Hi, my nephew needs a car and we were thinking of buying him a 1.8T A4 that my Fiances' sister has. It has 85K on it and they're asking about 5.5K for it. She has been the only owner and I believe they've maintained it well. I still need to check the car over but are there any specific things I should look for? The liner on the inside is coming off, any easy way to replace that? Can you buy a new one and put it in, I'm very mechanically inclined, but have never worked with Audi's before. Are we just getting him into a mechanical nightmare or are they usually pretty reliable?
Thanks!

 

Well i have 2 A4s and if you cant do the maintenance your self it can turn into night mare bc your going to spend money every time you take it to the shop or dealer. Check and see if she has done the timing belt which it looks like it need to bee done around that millage. Also see what maintenece is done in that car, has she taken the car to the dealer or regular shop.
A lot a ppl complain about audis and a lot are happy depends how your luck turns hah.
Good luck.

I love driving my A4s

 

Thanks, I definitely planned on asking about the timing belt. When you say maintenance are you referring to oil changes, spark plugs, air filters, etc. or are you referring to problems that pop up. If it's just normal maintenance I don't think that'll be an issue.

 

the cvt transmission in that thing is 7000 to replace and the tcm inside has a history of malfunctioning so beware. i just scrapped mine

 

likebesi said. Maintenance is a key with our cars. ITs a love hate relationship. Timing belt and waterpump are due at around 70 to 80 so get that check first. Also ask if they replaced the coilpacks ever on the car. Thats an other thing prone to failure. Other then that check valves crap out but once u pass the major maintenance the car should run nice as long as u take car of her.

 

I just bought a 2003 a4 1.8t quattro 5 speed 98k miles. It is already turning in to a money pit. just sunk $2500 in one week. new clutch, oil leak (crank case), and timing belt. unless you can do a lot of stuff yourself to the car its not worth it. If you want your nephew to learn to be mechanic literate, then it will be as great car. Like p4aul said its a love hate relationship. He will love it though, when he can drive it!

 

I agree with pa4ul and BesI. Check to see if timing belt/water pump are replaced. These two are actually in the maintenance book at 80k miles. Check valves start going to crap as well as the crankcase breather, and other hard plastic valves after a while. May want to throw in a new suction jet pump as well. If the breather blows to bits, your SJP may be next. Coil packs have a recall on this car so make sure there were replaced with the new ones. I just called the nearest audi dealership to find out. Another BIG thing to check...What type of oil did she use in the car? Audi got sludged not too long ago with a big fat lawsuit. Other than that, the repairs suck if its not properly maintained but when it is, its a good car that will last you and they are fun to drive. Their safety ratings are pretty good too!

 

Just bought a 2003 A6/3.0Q, little surprised with the price of maintenance, my car, $800 timing belt with another belt thrown in, replace air filter, $100, did it myself with friend, it did take both of us. Engines reliable and would advise to buy maintenance book on your auto, which I also plan on buying. Heck I had to buy an owners manual for my car, found new on Ebay $35 delivered, good luck