and I haven't gotten the best response. I brought it up to my mechanic the other day and he said they were quite a pain. He mentioned one in particular that was brought in that needed work done on the alternator. He said they had to drill a hole in the fender well just to get to it.
I know they're expensive cars in general and I want to do a lot of research before I make my decision.
This is where everyone here comes in.
- How have your experiences with A4 B6 models been? Specifically 5 speed manual transmission.
- How much do you spend on general up-keep?
- Have you had any alternator problems like my mechanic described?
- I saw the thread with a list of common problems so that took care of that question. But how long does it take for these problems to start occurring?
- Are they really expensive and/or difficult to fix?
- Are they any common issues with turbo engines to be concerned about?

I know every car is treated differently by their various owners, so we'll just assume this is a used car in pretty good shape.

Thanks a lot!

 

How many miles? The alternator is right on top of the motor so maybe that mechanic is a retard.

 

just bought an '02 a4 quattro 1.8t and ive been unimpressed to be honest 3 weeks into it. had a coil pack go, and now a weird noise when i drive it and another rough idle problem...

if its low mileage and well maintained i say go for it, mine ive not been lucky so far.

 

82K miles and apparently has a new timing belt.

 

That's kind of devastating to hear. D':
What's its mileage?

 

+1

 

I have had mine for about a year now and I have been quite satisfied with it. The coils are a problem. But I bought a coil pack from oreillys for like 25 dollars and I just use the lifetime warranty to keep replacing them when they go out. They say that there is a sludge problem with the 1.8 motors but if you run seafoam in the oil before you change it you will never have a problem with it. Even with the few problems and having to change a $200 thermostat, I still love my car. Never any probs with transmission or rear end at all.

 

I forgot to mention the fact that it is one of the easiest cars that I have ever worked on. Im just finishing up on training my carpet on how to work on it.

 

Nice!
That's interesting though. One of the first things I hear from people is "OHHH NO EXPENSIVE FOREIGN CAR SUCH A PAIN BLAH BLAH MUST TAKE TO SPECIALIST EXPENSIVE"
Is the warranty on the coil pack or the car? Do you just replace them yourself?
And thanks for the seafoam tip!

 

I don't feel like addressing everything in this thread right now, but the coilpacks are under recall from Audi so just go get them fixed for free.